When you think about current pop stars, who do you think of? Maybe Sabrina Carpenter, Tate McCrae, Olivia Rodrigo and Selena Gomez. But I’m sure there is one other woman who comes to mind, whether you like her or not. Taylor Swift, one of the most influential pop stars of this generation. And also one of the most controversial, between many people not liking her, the whole incident with the Kardashian and West family, and of course, the National Football League.
On Oct. 3, Taylor Swift released her 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl.” The album sparked harsh controversy, as for many fans, it failed to meet the expectations that they had set beforehand. Swift’s newest album consists of 12 songs and a small audio clip to promote the album. While the songs are new to Swift’s discography, a lot of the music takes samples from many songs, as social media has started to project.
Track one is titled “The Fate of Ophelia”, and in a stark transition to the track’s name, it is an upbeat song. With opening lyrics, “I heard you calling on the megaphone / you wanna see me all alone,” a callback to her first meeting with her now fiancé, Travis Kelce.
When Swift appeared on Kelce’s podcast, “New Heights,” she opened up about how the pair first met. Which ironically matches the lyrics and her statement that Kelce, “held up a boombox and yelled, I wanna date you!” The song is an overall cute declaration of love for Kelce and how she feels like she was saved from the fate of Ophelia. The track’s cute, bouncing instrumentals match the lyrics in showing how Swift felt in finally feeling free from the endless loop of failed relationships and the pressure from the public on how they wanted her to find happiness, which unfortunately has only brought more uprisings from the acclaimed “Swiftie Fandom.”
Track two, “Elizabeth Taylor,” changes tone, taking a somber instrumental as Swift opens up about her uncertainty in her relationship, even now. She talks about how often she finds that it isn’t a glamorous lifestyle. She writes, “All the right guys / promised they’d stay / under bright lights / they withered away,” an allusion to how past relationships have failed as her stardom has grown. The song is another love song towards Kelce, and how she feels so relieved to be in a relationship with someone who is still as lovestruck with her as the day she met him, even as people continue to claim she is a bad person. She sings, “and if your letters ever said goodbye / I’d cry my eyes violet”, and how she won’t be able to stomach him leaving if he ever were to.
The standout lyric in the song overall is “Do you think it’s forever,” a repeated thought that is consistently in her mind as she thinks over her relationship. The song is a wonderful representation of how, even in the strongest of relationships, trauma from past experiences can maintain some unease for the person.
“Opalite,” the third track in “The Life of a Showgirl,” is yet again a love song aimed at Kelce. It discusses how she felt a darkness in her life, but since meeting Kelce, she finds everything bright and colorful again. Track four is “Father Figure,” a track that details how she felt betrayed by someone who was an almost father figure in her life. But eventually, that person betrays her, evidently alluding to her relationship with Scott Borchetta. Someone who helped her sign to big-name records, but was a key figure in the discography dispute of 2019.
Noticeably, between the two tracks, when discussing Kelce, she chose upbeat instrumentals, almost reflecting kid-like excitement. However, to contrast the tracks as she talks about yet another thing that is highlighting her flaws or past issues, she chooses darker, or rather, less upbeat instrumentals. It’s amazing to note, because it shows how massively different the emotions are surrounding the events.
The following track, “Eldest Daughter,” is a softer, more innocent ballad that discusses how everyone seems so bold on the internet, which causes Swift to feel highly doubtful about herself. Swift discusses that when Kelce found her, she was “suffering from terminal uniqueness,” an interesting way to describe how she is probably one of the biggest superstars of the 2010s and onwards. She references her childhood and how she hasn’t felt the joy she feels now since she was about 8 or 9 years old. Swift’s lyricism discusses how she isn’t nearly as tough as she seems outside of the public view, and how she genuinely never thought she would find the type of relationship she is in now. The instrumentals in this song also do a wonderful job portraying how she has felt alone and like her life was just her, but as the song progresses, the number of instruments increases, showing how much fuller she finds her life.
Track five, “Ruin the Friendship,” opens up about how Swift regrets some of her actions earlier in her life. While talking about a date to the prom, she repeats the lyric, “Should’ve kissed you anyway,” as a mild representation of her regret. She details how it wouldn’t have been the right time, given all the other factors about his and her lives, and how she feels that her advice always ruins friendships with people. The instrumental is again upbeat, showcasing a playful side of Swift. So while the lyrics are deep and interesting, it’s fun to see how she feels a little crisis over the past, but can look back on it with goodwill.
The rest of the album is more back and forth between Swift’s feelings surrounding Kelce and her excitement regarding her happy relationship, and opening up about some of the harder times in her life. While yes, some lyrics in later tracks, such as “Did you girl boss too close to the sun?” make listeners cringe, the album is still incredibly interesting. Unfortunately for Swift, many listeners find that “The Life of a Showgirl” is one of her worst albums to date, even posting on some platforms that Swift has become a different person since her relationship with Travis Kelce. While that is up for debate, the album is definitely a stark contrast her the 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”
A favorite reference between the two albums is in the song “Opalite,” with Swift’s reference to an “Onyx night.” This references the black and white aesthetic of “The Tortured Poets Department,” compared to the teal and sparkly aesthetic of “The Life of a Showgirl,” as she sings, “but now, the sky is opalite.” And the lovely contrast in instrumentals to detail the changes in mood and how she opens up about some of her darker thoughts regarding relationships in private and public eyes.
“The Life of a Showgirl” is one of the most controversial albums Taylor Swift has released to date. One that will be of constant discussion in later weeks, which means that it will have gone exactly the way that Taylor and her team have wanted, even if some of it is harsh. It goes to show that some celebrities aren’t exactly scared of doing things that will cause major controversy on the road to being successful and being set in stone in the legacy of being a massive star.
