Before the Swifties find where I live and burn my house down, I was one of you, and I am going to have “forever is the sweetest con” tattooed, so the call is coming from inside the house.
Now, “The Life of a Showgirl.”
Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album came out Oct. 3 with the same excitement and fanfare that her music usually attracts, except this time, the reactions were a lot more mixed. After an album like “The Tortured Poets Department,” where the writing was heartbreaking and lyrical, fans were surprised to receive an album that is entirely pop and missing the artistic touch of her previous work.
The genre shift isn’t a complete surprise, considering the colorful marketing and aesthetic, many expected a more “showgirl” vibe to the music. This album, however, lacks the theatrical flair the role is known for, although it is a musically fun album.
The album has been criticized for ripping off songs by other artists and not giving them the credit that they deserve. Some examples that TikTokers have noticed, just to name a few, are “Opalite” and “Circles” by Post Malone, “Wood” and “I Want You Back” by The Jackson 5, “Actually Romantic” and “Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus, “CANCELLED!” and “Yellow Flicker Beat” by Lorde, “The Life of a Showgirl” and “Cool” by the Jonas Brothers, among others.
The backlash for these similarities stems from the lack of credit she gave to the original creators. This situation also comes after she sued Olivia Rodrigo for a section of her song “Deja Vu” that happened to sound similar to Swift’s “Cruel Summer,” resulting in Rodrigo giving her credit, although many fans would argue that they don’t sound alike at all.
Critics are claiming that these moves by Swift are showing her true colors as a hypocrite who bullies younger singers when they threaten her ego.
While no legal action has been taken yet, the infringement is the nail in the coffin due to the controversial nature of the songs. In the song “CANCELLED!,” Swift says she prefers her friends to be cancelled on the internet because “they’re the ones with matching scars.” These lyrics are suspected to be about Blake Lively, who recently got cancelled after playing Lily Bloom in the movie version of “It Ends with Us.”
The song is perceived as being in poor taste, as she continues to spend time with individuals who have controversial histories or beliefs, and avoids genuine social activism.
In the past, Swift has encouraged fans to vote and endorsed Kamala Harris and Joe Biden in their respective campaigns. This has been seen as performative to save her image since she has remained quiet about politics otherwise, and has yet to speak out about the conflict in Gaza.
To throw more gasoline in the fire, some fans have claimed the songs are pushing a conservative agenda that feels like a betrayal to long-time listeners. Many songs are based on traditional gender roles and marriage, and that a woman needs to be “saved.”
In the “Fate of Ophelia,” Swift kidnaps Shakespeare’s character and reduces her to a damsel in distress who needs to be saved by what she considers “real love.” In reality, Ophelia’s fate is due to a lack of autonomy and control over her own life. She felt hopeless and like she was stuck in a purgatory created by the men around her. She represented women of the time period who didn’t have the same freedom to succeed that Swift currently has, and she certainly wasn’t locked in a tower or out of luck with love.
The recent criticism of the album didn’t stop at the controversies; the album’s lyricism was a major disappointment to fans who follow her for her poetic writing. This release has become much simpler compared to her other recent albums, making the lyrics weaker and less substantial.
In my eyes, she’s a 35-year-old woman writing from the lens of a high schooler, and it shows. Many of the songs sound like they were written by a millennial who has no understanding of how teenagers work anymore. She’s lost the magic touch that her previous work has sparkled with.
In the end, she seems happy in her relationship with Travis Kelce, and that’s all we can ask for, even if her new music is weaker than it should be. If only she had stuck with concept albums, maybe we wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with, but that’s just my two cents.
