It has now been four weeks since Taylor Swift released her new sparkling album, The Life of a Showgirl, detailing the ups and downs of her own personal journey of being a showgirl. In this new album, Swift leaves her heartbreak anthems in the shadows and emerges into the glittering spotlight of confidence in twelve “glitter gel pen” songs, as the devoted “Swifties” note. This new album signifies another turning point in Swift’s versatile career. Many fans noticed that this album was a jump from her emotional, and sad most recent albums, to more glamourous, excited, and upbeat anthems. With this, some fans were dissatisfied with the lack of lyrical “complexity” of the songs which was a key characteristic of her second most recent album The Tortured Poets Department, filled with thirty-one reflective and deeply emotional songs. Yet, other fans were excited to see Swift finally leaving her heartbreak behind and leading a more joyful life
Before we get too far ahead, let’s jump back to the beginning of all of this excitement that Swift created for her fans. The excitement around the release of The Life of a Showgirl starts with the way Swift announced her new release. Swift’s now fiancé Travis Kelce, a star Tight End on the Kansas-City Chiefs, brought Swift as a guest onto his podcast the “New Heights Show” that he runs with his older brother, Jason Kelce, the former Center on the Philadelphia Eagles. On the show, Swift announced the release of her new album which would have twelve tracks detailing her life as a “showgirl.” This podcast episode broke the internet, with Swifties going crazy over Swifts announcement with her boyfriend, soon to be fiancé, as she was never as public with her relationships before. Later that month, Swifties soon got another surprise, a long awaited engagement between Swift and Kelce who had met on the The Eras Tour.
Other than the announcement, excitement came from longtime fans who were intrigued and excited that Swift had reunited with Max Martin and Shellback to create this album, who produced some of Swift’s biggest pop hits such as “Shake if Off.” These producers are known for their upbeat and hit-making songs, so the anticipation was increasingly high as the days neared closer to the release date. Swift is known for her intense and deeply metaphorical lyrics, so Swifties always look to the tracklist to see if there will be a hint into the vibe surrounding the album. Many times, because Swift has had such a versatile career, Swifties are largely surprised when hearing the song that they anticipated differently from its thought provoking title.
This time, The Life of a Showgirl opens with the anthem, “The Fate of Ophelia,” a play on Shakespeare’s character Ophelia from the tragedy Hamlet, and closes out with the title track “The Life of a Showgirl” featuring the up-and-coming artist Sabrina Carpenter, who opened for Swift on her record breaking tour The Eras Tour. In between these songs, there are the fan favorites such as “Opalite,” “Father Figure,” and “Wood” along with some other notable songs such as “Elizabeth Taylor,” “Eldest Daughter,” and “Ruin the Friendship”.
Once Swifties got a hold of these songs mixed reviews started to emerge with critics noting its upbeat and catchy chorus, but a lack of substantial lyrics that her previous works have been noteworthy of. Swifties even divided over this release sharing these opinions. Yet, there has been an overwhelming majority Swifties who were content with the infectious, entertaining, and glittery new persona that Swift displayed as she closes out a big chapter in her life, and enters a new one with her fiance Travis.
Despite the mixed reviews, The Life of a Showgirl broke numerous records including having the largest sales week since the year 1991, along with being the first artist to have all twelve songs on an albums debut on Billboard Hot 100’s Top 12 Chart. No matter what, Swift will find a way to be the “Showgirl” of the 21st century.
