Diving Into the Release of Taylor Swift’s The Life of A Showgirl

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Colgate chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

On the morning of October 4, Swifties from all over the world flocked to social media to share their thoughts and opinions on Taylor Swift’s most recent album, The Life of a Showgirl. It was a highly anticipated album, and everyone was looking forward to Taylor pulling back the curtain to reveal a real-life showgirl and her love story with Travis Kelce. There seemed to be a large number of fans who were disappointed after its initial release, and I think I figured out why.

The Life of a Showgirl was publicized with stark imagery that directly connected to the traditional imagery of a showgirl. Glitz, glamour, feathers, and rhinestones—the pictures accompanying the album variants had it all. As a result, fans were expecting the music to have this same vibe, both in the lyrics and overall production. We thought we would walk away from this album with an understanding of what it took to put on a sparkly bodysuit and custom Louboutin boots, forget everything going on in your personal life, and get on stage to deliver a stellar, consistent performance. In reality, the songs don’t follow this story. There is a big difference between the vibes of the photoshoot and the sound of the album. 

Many fans have also criticized the album for its somewhat “juvenile” lyrics. The folklore and evermore eras significantly raised the bar for what counts as “good lyricism” for Taylor Swift. In these two albums, she meticulously weaves metaphors with storytelling to create beautifully written songs. The Life of a Showgirl is reminiscent of her previous pop albums: 1989, reputation, and Lover. This is not surprising as the co-producers of The Life of a Showgirl, Max Martin and Shellback, worked on 1989 and reputation. However, the people who consider these albums some of the best in Taylor’s discography are the ones criticizing The Life of a Showgirl. 

Personally, I am obsessed with Taylor Swift’s new album. The fun, vibrant, upbeat vibes of this album, following The Tortured Poets Department, feel like a breath of fresh air. Sure, the lyricism of this album is not her best work, but it does not need sophisticated and refined lyrics to be a great album. Sometimes the best albums are not the ones with lyrics that make you cry, but the ones with a beat that makes you want to get up and dance around the room.