The Life of a Showgirl Deserves More Flowers

Taylor Swift took over the world when she went on “The Eras Tour,” which went on to become the highest-grossing tour of all time. With her increase in popularity and total global domination, it was no surprise that the announcement of her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, came to much excitement and anticipation. Produced with Max Martin and Shellback, who she collaborated with on 1989 and Reputation, many fans believed that this would be one of her best albums yet.

Unfortunately for Swift, her fans, and the critics, the album did not live up to the hype for most. Depending on who you ask, it’s a 50/50 chance on whether or not they thought this album was good. With so many mixed reviews, one begs the question: was this album actually a total flop, or do people just not get it? Personally, I’m hoping for the second option since I think it’s pretty fun, or maybe I’m about to find out that I just have really bad taste.

Going into the album, I was expecting the songs to be centered around “The Eras Tour” itself and the struggles of working through the music industry. So, I was a bit surprised to find out that, overall, this album is really all about love. The opening track, “The Fate of Ophelia”, focuses on her past failed relationships and how now she’s finally found the one. She sings “All that time / I sat alone in my tower / You were just honing your powers…You dug me out of my grave and / Saved my heart from the fate of / Ophelia.” Conjuring up images similar to those of “Love Story” from Fearless, she paints a fairy tale love of her and her fiancé Travis Kelce, who has saved her from going crazy over the horridness of her previous lovers.

This focus on the love between her and Kelce continues through most of the songs, which include “Opalite,” “Wi$hLi$t,” “Honey,” and “Wood.” These smooth, soft, yet still upbeat songs have a very similar vibe to 1989, and we see just how much Kelce has changed her life. “Opalite,” which is a reference to Kelce’s birthstone, seems to be the most popular of the bunch due to it constantly trending on social media and it reaching the top 10 in multiple charts despite not being a single. While lyrically it’s not changing anyone’s lives, the beats help carry the song, making it one you’ll be hearing on the dance floor. “Wood” is a more controversial song, due to the multiple innuendos towards Kelce’s “wood.” Yet, I think it’s pretty fun. The instrumentals, especially during the pre-chorus, give me an almost psychedelic feeling, and the lyrics in this section, such as “And, baby, I’ll admit I’ve been a little superstitious (Superstitious) / The curse on me was broken by your magic wand,” flow extremely well. Honestly, I don’t think it’s so crazy to have a song such as this, as I believe multiple other artists have had songs full of similar innuendos (maybe they get away with it because the lyricism is better, but I personally like Swift’s version). Overall, you can see the positive impact Kelce has had on her, for there’s not a single song about being wronged by the man she’s dating.

Yet, despite her newfound happiness, there are still things she cannot let go. Channeling her Reputation-era, Swift bites back at those who have critiqued her in “CANCELLED!,” “Father Figure,” and “Actually Romantic.” “CANCELLED!” covers cancel culture and has Swift revealing how it led her to finding her true friends: the ones with “matching scars” (aka people who have also been cancelled). It’s one of the weaker songs on the album, which isn’t surprising considering one of the lyrics is “Did you girlboss too close to the sun?” I’m pretty sure she’s supposed to be calling out people who have said this phrase to her, but it still sounds kinda awkward. 

One of my personal favorites of the album is “Father Figure.” Rumored to be about Scott Borchetta, it follows a young artist being manipulated by an older, male executive in the music industry. The seemingly positive and parental relationship takes a turn for the worse when the protege gets on their bad side: “I was your father figure / you pulled the wrong trigger / this empire belongs to me.” The lyricism is some of the strongest on the album, and the instrumentals once again will have you vibing along. Despite the controversy surrounding “Actually Romantic,” I think it’s catchy. The soft rock song has a chorus that will just get stuck in your head. Listening closely to the lyrics, it doesn’t seem that she’s responding to Charli XCX’s song “Sympathy is a Knife,” but rather other things Charli said behind her back. Charli has also insulted Swift’s fans in the past, so knowing all of this makes the track a bit understandable. 

Of course with any Taylor Swift album, there have to be some songs that will break your heart. These come in the form of “Eldest Daughter” and “Ruin the Friendship.” It’s the latter track that stuck out to me the most, as her lyricism for “Eldest Daughter” was not the best she’s done (which seems to be a trend at times for this album). I was fully ready to hear a super upbeat and catchy song about getting together with a friend. Instead, I got a softer, sweeter song that involves Swift crying over an old friend’s grave as she regrets never confessing to him while he was still alive. It was truly the plot twist of the century. Seemingly referencing the relationship with her friend Jeff Lang, who is the focus of “Forever Winter” from Red (Taylor’s Version), Swift tells others to “always ruin the friendship / Better that than regret it for all time… my advice is always to answer the question / Better that than to ask it all your life.” She really tugs at the heartstrings here, with both the lyrics and the sweet melody making it one of the better songs on the album.

Finally, we end with the title track, “The Life of a Showgirl,” which features Sabrina Carpenter. Another soft rock and retro pop kind of song, Swift and Carpenter’s vocals mesh amazingly well together. It was the perfect song to feature Carpenter on, as she’s been a fan of Swift since she was a young child, and the song focuses on young artists getting advice from more experienced showgirls on how to survive the entertainment industry. Swift also calls out her haters, who “wish [she’d] hurry up and die,” and then claims “[she’s] immortal now, baby dolls / [she] couldn’t if [she] tried.” A fun reference to her popularity, she stakes her claim as one of the biggest pop stars of all time, and despite how people feel about her, shows that her legacy will live on forever. The track ends with real audio taken from the end of an “Eras Tour” concert too, giving a very fitting and strong end to the album.

Overall, I thought The Life of a Showgirl was pretty good. At times the lyrics are not her best, especially if you compare it to albums like The Tortured Poets Department, and it definitely not my favorite album of hers. However, I don’t think it’s as horrible as people are saying. It’s truly the instrumentals and beats that really make the album anyway, making it a super fun listen and also leading me to prefer it over some others. This is not to say that it’s better than her previous albums, I’m just personally into more upbeat and more traditional pop songs, which is what this album is mostly made up of. It’s also nice to see Swift at her happiest, which is something new for her. The Life of a Showgirl certainly didn’t change my life, but it’s a really fun and entertaining time, making it a solid addition to Swift’s discography. While not the best one she’s done, hopefully in time people will give it the flowers it deserves.