Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ is an immaculate act of damage control

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After the mess, the mop-up.

Here’s one way to look at Taylor Swift’s latest album, “The Life of a Showgirl.” On it, the hugely popular artist delivers twelve perfectly crafted pop songs, coming just a year and a half after her previous album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” which was expansive and dealt with intense emotions.

That previous album, originally with 16 songs and later expanded to include 15 more, was arguably the most controversial of Taylor Swift’s twenty-year career. It achieved incredibly high sales and streaming numbers-at this stage, she’s practically guaranteed success-but the varied reactions from critics and even some fans appeared to bother Swift, who, despite being well aware of the harsh treatment women face in the public sphere, has grown used to widespread adoration.

As a huge fan, I was so excited for “Showgirl,” Taylor’s 12th studio album! She brought back Max Martin and Shellback, the Swedish production duo who really helped her make that amazing leap from country to pop with albums like “Red” and “1989” back in the mid-2010s. Taylor mentioned she actually wrote this one while she was touring Europe during the summer of 2024 on her unbelievably successful Eras tour. The title makes sense considering that, but honestly, it also makes me wonder how she manages such a crazy work ethic! It’s just mind-blowing.

And to be upfront: These three artists are just as good – and perhaps even more cunning – at writing catchy hooks as anyone else in the music industry. Unlike the somewhat unfocused “Tortured Poets,” which only produced one major hit with the chart-topping “Fortnight,” “Showgirl” is expected to generate multiple hits, including the lead single, “The Fate of Ophelia.” This song features a captivating new wave sound that brings to mind the experienced songwriting talents of Eurythmics. (If you’re not familiar, give them a listen.)

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While touring with her newest album, the pop singer, originally from New Zealand, shares her wish to be completely honest and open – what she calls ‘radically transparent.’

When it comes to understanding Swift as a person – and we’ve become accustomed to looking at her music this way – this new collection of well-crafted songs doesn’t quite measure up to her previous work. Showgirl feels like a step back from the raw honesty of Tortured Poets, which portrayed a uniquely successful woman who felt empowered to share some difficult and honest feelings.

Could it be that her current happiness – she’s engaged to NFL star Travis Kelce in a healthy relationship – is the reason? It feels wrong to suggest that being happy is detrimental to a songwriter’s work. However, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the lyrics about love on this album don’t have the same emotional complexity as those seemingly written about more troubled relationships with people like John Mayer and Matty Healy.

In the electro-trappy song “Wish List,” she sings, surprisingly, “Please, God, bring me a best friend who I think is hot,” detailing all her hopes and dreams before meeting her perfect partner. Then there’s “Wood,” a song that feels like something for the “Trolls” movies, celebrating the excitement of a man displaying “new heights of manhood.” (Just so you know, that’s a playful reference to Travis Kelce’s podcast, where Swift recently mentioned her fiancé – “He may not have read ‘Hamlet,’ but I explained it to him” – a line she probably should have kept for a discussion about “The Fate of Ophelia.”)

In other songs, she expresses common frustrations with the difficulties of fame, like in “Elizabeth Taylor” – “It’s often not as glamorous as it seems to be me” – and “Cancelled!,” which sounds like a darker, Nirvana-inspired version of her 2017 song “Look What You Made Me Do” from the surprisingly impactful album Reputation.

Then there’s the sharply critical track, “Actually Romantic,” which appears to be a reaction to Charli XCX’s “Sympathy Is a Knife.” In that song, Charli voiced her worries about being measured against Taylor in a competitive pop landscape. Swift delivers some amusing lyrics about chihuahuas and cocaine, but completely abandons the empathetic quality that made her such an influential figure for every pop songwriter who followed in her footsteps.

What stands out on “Showgirl”? “Opalite” is a beautiful, mellow rock song about breaking old patterns – with lyrics like “I had a bad habit of missing lovers past / My brother used to call it ‘eating out of the trash’” – and “Ruin the Friendship” thoughtfully revisits a high school romance, written with the same detailed observation Taylor Swift always brings to her teenage years. Both songs have a relaxed, Fleetwood Mac-inspired sound that’s a bit different for Martin and Shellback, who surprisingly use more real instruments throughout the album. (Stick with “Wish List” if you can – it has a fantastic bass line that kicks in during the second verse.)

Swift explores themes of legacy and what we pass down through generations on this album. The song “Father Figure,” which samples George Michael’s 1980s hit of the same name, is told from the perspective of a mentor who’s been let down by someone they guided. And the album’s closing track, a song with a Broadway feel featuring Sabrina Carpenter, follows the journey of someone trying to make it in show business – from being innocent and hopeful to becoming jaded and knowing everything.

Perhaps those songs are Taylor Swift’s way of acknowledging that “The Life of a Showgirl” wasn’t quite as polished as it could have been. We’ll find out if it was as well-structured as it needed to be.

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2025-10-03 07:31