Taylor Swift's The Life of A Showgirl Fails to Truly Pull Back the Curtain

When Taylor Swift announced her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, hopes climbed as high as the star’s stadium tour. According to Swift, the behind-the-scenes of tour life inspired the album’s storytelling. 

Musical talent Max Martin, known for working with Ariana Grande, was present for the album production. Designers who had worked on Swift’s Reputation record, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot, once again helped with the album’s beautiful cover work. Despite the talents behind the scenes of the album’s production, many listeners were left disappointed, and for good reason.

The album opens with the track "The Fate of Ophelia," and what should be an homage to one of Shakespeare's most beloved female characters becomes a twisted retelling that centers men as saviors when in the original story they act as the very downfall to Ophelia, with lyrics like “And if you'd never come for me / I might've drowned in the melancholy / I swore my loyalty to me, myself and I / Right before you lit my sky up.”

Despite Swift’s claims of wanting to blend the old with the new, many of the references within the lyricism feel forced and highly millennial within its use of internet slang as she writes, "Keep it one hundred on the land (Land), the sea (Sea), the sky / Pledge allegiance to your hands, your team, your vibes."

While it is okay to move in a more comedic direction and have fun with the album, many people, including myself, were left feeling a little underwhelmed, especially when comparing this album to more lyrical works like Folklore and Evermore. 

Swift is an artist who is commonly held in very high regard for her lyricism and has been credited with being witty and intentional in the use of her lyrics. In this album, she attempts to adopt a lighter tone, similar to the works of Sabrina Carpenter, who is also featured on this record. However, instead of being a revolution for Swift’s music, it falls flat and feels inorganic to the caliber that Swift has created for herself, not to say that there's anything wrong with a more playful and humorous discography.

By highlighting other women, such as Elizabeth Taylor, who was a showgirl herself, specifically in the track-by-track version, mentioning the humor that Elizabeth Taylor brought to her performances, it's undeniable that a more playful tone was the goal for the record.  While this can bring a duality to the expectations of being a performer and the weight of carrying such a big tour in a way that can be very captivating, it lacks the depth to coincide with this humor.

The album also swings into a happy tone with the track “Opalite,” as she highlights on the track-by-track version that it is meant to symbolize opal–a man-made stone–and talks about being able to form your own path in the face of adversity. It is undeniable that while being a showgirl, you are expected to shine, and this is an example of Swift being able to bring in her experience to the forefront here in a way that works well. 

In a similar vein, the track that follows, "Father Figure," talks about power structures in a way that Swift has been familiar with. Sonically, it is one of the most interesting on the record. However, arguably one of the most anticipated tracks is always Swift's track number five, which is “Eldest Daughter," and it lacks a lot of the emotional complexity that was anticipated. With lyrics like, 

"Every eldest daughter / Was the first lamb to the slaughter, / So we all dressed up as wolves, and we looked fire." 

Although it does touch on some of the themes, such as being a lamb to the slaughter, some of what could have been a very rich topic for daughters really felt a little surface-level.

Despite a lot of focus on “Actually Romantic" being centered around who the diss track is about and a lot of claims surrounding Charlie XCX, I found this to be the most compelling track off of the record. With a simple guitar to begin the song, it takes a different musical direction than a lot of the record and maintains that playful tone that Swift has had across the project while still giving a bit of bite similar to what might be seen on projects such as Reputation. 

“Wood” is another example of a track that begins with Swift's typical cleverness, as she discusses superstitions extensively; however, it takes a turn into a more steamy direction than the singer is typically known for. It feels very reminiscent once again of the style of Carpenter and certainly caused a lot of conversation surrounding Swift's very public relationship with Travis Kelce. 

“CANCELLED!” It is a track that feels very fitting for the record, especially as it is discussing life as a performer and ultimately is a very real part of being in the public eye in our current society, with the focus on cancel culture. However, as the lyrics mention being tone-deaf, it comes off as a bit of a try-hard energy to be edgy, unlike previous tracks such as “Actually Romantic" that felt more genuine in tone.

By the time the record gets to the closing title track featuring Sabrina Carpenter, this actually feels like a perfect closing to the record and a kiss goodbye to such an iconic tour and chapter within her life. The addition of Carpenter makes perfect sense for what this record aimed to do, and it also encapsulates a significant moment for what her shows were able to bring to the table for those in attendance. 

Despite there being a lot of criticism for the record, I do think it is important for artists to be able to go into new directions and not be put into a box when it comes to the sound that they explore. Even if the record doesn't carry the same emotional depth that previous records do, that is certainly allowed; however, I believe that expectations may not have been set for this tone as well as they could have been.

The album also plays with a lot of iconic music that listeners are already familiar with, including interpolations of work from George Michael on her track “Father Figure.” While it isn't a completely new direction for Swift and certainly doesn’t feel like a large departure from Midnights, it does take a large step from her most recent release, The Tortured Poets Department. 

Across the record, I was waiting for there to be more grit when pulling back the curtain on what it means to be a performing showgirl, especially when on Travis Kelce's podcast, she discussed not only dealing with illness across the tour but also a lot of physical strain and pressure.

What could have been an opportunity to explore some of the darker aspects of being a performer was instead replaced with a playful edge to societal expectations and the weight of being an essential woman within pop culture. While this is completely okay, the marketing went a little offbeat for this new color to her sound.