Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated “The Life of a Showgirl” was released on Oct. 3 to millions of Swifties who have patiently waited. Swift has been disappointing in her recent work, and “The Life of a Showgirl” hammers another nail into the coffin. At some point, audiences must face the fact that this may not just be the end of one of Swift’s eras, but the beginning of an end for a larger music era marked by her artistic success.
Swift introduced her twelfth studio album with glitzy, Vegas-inspired shots of herself. Unfortunately, the album does not follow the glimmering spirit of those teasers.
The album starts off with “Fate of Ophelia.” Immediately, the showgirl essence of the album fades, introducing a vulnerable side of Swift’s emotional range. The melodramatic pop song is one of the best on the album; however, with the amount of uncredited interpolations and samples on the album, the catchiness of the song demonstrates Swift’s originality. She turns the tragedy of Ophelia into an ode to her lover, claiming she has been saved from a terrible fate: “Don’t care where the hell you’ve been (Been) ‘cause now (Now), you’re mine / It’s ‘bout to be the sleepless night you’ve been dreaming of.”
“Elizabeth Taylor,” on the other hand, brings back pounding drums and claps of Swift’s “Reputation” era. The lyrics require an understanding of Swift’s allusion to truly comprehend what she is expressing.
“Opalite” lands itself near the bottom of the ranking, with an uninteresting beat, boring rhythm and the same topic as the previous two songs.
“Father Figure” showed signs of being good, but the interpolation of “Father Figure” by George Michael was not close enough to the original song for it to be saved. The album truly takes a turn for the worse with this song. Hearing her speak, “I’ll be your father figure, I drink that brown liquor / I can make deals with the devil because my d—ck’s bigger,” over a beat is not something that should have left the studio.
“Eldest Daughter” is awful. The slow piano intro into “But I’m not a bad b—tch / And this isn’t savage” insults the music Swift once gave to the public. Again, she is talking over the beat rather than singing, becoming completely dreary. The bridge brings some sweet-fluff-sounding music, but those 10 seconds are not enough to save an entire album.
“Ruin the Friendship” sounds familiar. The funky beat with her lovely talking voice is not exactly what the album needed, but it is not terrible. Swift’s vocals come in during the chorus, adding to the beauty of the song. The lyrics of this song are alright, not atrocious as they could be, until the bridge at least. “Glistening grass from September rain / Gray overpass full of neon names” invite viewers to relate to Swift through common rural sights.
“Actually Romantic” is only kind of romantic. Swift pens quite explicit lyrics for another woman. She sings, “I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave / High-fived my ex and then you said you’re glad he ghosted me.” Speculations are running that the song is about Charli XCX, a famous pop star and friend of Swift’s ex, Matty Healy. “Gaylor” fans may have been right all along; however, it is sad to see the biggest artist in music allegedly attack another woman musician.
“Wi$h Li$t” is a joke, really. The way she talks more than sings on this entire album is exactly where everything went wrong. Swift is undeniably a seasoned and very talented vocalist, but she does not showcase any of that on this album and especially on this song. “Wi$h Li$t” is just bland and annoying.
“Wood” has an iconic intro beat that brings cheeky lyrics, seemingly Swift’s play on the rise of sexual innuendos in pop music via Sabrina Carpenter.
The lyrics of “CANCELLED!” could be better, but they are pretty good, albeit distasteful. The song comes off a little tone deaf to many fans, as Swift has been under fire for her involvement with some wives of other Kansas City Chiefs players. The lyrics are listened to with indifference. “Honey” is unmemorable and repetitive. “The Life of a Showgirl,” featuring Sabrina Carpenter, invokes a similar lack of feeling within listeners. The beat sounds very similar to “Cool” by the Jonas Brothers. Carpenter sounded lovely on the track; the song is a befuddled mess.
“The Life of a Showgirl” had so much potential, as the initial photography and the stunning album cover inspired greatness, but once again, Swift falls short of her own legacy. There are good moments sprinkled throughout the album, which saves this record from total failure, but it is unclear whether public anticipation will be as high for Swift’s next artistic endeavor.
