Taylor Swift topped the charts again with the release of her 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl.” She first announced her album on August 13, during an episode of the ¨New Heights¨ podcast.
The podcast is hosted by former NFL player Jason Kelce and Swift’s fiancé, Travis Kelce, who is the Kansas City Chiefs’ current tight end. She revealed that the album would be released on October 3, 12 am EST, making her fans wait an agonizing two months until it came out.
Swift later released the song titles and number of tracks. The album has 12 tracks: ¨The Fate of Ophelia¨, ¨Elizabeth Taylor¨, ¨Opalite¨, ¨Father Figure¨, ¨Eldest Daughter¨, ¨Ruin The Friendship¨, ¨Actually Romantic¨, ¨Wi$h Li$t¨, ¨Wood¨, ¨CANCELLED!¨ and ¨Honey¨. The album culminates in its eponymous track, “The Life of a Showgirl,’ featuring Sabrina Carpenter.
The album is only 42 minutes long, making it Swift’s shortest album to-date, and there is a lack of bonus tracks that are often included when she releases music.
“This is the record I’ve been wanting to make for a very long time,” Swift said, as she refers to the idea of making an album with no bonus tracks. She continued with “You couldn’t take one [a song] out, and you couldn’t add one. It’s [the album] just right.”
Alongside the album, Swift premiered “Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl.” The 89-minute movie features a behind-the-scenes look at the making of “The Fate of Ophelia” music video. In the documentary, Swift also provides a deep dive into the backstory of each song. In addition, the film provides the lyrical videos for the rest of the songs.
¨The Life of a Showgirl¨ differs from past albums, as the songs are very upbeat. The new album does not appear to be as lyrically complex either, especially in comparison to albums like The Tortured Poets Department and Evermore, which are more raw and introspective
Out of the gate, the most popular songs on the album were “The Fate of Ophelia” and “Opalite.” The instrumentals on both are energetic and have an upbeat tempo . “The Fate of Ophelia” references the drowning of Ophelia in Shakespeare’s play, “Hamlet.” Swift alludes to her feelings that Travis Kelce has saved her from a similar fate. As for “Opalite,” the famous singer uses the term to refer to the idea of making one’s own happiness, since opalite is man-made from crystal.
Another one of the notable songs on the album would be “The Life of a Showgirl,” which features Sabrina Carpenter. This song is considered a significant moment, seeing as the two have never recorded a song together, despite appearing to have a close friendship.
Swift mentioned that Carpenter would be perfect for the song, specifically stating that she has a “temperament to pivot and use it for fuel” and is able to ignore or take criticism very well, which makes her “well equipped for this career.”
The song talks about what being in show business is like and how Swift has been warned about joining this career . An example of this would be: “the more you play, the more that you pay” which is a lyric from the song that describes how Swift feels about the music industry
However, the most controversial song on the album would have to be “Wood.” Swift said in “Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” that the song is about superstitions. However, after hearing the lyrics, fans think the song is anything but that. In actuality, the song employs euphemisms to discuss adult content.
When confronted by Jimmy Fallon, Swift stated: “It really started out in a very innocent place … I don’t know what happened, man.”
One of my favorite tracks from the album is “Actually Romantic.” This song shares a romantic sentiment behind someone talking about you in a negative sense. Swift posits that it is “actually romantic” they are obsessed with you and think about you all the time enough to hate you. Rather than thinking of it in a negative light, Swift portrays a new perspective on dealing with hate.
The album has broken many records, including becoming the fastest-selling album in U.S. history for a single week, the biggest selling vinyl for a single week in the U.S., and the most-streamed album on Spotify for a single day in 2025.Despite this, the album has also faced a lot of criticism.
Many of Swift’s fans have complained about the lyrics. Specifically, the lack of complexity in them. Another complaint that surfaced is how some of the lyrics to her songs have further backed up the idea that Swift is anti-black.
These people are referring mostly to the song ¨Opalite¨. Some suggest that Swift compares the “onyx night” to opalite, which is a white crystal, to allude to Travis´s ex Kayla Nicole (a black woman) and Swift.
However, the people making these claims are truly pulling things out of thin air and twisting her words. Swift has shown an effort to be inclusive, whether it is in regards to race or sexuality, throughout her career.
Swift has shared her effort to demonstrate inclusivity for many communities like the LGBTQ+ community through songs like ¨You need to calm down.¨ She also demonstrates her inclusivity through the dancers she selects for her performances, her videos and inclusive language she uses to welcome her live audiences.
Even with these complaints and controversy, the album has been a great way to start something new after the “Eras Tour”. I would personally give the album a 4/5 seeing as I dont think its her best album however it is still full of hits and brings back a poppy vibe that some of her past albums have lacked. Swift has once again managed to shatter records and captivate the world with her music.
