Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl Provides More Hits than Misses -

By Luis Zonenberg

Hot after reclaiming her songs this past summer, Taylor Swift has finally released her new album, following the release of The Tortured Poets Department from last year. This marks her 12th original studio album and 16th major studio album overall. Swift even made sure her fans could join her for the occasion, with a feature-length film titled Taylor Swift: The Official Release of a Showgirl. With the film grossing $50 million and the album selling over four million copies in its first week, I figured I’d tune in and see what all the hype is about.

The first track starts the album off with a real banger, with “The Fate of Ophelia” serving as a nice homage to Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The song details how Swift wants to save herself from the fate of Ophelia from the classic tale, pledging herself to an honorable and deserving soulmate. The lyrics really help paint this picture, detailing, “The eldest daughter of a nobleman / Ophelia lived in fantasy / But love was a cold bed full of scorpions / The venom stole her fantasy.” The groovy rhythm and hummable lyrics make this song an infectious good listen for any occasion.

The third track, “Opalite,” continues the momentum of the first track in true Swiftie fashion! The song details her current relationship with NFL player Travis Kelce. Lyrics such as “I had a bad habit of missing lovers past” represent her past relationships while others even reference Kelce’s past relationships. She frequently uses the term “opalite” multiple times, referring to how it is made out of the opal gemstone and describes happiness as such: “man-made.” The rhythm is reminiscent of the first track and produces a kinetic energy that really gets your feet tapping the floor like crazy.

This momentum gets lost for a little while though, with a lot of the following songs opting for more mellow rhythms that aren’t as memorable as the previous tracks. Not that the songs are awful, but they fall short of what “Opalite” and “The Fate of Ophelia” seemed to be going for. Tracks like “Father Figure” show some real creativity and emotional resonance, with that track serving as a nice tribute to the legendary George Michael. It riffs on the idea of what a father figure is and serves as a nice song to tune into every now and then, but that’s about it.

It’s not until the seventh track that the album regains its momentum once again, with “Actually Romantic” proving to be a real highlight. The song puts a new twist on the concept of hatred, remarking how the obsessive negative attention is really admirable and quite romantic in its own twisted way. The lyrics really capture this tone, detailing how “It’s actually sweet / All the time you spent on me / It’s actually wild / All the effort you’ve put in.” This really shows Swift’s creativity while combining pop and indie-rock aesthetics with a grunge electric guitar rhythm to create one killer beat!

This momentum continues throughout the rest of the album, with the ninth track, “Wood” especially having fun with the concept of superstition and even seems to relish in it. The previous track, “Wi$h Li$t,” seems to once again revolve around her fiancé, Travis Kelce. It seems to showcase her deepest desires for love, yearning for a more simpler life away from her current fame. While this seems like more of a downgraded version of what “Opalite” was referring to, the lyrics and upbeat rhythm more than make up for that.

The last three tracks are outright winners in their own right, with “Cancelled” proving to be another highlight worth showcasing here. The song acknowledges the power of cancel culture and how it reveals who someone’s real friends are in showbusiness. The lyrics really show this, with Swift remarking, “Welcome to my underworld where it gets quite dark / At least you know exactly who your friends are / They’re the ones with matching scars.” This is arguably one of the best, if not the best song of the entire album, with the rhythm and lyrics matching the intensity and fun of the whole ordeal.

This theme of power struggle even continues well into the next track with “Honey”, showcasing how attitude quickly changes the meaning of a simple word like “honey.” The lyrics once again really drive this point home, with Swift describing how “If anyone called me ‘honey’ / It was standing in the bathroom, white teeth / They were saying that skirt don’t fit me / And I cried the whole way home.” This is another fun song that captures the style and creativity Taylor Swift has embodied in the past, providing a fitting transition into the final track of the album.

The last track, “The Life of a Showgirl,” details a fictional encounter with a showgirl and one of her devoted fans. Swift collaborated with Sabrina Carpenter, who actually served as the opening act for Swift during the Eras Tour in 2023 and 2024 respectively. While it’s personally hard for me to distinguish between their two voices, the overall rhythm and lyrics creates a more mellow ending that actually feels warranted for once here. The song is fine on its own but gets some real emotional weight with Carpenter’s involvement, making the story feel more rich and powerful than it was intended to be.

Not all of the tracks were winners, with “Elizabeth Taylor” and “Eldest Daughter” proving to be rather lackluster when compared to most of the other songs showcased here. I forever laud Swift’s endless creativity and passion for her work, which is always showcased with every album she releases. This one is no different, with Swift firing on all cylinders and proving she can still provide more hits than misses. While it probably won’t crack people’s top 3 album picks, The Life of a Showgirl provides some catchy tunes to satiate any Swiftie’s sweet tooth.

The Life of a Showgirl is now streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, and more.

Rating: ★★★ ½ of five