Taylor Swift‘s ‘Teh Life of a Showgirl’ Addresses Criticism, Navigates public Perception
LOS ANGELES – Taylor Swift’s eleventh studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” released April 19, 2024, functions as a calculated response to recent public discourse surrounding her songwriting and persona, according to a review published by the Los angeles Times. The album arrives following Swift’s highly publicized relationship with NFL star Travis Kelce and engagement, a development the review suggests has impacted the lyrical depth previously characteristic of her work.
The review notes a shift in subject matter, citing tracks like “Wish List,” where Swift sings, “Please, God, bring me a best friend who I think is hot,” and “Wood,” described as a “kiddie-disco number” referencing Kelce’s podcast through the line “new heights of manhood.” A specific instance highlighted is Swift’s comment on Kelce’s podcast- “He may not have read ‘Hamlet,’ but I explained it to him”-which the review suggests would have been better suited for a different song, referencing her earlier track “The Fate of Ophelia.”
“The Life of a Showgirl” also addresses Swift’s experience with fame,explored in songs like “Elizabeth Taylor” (“Oftentimes,it doesn’t feel so glamorous to be me”) and ”Cancelled!,” which is likened to a reworking of her 2017 song ”Look What You Made me Do.” The track “Actually Romantic” is presented as a direct response to Charli XCX’s “Sympathy Is a Knife,” where XCX expressed anxieties about comparisons to Swift,with the review noting Swift “forgoes the sense of empathy that made her such an icon.”
Despite these thematic shifts, the album contains standout tracks.”Opalite” is described as a “gorgeous soft-rock tune” about overcoming past patterns- “I had a bad habit of missing lovers past / My brother used to call it ‘eating out of the trash'”-and “Ruin the friendship” revisits a past high school relationship with characteristic precision. The review also praises the album’s increased use of live instrumentation, specifically a bass line in “Wish List.”
The album concludes with the title track, featuring Sabrina Carpenter, which explores the evolution of a performer from naivete to cynicism. Songs like “Father Figure,” which interpolates George Michael’s 1987 song of the same name, explore themes of mentorship and betrayal.
The review concludes by suggesting these songs may be Swift’s acknowledgement of the album’s shortcomings, leaving open the question of whether “The Life of a Showgirl” ultimately achieves the impact it intends.
