Are you ready for tonight's dazzling spectacle? She is the height of glamour, of luxury, a portrait in sequins and feathers like you've never seen before. Put your hands together for the one and only: The Life of a Showgirl!
Taylor Swift's 12th studio album has arrived, shimmering with the timeless allure of old Hollywood glitz and glam. The Life of a Showgirl is a collection of neon-soaked pop anthems, contrasting with her last release, The Tortured Poets Department. Showgirl brings a buzzing energy that comes on the heels of her widely successful Eras Tour and blissful engagement. Swift’s joy is infectious.
Track one, “The Fate of Ophelia,” is perhaps one of the strongest album openers from Swift. I absolutely adore this track with its catchy beat, Shakespearean references and fantastical undertones — it truly feels like there are narcotics in this song. Similar to “Love Story,” Swift decides she does not like the tragic ending Shakespeare characters get, so she writes her own. Despite a slight disconnect between Ophelia's story in Hamlet and the background provided for Swift's Ophelia, the song is still an enormous success. Given this is a more pop-centric album, the lyrics are not necessarily the focal point and we need to support Swift's new reinvention.
Along with “The Fate of Ophelia,” “Elizabeth Taylor” and “Opalite” compose the powerful songs that open the album. Both follow a similar upbeat, pop trend again reminding us that Swift is happy and in love. In “Elizabeth Taylor,” she talks about Hollywood and what it's like to love under the spotlight as well as the anxiety involved in fame and love. “Opalite” is more about healing from past relationships and finding easy joy in her current one. It is interesting that Swift chose to name the song “Opalite,” which is a man-made stone, rather than the naturally occurring opal. Maybe she is saying her happiness is man-made but it could also be construed as her feelings being artificial which I doubt is what she intended.
Track 4, titled “Father Figure” is an interpolation of George Michael's 1987 hit of the same name. In Swift's version, she takes on the role of a mentor to someone who reminds her of her younger self, guiding this person to fame and covering up their scandals. It could also be interpreted as Swift talking to her younger self or her fight with her record label. Overall, it is a smooth, smoky song where Swift asserts that she is in control — she's the man.
In Showgirl, track 5 gets a never-seen-before twist: it's a love song! Track 5 is always known by Swifties to be the saddest song on the album and while “Eldest Daughter” does have some sad lyrics, it is primarily hopeful. Piano takes the place of synth as Swift claims her undying loyalty to the love she longed for as a child and has now found. Despite this cute message, the lyricism falls dramatically short and epitomizes my problem with the album lyrically. With words and phrases like “trolling,” “memes,” “savage” or “we looked fire,” it feels like Swift is trying to embody something she simply is not. Although lyrics such as “I've been dying just from trying to seem cool” frame this as intentional and actually part of the struggle of being an eldest daughter who is trying to navigate the world.
Lyrically and sonically I quite liked “Wood”; it was playful, happy and a little cheeky. I enjoyed the development from trusting luck and superstition to pave a favorable path to then realizing Swift can make her own luck. Swift says she no longer has to "knock on wood” for the odds to be in her favor. She also includes percussive sampling of knocking on wood to accompany this lyric which is immensely satisfying.
“CANCELLED!” embraces the theme of the album by discussing Swift's life as one of the biggest stars in the world. As is epitomized by the aesthetic of the album, the spotlight can be glamorous but it can also turn harsh and gritty in a second. In Reputation, she revealed what it is like to be hated by thousands of people, but “CANCELLED!” takes a new angle now that she is experienced in how the industry treats women like her. The song sounds like a gothic Disney villain anthem as Swift sings “did you make a joke only a man could?” The industry often villainizes successful women for the smallest acts or choices, but each time they come back stronger and more interesting people.
The final eponymous track, “The Life of a Showgirl” features Sabrina Carpenter and explores the price of stardom and life in the spotlight. The song warns that “the life of a showgirl” is not an easy one, but it also not one Swift or Carpenter would give up. To me, much of the song’s message came off as saying “you will never be me” and could never handle it. With this album, I was hoping for more of a peek behind the curtain, not Swift telling us we will simply never understand. The album’s language with mentions of Cartier, Gucci and expensive hotels contribute to the intended luxurious feel, but it’s so luxurious that I don’t feel welcome in its atmosphere. In combination with the messaging, I felt like an outsider which is never something I would associate with a Taylor Swift album. And I won't even get into the petulance emanating from Actually Romantic and Wi$h Li$t.
Overall, I enjoyed listening to the album. It's past time our showgirl found her happiness – and this album shows unequivocally that she has. Songwriting is always a balance between beats and lyrics and in Showgirl the bangers win out. As the album takes its bow, we must remember that people are always going to complain and negative voices will always be loudest. But if you can find your corner of joy, that is all that matters. And, baby, that's show business for you.
Ayla Kruse Lawson is a junior in the College of Human Ecology. She can be reached at akruselawson@cornellsun.com.
