Taylor Swift’s new album “The Life of a Showgirl” debuted on October 3rd, 2025. This is her 12th album. This album was eagerly awaited with almost 6 million pre-saves and became the fastest-selling album.
This album has had mixed reviews across social media, with some people loving it and some people hating it. I think a big reason it is getting mixed reviews is that it is somewhat of a new genre for Taylor Swift. This album is very upbeat and is more pop-centered than a lot of her other albums, such as her albums folklore and evermore, which are somber-sounding folk albums.
I have been a Taylor Swift fan since I was little, and I have been to three of her concerts, so like other fans, I was very excited for the new album. Naturally, when an artist comes out with new music, it is heavily judged, and sometimes people are too quick to dislike it. Taylor Swift, being such a popular artist, people are always quick to call her overrated and bad just because she is popular.
My first time listening to the album, it was obvious that this album was gonna have a different vibe from her previous album ¨The Tortured Poets Department ¨. The first track of this album is called ¨The Fate of Ophelia. ¨ She uses Shakespeare’s play ¨Hamlet ¨ and twists it, using it as an ode to her Fiancé, Travis Kelce, with the last lyric being ¨you saved my heart from ‘The Fate of Ophelia”. ¨ I really like how she uses famous literature to write her lyrics; it’s a creative twist that I don’t see often in lyrics. The title track of the album ¨The Life of a Showgirl ¨ featured Sabrina Carpenter, who has opened for Taylor Swift on her most recent tour. I really liked this song, and I feel like their voices really complemented each other. One of my personal favorites from the album is ¨Father Figure¨. It tells an interesting story and is simultaneously very catchy. It explores mentorship in the music industry and how she ended up feeling betrayed by a figure she admired.
One of the songs on the album, called ¨Actually romantic, ¨ has caught many people’s attention because it alludes to a feud with Charli XCX, who opened for Taylor Swift’s Reputation tour in 2018. Actually, romantic is reported to be a retort to Charli XCX’s,¨Sympathy is a knife¨ which fans have speculated is about Taylor Swift.
Overall, I would recommend listening to this album. Although it is different from her last couple of albums, I think it has some really good songs and is a fun listen, due to the new, creative lyrics and fun sounds it includes.
