On Friday, October 3rd, at 12 pm ET, Taylor Swift’s long awaited 12th album The Life of a Showgirl was released. After a month and a half of waiting since the day of the announcement, during the August 13th episode of her fiancé, Travis Kelce, and his brother, Jason Kelce’s, podcast, New Heights, the album has gained much anticipation from fans. The album, while not being her best work, did not disappoint, showcasing her songwriting and vocal skills. Here is what I thought of each song:
“The Fate of Ophelia”
As the leading single of The Life of a Showgirl, this is one of the best songs on the entire album. The lyrics on this song are already viral, and the music video is one her most creative ones yet. The song uses an allusion to Shakespeare’s heroine in Hamlet, Ophelia, to show how her heart is now healed from many other heartbreaks before meeting the one.
“Elizabeth Taylor”
“Elizabeth Taylor” is my overall favorite song on the album! This song discusses how fame isn’t always as glamorous as expected. Swift’s signature storytelling shined through in this song, and the vocals, especially the harmonies, are amazing. This song has a completely different sound than the rest of her music, which makes it very unique. The lyrics are the most catchy of the entire album, and will instantly have you scream-singing along!
“Opalite”
This is the happiest song on the entire album, with a very upbeat sound. The song has themes of growth, as Swift reflects on the healing of her past relationships, and how she has finally found the right one. The lyrics in this song are the best lyrics on the entire album in my opinion, with creative metaphors and clever vocals.
“Father Figure”
One of the things that I noticed in this album was the increase in sampling songs from other artists. The most noticeable song sampled is “Father Figure” by George Michael, in the track under the same name. Taylor’s version of the song is a lot more dirty than Michael’s, and commentates on the discrepancies that musicians face in the music industry. Overall, I think this song was very catchy and creative, but it isn’t as appropriate as the original version.
“Eldest Daughter”
As track five of The Life of a Showgirl, I had high expectations, as for track fives are some of her best, most vulnerable songs. This song is about the struggles and high expectations of being the oldest daughter of a family, and it does have a lot of vulnerability is relatable, especially being an eldest daughter myself. Besides this, the lyrics of the song aren’t the best I have heard for a track five, and I am honestly disappointed, especially since I think there were deeper songs in the album that could have been a better track five.
“Ruin the Friendship”
This song takes you back to high school, discussing a high school relationship and how Swift didn’t want to ruin the relationship with a boy by sharing her feelings. There were tons of rumors that this song was going to be about Blake Lively and their fallout, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, since it explores themes of romance. “Ruin the Friendship” also brings up Swift’s dear friend from high school, Jeff Lang, who inspired the Red song, “Forever Winter,” after his tragic death in 2010. Overall, this is the saddest song on the album, and one of the more similar ones to her past songs.
“Actually Romantic”
This song is a diss track about Charli XCX and their alleged feud. Charli released her song “Sympathy is a Knife” back in 2024 on her album “Brat” dissing Taylor, and this song is a response to that. “Actually Romantic” sounded very much like an Olivia Rodrigo song, with an angry guitar line and vocal build-up towards the end of the song. This is one of my favorite songs off the album, since it has very creative lyrics and it doesn’t sound like her typical songs.
“Wi$h Li$t”
Overall, this song is pretty good! It is about wanting to be with the one you love forever, in contrast to what the rest of the world wants, which is a rich, luxurious life. The lyrics have a lot of metaphors and imagery, which I like. My favorite part of the song was the chorus, since the melody sounded like Sabrina Carpenter’s “Bed Chem,” and it was a very sweet ode to Travis Kelce. The song had a similar theme as Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings,” but it does get super repetitive at times.
“Wood”
Her dirtiest song on the entire album, “Wood” is very catchy and has good lyrics. I liked the sound effects of actual knocking on wood, which added to the creativity to the song. It had very similar sounding instrumentals to some Jackson 5 songs, adding to the happy, upbeat sound. Overall, though, this song is really dirty if you listen closely to the lyrics, so I would think hard before letting your kids listen to it.
“CANCELLED!”
On every Taylor Swift album, there is always that one song that would fit on her album Reputation, and this song is the one, with its dark sound and revenge-like lyrics. Swift takes a jab at cancel-culture in this song, while proclaiming that most of her friends are cancelled, which is what makes them alike. For me, I didn’t really like the lyrics, but I did like the instrumentals, since they stood out from the rest of the album.
“Honey”
“Honey” is the sweetest song, literally and nonliterally, of the entire album. This song discusses how her relationship with Travis Kelce has redefined “honey” for her. Swift discusses how people used to call her “honey” as a way to point out all of her flaws, but now it is used as a term of endearment. This song has a very meaningful message, and I really liked the lyrics.
“The Life of a Showgirl” (feat. Sabrina Carpenter)
I found this song underwhelming, as I was expecting a lot more from this song since it seemed to be the most anticipated track on the entire album. This is the only song on the album featuring another artist, and it is featuring the one and only Sabrina Carpenter. She seemed to sample “Cool” by the Jonas Brothers, with a very similar melody and beat. The lyrics are quite bland, but I did like how she included the final remarks at the Eras Tour at the end.
Overall, I liked the sound of the album, and how each song was unique in theme and message, which was not the case of Swift’s last album, The Tortured Poets Department. I honestly think that she could have done a better job with some of the songs, but the album is super joyful and creative, and I would definitely recommend it!
