I've decided to go ahead and share my thoughts on Taylor Swift's new album The Life of a Showgirl. Overall, I loved the album. While I don't think it will over take my top two Taylor albums (Red and 1989), I do think has already beat my least favorite album (Lover).
Going into the album, I was a little nervous. It has been years since she has worked with Max Martin and Shellback. While they did produce some of my favorite tracks such as "Dancing With Our Hands Tied" and "Wildest Dreams", all of my favorite Red tracks were produced by Christopher Rowe.
The first two songs did nothing to quell my anxiety. "The Fate of Ophelia" felt rather boring to me. I didn't think it really had the "oomph" to be an opener and overall it lowered my hopes for the rest of the album. Next came "Elizabeth Taylor" and I was once again disappointed. My only resounding thought on this song had been "weird."
Then came "Opalite" and, man, was Travis Kelce right or what? A bop if I ever heard one. It's very reminiscent of "Daylight" for me. I also enjoyed the act of telling his story as well as she did with "All of the Girls You Loved Before". I love the idea of acknowledging the past loves and how this love is new and different and bright.
"Father Figure" was one of two tracks that I replayed last night after my first listen, because, boy, what a bop. My jaw dropped when Taylor sang "because my dick's bigger" and the way she sings "Your thoughtless ambition sparked the ignition / on foolish decisions" tickles my brain in the best way. It's giving "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" and here is why you should be.
Going from such a bop to a piano track worried me, especially when that piano track was a Track Five, but while it had some stand out lines such as "when your first crush crushes something kind / when I said I don't believe in marriage / that was a lie" but "Eldest Daughter" didn't feel me with the same sadness that a Taylor Swift Track Five normally does. I can't say that I won't skip this one in the future, but perhaps it will grow on me.
Going into "Ruin the Friendship" I expected anything but that. It brought me to tears in the way that I expected "Eldest Daughter" to do. I have some skips in Taylor's discography, merely because they make me sad. "Forever Winter" is among them. Just typing about it now has tears pricking my eyes, so for my sake, I'm going to go ahead and move on.
The only other track I replayed last night was "Actually Romantic". Now, before the album dropped I thought that this track would be my favorite and I'm not sure that I was wrong. People run their mouth about Taylor all the time and she should be allowed to address it. Given the context provided by the song, it wasn't just a one off comment. It was happening enough that it got back to her.
This next track is certainly a love song and I'm on the fence about it. "WiSh LiSt" is supposed to be juxtaposing two very different lifestyles and while I love her talking about what she wants, something about the song feels off kilter to me. I do think that this will grow on me.
"Wood" the song that you are. Is it a bop? 100% Do I love it? 100% I love the play on traditional superstitions and the way it feels like a sequel to "The Prophecy" to me. "The curse on me was broken" yes, girl. It's a love song. It is confident and I love the production of it. Looking back at my texts, that was my first comment on the song.
"CANCELLED!" feels very Blake Lively coded to me. Gucci? Blake worked for them. Whiskey sour? Blake sells Betty Booze which has a whiskey sour-esque drink. Poison thorny flowers? Blake was Lily Bloom and did a whole press tour in florals. I do like the song and I thing the themes go well with "Father Figure."
"Honey" is lovely. I love the idea someone recontextualizing a word for someone. It's a theme I like to but in my own writing and I cannot wait to listen to this again. It is another love song and other that "Father Figure" and "Actually Romantic" it is the one I'm most looking forward to hearing again.
And now for the final song, the title track "The Life of a Showgirl" feat. Sabrina Carpenter. Again, this is my take on my first listen and I was so in awe of how great they sounded together, I barely heard the lyrics. Some standouts for me though were "her father whored around like all men did / her mother took pills and played tennis" and, of course, "and all the headshots on the walls / of the dance halls are of the bitches / who wish I'd hurry up and die / but I'm immortal now. baby dolls / I couldn't if I tried". I enjoyed this song a lot.
So far? A pretty stand out album for me. As of right now it is in second place for my favorite album of 2025. I knew from the first listen that Snipe Hunter by Tyler Childers would be hard to beat, but I thought Taylor might bring it home. Listenability is what is holding Tyler in first, because not only is it a top tier album, I have had the CD spinning in my car since it arrived and I am still not sick of it. If The Life of a Showgirl carries the same weight, then it very well may take home the crown.
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