About The Life of a Showgirl
On October 3rd, Taylor Swift released her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl. Its unexpected announcement on the New Heights podcast, hosted by current NFL player, and Swift’s fiance, Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs, and former NFL player Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles, only heightened the hopes of the album becoming yet another global sensation. With the lead track being “The Fate of Ophelia” and the closing track being “The Life of a Showgirl” featuring Sabrina Carpenter, the album’s intriguing tracklist titles and contributing artists raised excitement from fans across the world. However, since its release it has received enormous-backlash from both professional critics and even her own fans here at Searcy High School.
The Backlash
One of the key complaints against Swift’s newest album is its lack of lyrical depth. “The Life of a Showgirl just felt rushed and falsely marketed. The majority of the songs have really bad lyrics compared to her last few albums and are just unenjoyable and rude as a whole,” said Junior Ian Wilkins. Swift has built a reputation (no pun intended) of producing thoughtful, intricate and heavily poetic lyricism since her indie folk albums “Folklore” and “Evermore”, connecting deeply with listeners through her words. Yet, The Life of a Showgirl has spiked doubts in the profundity of her writing, with one of the most controversial lyrics being “Did you girlboss too close to the sun?” from the 10th track, “CANCELLED!”. With many claiming the verse was too “corny” and cynical for the maturity of the rest of the album. On a less delicate tone, some listeners are even going as far to say that her work began plummeting since her debut album. “Swift’s music has been going downhill since ‘Love Story,’” said Computer Science teacher Mr. Muse.*
The Support
In contrast, amid the sea of backlash and criticism of the album, fearless fans continue to stand by Swift’s work and defend her newest collection. “Her songs were rushed and lacked lyrical depth, but I think she’s allowed to explore her musicality and experiment with different writing techniques,” said Junior Isaac Salinas. Many other fans proclaim that this album is simply another milestone of Swift’s fame and love for the craft. In the past, Swift has been very expressive in her ability to work across multiple genres by producing albums from country to pop, and countless fans believe this album is yet another mastermind demonstration of her musical range. “I was completely unaware of the hate to The Life of a Showgirl. It definitely was not one of her best, but “Opalite”, “Eldest Daughter” and “Fate of Ophelia” have all been on repeat on my iTunes these past couple of weeks,” said English Teacher Mrs. White.*
So what?
All things considered, Taylor Swift continues to remain an incredibly successful artist, with 14 Grammys, 40 American Music Awards, 30 MTV Music Video awards and nearly 50 Billboard Music Awards throughout her career. Swift has expressed no intention so far of continuing the Era’s World Tour or any tour thereafter following her newest album. Despite the mounting criticism of the album and skepticism of Swift’s literary adroitness, The Life of a Showgirl is still dominating the Billboard Top 100 with “The Fate of Ophelia” at No. 1. Instead of stepping away from the spotlight in the wake of her newest lackluster album, Swift will likely Shake it Off and continue to pursue her love for music.
