Taylor Swift’s 12th album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” debuted Oct. 3 and had plenty of Swifties foaming at the mouth for an upbeat, glitter-pop album.
Unfortunately, many fans and others have voiced their dislike and disappointment. However, I am not one of those people — I actually love this album. Do I think this is her best album, or even my favorite? Nope, but I love how she has moved into this new era.
I have been a “Swiftie” since 2006. Swift’s debut album was the first CD I purchased with my allowance money, and I played that album on my stereo so much that I’m surprised it didn’t catch on fire. Over the last few years, I have noticed an uptick in the “Taylor Swift hating bandwagon.” People have questioned her talent, criticized her success and hurled hundreds of accusations at her. Love her or hate her, she is one of the most famous artists of our generation.
Swift also released another movie, but this was much different than the Eras Tour movie from 2023, where she filmed the concert so that fans without tickets to the tour could still participate and watch. “The Life of a Showgirl” movie was more of a deep dive into the album, where she debuted “The Fate of Ophelia” music video, shared behind-the-scenes content, released the official lyric videos and talked about her inspirations for each of the 12 songs in the album.
Do I think it was necessary? Not really, but it was fun to watch the music video on the big screen while I snacked on nachos.
If “Reputation,” “1989” and “Midnights” had a baby, it would be this album. I think some people don’t like it when Swift writes about breakups, but they also don’t seem to like it when she writes about happy things — so, who knows?
Without further ado, here is my ranking for all 12 songs on “The Life of a Showgirl.”
My song rankings from the album — subject to change:
- “Father Figure”
- “Actually Romantic”
- “Eldest Daughter”
- “The Fate of Ophelia”
- “The Life of a Showgirl”
- “Elizabeth Taylor”
- “CANCELLED!”
- “Opalite”
- “Ruin the Friendship”
- “Honey”
- “Wi$h Li$t”
- “Wood”
These rankings will definitely change the more I listen to the album, but for now, this is my opinion. These songs are a great mix of glitter pop and retro with a tiny dash of soft rock, and the album is overall a bop.
Kaelin Azbell is a columnist. Contact her at [email protected].