As I listened to Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” I paid careful attention and waited in anticipation for songs I expected to obsess over in the coming weeks. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing some of its hit singles, but the twelve-song album did not live up to its hype. Though it has some catchy melodies and cool ideas, its shallow lyrics and repetitive chord progressions do not match the level of energy and masterfulness that Swift has demonstrated in past albums.
Swift’s album reached historic streaming numbers, with 460 million streams in the United States within just a few days, according to Billboard. It is the third album to be number one on the Billboard 200 in 2025 for two weeks straight. For the week of Oct. 25, “The Life of a Showgirl” currently has eight of the top 10 songs on Billboard’s top 100 chart. All of this is merited. The album is certainly worth a listen, but it does not compare to her other recent albums.
The album starts with two pop hits, “The Fate of Ophelia” and “Elizabeth Taylor,” catchy tunes that remained in my head for a few days after listening to them. I liked the chord progression of their melodies, and it felt like Swift was beginning to tell a story about a new stage of her life with this album.
However, the remaining songs on the album began to sound repetitive and less exciting than the first two. “Eldest daughter,” “Honey” and “Ruin the Friendship” all started with slow verses before reaching generic choruses with similar drum patterns.
This album also seems to contain more profanity than her typical ones. Eight out of her 12 songs are explicit. Many pop songs today include explicit language, but Swift isn’t known for using it often. To me, this was Swift trying to appeal to the masses, but her value is in her unique style.
Swift is known for her complex, deep themes relating to relationships and personal experiences. “The Life of a Showgirl” feels like it only scratches the surface. Songs like “Father Figure” and “CANCELLED!” talk about her relationship with fame, specifically the backlash and criticism she receives as well as stereotypes that put her into a box. But she does this in a generic way, not really feeling specific to her.
The title, as well as the publicity and marketing before the album’s release, made me and other fans believe that this album was going to be upbeat and fun, similar to the style of “1989” and “Reputation,” two of her other hit pop albums. However, despite the big, bright costumes in the photos, the songs in this album were slower than I anticipated, and therefore didn’t necessarily feel catchy and singable, with the exception of a few songs.
The final song on the album, “The Life of A Showgirl,” was unoriginal. The melody is generic, sounding similar to many famous pop songs, and the lyrics did not impress me. It was, however, exciting to see Swift collaborate with singer-songwriter Sabrina Carpenter on this single, the only other artist featured in the album. It felt fitting that Carpenter, who is also a famous pop singer, joined Swift on a song that appears to be about life as a world-renowned pop star.
By the end of my listen to the full album, I was left wanting more, waiting for more gems and memorable lyrics. While I thoroughly enjoyed a couple of songs, I was overall underwhelmed. Nevertheless, I still truly believe that Swift is a lyrical genius and musical mastermind, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.
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