Taylor Swift is due for a miss. The backlash on her new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” proves just that.
The lyrics are a complete jump from the lyrical masterpiece that was her last album, “The Tortured Poet’s Department.” As a resident Swiftie, this album is just not up to par with her past albums, and to be honest, if this is what she thinks good songwriting is, then I am glad to see her get knocked down a peg.
The opening track, “The Fate of Ophelia,” is about her fiancé, Travis Kelce. However, this is the only good song about him from this album. “Wi$h Li$t” and “Honey” are so forgettable that I draw a blank when asked about them, and I’m not even sure what to make of “Wood.” The song gives me second-hand embarrassment and makes me ashamed to be a Swiftie. Sabrina Carpenter, who is also featured on the title track, influenced her a bit too much on that one.
Tracks five and ten, “Eldest Daughter” and “CANCELLED!,” respectively, are where most of the criticism comes in. Most people, including me, are not a fan of the lyrics that include things like, “I’m not a bad b*tch and this isn’t savage,” and “Did you girlboss too close to the sun?” I personally am a fan of the latter, but I can see why people wouldn’t be. However, track fives on Swift’s albums are always the most gutwrenching ones, take “All Too Well,” “You’re on Your Own, Kid,” or “tolerate it,” amongst so many others. “Eldest Daughter,” however, is not worthy of being in that category. The track brings an unwelcome reputation to the track five masterpieces.
The song that should have been in that spot is “Ruin the Friendship,” which is about her late best friend, Jeff Lang, who committed suicide. As soon as I heard the lyric, “Abigail called me with the bad news / Goodbye, and we’ll never know why,” I immediately knew what had happened, and I was not ready for it.
There were some good songs on the album, though. “Opalite” is my favorite, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. I am a firm believer that the chorus alludes to the book “Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros, and no one can convince me otherwise. “Lightning strike” and “onyx night,” I mean, come on.
The song that the internet is loving is “Actually Romantic,” as fans are theorizing that it’s about fellow singer, Charli XCX. It makes sense if you think about it, as they both had a relationship with The 1975’s lead singer, Matty Healy. Personally, I don’t think he’s worth feuding over, but I guess that’s just me.
The fans are loving the Charli/Taylor feud, but they, including me, are not loving the album. I have a hard time picturing that the Taylor Swift wrote those trashy lyrics, but here we are, with “The Life of a Showgirl” being a half-decent album. I’m holding out for her momentous 13th album, which I hope is much better than whatever this album was. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
