On October 3rd, 2025 at 12:00 am, fourteen time Grammy winner Taylor Swift released her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, otherwise referred to as “TS (Taylor Swift) 12” by fans. This album had high expectations from Swifties and non-Swifties alike, as it followed her smash-hit album, The Tortured Poets Department. Furthermore, The Life of a Showgirl was produced by Max Martin and Shellback, the producers of one of Swift’s most popular (and in my opinion, best) album, 1989.
Some fans were expecting a burlesque album about love and marriage, considering Swift’s recent engagement to Kansas City Chiefs football player Travis Kelce. Others were expecting a heart-wrenching album about the struggles behind her “showgirl life,” since this album was produced during and after her 2023-2024 Eras Tour. Additionally, many fans were hoping for a few vault tracks from her fifth album, Reputation.
I felt that this album truly did emulate Swift’s 2014 pop vibe. Max Martin & Shellback’s production is very clear throughout with the new presence of instrumentals in her songs. In comparison, albums such as Midnights and The Tortured Poets Department, which were produced by Jack Antonoff, mainly used synthesizer for backing tracks. Although there definitely were some traces of Antonoff’s production in songs such as Father Figure, we definitely do see Swift re-exploring her older pop style in songs such as Opalite and The Fate of Ophelia.
The songwriting in this album was not well-received by the public, to say the least. Some hallmark lyrics from this album included “Did you girlboss too close to the sun?” and “But I’m not a bad *****/ And this isn’t savage.” In comparison to her older lyrics, such as “Now you hang from my lips like the Gardens of Babylon/ With your boots beneath my bed/ Forever is the sweetest con” and “Take the words for what they are/ A dwindling, mercurial high/ A drug that only worked/ The first few hundred times,” it’s understandable why fans feel that Swift’s songwriting has dwindled in the past few years. Furthermore, Swift has faced a lot of backlash over her song “CANCELLED!” which is about her disdain of cancel culture. Many fans believe that “CANCELLED!” is a nod to actress Blake Lively, who has been the subject of much public backlash over her lawsuit of It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni.
This album really wasn’t what I expected it to be. Considering the amount of album variants released and the way she described it, I was expecting an album with much more contrast and depth. However, that doesn’t mean that it was a bad album. It is unique from anything she’s ever released, and it provides an interesting marker of time on her discography. Swift has been a topic of conversation in everything from the National Football League to sourdough blogs, and while this album may not have been her strongest, it fueled her widespread influence.
