Mert Alas/Marcus Piggott
Taylor Swift, "The Life of a Showgirl"
On October 3, 2025, Taylor Swift released her twelfth studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl”. The album comprises twelve tracks that share a pop, dance, and soft rock feel. After touring across the world for three years on “The Eras Tour”, Swift did not disappoint with this highly anticipated album.
Track 1: “The Fate of Ophelia”
Taylor Swift starts “The Life of a Showgirl” off strong with the first track and lead single of the album, “The Fate of Ophelia”, which references the Shakespearean tragedy, Hamlet. For those who may not know of the play, Hamlet, Hamlet and Ophelia are young lovers who, because of certain circumstances, do not stand a chance together.
“The Fate of Ophelia” is one of my favorites on the album. For one, the song has an incredible melody, and the chorus is so catchy. The song also touches on how Swift was “saved” from the fate of Ophelia, who died tragically by drowning herself in the original Shakespeare play. Poetically, Taylor turns the tragic fate of Ophelia into a happy one, which makes the song so good.
Track 2: “Elizabeth Taylor”
Since my first listen, “Elizabeth Taylor” is a track that really stood out to me. The intro to the song has a very mysterious feel, and the production is perfect. The song starts off light, but by the chorus, the beat drops, and it turns into a bass-heavy, rock, darker feel.
The song touches on the pressures of being in the lights: “Hollywood hates me / You’re only as hot as your last hit, Baby”. The songwriting, along with the superior production, really made this song memorable.
Track 3: “Opalite”
Arguably the most upbeat on the album, “Opalite” made me want to get up and dance as soon as I heard it for the first time. Once again, Taylor hit us with song production that is magical and songwriting that is so catchy. This song is perfect to blast on a late-night drive with friends.
Track 4: “Father Figure”
I did not know how to feel about “Father Figure” when I first heard it, but after listening to it a couple of times, it grew on me. The track is much slower and quieter, which creates a nice contrast from the first three tracks, all of which were upbeat and quick.
The lyrics in “Father Figure” are very powerful, as Taylor adopts an alpha-male persona to dig at other big names in the industry, Though “Father Figure” did not stand out as much as tracks like “Elizabeth Taylor” or “Opalite”, the powerful melodies and interesting storyline .
Track 5: “Eldest Daughter”
No matter how much I re-listen to the song “Eldest Daughter”, my opinions on the song do not change. Taylor Swift has shared that she saves special songs for the “Track 5” spot on her albums, so the fifth track on her albums always has high expectations. This one just disappointed me.
The songwriting for this track just wasn’t up to par with the other tracks on the album. Lyrics like “Every joke’s just trolling and memes / Sad as it seems, apathy is hot” and “But I’m not a bad b**** / And this isn’t savage” make the song a little painful to listen to.
Though the lyrics may be weak, the piano and guitar make the song somewhat tolerable. I don’t know, I feel like a song titled “Eldest Daughter” has potential to be gut-wrenching, but the song was kind of a let-down for me.
Track 6: “Ruin The Friendship”
This song is another banger. The songwriting. The production. Taylor’s vocals. The storytelling. Everything about this track I love, and it is probably my favorite on the album.
The track starts light and upbeat, painting images of Gallatin Road and lakeside beaches, wide smiles and disco balls. However, the song takes a sad turn at the bridge, when Taylor hints that the guy she “should have kissed anyway” has passed away. The big picture of this song is to let loose and chase what your heart desires before it is too late, which is a piece of advice I think many people, including myself, should take.
Track 7: “Actually Romantic”
In this diss-track, Taylor is very clear with the fact that she is throwing shade at someone, whom fans suspect to be Charli xcx. It is also rumored that this song is a response to Charli’s song, “Sympathy is a Knife” which is featured on her hit 2024 album, “BRAT”.
This song has a light-rock feel, which I really appreciate because it differs from most of the previous tracks. Nor the production or vocals really stood out to me on this track, but the lyrics make the message of the song very clear, and if I were Charli xcx, I don’t think I would like some of the things Taylor exposed about me.
Track 8: “Wi$h Li$t”
This song is very lovey-dovey and cute, and you can tell Taylor is definitely singing to her fiancé, Travis Kelce, in this song. The lyrics are full of love, “‘Cause I know what I want / I just want you” and “I just want you, huh / Have a couple kids, got the whole block looking like you”. Additionally, the production is very light, which is fitting for the vibe of the song, and Taylor’s vocals are very soft but still breathtaking. This song, overall, is one I really enjoy.
Track 9: “Wood”
This song reminds me a lot of “Opalite” because it has the same similar up-beat, dance pop feeling, and the electric guitar on this track is the perfect contrast to Taylor’s light vocals. This song did not really stand out to me much, but I will definitely not be skipping this one if it starts playing.
Track 10: “CANCELLED!”
I really liked this track on my first listen because it reminded me of one of Taylor’s songs, “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me”, which was featured on her last album, “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT”. It has a very dark, mysterious tone and production, similar to some of the other tracks on the album as well, which I always like.
The more I listen to the track and the more I start to notice the lyrics, the less I like it. It has similar writing to “Eldest Daughter”, which is a little corny and a little bland, but the chorus is very catchy. I actually enjoy the lyrics in the chorus, but it is the verses that make it hard to listen to. The raw instrumentals and powerful production make up for the questionable lyrics.
Track 11: “Honey”
When I look at all the tracks on this album, “Honey” is not one that stands out to me. It’s not that I dislike it; it’s just not a track that I made note of. The track is very cute and sweet, but it lacks substance and feels like it was just thrown on the album as a filler track.
Track 12: “The Life of a Showgirl” with Sabrina Carpenter
This song was a good closer for the album, as it sort of brought the album full circle through the lyrics. The song touches on the pressures of being a “showgirl” like “Elizabeth Taylor” and has a similar lovey-dovey, upbeat vibe to “Wi$h Li$t” and “Wood”. There were also times in the track that had the same dance-pop feeling that “Opalite” had.
I am happy that Sabrina Carpenter was featured on this track; it was nice to hear a new voice, and her voice meshed well with Taylor’s.
Final Thoughts
All together, I think that “The Life of a Showgirl” is a 7/10 album. The album is very production-heavy, which makes it very fun to listen to. Each song has different characteristics that distinguish them from one another, but they also still share the same electric pop feel.
Most of the songs on this album were so full of energy and love, especially songs like “The Fate of Ophelia”, “Elizabeth Taylor”, “Opalite”, and “Wi$h Li$t”. Some songs, however, had songwriting that lacked depth and that did not sound like the same Taylor Swift that wrote albums like “Midnights” (2022) and “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT” (2024).
Overall, I did really like this album, and I am grateful that Taylor continues to share her art with her fans. Corny lyrics aside, Taylor proves that she is a force to be reckoned with and stays to be one of the most influential artists of all time.