Taylor Swift has completed nearly two decades into her career. From breaking all chart records, bagging multiple Grammy Awards, and entering the billionaire club, the queen of pop has rolled out her latest album, ‘Life of a Showgirl’, and the Swifties cannot keep calm. After quite literally crashing Spotify, the streaming service went into a frenzy as the sudden spike in traffic led to several reports of glitches from users worldwide.
With thousands of searches dominating trends in the US, fans are eagerly looking for the lyrics of all the 12 tracks on the ‘Life of a Showgirl’ album. From obsessing over the casual name-dropping of Elizabeth Taylor to relating to the lyrics of ‘Eldest Daughter,’ fans also noticed the alleged reference to her engagement to Travis Kelce. “When I said I don’t believe in marriage, that was a lie,” just hit the spot for many fans.
And Swift is no stranger to dropping easter eggs. During one of her surprise acts during Eras Tour performances, she teased fans by performing ‘New Romantics’ as a possible hint to the theme of her newest album.
Departing from her deeply personal comeback era since Reputation and her last hit, The Tortured Poets Department, ‘Life of a Showgirl’ is a witty and sultry reclamation of her glitzy, showgirl era. But what is the Internet saying?
‘The whole thing feels like a deflating balloon’
Like Taylor Swift, herself, her fans have a flare for the creative. Taking to X (formerly Twitter) a user shared their view on the new album. Condemning the songwriting, they said, “. the songwriting is far from her best. the whole thing feels like a deflating balloon. her complete silence on current issues when she used to paint herself as some sort of activist is a little heartbreaking. I’m going through it.”
The unexpected yet fateful collaboration between Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter on the title track of the album has received mixed reactions from the fans. “Taylor Swift’s new album sounds like full of Sabrina & Olivia rejected tracks, she tried too hard to sound sassy & quirky but came off as cringe,” read a review online.
“Everyone trashing the new Taylor Swift album makes me think she may finally have reached the stage of her life where she’s too old and settled down to relate to young women,” said another netizen.
‘Her lyricism remains untouched’
On the other hand, several fans flocked to the Internet and sung praises for Taylor Swift’s ‘Life of a Showgirl‘. Calling it the “perfect album,” fans have found it “actually listenable” after she dropped Reputation. Further, a user posted that, unlike her previous albums, “Her lyricism remains untouched”.
“Her vocal range has reached new heights. it’s wordy. it’s full of bops. it’s sensual. romantic. depressing. it’s full of grief. full of celebration. She’s tapping into ALL her strengths. A real culmination,” the review added.
“This might genuinely be Taylor’s best album. I am absolutely stunned. What a fun & fresh listen. I have not felt this electrified by an album of hers, TOP to BOTTOM, since Folklore. I am genuinely taken aback,” said another.
However, even fans struggled to find unique numbers throughout the album. While some praised her glittery songs, the album was called “rushed, basic, and repetitive,” as fans struggled to defend the new album. As industry reviews give her album maximum ratings, fans cannot help but agree with them and wonder if ‘Life of a Showgirl’ will bag the Album of the Year title.