The life of a show girl - An honest review.

Let me start by saying, I have been a fan of T-Swift since I was about nine. I used to be incredibly cringe and force my friends to recreate the “You belong with me” music video. I have had waaaay too many crash outs to her songs. I went to the Era’s tour with my two best friends. What I am going to say is just my opinion, please do not kill me.

Taylor Swift’s Life of a Show Girl…

Taylor Swift has often referenced the Great Gatsby and the roaring 20s, so I wasn’t surprised by the aesthetic. I was expecting something darker and gritty. The marketing made me think it was going to be like showgirls but about the music industry and without the weird helicopter sex in a hot tub. I think we all pictured a behind the scenes tell all. A little like Miss Americana but music. I was particularly excited about the Ophelia aesthetic. I am a massive Shakespeare fan and in particular of the character Ophelia. I have had the Ophelia painting as my screen saver more times than I can count. It’s why I choose the album where Swift looks like she is drowning in a tub. I enjoyed how it mimicked the painting. I was excited for this album.

Let’s just say… I was disappointed. I listened to the first three songs and then immediately opened TikTok. I needed to know if I was the only one disappointed. I was not.

I have three issues with the album. Well main issues.

1.       The marketing did not align with the finished project. To me it feels as if there was to be another album. One all about the behind the scenes life of being on tour, the highs and the lows. The marketing all glittery and glam but the songs showing what truly happened. For whatever reason this changed and it became more of a love album for Travis Kelcey. This may just be a me issue. I got the wrong impression etc etc etc.  However, she is the self-proclaimed queen of Easter eggs. She plans everything in advance. There are references to life of a show girl all the way back in midnights… before she met Kelcey. A theory I’ve seen is in the “look what you made me do.” Music video where Swift is in a cage on a swing in the same or very similar orange to her life of a show girl aesthetic. The floor is glittery and she is swinging like a trapeze artist almost. She is then seen at the end of the line in glittery orange boots like from the era’s tour. It seems like she was hinting about this album even then. Now this seems far-fetched but some far-fetched conspiracies about Swift’s albums have been correct. If this is true and Show girl has been planned for years then, these songs are not the original songs. Which would make sense as the production of this album felt rushed and sloppy. Which leads me to my second issue... the lyrics.

2.       The song lyrics… they just felt lacklustre. One of Swift’s talents was her song writing, her ability to encapsulate a feeling in a sentence. The cleverness of her double meanings. This album had a song about her boyfriend’s package. “Wood” felt like she was trying to mimic Sabrina Carpenter. Honestly if Carpenter had released “Wood” I would have probably liked it. It fits with her marketing. For Swift it just feels as if she is trying to be someone else.

Eldest daughter is track five. Typically with swift, track five is usually a fan favourite song and always emotional. Track five is usually my favourite on the album. My tears ricochet is usually on my current playlist.  The lyrics just were not there for me. “But I’m not a bad bitch and this isn’t savage” Feels like something I would have written was I was fifteen and going through my shite poetry writing phase. I get what Swift was trying to do. Writing about feeling alone in the world until you meet that person who makes you feel seen especially as the eldest daughter who usually has responsibility forced upon them. I think the worst lyric was “So we all dressed up as wolves and we looked fire.” 100% gives me Wattpad vibes. (I say as someone who was a tween fan fic writer on wattpad)

CANCELLED! Is another one that just didn’t hit for me. When I saw it, I thought it would be about society’s desire to try and cancel anyone who has their moment in the limelight. For example, everyone loved Carpenter until her new album cover came out. Personally I loved it, very funny, very tongue in cheek. I was expecting an emotional or punchy song about how unfair society it is and how the people who are being cancelled are scapegoats to distract the nation from what is really going on. Who wants to read about the horrors of Gaza when we can tear down a young woman for trying to have a career? In all fairness there are some elements of this but it felt immature. “Did you girl-boss too close to the sun?” Very Icarus coded and would probably be used as a meme on Tumblr but not a good fit for the song. Saying you like your friends cancelled could also heavily imply that you do not care about your friend’s moral code or ethics. Which in this day and age is heavily not the vibe. Especially not after your boyfriend says it would be an honour to meet trump. I will be writing more on that topic in the article section of my blog.

3.       The ruining of the story of Ophelia. Hands up I will admit that I am a massive fucking nerd and I can be very annoying when it comes to accuracy of books I love. *cough cough* Wuthering heights *cough cough* I feel like screaming, that wasn’t the tragedy of Ophelia. She was manipulated by everyone, she had no say over anything. The man she loved, killed her dad. She was trapped by societal norms and could not think for herself. The tragedy of Ophelia was not that she couldn’t be with the man she loved so she drowned herself. She also wasn’t in a tower but if feel that one might be metaphorical. A lot of discourse online lead to people saying the lyrics are cheesy because she is happy. I would argue that Lover and Reputation had great love songs about Joe Alwyn and were not that cheesy and even when they were, they didn’t suck. I will say I like the beat of the song and it could be a bop if the lyrics were not just shitting annoying. She is one of the most successful singer/songwriters of all time. She is rich beyond words. Why does she need a man to save her? I swear her whole Miss Americana documentary was that she is this strong independent woman who doesn’t need to be saved but does need respect.

The whole album is just a mess I can’t lie. I don’t dislike all the songs, some have good beats. Actually romantic is probably my favourite. It reminds me a lot of friendship break ups which hurt way more than any romantic breakup. At the same time, it annoys me because why are you trying to tear another woman down. Part of Swift’s branding is girlhood, her girl gang, how women need women. 

This album is good, if you ignore the lyrics and just vibe. I will still listen to it, when I just need a fun beat to listen to when doing laundry. If you like this album, then honestly good for you. I’ve been loving the videos on TikTok where people are just viving and having a great time. Do I think part of that is marketing… yes. But the world is a horrifying dark place and maybe we need an album that is just for fun.

My rating… 2 stars out of five.