Special to the North Star
Fresh off her record-setting tour titled The Eras Tour, Taylor Swift released her 12th studio album on October 3, 2025, in collaboration with Max Martin and Shellback. She previously worked with them on her Red, 1989, and reputation albums, producing some of her biggest hits. The Life of a Showgirl has a runtime of 41 minutes and 47 seconds and features a total of 12 songs.
Swift announced this album on New Heights, a podcast by her fiancé, Travis Kelce, and his brother. She explained that the new album would be inspired by the behind-the-scenes of The Eras Tour, while also taking a completely different turn from her last album, The Tortured Poets Department. This surprised most of her fans, who were expecting the usual heartbreaking melodies similar to her last couple of albums.
The opening track, “The Fate of Ophelia,” puts a twist on the story of Ophelia from Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, in which Ophelia, the titular character, drowns after going mad. Swift portrays herself as Ophelia, even making a reference to her on the album’s cover, where she is submerged in water. Yet, she doesn’t face the same fate that Ophelia does as she explains how she was saved, “You dug me out of my grave and/Saved my heart from the fate of/ Ophelia.” This song also received a music video and was featured on a limited-run movie, Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl.
“Elizabeth Taylor” refers to the famous American actress, Elizabeth Taylor, who starred in numerous TV shows and movies. Taylor was criticized heavily by the media for her eight marriages, much like Swift who faced the media’s constant scrutiny over her relationships. Throughout the song, Swift seems to compare herself to the Hollywood star. Even asking Taylor, “Tell me for real, do you think it’s forever?” seemingly referring to her own relationship with Travis Kelce.
“Father Figure” represents the classic narrative of the student becoming the master. At first, Swift portrays herself in this trope, showing the growth of being the student to eventually becoming the master (of her music and art), with the original master being unable to handle Swift’s rise to power. In the end, Swift uses her music to reclaim everything from the master who suppressed her. She seems to refer to her win over record labels in recovering her albums through lines like “This empire belongs to me,” and repeated lines like “I protect the family.” Fans speculate the song is about Scooter Braun, who previously owned six of her albums, and did not give her the chance to buy them back.
The fifth track of the album, historically dubbed as the most emotionally gut-wrenching by fans, “Eldest Daughter”, alludes to Swift’s role as both the eldest daughter in her family and the music industry. The lyric, “the first lamb to the slaughter,” symbolizes the criticism she has received over countless years for her boyfriends, private jet usage, and music. An additional lyric, “I’m never going to leave you now,” shows her commitment to her fans, pushing through the criticism to continue to make music for them—and herself.
Swift’s Life of a Showgirl diss track, “Actually Romantic,” is a song aimed at her haters. The lyrics play off the idea that her haters make her more popular and give her more money, insinuating that it’s ‘actually romantic’ how obsessed they are with her. The pop-rock song shares similar qualities to Olivia Rodrigo’s music, featuring strong guitar strokes at the beginning and a bass drum beat.
“CANCELLED!” has a strong bass line, bringing Swift back to her reputation era. The music also builds to a much stronger climax than the other songs in the album. Overall, the song praises those who have supported Swift through public scrutiny.
The final track, “The Life of a Showgirl,” is what the album is named after and features Sabrina Carpenter. The song takes you through a showgirl’s life, but still tells fans that “you don’t know the life of a showgirl, babe/ and you’re never going to want to.” The song’s pop and soft rock genres gently allow listeners to understand that Swift’s “Eras Tour” era has come to a close. The song concludes with Swift thanking her fans for an “unforgettable night,” by adding an audio clip from The Era’s Tour itself, finishing the song by saying “goodnight,” which reflects the new chapter of her career and life that Swift is stepping into.
Even though Swift’s Eras Tour has ended, she has provided a valuable glimpse behind the curtain into her life as a ‘showgirl’, exploring different events and feelings. This album was definitely not my favorite off the bat, but it has grown on me over time. Overall, the album is a bit repetitive but shows Swift’s life through her different eras as a showgirl.
