Taylor Swift Showgirl Chaos Examined

Wow!  That was a week!  Taylor Swift released her 12th original studio album, and her 16th if you count her expanded Taylor’s Versions.  The result was huge sales, high praise, and harsh criticism of The Life Of A Showgirl.

There was also a major announcement for a new six-part documentary series, The End Of An Era, about what it took to pull off the Eras Tour.  Plus, there’s a film of the complete final concert of the tour.  Included will be the “Tortured Poets” era that came after the first Eras Tour film of the 2023 shows.  The series and concert film will both start streaming on Disney+ on December 12th, 2025.

Let’s first tackle the controversy over the sales record Swift set, and then move on to the quality of the album itself.  Taylor Swift’s The Life Of A Showgirl sold over 4-million copies in the first week.  That’s a new record that passed Adele’s 25 album, which was released ten years ago, November of 2015.

Some reaction was that Swift had cheated by offering so many versions of her album so fans would buy multiple copies, and by having discounts on some digital versions later in the first week.  That’s true, but other artists have used similar methods, and didn’t break any records.  Specifically, those who felt bad for Adele apparently forgot that she withheld the streaming of her album so fans would have to buy it if they wanted to hear it, and that she bundled CD’s with ticket sales…a method that was later rejected by Billboard.

You can see Taylor Swift is a phenomenon with six of the biggest first weeks in this century.  All methods she used for sales are readily available for all artists.  They should feel free to see if they can achieve similar results.  For Swift, it was her 15th straight album to debut at #1.  Now she only trails The Beatles, who had 19 #1 albums.

The initial reaction by big music publications to The Life Of A Showgirl was very positive, then eventually criticisms arose that the album had too many expletives, was too “adult” for Swift’s younger fans, and there was even criticism of her usually highly-praised lyrics.  So, who’s right?  Is it a good album or not?

The criticism about expletives is basically true.  Two-thirds of the songs (8) contain them.  Four of the very best songs do not… “The Fate Of Ophelia”, “Elizabeth Taylor”, “Opalite”, and “Ruin The Friendship”.  If the word “bitch” doesn’t bother you, three more songs are acceptable… “Eldest Daughter”, “Honey”, and “Life of A Showgirl”.  That leaves five songs… “Father Figure”, “Actually Romantic”, “Wish List”, “Wood”, and “Cancelled” that are best described as rated PG-13.  Critics cite the use of sexual explicitness and strong language.  That’s fine for the 35-year-old Swift and her adult fans, but not so great for 10-year-olds who adore her.

But there’s an easy solution for younger fans.  In digital form, you can purchase a “Clean” version of the album.  It’s actually well done, and uses alternative lyrics that make sense.  It could be argued that it’s the better album, because it loses the crudeness and cringe of some of the tracks.  It’s a shame the clean version isn’t available on CD’s and vinyl, so younger fans could enjoy those physical souvenirs.  Those criticisms aside, is it a good album?


(Above are behind-the-scenes shots of Taylor Swift, Max Martin, and Shellback.  The three of them wrote and produced all 12 of the songs.  In the above group photo, Max is on the left.)

Anyone with an ear for Pop music knows Showgirl is impressive.  If it only contained “The Fate Of Ophelia, “Opalite” and “The Life Of A Showgirl”, it would be worth it.  When you add in “Elizabeth Taylor”, “Eldest Daughter”, “Ruin The Friendship”, and “Honey”, you’ve made a great purchase.  If any of the other tracks appeal to you, that’s a bonus.  The most obvious hit on the album is the infectious “Opalite”, Pop gold.  Any criticism about the lyrics not being as deep or serious as Folklore or Tortured Poets is misplaced.  It’s one of Swift’s “glitter pen” less serious albums.

Taylor Swift’s talent, popularity, and business acumen are so strong that she had the #1 album, the top 12 singles, and the #1 film in theaters…all at the same time!  No one else has done that.  Her success has been so huge for so long that of course some people are looking for faults, and even hoping she’ll finally fail, but The Life Of A Showgirl is another success.

Bonus:  The acoustic versions of four of the best songs from the album are not just stripped down from the original recordings, but are fresh.  The songs play right on this site.

The Fate Of Ophelia (Alone In My Tower acoustic):

Eldest Daughter (Now You’re Home Acoustic):

Opalite (Life Of A Song Acoustic):

Ruin The Friendship (My Advice Version):

 

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