Taylor Swift

The Life of a Showgirl sees Taylor Swift in happy contentment, if not her top form.

The dazzling behemoth that was the Eras Tour has given much for fans and artist alike to be grateful for. Concertgoers beheld a musical extravaganza that few could conceive of, let alone pull off, while Swift herself gained so much more.

Not only did the American cement her status as the world’s top pop act, rake in millions, but also find the love of her life and husband-to-be, Travis Kelce.

Not a bad trade for under two years’ work, but a tough act to follow, you will surely agree.

That unbelievable challenge falls to the Grammy winner’s 12th studio album The Life of a Showgirl.

Its mission: to add to a practically unblemished legacy filled with powerful poetry, hooks with the gravitational pull of a small star, and a knack for confessional storytelling that seldom lacks the all-important universality.

It is unsurprising then that in promoting the album, Swift tied this new work to that of the groundbreaking Tour.

She explained during the New Heights podcast:

“This album is about what was going on behind the scenes, in my inner life during this Tour, which was so exuberant, and electric and vibrant.”

To further support this sentiment, numerous versions of the LP featured pictures of Taylor in glittery, feathery Vegas showgirl costumes, as well as imagery designed to evoke the aforementioned globetrot. If that’s not enough, pop powerhouses Max Martin and Shellback have been brought on board to help write and produce this would-be showstopper.

Unfortunately, despite the deck being stacked for the blockbuster, it doesn’t quite live up thematically or in execution. It certainly pleases throughout, but can’t manage to impress as a whole.

One flash of early excellence is ‘Father Figure’.

The George Michael-inspired track borrows the sound from the 1987 hit of the same name, but lends it a darker, seedier vibe. The song tells of a young up-and-comer looking for fame and finding a mafioso-like mentor.

Swift patters:

“Your thoughtless ambition sparked the ignition on foolish decisions which led to misguided visions / That to fulfil your dreams, you had to get rid of me.”

The words roll neatly off the tongue as the tables turn and the protagonist seemingly breaks free of his toxic role model.
It’s a simple yet intriguing narrative of power and betrayal.

On the lighter side, the LP offers up the charmingly cheesy Jackson 5-inspired ‘Wood’, which bounds through the listener’s ears.

It’s a cheeky pop-funk earworm that unabashedly celebrates Swift’s newfound luck in love. On an album that struggles to produce a classic toe-tapper, ‘Wood’ is one of the most inviting.

Opener ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ gives it a go too. It does its best to surprise, beginning with sombre piano before bursting in with some rumbling synth. This trick works a treat and will surely have listeners bopping along.

Lyrically, Swift attempts to rewrite Shakespeare to give it a happier ending.

Where once the move worked flawlessly with Romeo and Juliet via Love Story, the revised happy ending for Hamlet’s heroine is less fulfilling. The Brit Award winner sings:

“You wrap around me like a chain, a crown, a vine”.

On first reading, and frankly several afterwards, the metaphor feels awkward. A chain and a vine can wrap around you, bind you to someone for better and for worse, but good luck trying to tie someone up with a crown.

Even if it’s perhaps meant as a nod to the Shakespeare canon, or perhaps more significantly to Swifties, the Travis lore, this is the sort of inside baseball that would confuse even Billy Beane.

Things don’t get a whole lot better as Swift adds:

“Keep it one hundred on the land, the sea, the sky, Pledge allegiance to your hands, your team, your vibes / Don’t care where the hell you’ve been, ’cause now you’re mine.”

Swift tries to mix the dark fate of the bard’s creation with gushing praise for Travis Kelce. An enthusiastic delivery certainly brings out the joy of the song, but it lacks her usual Midas touch for an elegant turn of phrase to pull us into the story.

Elsewhere, ‘Ruin the Friendship’ and ‘Wi$h Li$t’ also miss the mark.

The former sets itself up as a poignant reminiscence on what might have been, for a relationship not explored. The song is a wistful reflection, urging the listener to seize the moment, take a risk, and not die wondering.

A usually skilled orator, the songstress drops a rather indelicate reference to cheating, stating:

“But your girlfriend was away, should’ve kissed you anyway.”

This cavalier approach might work if the tune was built as a brash mean-girl belt-out. But alas, sincere protagonists and regrets about not cheating rarely prove a winning combination.

The pseudo-rap ‘Wi$h Li$t’ also struggles to satisfy. She speak-sings lines like:

“Got me dreamin’ ’bout a driveway with a basketball hoop / Boss up, settle down, got a wish list.”

It’s a fine sentiment, but a tad ordinary. An F-bomb is dropped in lieu of something better, but the audience doesn’t really hear a vivid vision of the dream, or feel the exciting thrust of romance.

In trying to encapsulate her emotions, Swift occasionally gets stuck in the audio equivalent of telling, rather than using her quill to grab the listener by the scruff of the neck and pull them headfirst into the scene.

Previous success Lover asked, “have I known you 20 seconds or 20 years”. Meanwhile, Reputation’s New Year’s Day crooned, “I want your midnights, but I’ll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year’s Day”. It’s the small things that reveal the connection, that explore the depth of a bond.

Hearing that a guy is the bee’s knees or knowing the dreams of our musical guide, is nice, but actually being able to feel it through the small acts, traits, and kindnesses can elevate a song. When Swift is at her best, you can relate, that kind of love feels achievable.

On a grander scale, a song like Fearless doesn’t just tell you that the boy is brilliant, it demonstrates it through what a head-over-heels narrator is willing to do:

“dance in a storm in my best dress, fearless.” The 2008 song doesn’t simply tell you, it brings the feelings to life.

As noted above, it’s not all bad news, and there are moments of class throughout the 40-minute run.

The honey-barbed clap-back ‘Actually Romantic’, the delightful team-up with Sabrina Carpenter about pushing through adversity on the title track, and then there’s ‘Honey’.

The latter is a tender love song that manages to take a well-observed, much-deserved jab at misogyny.

It’s a bright, pointed juxtaposition of how words like “sweetheart” and “honey” are meant to build up, but are so often used to tear women down. It’s a late gem on the set.

The problem with this album is not that there are bad songs. On the contrary, the songs are enjoyable throughout, with no truly awful moments.

Instead, the problem lies somewhere between the concept of the project and Swift’s prodigious talents.

When one thinks of a showgirl, it’s difficult to escape characteristics like glittery, glamorous, big, bold, and breathtaking. Taylor Swift’s expansive discography, not to mention the Eras Tour itself, has more than proven that she is capable of conveying all of this and more besides.

The record tries to bring this out but feels like a missed opportunity to bring the showgirl vision to life. From 22 to Delicate, all three writer-producers are master hitmakers. The Life of a Showgirl demonstrates their ability but not their best work.

‘Elizabeth Taylor’ brings suave drama, mixing luxurious violin, a sultry Swift vocal, and crashing clapping beats. ‘Opalite’ also proves to be a melodically inviting track that revels in lighthearted gaiety and a deliriously over-the-top singer.

This collection of songs provides a confident, comfortable mix of pop, funk, R&B with a twinge of classical flavouring.

The downside is that while much is fun, there isn’t an anthem on the level of I Did Something Bad, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, Anti-Hero, Cruel Summer or You Need to Calm Down. That in itself is not the end of the world.

What feels missed here is the chance to fully explore the aesthetic of the showgirl, to play with grandeur, theatricality, and spectacle in ways that could have elevated the concept beyond a collection of solid songs. Musically, we never seem to get anywhere near classic forms of showbiz like a Broadway musical, the Hollywood blockbuster, or a big band dance number.

Ultimately, The Life of a Showgirl fails to take risks and instead favours retreading already fertile ground. The performance is a glittery, well-rehearsed tread of the proverbial boards, but it isn’t bold enough to reach the pantheon of the greats.