Taylor Swift’s new album takes center stage on Oct. 3 as she releases “The Life of a Showgirl.”
Swift’s new album will probably be similar to other pop albums she has released like “1989” and “Red.” Alongside Swift producing the album is Max Martin and Shellback, and Martin has helped produce 1989, Red, and Reputation. All are considered her most recognized pop albums. Shellback helped produce some of Swift’s most famous songs from 1989 including “Shake it off,” “Blank Space,” and “Style.” Because of the help from these producers, it is easy to assume that The Life Of A Showgirl will be more upbeat and another fantastic pop album by Swift.
When announcing the album on social media, Swift added the tracklist. The 12 track album includes the songs “The Fate of Ophelia,” “Elizabeth Taylor,” “Opalite,” “Father Figure, “”Eldest Daughter,””Ruin the Friendship,” “Actually Romantic,” “Wi$h Li$t,” “Wood,” “Cancelled!,” “Honey,” and “The Life of a Showgirl” (featuring Sabrina Carpenter). A specific song like “Ruin the Friendship” could be about former friend Blake Lively. In 2024, Swift’s name was brought into the courtroom during Lively’s legal battle between her and “It Ends With Us” co-star Justin Baldoni. This entire legal proceeding happened while Swift was touring, and o n her fiance Travis Kelce’s podcast, Swift touched on how this album was going to show all of the aspects of The Eras Tour.
Swift is known for her secrets and “Easter eggs” she hides in songs, music videos, her website, and on tour. Fans missed tons of signs, including orange outfits, doors, dancer’s costumes, and even numbers. The color orange is significant because it is the album’s main color and theme. While in the middle of the Eras tour, Swift added a new “Lover Bodysuit” and a new “The Man Jacket.” Both of these new additions were orange and called “Tangerine.” These additions flew over fan’s heads, and little did they know it was hinting at her next album.
Swift is also known for hiding albums with numbers. For example, with her album Midnights, she had a necklace with a clock on it. The time was at 12 a.m. for midnight, and hit after 12 weeks of owning her masters. Along with 12, when announcing the ownership of her masters, she included in a letter on her website that she was “Thiiiiiiiiiiiis close” to releasing new music. There are 12 “I’s in ‘this” which hints at the amount of time between getting her original music, announcing her new album, and also it being her 12th album.
On the last track of the album, Sabrina Carpenter is a featured artist. Carpenter was the opener for Swift during the first leg of The Eras Tour. Carpenter also made guest appearances during surprise songs and sang “White Horse” and “Coney Island” with Swift. While Carpenter’s music is often pop music, it can be speculated that this song will fit right in with the other speculated pop songs.
Less than a month ago, Swift and Kelce announced their engagement. Because Kelce has been around for multiple albums prior to this, it is easy to see that he was around for the entirety of this new album. I think that many of these songs will be about The Eras Tour and how it affected her but also him and their relationship.
I cannot wait until Oct. 3 to listen to the new album. Even though my favorite albums by Swift are Folklore and The Tortured Poets Department, which are considered her more melancholy albums, I think this album will be a complete change of pace from her recently released albums in the best way possible.
