By Lily Gosney
After ending the Eras Tour, Taylor Swift had an 8 month period where she wasn’t really present in the media. During this time, she composed an album documenting her “Life of a Showgirl” and her relationship to her fiancé, Travis Kelce. This 12 song album with a feature from Sabrina Carpenter had high expectations from the press when announced, but when released, many fans were underwhelmed and disappointed in the album. Not only was the album cover very different from her others, the style and production of the songs had changed as well. Known for her poetic lyrics from her previous works, in this album she integrated more pop culture words such as “girlboss” which was looked down upon by fans. Along with the album, she also produced a sing along movie which was only in theaters the weekend of the release. Expecting to be more of a documentary of her life after the Eras Tour and as a “show girl,” the movie was a waste of time and money. It began with a music video of her main song, The Fate of Ophelia, then the making and behind the scenes. In addition, she played all of her songs with a repetitive background video and included a minute long introduction or backstory behind each song. Not only was this not entertaining, but audio recordings of her explanations of each song were posted on Spotify as a “Track by Track Version” and the music video was published during the weekend that the movie was playing. Also, track 12, The Life of a Showgirl, featuring Sabrina Carpenter, was aimed to be a fan favorite due to Sabrina’s popularity but was underwhelming since she barely was featured and had about less than half of the 4 minute song. This album is not necessarily a romantic, breakup, or literary one, but instead is a range of stories and emotions from her entire life, not specifically her time after or during the Eras Tour. She includes songs about her fiancé and love such as “Wood” and “Honey.” “Elizabeth Taylor”, “The Life of a Showgirl” and “CANCELLED!” reflect her feelings of fame and public image. Her self discovery is shown through tracks such as “Opalite”, “Eldest Daughter” and “Father Figure” which spans her whole life and time of fame. Many of the songs sound very similar and it’s a very different vibe and addition to Taylor Swift’s discography.
Photo Provided By: Variety