Album Review: The Life of a Showgirl by Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift’s twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, dropped on October 3, 2025, and finds her leaning into a glamorous, theatrical pop mode. Produced in collaboration with longtime partners Max Martin and Shellback, the album is concise (12 tracks), bursting with exuberance, drama, and a more playful energy than her more recent projects.

Swift herself described the record as coming from “the most infectiously joyful, wild, dramatic place I was in in my life.” The mood is more celebratory, more exposed, more behind-the-scenes both of her tour (the Eras Tour) and her emotional life. There’s reflection, humour, confession, and the tension of fame and public life playing across many of the tracks.

Standout tracks: Our 3 favourites

Here are three tracks that really shine, for different reasons:

1. Elizabeth Taylor
   This track is a highlight for how it weaves Swift’s sense of self, her past romances, and the idea of wanting something enduring (“will this last?”). It feels like Swift comparing or aligning her own romantic history and persona with someone iconic, and the song strikes a nice balance between vulnerability and confidence.
2. CANCELLED!
   CANCELLED! is bold and defiant. It faces down the public scrutiny, the gossip, the expectations on women in the spotlight. It’s not just anger – there’s wit, resilience, a reclaiming of power. The production gives it punch, and the lyricism is sharper, calling out hypocrisy and double standards.
3. Honey
   One of the more emotionally intimate songs on the album. “Honey” plays with how small, tender things mean more when they come from someone who treats you with authenticity. Past hurt, passive-aggressive remarks, names that felt empty or dismissive – in “Honey” those are recast, redefined, made meaningful. The contrast between what was and what is now makes the song sweet and resonant.

Favourite lyrics

Taylor is known for her lyric-craft, and this album delivers many lines worth pausing over. Here are some favourite lyrical moments, and why they stand out.

• From Honey:
  “When anyone called me ‘Sweetheart’ / It was passive-aggressive at the bar … If anyone called me ‘Honey’ / It was standin’ in the bathroom, white teeth … And I cried the whole way home.”
  This paints vivid scenes of discomfort and vulnerability. The emotional honesty in remembering how those terms felt before, and then the shift when someone uses them differently.
• Also in Honey:
  “But you touch my face / Redefined all of those blues / When you say ‘Honey’.”
  A simple lyrical turn: taking something that once hurt and turning it into something beautiful because of how it’s said now. That notion of redefinition is powerful.
• From CANCELLED!:
  “Good thing I like my friends cancelled.”
  This shows solidarity, pride, self-acceptance, pushing back against cancel culture, which has loomed large in the public eye.
• From Elizabeth Taylor:
  The very act of invoking Elizabeth Taylor as both muse and symbol (beauty, fame, transient love, enduring legacy) is evocative. Swift uses that to explore whether love can last beyond performance, beyond public image.
• From Wi$h Li$t:
  The imagery and longing for a simpler life, a home, family, something quiet in contrast to spectacle. It anchors the album in personal desires, not just stage lights.

Critique and Overall Thoughts

While the album mostly succeeds, it’s not without its weaker moments. Some tracks feel less distinct, or less memorable; there are moments where the theatricality and showmanship risk overshadowing emotional depth. Some critics have noted that certain songs are more “fun” than “deep,” which isn’t necessarily a flaw, but means the album isn’t uniformly strong.

Also, with the public and media already very focused on Taylor’s personal life (her relationship, engagement, etc.), some lyrics inevitably read through that lens, which may distract or polarize listeners depending on how much they want private/public crossover. But many fans seem to embrace that – finding in it honesty and transparency.

On balance, The Life of a Showgirl feels like a moment of clarity for Swift – she’s embracing glamour and spectacle, yes, but also claiming vulnerability, love, and self-definition. It’s an album that seems built to be replayed, especially the standout songs, in part because of how much they feel lived in.