Taylor Swift dropped her new album “The Life of a Showgirl” on Friday, October 3rd 2025, and the Swifties went wild. However, not in a good way; in fact, they were losing their minds. Longtime fans were conflicted, and even casual listeners were questioning whether this album was even supposed to be good?
The main question here is, is the backlash for this album deserved? For a well-known artist who has an unbreakable streak of success, this scepticism is quite striking. Is this a new chapter for Taylor?
Let’s find out.
Fan reviews
The moment the album dropped on streaming platforms, the crowd exploded.
Social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X are all flooded with ablaze and debate. The Album itself is unlike her albums 1989 or Red; this time, confusion has taken centre stage.
Critics reviewing the album panned “The life of a showgirl,” and, as for the Swifties, some commented that she was copying Sabrina Carpenter and Chappel Roan, but without the authenticity. Fans also pointed out that it is like Taylor Swift is trying to fit in more with Gen Z. According to an NPR article, another fan stated that “Or that the songs sound too similar to other ones she’s written or ones written by other artists, or they just feel generally let down that the album didn’t deliver the tight, poppy masterpiece that she promised in the weeks of the rollout. And honestly, I hated it on the first listen”.
Lyrical critique
Taylor Swift is known for being a lyrical queen, with her strongest power being metaphors, Easter eggs, and heartbreak anthems. But here? Something feels off.
Although Taylor’s album has been a little off, she still managed to interweave literature into her song, for example, “The Fate of Ophelia“, which is the ill-fated story by Hamlet. Another song was “ Actually Romantic”, which was an alleged diss track towards the popstar Charli XCX. Although fans were saying she wanted to fit in with Gen Z, I disagree with that statement, because the song “Eldest Daughter” is very millennial-coded; it’s meant to be seen as dated, referenced only. While she’s clearly aiming for a theatrical, over-the-top narrative style, some songs cross into parody and not in a good way.
After the first three songs, I felt that the rest of the album seemed frail. A Reddit user said, “It’s partially got to do with the album, in that the album represents her oversaturation. Coming off TTPD (The Tortured Poets Department), there was a lot of criticism that the album felt unpolished and would’ve benefitted from more time”.
Is this her art pop moment?
I strongly feel that all artists do have albums that aren’t the best, like Radiohead for their album “The King of Limbs” in 2011, as it had way too many tracks on the album, or Kanye West for the album “The Life of Pablo”, who does not care about being in a mess.
I am not a big Taylor Swift fan myself, but I had set high expectations, wondering and hoping that her new album would set the standard. Taylor is able to prove to herself that she can make masterful pieces as a pop artist and a strong lyricalist; however, I was disappointed that she failed with her new album. Maybe it isn’t her art-pop moment now; however, she has had many moments before, and I feel that in the future it won’t be as bad as this one.
Conclusion
So did it deserve the backlash or not?
I personally feel it maybe did and didn’t deserve the backlash. Swift has built a career on reinvention. Not every album is supposed to be as good as her previous albums, like 1989, Red or Fearless. The Life of a Showgirl might not be her strongest work; this work has portrayed the courage she gets for her creative risks, even if they don’t always land. In a world where pop stars are expected to stay in their lanes, maybe Swift’s biggest sin here is daring to be different.
