On Friday, Oct. 3, Swift’s new album The Life of a Showgirl was released. Breaking records, the new album became the most pre-saved album in Spotify history. Not stopping there, TLOAS sold over two million copies in the United States on its first day, earning the title of the biggest-selling album of 2025. Swift’s newest release became the most-streamed album in a single day on both Spotify and Apple Music. To top it all off, the Official Release Party of The Life of a Showgirl became a global box office number one, earning 46 million dollars in the three days it was in theaters.
As expected, the new album was by far one of Swift’s more upbeat releases, likely due to her recent engagement to Travis Kelce. The Life of a Showgirl consisted of a mix of storytelling, theatrics, and catchy lyrics over a pop beat; the exact opposite of Swift’s previous album, The Tortured Poets Department. The album consisted of 12 songs, the final song featuring singer/songwriter Sabrina Carpenter.
The first song, and only single on the album, “The Fate of Ophelia,” was by far the most popular, with over 30 million streams on Spotify on its first day. The song tells the story of Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, relating the tale to Swift’s own life. Unlike Hamlet, “The Fate of Ophelia” ends on a happy note.
Active listeners of Swift may have taken the time to attend the official The Life of a Showgirl release party in theaters. Here, viewers became the first to witness Swift’s new music video for “The Fate of Ophelia.” The music video took her audience through the different types of showgirls in history. This ranged from Vegas showgirls in the 1950s to pop stars in modern day. This video was a hit, and it is currently being debated as Swift’s best music video yet.
The second track on this album is titled “Elizabeth Taylor.” “Elizabeth Taylor” starts off almost sad, with lyrics that touch on the challenges of being in spotlighted romantic relationships. Around 40 seconds in, the entire vibe of the song changes and a pop beat replaces the quiet piano background. From there, the track draws parallels between fame, fleeting love, and the weight of public life, tying Swift’s own experiences to “Elizabeth Taylor,” an actress and well known cultural icon of her time. In all, it’s a strong song with a striking transformation that turns vulnerability into performance, and sets the tone for the next song on the album, “Opalite.”
Next up on the queue is a song called “Opalite.” This song is all about happiness and love as Swift recalls feeling nervous that as she became happier in life, her songs would become less popular. This is because some of her most famous songs include stories of times in her life where she was most hurt. Some of these are “All Too Well” and “Dear John.” To contrast this, Swift details throughout “Opalite” that happiness is not always natural and it can be man-made. She does this by referring to the sky. She says that in her past, it was filled with lightning strikes but “now the sky is opalite.”
“Father Figure” has caused more controversy than some of the other songs on this list. Swift describes this song as a story of betrayal. She states that she has had a few experiences in which she has helped to mentor or take someone under her wing just for them to crave competition and try to overtake her. Swift was inspired by the George Micheal song also titled “Father Figure.” However, in this version, he was talking about the love felt between a mentor-mentee relationship. Fans have speculated that Swift may be referring to stars such as Olivia Rodrigo due to past conflicts the two supposedly had. Others speculate the song is based on the more recent development of reclaiming her masters, clued by lyrics such as “this empire belongs to me,” and her repeating the lines “I protect the family” six times for the six albums she bought back.
There are a variety of mixed opinions on the song titled “Eldest Daughter” within this album. Based on public opinion, it is clear that fans believed that this song was going to be slower and have a similar tone to her past albums like The Tortured Poets Department and Folklore. Regardless, the concept of this song is still clear. Swift aimed to express the common experiences felt by eldest siblings. She describes throughout her lyrics that as an eldest daughter, she will always be there for the rest of her family. This resonated with any listeners with similar family structures to Swift.
Following “Eldest Daughter” is a song that many fans expected “Eldest Daughter” to sound like. “Ruin The Friendship” sings of an unrequited crush on a best friend from all the way back in high school. The more somber tone truly sets in with the lyrics “Abigail called me with the bad news/ Goodbye/ And we’ll never know why,” indicating that this person Swift used to be close with had lost their life. The song ends with a word of advice “And my advice is always answer the question/ better that than to ask it/ All your life,” encouraging listeners to take a chance with your crush and risk ruining a friendship rather than to be left to wonder what could have been.
Another song that sounded far different from what fans had originally anticipated was “Actually Romantic.” While the title might suggest a love song, it’s actually about someone who openly disliked Swift, someone Swift explained that she hadn’t even thought about in years. In the song, Swift hints she found the unexpected attention both flattering and amusing.
In a very different tone, the song “Wi$h Li$t” reflects on how others often enter relationships and even marriages with a long list of expectations and wishes, wishes that Swift sings she genuinely hopes they receive, but all she wants is something simpler. To spend the rest of her life with Travis. It’s a more open, vulnerable moment for the album, highlighting the difference between ideal and genuine connection.
“Wood” on the other hand… The song “Wood” appears to be a song about superstitions, the artist citing her past paranoia, that failed to touch her current relationship because with Travis she doesn’t need to “knock on wood.” Other fans suggest that the song contained certain innuendos, and that “Wood” was inspired by Sabrina Carpenter’s new album Man’s Best Friend. Whatever the song is about, it is certainly a catchy song with an upbeat vibe that has fans listening to it on repeat.
Next up would be “CANCELLED!” a track that many fans note sounds strikingly similar to Reputation, with its pulsing backdrop, darker production and biting edge. At first glance, the title might suggest another commentary on Swift’s own history with public backlash. Instead, it takes a clever turn. Rather than being about Swift’s experience getting cancelled, it’s about how she has become the go-to person her friends turn to whenever they’re facing backlash or online drama. It’s sharp, ironic, and shows how she’s navigated from being the target to the support system.
“Honey” is the second to last song on the album, and compares her previous experience with pet names such as ‘honey,” “sweetheart,” and “lovely.” In the past, Swift sings, the only people who called her such names were doing so with condescension, and following them with a backhanded comment or outright insult. In contrast, her current lover uses them with genuine affection, giving a different meaning to the words she had for so long anticipated with dread. For the first time, sincerity makes those once-tainted words feel sweet.
Finally, the last song on the album shares the name of the album itself, “The Life of a Showgirl.” The song features pop artist Sabrina Carpenter, and the track tells the fictional story of a star named “Kitty.” When Swift meets Kitty, instead of encouraging her dreams, she warns that living in the public eye isn’t so glamorous. Kitty advises her to stay away from the entertainment industry. Swift explained that this song draws from her real-life experiences meeting her childhood idols, many of whom privately warned her about the harsh realities of fame.
The Life of a Showgirl is a theatrical return to pop for Taylor Swift, one that contains her trademark blend of storytelling with reality and humor with drama. While the album explores the glamour of fame, it’s grounded in personal storytelling. With record-breaking numbers and exciting collaborations, Swift once again reinvents herself. The Life of a Showgirl marks another era in her long career.
