Monumentally popular singer-songwriter Taylor Swift has officially returned with her twelfth studio album (her latest in over a year), entitled The Life of a Showgirl. Initially announced on August 12th at 12:12 AM and out today (October 3rd), the promotion cycle for Showgirl (in typical Swift fashion) has created intense levels of buzz and speculation (especially from her Swiftie fanbase).
In addition to appearing on her now-fiancé Travis Kelce’s podcast New Heights on August 13th, The Life of a Showgirl has also inspired a related movie and SiriusXM channel playing Swift’s music, as well as a Gen Z sales rush on the record’s variant physical media. Despite not releasing a single for the LP, what can listeners expect from Showgirl?
Showgirl Moves Swift Back Toward Her Period Of Pop-Peaked Success
While Swift’s recent output, like The Tortured Poets Department, Midnights, Evermore, Folklore, and Reputation sought to elevate her across the map with varied genre-twisting experiences, The Life of a Showgirl brings the musician closer to her more pop-inflected breakout years. Adding to this landscape’s intention is an altering shift in the names on Swift’s production team.
While her last few releases tended to lean more heavily on the orchestrating ear of Bleachers musician/producer Jack Antonoff (as well as The National guitarist/producer Aaron Dessner), Swift is producing Showgirl herself, along with the Swedish production team of Max Martin and Shellback. The duo were key developers on her prior pop-panning albums Red, 1989, and Reputation.
Swift initially came up with the idea for the collaboration while speaking with Martin in Sweden during her shows in the country for the highly successful Eras Tour. Once progress began, Swift continued to fly back to Sweden to continue recording work on the 12-track LP, multitasking in between Eras-related European tour dates.
What Are Some Of The Themes And Guest Stars On The Life Of A Showgirl?
Perhaps not surprisingly (given her work on the album while touring), Swift has said that The Life of a Showgirl creatively reflects the “dramatic” and “electric” energy she felt on and off-stage while on the Eras Tour. Unlike prior album Tortured Poets (and other efforts), there are no bonus tracks as she wanted to stay focused on the theme’s quality.
Swift has also stated that her new album is not as lyrically dense and more upbeat than Tortured Poets, with a greater focus on songs that are “bangers” containing catchy, earworming melodies. She has also said she cares about The Life of a Showgirl “more than she can ever state” and it’s something she’s wanted to make for a while.
As for guest stars, pop singer Sabrina Carpenter is the main headliner on the closing title track, though other influences are felt throughout. Track “The Fate of Ophelia” refers to the noted Shakespeare Hamlet character, while the song “Elizabeth Taylor” points to the legendary Hollywood actress.
And while he isn’t directly felt, an interpolation of George Michael’s song “Father Figure” is also used on the Swift track of the same name. More behind-the-scenes insights are likely still to come with Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, the tie-in movie that’s poised for a blockbuster theater weekend (October 3rd today through the 5th only).
The Life of a Showgirl shows that Taylor Swift has once again returned to take the world of music by storm. As listeners, we can only strap in and enjoy what this latest ride has to offer through her creative perspective.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
