A Guest Opinion Piece
With the release of Taylor Swift’s new album this past month, The Life of a Showgirl, Swift seeks to dissociate herself from the lyrical prose of 2020’s folklore and evermore and even her 2024 double album The Tortured Poets Department. While I myself have been a fan of Swift’s since my youth (shoutout Fearless Tour 2009), and have truly grown up alongside her music, I’ve found myself asking: Have I aged out of my Swiftie status?
While Swift used to dominate my Spotify Wrapped each year, I have found that I have been weaning myself off of her music… even before her promotion of The Life of a Showgirl. While my idolization of Swift used to consist of constant wear of her merchandise and finding excuses to bring her up in each of my conversations, I’ve found myself coming to the realization that while it was fun to be in Swift’s fanbase, and the loyalty of her fans remains admirable, it reaches a point of accommodation for the artist that borders on inexcusable.
Swift’s music hasn’t simply evolved — it has traded lyrical depth, universality, and emotional resonance for commercialism, romantic self-referencing, and a brand-centric approach that leaves longtime fans behind. Critics of this new album are told that they simply don’t want to see Taylor Swift happy, and that they only want her when she’s sad. This is a drastically unfair critique, as many of those who dislike this new album have been fans of Swift for years, if not as long as they can recall. Unfortunately for her record, heartbreak is more relatable than Swift singing about her status as a billionaire engaged to a six-foot-five star NFL player.
The argument that fans who dislike Showgirl don’t seek to have Taylor Swift be happy are simply false. Her 2017 album, reputation, is one of her strongest works, and it consists of fifteen songs about her relationship with ex-lover Joe Alwyn. Everything about this album, from the production to how the album responds sonically to the lyrics, is much stronger than Swift’s latest work, and proves that Swift can release strong music even when in love.
Artists evolve — and they should. But evolution isn’t synonymous with simplification, and happiness doesn’t have to mean hollowness.
Midnights is where I began to detach from Swift in comparison to my prior interest. I am unsure if it was the blatant greed with the introduction of excessive vinyl variants, limited edition CDs for ‘bonus songs’ that were later released on streaming after everyone had already purchased the CD. Or, perhaps I began to retreat as Swift’s relatability started to decline.
On 2024’s The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, only a handful of songs stand out as not overtly romantic, and the rest pertain to highly un-relatable experiences for Swift’s general audience; i.e. “thanK you aIMee”, is seemingly about a feud with Kim Kardashian, and “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me”, is about reclaiming the persona the media had crafted for her throughout her career. Furthermore, forThe Tortured Poets Department, Swift maintained her Midnights tradition of releasing an exorbitant number of vinyl variants, CD variants, and limited-edition merchandise.
I won’t disagree with the claim that Swift is generous. The bonuses to her truck drivers during her chart-topping The Eras Tour likely changed lives. However, when will we return to one vinyl/CD being enough? Seeing Swift continue these marketing trends, if not amplify them with her promotional run for The Life of a Showgirl, was not only disappointing, but solidified my move away from Swift’s brand. While I may continue to consume her music ––particularly in search of the nostalgia evocation I feel when listening to evermore or reputation –– my interest in the Swift brand has diminished drastically.
Those who support this new album argue that people criticized 1989 and reputation the same way as they are currently criticizing Showgirl. However, those albums recovered from the media’s distaste as they were strong sonically and lyrically. I would argue that Showgirl has neither, leaving me to wonder: Where has Taylor Swift’s depth gone?
Perhaps one day Swift will return to writing songs that reach beyond themselves. Until then, I’ll keep my footing in the versions of her that still spoke to something larger — before the message was buried beneath the weight of another vinyl pressing.
