Taylor Swift The Life of a Showgirl Courtesy of TAS Management Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on Reddit Post a Comment Share on Whats App Share on Pinterest Share on LinkedIn Print the Article Share on Tumblr The Life of a Showgirl has finally been released. Taylor Swift's 12th album, produced and written by Swift along with hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback, was thought to be a return to some of her most standard pop albums, like 1989, but it instead managed to be the love child of Evermore and Midnights. What starts off introspective and almost melancholy at times leads into a slew of giddy love, and even lust songs, fitting for a woman who was likely falling in love with her now-fiancé during the writing of this album. Swift said she worked on the album during her wildly successful Eras tour, which might point to the sonic and lyrical journey the album takes listeners on. Swift is certainly not the same person she was when she started that tour in 2023 - no one would be - and the growth she experienced along the way has lended itself wonderfully to this album. The Life of a Showgirl marks Swift's first release since The Tortured Poets Department in 2024, which she announced at the 2024 Grammys while accepting an award for Midnights. It features one guest feature - former tour opener Sabrina Carpenter - who's in the midst of a banner musical year herself. The Life of a Showgirl's first track, "The Fate of Ophelia," will serve as the album's lead single. The music video is set to be released on Sunday (Oct. 5) at 7 p.m. eastern time. It's directed and written by Swift, according to a release. From the bold "Father Figure" to the downright sweet-as-candy "Honey," here's a track-by-track breakdown of The Life of a Showgirl. "The Fate of Ophelia" Swift sets the tone for The Life of a Showgirl immediately with "The Fate of Ophelia." The song, which is the album's lead single, is largely narrative-based, a calling card for the 35-year-old singer. It's a groovy-set recounting of the song's protagonist, Hamlet's Ophelia. It's mellow but catchy, leaning more Midnights or The Tortured Poets Department rather than her more classic pop albums, contrary to what some fans were expecting given her reunion with hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback. "Elizabeth Taylor" "Oftentimes it doesn't feel so glamorous to be me," Swift belts out only 20 seconds into the album's second track. It's a bold statement and perhaps the thesis behind this album. "Elizabeth Taylor" continues the singer's tradition of describing what she's feeling about her own relationship with fame through famous women of the past - see Tortured Poet's finale "Clara Bow." "Elizabeth Taylor" is a highlight of the album and will certainly go down in Swift canon as a quintessential track. "Opalite" A throwback to the dreaminess of Midnights, the album's third track, "Opalite," hooks you in from the first second. While the first two tracks were more mellow, track three seems to pick things up a bit. "Life is a song it ends when it ends," stands out as a line listeners will likely find themselves repeating to themselves, intentional or not. "Father Figure" Well, there's a first time for everything, and "Father Figure" certainly introduces a new word into the Swift canon: "I can make deals with the devil because my dick's bigger." The song, which features an interpolation of George Michael's 1987 hit of the same name, seemingly imagines Swift as the father figure of her own mafia - "We protect the family" and "You'll be sleeping with the fishes" serve as two examples. The song sits at the same table as her Lover-era song "The Man." It's also insanely catchy and a little bit unhinged, which just might be the perfect pairing for this era. "Eldest Daughter" Any Swift fan knows that it's time to break out the tissues for track five. But "Eldest Daughter" takes a different approach to the introspective nature that typically embodies the coveted spot on her albums. Unlike the heartbreaking "So Long, London" and nostalgic "You're on Your Own, Kid," "Eldest Daughter" finds Swift putting down the warrior exterior she's (frankly been forced) to put on over the years. "I'm not a bad bitch and this isn't savage" she sings on the song's chorus. It's hard to place this in the rankings of past track fives, but it shouldn't be counted out. "Ruin the Friendship" What starts out as a classic high school-themed love song takes quite a turn into the tragic on the bridge. Name dropping her long-time best friend, Abigail, Swift's song about the youthful indecision of "ruining the friendship" with a crush ends up being a warning to take a chance when it's revealed the love interest has died. "With so much left to say / It was not convenient, no / But I whispered at the grave / 'Should've kissed you anyway,'" Swift croons to end the bridge. Moral of the story, in the words of Swift: "My advice is always ruin the friendshi