Taylor Swift's “TLOAS” Release Splits The Fanbase

I actually wanted to write something like, “Unless you've been living under a rock, you couldn't have failed to notice that Taylor Swift has released a new album,” but I'm pretty sure that the promo for “The Life of a Showgirl” has penetrated through all layers of sediment, tinted bulletproof glass, and even reinforced lead. So yes, you all know that the Swifties are back.

However, they may not be quite as back as you might think, because less than an hour after TLOAS was available on all popular streaming platforms, the first opinions started pouring in from everywhere. YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, Twitter: everything was full of initial assessments, reviews, and, above all, criticism of Taylor Swift.

Unpoetic And Racist?

“Not poetic enough,” “not depressing enough,” and “a pure pop album, far removed from what the Eras Tour stood for” were the recurring themes. Some joked that Taylor had used particularly simple rhyme schemes this time around so that her fiancé Travis Kelce, Tight End for the Kansas City Chiefs, could understand the lyrics, while others even accused her of racism because Kelce's ex-girlfriend Kayla Nicole is African American and the line "Sleepless in the onyx night / But now, the sky is opalite" allegedly alluded to her skin color. That's some mental gymnastics, alright.

Critics also believe they are fully informed about Taylor Swift's other beefs and interpersonal relationships, and see the track “Actually Romantic” aimed at British singer-songwriter Charli XCX as a nasty attack – it is said to have been particularly unfair because the two had supposedly been friends until then, with Charli even expressing her admiration and envy for Taylor.

So is the album a flop?

Well, certainly not all Swifties would agree with that.

An Album Like Fine Wine

For many, it is clear that the new album by an artist known for hiding numerous Easter eggs, secret messages, and meta-levels in her songs, albums, promotional campaigns, interviews, and live performances cannot be understood after just one listen.

Like the works of other musicians, such an album needs time to sink in and make an impression. Posting a complete analysis of a 41-minute album just one hour after its release seems a little hasty. On the other hand, everyone wants to be the first to analyze TLOAS – and, ideally, with a particularly controversial opinion that will get them noticed. And what could be more controversial than a Swiftie suddenly saying that Mother Taylor has really messed up the new release?

The internet, acting as a filter that makes everything bigger, louder, more aggressive, and more extreme than it actually is, does the rest, turning a piece of music that has just been released into an absolute “disaster.”

However, advocates of the album not only consider the criticism to be exaggerated, but in some cases completely wrong. For them, it's clear that the new record sounds so different because it was created in a completely different situation – instead of a toxic breakup from which the singer is fighting her way out, and allegedly calling The 1975 singer Matty Healy the “Smallest Man Who Ever Lived”, she celebrates her healthy relationship with Kelce and his “Redwood Tree.” Instead of a blatantly calling out Kim Kardashian in “thanK you, aIMee”, she makes it clear that she finds Charlie XCX's intrigues amusing and “Actually Romantic.” If the song's even about her to begin with, that is.

Between Ophelia And Josephine Baker

It seems obvious to fans that there is no room for the deeply sad dramas of past albums, and so they allow her to sing songs about overcoming life's lows rather than “The Fate of Ophelia,” who in Shakespeare's Hamlet is driven mad by the male world and subsequently drowns, but rather successfully masters “The Life of a Showgirl,” who as a seasoned, serene woman stands above all the negativity, hatred, and envy that life in the pop circus brings.

The truth probably lies somewhere in between. Subjectively, fans and critics can feel about TLOAS however they want, but they should probably let go of the idea that Taylor Swift “owes” them another album with the same energy and impact that she has radiated throughout her Eras Tour in recent years. That you can have expectations, but not demands, of an album and an artist. That the singer doesn't have to deliver what her fans and listeners want, but that they all became fans or listeners at some point because Taylor Swift gave them something through a song, album, or her artistic work in general that was more than just a bit of music to them.

And if some people still think that Taylor Swift has made it clear with this album that Donald Trump, Kanye West, and all the other haters who have always talked about how untalented, repulsive, and otherwise bad she really is were right... hey, that's the life of a showgirl...