On Oct. 3, 2025 celebrity and songwriter Taylor Swift released her latest album, “The Life of a Showgirl.” Listeners are filled with mixed emotions, with complaints about the “cringe” or “millennial-like” lyrics.
However, with Swift’s massive popularity across the music industry, the haters aren’t stopping her album from booming. “The Life of a Showgirl” averaged 20.8 million streams per track on Spotify on the day of its release, making it Spotify’s most streamed album of 2025 in one day. In contrast, Swift’s previous album “The Tortured Poets Department” had fewer streams.
After listening to the album on repeat, I’ve narrowed down which is the worst song on the album. Unsurprisingly, the world agrees with me. Track number four, “Father Figure,” had to have been written with absolutely no effort or attention. Swift mentions the lyrics, “I can make deals with the devil,” along with many other tracks on Swift’s previous albums, she refers to the devil. Swift grew up in a Christian community, attending church, leaving listeners lost at this point to this connection. In “Taylor Swift: Miss Americana documentary,” released in 2020, Swift discusses her Christian faith, sharing her love for God. Assuming Swift is a believer in Christianity, I would then conclude several of her listeners are as well. With that, I just don’t see how hinting to the devil adds to her music. Instead, it only stirs up rumors or drama.
The first time listening to “Father Figure,” line 11, where Swift compares the size of her male anatomy to that of the devil’s, caught me off guard immediately. To be honest, I have no idea what she meant to say in this line, however Swift wasn’t hesitant to describe Travis Kelce’s genitalia, similarly in track number nine, “Wood,” Swift once again refers to the same sexually explicit idea. Along with her fans, I was disappointed. Listening to these songs made me reminisce on her old music, where the themes of the songs were filled with deep messages of passion or love rather than lust.
Although Swift has demonstrated her bold voice throughout this album, it is clear the rhythm and beat are outstanding. Sure, the lyrics are unexpected and slightly inappropriate but Swift definitely wanted “The Life of a Showgirl” to become an era of music that a teenage girl could dance to–hopefully not sing to though!
Last but certainly not least, my favorite track on the new album with absolutely no hesitation is “Ruin The Friendship.” The song’s lyrics are purely the real Swift, incorporating her typical literary techniques. The beat made me love the song first, then the songwriting. “It’s a really sad song, if you listen closely to the lyrics,” explains Lauren Giroux, junior at Troy High School and Swift listener.
In the song, Swift talks about her childhood best friend Abigail, which reminds me of songs from her previous album “Fearless.” “Ruin The Friendship” is written in a way the listener can reflect on, as it is about her high school crush she was hesitant about ruining a friendship with. Swift is an intelligent artist; she knows her audience, teenage girls in high school, and targets songs towards them. Lyrics such as, “Don’t make it awkward in second period,” “When I left school I lost track of you,” and “Have fun, it’s prom,” are all lyrics about the complexities of different relationships built in high school.
The song became so popular across the internet that a TikTok trend eventually evolved. Girls would post pictures with their bridesmaids at their weddings with the lyrics, “Disco balls make everything look cheap,” with the next photo of the same girls at their high school prom, “Have fun, it’s prom.” You can imagine Swift smiling at a video like this popping up. In “Ruin The Friendship,” the listener can clearly identify the message in this track, yet that is not what makes the song top quality.
Differently, in her track titled “Eldest Daughter,” users on social media have shown common opinions about this song: it is messy and confusing with several different topics. I think Swift’s intentions were specifically this: to be an eldest daughter is to be indecisive and uncertain or confusing, as symbolized throughout the song in an extended metaphor.
Now that Swift is engaged, who knows what is to expect from her next album? It is no doubt “The Life of a Showgirl” can compete with her other eras, however this may be Swift’s way of showing a new era of songwriting.