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Taylor Swift is no stranger to success, having recently finished the massively successful Eras Tour. However, with that success the bar was set high for “Life of a Showgirl.”
While the album didn’t have a lead single prior to its release, “The Fate of Ophelia,” serves as the album’s opener and immediately draws listeners in due to its storytelling nature and upbeat melody.
“Life of a Showgirl” features 12 songs, most of which radiate an infectious, high-energy sound. During her “New Heights,” podcast appearance with Jason and Travis Kelce on Aug. 13, Swift told audiences “this is the record I’ve been wanting to make for a very long time,” according to the British Broadcasting Corporation.
The album has already been breaking records. In its first 24 hours, the album achieved 250 million global Spotify streams, according to Hits Daily Double. This is the second-highest number of streams that has ever been achieved by an album before and ironically, it’s another of Swift’s albums, “The Tortured Poet’s Department,” that holds the top spot with 314 million streams.
The lead single, “The Fate of Ophelia,” holds the title for most streamed song from the album with 25.5 million streams, according to Hits Daily Double.
“The Fate of Ophelia,” relies on the use of both major and minor chords to relay its message to audiences. While the verses utilize minor chords to signify Swift’s previous heartbreaks, the chorus and bridge utilize major chords to showcase the stage of life Swift is currently in.
This dichotomy between the verses and the chorus enables Swift to tell her story of how Travis Kelce saved her from a fate similar to Ophelia. Ophelia is the main focus of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” and she ultimately ends up tragically dying as a result of the madness she endured.
In addition to playing around with switching between chord progressions, Swift draws upon some of her past albums to help her craft the story that she is trying to tell.
“Elizabeth Taylor” and “Cancelled!” both give off “Reputation” vibes.
While the verses of “Elizabeth Taylor” are comprised of minor chords giving off the initial impression that the song will be a bit more laid-back and introspective as soon as the chorus hits, the influence from “Reputation” is soundly present.
On the other hand, right from the get-go, “Cancelled!,” makes it known that it draws from “Reputation,” especially the song “I Did Something Bad.”
The beat drops during the lyrics of, “Good thing I like my friends cancelled,” and “I like ’em cloaked in Gucci and in scandal,” are heavily reminiscent of the beat drops during the chorus of “I Did Something Bad,” from “Reputation.”
The final song of the album fittingly titled, “Life of a Showgirl,” draws upon symbolism to convey the message that fame can be both glamorous and messy.
Lyrics such as, “I’m married to the hustle, and now I know the life of a showgirl, babe and I’ll never know another,” and “Pain hidden by the lipstick and lace,” showcase just how nuanced the world of fame is.
Fittingly, Swift ends the song with applause sounds that were recorded from the final night of the Eras tour.
“One thing that I really love about the ending of it is that we actually ended the song with actual crowd noise from my last Eras Tour show in Vancouver, so that always chokes me up,” Swift said in an interview with Daily Hive.
“Life of a Showgirl,” is a far cry from Swift’s last album. Swift has traded the gloomy and melancholic nature of “The Tortured Poets Department,” for a glittering, dazzling album that feels like a party from start to finish.
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Contact Alicia Dofelmier via email: alicia.dofelmier@pepperdine.edu
