KATARINA MARIC / CONTRIBUTOR

Taylor Swift released her twelfth studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl” — a peek into everything that was going on behind the curtain during her record-breaking Eras Tour and the life of an entertainer, on Oct. 3 at midnight Eastern time.

The 12-track album contains a glittery mix of bright melodies and bold beats with stylistic retro influences, a rumored diss track, raunchy Travis Kelce-influenced love songs and all ending with cabaret feathers and a title track featuring Sabrinra Carpenter. 

Compared to Swift’s recent collaborations with producers Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, “The Life of a Showgirl” returned Swift to her pop era. The album was produced    by Max Martin and Karl Johan Shellback,  known for their work contributing to Taylor Swift’s earlier hits, such as “Shake it Off” and “Blank Space.” Because of this choice, Swifties eagerly awaited “The Life of a Showgirl” to be reminiscent of  1989 and Reputation, with the poetic, melancholy lyrics of Folklore. 

Swifties at USD seem to have mixed feelings about “The Life of a Showgirl,” with some proclaiming it a no-skip glitter-gel pen album, and others calling it a total fall-off, disappointed by its lyricism and sultry production choices. Opinions clash within individual songs, with most students considering the first three tracks, “The Fate of Ophelia,” “Elizabeth Taylor,” and “Opalite” to be incredibly catchy and fun, while later tracks have been met with raised eyebrows and cringing expressions. 

USD first-year student Madison Courtney explained her thoughts.

“It sounds like she’s lost her touch with her lyrics because she was always talking about how much she wants to sound like an English teacher, and have all of these literary references,” Courtney said. “This album feels like she’s departed from that.” 

Most notably, track five, “Eldest Daughter,” has been criticized for its awkward millennial-esque lines: “every joke’s just   trolling and    memes/But I’m not a bad bitch/ and this isn’t savage,”   and “so we all dressed up as wolves/ and we looked fire.” 

Whereas “The Tortured Poets Department” featured deep-cut stanzas, carved of raw emotion and confessions, “The Life of a Showgirl” may be perceived as too surface-level and thoughtless. When discussing track four “Father Figure,” first-year  student Kaili Murphy stated her opinion.

“She goes ‘I can make deals with the devil cuz my d is bigger.’ I think it’s so funny. I can’t listen to it and not laugh.”

Track seven, “Actually Romantic,” is rumored to be a diss track about Swift’s feud with pop artist Charli xcx. The British musician recently shared in her Brat album song “Sympathy is a Knife” that she feels insecure around a   woman   with connections to her partner’s band, The 1975. 

Swift’s ex-boyfriend Matty Healy, whom she was seen with after her break-up with long-term partner Joe Alwyn, is the lead singer of The 1975. Swift’s song opens with the line “I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave” and twists Charli xcx’s supposed obsession with her to one of sapphic undertones. Whether or  not track seven is truly a diss track, some Swifties find the song an  enemies-to-lovers anthem, while others view it as an immature and undeserving dig at Charli xcx. USD senior  Sasha Milshtein shared her thoughts on the drama. 

“After the terrorist strike in Vienna, when Taylor had to cancel her concert, Charli posted a picture of a bloody friendship bracelet,” Milshtein explained. “That and all of the stuff with the lead singer of 1975, Charli’s starting beef, and I think it’s really ridiculous. I think  everyone who’s shaming Taylor for being in her mid-thirties and writing a diss track is stupid because Charli is also in her mid-thirties, so like, where’s the logic?”

In track nine, “Wood,” USD students compare the lyrical style to Sabrina Carpenter’s, claiming Swift tried to emulate Carpenter’s sweet but seductive pop persona. With lyrics such as “forgive me, it sounds cocky/ he (ah!) matized me/ and open my eyes redwood tree/ it ain’t hard to see his love was the key/ that opened my eyes,” some found this song too vulgar while others enjoyed the variety. USD sophomore Isabelle Barako offered her opinion of the album in its relation to Sabrina Carpenter. 

“It took me a few listens, but now I think I like it,” Barako said. “I think that [Swift and Carpenter] are good friends and she took some inspiration from her. But it’s not the same album as ‘Man’s Best Friend.’”

The album is brimming with double entendres, the track is both an unexpected and fun Travis-Kelce heavy addition to the album. 

Whether or not “The Life of Showgirl” is your forte, it is undeniable that Taylor Swift has made exciting shifts and entered new worlds as an artist, and fans can’t wait to see what comes next – especially if it’s “Reputation (Taylor’s Version)” or even studio album 13.

Taylor Swift’s “Life of a Showgirl” album cover. Photo courtesy of @taylorswift/Instagram