12 tracks, 41 minutes, Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, is here and has gotten some mixed reviews from critics and fans. Although 4 million units of The Life of a Showgirl were sold in the first week of its release, many are torn on whether they like the album or not. In August of this year, Taylor Swift appeared on Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce’s sports podcast, New Heights, where she announced her new album, which left fans excited and curious as Swift did not provide many details about the future album. 

Written with Max Martin, Shellback, and herself, many critics think that this album is very different, even though she has worked with these two songwriters on albums released in the past, such as 1989 and Reputation, which are fan favorites. The Life of a Showgirl includes more pop, upbeat, and cheerful songs that are about love and self-discovery, which happens to be a drastic change from her previous album, The Tortured Poets Department, which had very melancholy and sorrowful songs. 

When asked, Maya Itzhaki says, “It’s a little bit different because it’s a lot more unhinged and very pop compared to her other albums.” 

Although this album is very different from those previous, Itzhaki reports that the album is “pretty good” with her favorite track being “The Fate of Ophelia,” which seems to be the most popular song off the album. “The Fate of Ophelia”, which is the first track off the album, had gathered over 384 million streams in the first 3 days of the album’s release and has remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for just under 2 weeks. Additionally, all 12 tracks off of The Life of a Showgirl have taken up the first 12 spots on the Billboard Hot 100, with “Opalite” and “Elizabeth Taylor” following “The Fate of Ophelia” in spots two and three. 

Although Swift has received many positive reviews for the album, especially with many people listening to the songs in theaters around the US, many are disappointed in the album. 

For instance, Ivanka Panasik ‘28 gave the new album a listen and said, “The album was great, although I thought it was going to be similar to her Folklore and Evermore albums, but it was more like 1989.” 

Nevertheless, the album has gotten great reviews, and merchandise for the album has been created and is available to purchase, and there are many different vinyl variants for fans to acquire.