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  • Taylor Swift Increasingly Loses Touch with “The Commoner” on The Life of a Showgirl

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    Although Taylor Swift has been famous for most of her life, one of the biggest keys to her success has always been “relatability.” Or at least the illusion of it. This has been done, more often than not, with lovelorn lyrics about being some “dowdy” girl who can’t ever quite get the guy/find love (most famously on “You Belong With Me”). With her twelfth album, The Life of a Showgirl, Swift loses some of that already dwindling “everywoman” cachet for the sake of a concept that’s centered on, essentially, living in a gilded cage. But it isn’t just the “poor me, I’m so rich” aura that makes The Life of a Showgirl frequently eye-rolling, it’s also the bathetic displays toward, unmistakably, Travis Kelce—whose podcast, New Heights, she appeared on to announce the album in the first place. Never mind that said podcast is aimed at discussing sports, not pop music.

    And yet, such “flouting of the rules” has been going on a lot during the “crossover potential” of Taylor and Travis’ (or “Traylor,” if you must) relationship. One that has even prompted the commissioner of the NFL, Roger Goodell, to gush about how she’s responsible for bringing in a younger audience to the games/generally drumming up interest in the sport ever since she started dating the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback.

    The very quarterback she does her best to wield within a Shakespearean context with The Life of a Showgirl’s first track, “The Fate of Ophelia,” with an effect that could very well have Shakespeare turning in his grave as Swift rewrites, you guessed it, the fate of Ophelia, by making it a “happy ending” for the erstwhile suicidal wreck. And who else should save her but the Hamlet stand-in of the song, “Prince” Travis? A man that Swift has the gall to sing of, “Late one night, you dug me out of my grave and/Saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia/Keep it one hundrеd on the land, the sea, thе sky/Pledge allegiance to your hands, your team, your vibes/Don’t care where the hell you been, ‘cause now you’re mine.”

    Cornball songwriting aside, “The Fate of Ophelia” is an insult to hallowed literature itself in that Swift would dare to touch Shakespearean scripture for the sake “Hollywoodizing” the ending—this further manifest in the lyrics, “No longer drowning and deceived/All because you came for me.” Mixing metaphors a bit, Taylor also talks of being rescued from a tower (hardly the first time she’s used that image in a song, with The Tortured Poets Department also mentioning it on “The Albatross” and “Cassandra”), in addition to the water in which Ophelia drowned. So clearly, she’s confusing Big O with Rapunzel, but no matter, Swift simply has a penchant for referencing other famous women.

    As she does on the second track, “Elizabeth Taylor.” And no, it’s not the first time Swift has mentioned this “fellow Taylor” in a song. She also name-checked the icon during 2017’s “…Ready For It?” (“He can be my jailer, Burton to this Taylor”), co-produced by Max Martin, Shellback and Ali Payami. It’s the former two that Swift reteams with for the entirety of The Life of a Showgirl, further distinguishing it from Reputation, which incorporated other producers apart from Martin and Shellback into the mix, including Jack Antonoff. The reteaming of Swift with just Martin and Shellback is, in fact, a primary gimmick of this album, and perhaps a subtle way to make amends for never getting around to Reputation (Taylor’s Version) after engaging fans in one of the biggest trolls in recent music history.

    Perhaps one of the peak examples on the record of “losing touch” with “the commoner,” Swift does her best to embody Elizabeth T. when she sings, “That view of Portofino was on my mind when you called me at the Plaza Athénée [said in a very non-French way]/Ooh, oftentimes it doesn’t feel so glamorous to be me/All the right guys/Promised they’d stay/Under bright lights/They withered away/But you bloom.” For a start, most of the football fans on “Team Travis” in this relationship would have no idea what the fuck she’s talking about, their limited sense of geography extending, at best, to what lies just beyond Kansas. What’s more, most Midwesterners are well over the constant favoritism given to New York and Los Angeles, yet Swift appears to have her own limited sense of geography when she says, “Be my NY whеn Hollywood hates me.” This statement feeling less like a nod to E. Taylor and more like one to Marilyn Monroe, who famously fled Hollywood for New York after getting into a contract dispute with Darryl F. Zanuck, the head of 20th Century Fox, at the end of 1954. No matter, Swift, like Lindsay Lohan before her, can be attracted to both legends’ stories—their tragic tales and love lives, intermixed with glitz and glamor.

    And, as if to highlight the cliches of “how lonely it is at the top,” Swift adds, “Hey, what could you possibly get for the girl who has everything and nothing all at once?” In many regards, this track is a “sequel,” of sorts,” to the question posed on 2019’s “The Archer”: “Who could ever leave me, darling?/But who could stay?” The answer, for the moment, is Kelce, who at least knows something about the pressure behind a sentiment like, “You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby.” If that’s the case, Swift might be in trouble with a song like “Opalite,” which trots out the same old color-related tropes she’s already overused in the past (though probably not nearly as much as Lana Del Rey mentions “blue”). In this case, the “onyx night” represents the darkness before the arrival of Kelce into her life, who provides the “opalite sky” in the wake of “the lightning strikes”—presumably a metaphor for Swift’s previous botched relationships and media scrutiny.

    Commencing the song with the verse, “I had a bad habit/Of missing lovers past/My brother used to call it/‘Eating out of the trash,’ it’s never gonna last/I thought my house was haunted/I used to live with ghosts/And all the perfect couples/Said, ‘When you know, you know and when you don’t, you don’t,’” it’s evident Swift is alluding to Jack Antonoff, Margaret Qualley and Lana Del Rey. The latter of whom wrote a song about Antonoff and Qualley’s relationship called, what else, “Margaret,” during which she sings, “When you know, you know” of the kind of true love that Antonoff found with Qualley. Later in the song, however, she does Swift one better by saying, “‘Cause when you know, you know/And when you’re old, you’re old/Like Hollywood and me.” Swift, of course, isn’t quite ready to refer to herself in such a way. For being an “aging showgirl,” as The Last Showgirl recently reminded, doesn’t generally bode well for one’s career.

    Even though Swift has made amply certain that she has plenty of other parachutes, as it were, should she need a graceful “out” from pop stardom. For she has her hands in numerous pies (many of which people probably won’t know about for years), as she’s keen to circuitously boast about via the mafioso theme of “Father Figure,” which dares to sample from George Michael, a big risk for anyone, but especially Swift. This because, when compared to the great pop musicians that came before her, particularly in the 80s, the ways in which Swift falls short become even more glaringly obvious. In other words, she has never “ate” the way that, say, Madonna, Prince, George Michael, Grace Jones or David Bowie have.

    Regardless, Swift does what she can with the interpolation of Michael’s 1987 hit (and, let’s just say that it works better than the interpolation of Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy” on “Look What You Made Me Do”), wielding it to throw shade at all of the male executives who thought they could manipulate and control her over the years. Indeed, in a sense, it acts as The Life of a Showgirl’s “The Man,” with Swift getting into the persona of a big dick-swinging executive (or mafia boss) herself, with many speculating that Scott Borchetta is the source of inspiration. After all, he signed her as his first artist on his then new label, Big Machine Records, when she was just fourteen years old. So it is that Swift sardonically flexes, as though channeling Borchetta, “When I found you, you were young, wayward, lost in the cold/Pulled up to you in the Jag, turned your rags into gold/The winding road leads to the chateau/‘You remind me of a younger me’/I saw potential.”

    The chorus then goes for the jugular with, “I’ll be your father figure/I drink that brown liquor/I can make deals with the devil because my dick’s bigger/This love is pure profit/Just step into my office.” The mafia motif is also peppered in throughout (as if The Godfather needs any more play in terms of fortifying a grotesque Italian stereotype), with Swift asserting, “Leave it with me/I protect the family” and “I got the place surrounded/You’ll be sleeping with the fishes before you know you’re drowning.” Elsewhere, another light Del Rey nod is made with, “Mistake my kindness for weakness and find your card canceled” (on 2019’s “Mariners Apartment Complex,” Del Rey sings, “They mistook my kindness for weakness”). As for another “unintentional” nod, it bears noting that Michael’s “Father Figure” has been having a moment this past year, with Harris Dickinson as Samuel offering a kinky dance in a hotel room to said track in Babygirl while Nicole Kidman as Romy watches before joining in (side note: Swift was sure to mention that she wrote this song before this movie came out).

    A title like “Father Figure” leads naturally into “Eldest Daughter” (which, yes, Swift is, with only one younger brother, Austin). A track that, incidentally, has a lot in common with Lorde’s “Favourite Daughter” from Virgin. Except that, unlike the catchiness of “Favourite Daughter,” which is something of a millennial anthem in terms of how said generation was conditioned to always achieve and strive for more, “Eldest Daughter” is a cheesy ballad that few Gen Z listeners could handle. After all, Swift is a millennial through and through (in case “as the 50 Cent song played…” didn’t also give it away on “Ruin the Friendship”) in part because of being fearless when it comes to being cringe. So it is that she addresses the current chicness of being callous and aloof in the first verse, “Everybody’s so punk on the internet/Everyone’s unbothered ‘til they’re not/Every joke’s just trolling and memes/Sad as it seems, apathy is hot/Everybody’s cutthroat in the comments/Every single hot take is cold as ice.” Apart from referencing some of her lyrics in “You Need to Calm Down” (e.g., “You are somebody that I don’t know/But you’re taking shots at me like it’s Patrón/And I’m just like, ‘Damn, it’s seven a.m.’/Say it in the street, that’s a knockout/But you say it in a tweet, that’s a copout”), the “hot take” line also seems to allude to that time she felt obliged to tell Damon Albarn off.

    The incident occurred in early 2022, when a written interview between The Los Angeles Times and Albarn went as follows:

    LAT: “She may not be to your taste, but Taylor Swift is an excellent songwriter.

    DA: “She doesn’t write her own songs.”

    LAT: “Of course she does. Co-writes some of them.”

    DA: “That doesn’t count. I know what co-writing is. Co-writing is very different to writing. I’m not hating on anybody, I’m just saying there’s a big difference between a songwriter and a songwriter who co-writes. Doesn’t mean that the outcome can’t be really great.”

    Swift was very quick to respond via Twitter, slamming Albarn about his “hot take” with the reply: “I was such a big fan of yours until I saw this. I write ALL of my own songs. Your hot take is completely false and SO damaging. You don’t have to like my songs but it’s really fucked up to try and discredit my writing. WOW.” But, to be fair, Albarn isn’t wrong. Swift does co-write most of her songs, with The Life of a Showgirl being no exception in that Martin and Shellback are her fellow collaborators. But it’s apparent that she is in total control of all themes, as unrelatable as they are. Granted, Swift pulls what Olivia Rodrigo and Addison Rae did with “vampire” and “Fame Is a Gun” respectively in that she insists everyone can relate to having a “public life” now thanks to the advent of the online persona. This being her inspiration behind “Eldest Daughter,” of which she commented,

    “[It’s] about kind of the roles that we play in our public life, because nowadays everyone has a public life. You have a life that you portray to other people or what you portray on social media, and then you have the you that everyone gets to know who has earned the right to be closest to you. And it’s really hard to be sincere publicly because that’s not really what our culture rewards. People reward you for being like tough and unbothered and like too busy to care. And you may be that about some things, but everyone has things that matter to them and people that matter to them.”

    For Swift, it’s always been apparent that being “the best” is what matters to her. This in addition to finding and securing her Prince Charming. It’s a variation on the latter theme that occurs in “Ruin the Friendship.” Yet another track that proves she’s sort of scraping the bottom of the barrel for “relatable material” in that she once again feels obliged to speak as though she’s still in high school. To be sure, Swift appears mentally stuck in that “era” in many ways, often writing from the perspective of an ostracized and/or lovestruck teenager (as she also does on TTPD’s “So High School”). And while that might have been her “core audience” once upon a time, many have been forced to leave such “childish things” behind.

    Nonetheless, Swift takes listeners back to a moment in time when she was friends with someone in high school (reportedly Jeff Lang, a man that died in his early twenties) who she had more than “just friendly” feelings for. Filled with regret over having never made a move, especially since that person later died (“When I left school, I lost track of you/Abigail called me with the bad news/Goodbye, and we’ll never know why”—apart from the “why” being, you know, drugs), Swift advocates for “ruining the friendship.” Or, more to the point, ruining a male/female friendship by breaking the “cardinal rule” and turning it romantic. For, as Vickie Miner (Janeane Garofalo) from Reality Bites once said, “Sex is the quickest way to ruin a friendship.” Looking back on her cautiousness now, however, Swift would have been only too willing to ruin it. Though probably not with sex. In fact, she is more inclined to mention a “kiss.” That’s the “sex act” she’s most willing to get on board with as she sings, “My advice is to always ruin the friendship/Better that than regret it for all time/Should’ve kissed you anyway.” Perhaps Joey Potter and Pacey Witter would tend to agree. Though Dawson Leery, not so much.

    Apart from discussing being “the best,” finding “Prince Charming” and dissecting “love lost,” Swift’s indisputable other favorite songwriting topic is her haters. Of which, of course, she has many. Though not nearly as many as she does lovers—that is, of her work. Even so, for Swift, it’s as Gaga (loosely quoting Madonna with, “If there are a hundred people in a room and ninety-nine say they liked it, I only remember the one person who didn’t”) once said: “There can be a hundred people in a room and ninety-nine don’t believe in you, but all it takes is one and it just changes your whole life.” For Swift, that person who “changes her whole life” by not believing in her is usually her hater (hear also: “Bad Blood,” one of her biggest hits inspired by none other than erstwhile “enemy” Katy Perry). If the “Easter eggs” of “Actually Romantic” are anything to go by, the latest hater that Swift is “taking down by taking to task” is Charli XCX. The shade is in the song title alone, which features “romantic” in it the way Charli’s “Everything is romantic” does. One of the many beloved songs that appeared on Brat last year. Along with “Sympathy is a knife,” which was speculated to be about Swift when Charli mentioned, among other things, “Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show/Fingers crossed behind my back, I hope they break up quick.”

    If Charli was, in fact, referring to Swift, she definitely got her wish about Matty Healy and Swift breaking up quick. As for the boyfriend Charli refers to, George Daniel, he’s since become her husband. A fellow “365 party girl,” though probably not nearly at Charli’s level. Something Swift shades when she opens the track with, “I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave/High-fived my ex [Matty Healy] and then you said you’re glad he ghosted me/Wrote me a song [“Everything is romantic”] sayin’ it makes you sick to see my face/Some people might be offended.” Swift, though, not so much. Or so she claims in the chorus, “But it’s actually sweet/All the time you’ve spent on me/It’s honestly wild/All the effort you’ve put in/It’s actually romantic/I really gotta hand it to you/No man has ever loved me like you do.” In effect, Swift speaks on the fine line between love and hate, and how Charli (or any other chanteuse, really) might technically be showing her the former by fixating on her so much. So it is that Swift keeps ribbing, “Hadn’t thought of you in a long time [this channeling Lover’s “I Forgot That You Existed”]/But you keep sending me funny valentines [the song, one supposes?]/And I know you think it comes off vicious/But it’s precious, adorable/Like a toy chihuahua barking at me from a tiny purse/That’s how much it hurts.”

    Of course, Swift is lying to herself when she says it doesn’t hurt, otherwise she wouldn’t have written a song about it, digging the (unsympathetic) knife in as much as she can with other lyrics like, “How many times has your boyfriend said/‘Why are we always talkin’ ‘bout her?’” And yes, XCX does mention talking about “her” in “Sympathy is a knife” when she says, “George says I’m just paranoid/Says he just don’t see it, he’s so naïve.”

    What George—and just about everyone else—might see, however, is that The Life of a Showgirl is less about a girl who “puts on a show” and more about a girl who is obsessed with her boyfriend in the same way that she has been with every boyfriend before (as each album has evidenced). And when that meme of one of Taylor and Travis’ first dates came out with the caption, “Taylor taking her new album for a walk,” it was entirely accurate. For while the intent behind it was to emphasize that Swift always explores her breakups on her records (with Red and TTPD being a primary example), it turns out that the meme was right in a different way, because Kelce is the crux of her new album far more than being a performer is.

    “Wi$h Li$t” (which bears a similarity to Midnights’ “Glitch” in terms of Swift’s intonation and the sound of the track itself) is just such a beacon of that. During it, Swift details the different kinds of wishes that people have for themselves, many of them materially-oriented (e.g., “They want that yacht life, under chopper blades/They want those bright lights and Balenci shades/And a fat ass with a baby face [this somehow sounding like a jibe being made at one of Swift’s longtime nemeses, Kim Kardashian]).” Swift, on the other hand, claims, “I just want you/Have a couple kids, got the whole block lookin’ like you/We tell the world to leave us the fuck alone, and they do, wow/Got me dreamin’ ‘bout a driveway with a basketball hoop/Boss up, settle down, got a wish list.” A wish list, evidently, that not only one-ups Swift’s usual cringe factor, but also proves XCX “or whoever” right in calling her Boring Barbie.

    Try as she might to mitigate that nickname with the song that follows, “Wood.” An innuendo-laden ditty that makes all previous songs on The Life of a Showgirl come across as far less uncomfortable. And it’s not just because this marks the first time that Swift tries her hand at something like being “raunchy” (“Girls, I don’t need to catch the bouquet/To know a hard rock is on the way”), but because, well, she’s quite bad at it. Though, at the very least, she spared listeners from not being euphemistic (“The curse on me was broken by your magic wand”—oof). Because to hear her try her hand at something as sexually explicit as “WAP” would be so much worse.

    Nay, it might even get her “CANCELLED!” (spelled the British way, perhaps a residual side effect of being with Alwyn). A phenomenon that Swift insists she’s no stranger to, telling Time in 2023 that she was “canceled within an inch of my life and sanity” because of the “fully manufactured frame job, in an illegally recorded phone call, which Kim Kardashian edited and then put out to say to everyone that I was a liar.” Histrionic recounting aside, Swift was so affected by the backlash of that leaked phone call she didn’t bother releasing an album in 2016, let alone commenting on the election that year, even when her input would have been potentially invaluable, what with her influence on mass culture, right down to voting predilections. And, although she was never really at risk of “being put out to pasture” because of the incident, Swift commented that the experience made her have a new empathy for others who went through the same thing after her. As she stated via Amazon Track by Track, “I don’t naturally just cast people aside just because other people decide they don’t like them. I make my own decisions about people based on how they treat me within my life and their actions. And so, this is a song about all those themes.” Of course, such a comment leads one to wonder what her “hot take” on Woody Allen might be (especially since her bestie, Selena Gomez, once worked with him on the atrocious A Rainy Day in New York). And if there are others who have been “canceled” that she might side with sans publicly having the courage to say so.

    For the time being, however, she’ll have to leave listeners guessing on which canceled celebrities she’s still friends with (certainly not Blake Lively) by way of the generic chorus, “Good thing I like my friends cancelled/I like ‘em cloaked in Gucci [so much designer brand name-checking on this record] and in scandal/Like my whiskey sour/And poison thorny flowers/Welcome to my underworld [yes, it feels very deliberately Reputation]/It’ll break your heart/At least you know exactly who your friends are/They’re the ones with matching scars.”

    As are those who have been called “terms of endearment” in a condescending manner before. In this regard, “Honey,” the second to last song on the record (and not to be confused with Mariah’s iconic single of the same name), is probably the most “relatable” song on The Life of a Showgirl. Mainly because Swift, once again, taps into her rage against the patriarchy by recalling the times when people would call her “honey” or “sweetheart” in a derogatory sort of way. But, ever since she met her “Prince Charming,” the word has taken on a more positive connotation, prompting her to urge, “You can call me ‘honey’ if you want/Because I’m the one you want/I’m the one you want/You give it different meaning/‘Cause you mean it when you talk/Sweetie, it’s yours, kicking in doors, take it to the floor, gimme more/Buy the paint in the color of your eyes/And graffiti my whole damn life.”

    Unfortunately, that’s not even as saccharine as it gets on “Honey,” with Swift also singing, “Honey, I’m home, we could play house/We can bed down, pick me up, who’s the baddest in the land? What’s the plan?/You could be my forever-night stand/Honey.” This bearing certain correlations to Swift’s well-documented “nesting phase” on “Lover,” during which she also saw fit to make listeners nearly retch with the lines, “We could leave the Christmas lights up ‘til January/And this is our place, we make the rules [a.k.a. “playing house”],” along with, “All’s well that ends well to end up with you/Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover.” These lyrics now no longer applying to Joe Alwyn, but to Kelce. Easily repurposed “in a pinch.” Not just in general, but when such sentiments are refunneled into other songs with similar “gushings” aimed at Kelce, with this particular one serving as something like the “Sweet Nothing” (one of many Midnights tracks directed at Alwyn) of the album.

    And for the grand, “show-stopping” finale, Swift pivots away from romantic love in favor of the love she has for performance (though, needless to say, her expression of this love comes nowhere near what JADE achieves on “Angel of My Dreams”—and, honestly, to gain insight into the life of a real-ass showgirl, it’s That’s Showbiz Baby for the win). Thus, she concludes with the eponymous “The Life of a Showgirl” featuring Sabrina Carpenter. And yes, tapping Carpenter to collaborate has a “full-circle” meaning in that Carpenter was one of the opening acts during The Eras Tour. In the time since, obviously, Carpenter has blown up to a level that might very nearly match Swift’s in due time—in fact, she now almost has as many albums, with Man’s Best Friend marking her seventh one (and arguably more listenable as “pop perfection” than The Life of a Showgirl).

    While the album is primarily a love letter to Kelce (whereas TTPD was a vinegar valentine to Matty Healy), there’s a telling line in “The Life of a Showgirl” wherein Swift declares herself to be “married to the hustle” (even if through a “character”). All while warning others aspiring to the life of a showgirl, through the lens of this famous broad named “Kitty,” “Hеy, thank you for the lovely bouquet/You’re sweeter than a peach/But you don’t know the life of a showgirl, babe/And you’re never, ever gonna/Wait, the more you play, the more that you pay/You’re softer than a kitten, so/You don’t know the life of a showgirl, babe/And you’re never gonna wanna.” But naturally, in both Swift and Carpenter’s case, they definitely wanna. And probably will “till the end of time” (as a more reluctant showgirl, Lana Del Rey, would put it). But while Carpenter is in an “era” that allows for more creative inspiration to flow, Swift seems to be indicating that her own “muse” is in the midst of some kind of “last gasp.” At least when it comes to being relatable to anyone other than tradwives.

    To that end, like the also Max Martin-infused Reputation before it, The Life of a Showgirl arrives at a time when things have never been more politically fraught. And yet, Swift has chosen to release one of her “fluffiest” records yet. For never has “glitz and glam” been more of an “in poor taste” sell than it is now (which is why Doja Cat had to feign going back to the 80s with Vie in order to do it). Further indicating that Swift seems to be more out of touch with reality/the common person than ever before.

    At the bare minimum, though, she seems to understand that she needed to keep this record breezy (read: short). Way more pared down than The Tortured Poets Department. This perhaps being a testament both to the critical feedback she encountered about that album’s length and the fact that, ultimately, she knows that froth isn’t something that can be explored too in-depth without really annoying people. And yes, if The Life of a Showgirl, as “superfluous” as it is, is an indication of where Swift is at now, it doesn’t bode well for where she’s going to be “artistically” once she’s actually married. If she gets divorced, however, well, that’s another story…

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    Genna Rivieccio

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  • Did Taylor Swift Diss Charli XCX on The Life of a Showgirl?

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    Taylor Swift rarely fights in public. Instead, she takes shots via her music. On “Actually Romantic,” the seventh track from Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl, the biggest pop star in the world seemingly takes a dig at none other than Charli XCX.

    Many outlets, including The Guardian and the Los Angeles Times, believe that Swift’s song, co-written with Max Martin and Shellback, is a diss track aimed at the Brat songwriter. The song’s title, “Actually Romantic,” seems to be referencing the Charli XCX song “Everything Is Romantic” off her critically acclaimed and Grammy-winning album Brat. But while both titles share a word, other believe Swift’s track is a direct response to Charli’s song “Sympathy Is a Knife,” rumored to have been partially inspired by Swift.

    “Actually Romantic” directly addresses a hater of Swift’s who calls her “boring Barbie when the coke’s got you brave.” Charli played with the party-drug culture aesthetic throughout her Brat era. Swift goes on to sing that the same friend high-fived an ex of hers after they found out that Swift and her boyfriend broke up. Many fans read that as a reference to Matty Healy, frontman of the band The 1975, with whom Taylor briefly dated and often seemingly wrote about in her last studio album The Tortured Poet’s Department. This is where the Charli XCX connection becomes more prominent. George Daniel, Charli’s husband, is the drummer for The 1975. Healy and his mother, Denise Welch, attended Charli and George’s wedding in Sicily last month.

    Taylor Swift and Matty Healy in 2023.

    Robert Kamau

    Charli and Taylor weren’t always enemies. In 2018, the British pop star opened for Swift on her Reputation stadium tour alongside Camila Cabello. The following year, however, she said in an interview with Pitchfork that performing in front of Swift’s audience left her cold. “I’m really grateful that (Taylor) asked me on that tour,” said Charli. “But as an artist, it kind of felt like I was getting up onstage and waving to five-year-olds.”

    Taylor goes on to describe her anonymous hater in “Actually Romantic” as a “toy chihuahua barking at me from a tiny purse,” accusing her target of writing a song about how much it sucked to see her face. But in the chorus, Swift turns the polemic into something of a compliment. “It’s actually sweet all the time you’ve spent on me / It’s honestly wild all the effort you’ve spent on me/ It’s actually romantic I really gotta hand it to you / No man has ever loved me like you do.” So, is “Actually Romantic” a diss track or a love letter? You decide.

    Original story appeared in VF Italia.

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    Valentina Colosimo

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  • Fans share first reactions to Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl”

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    Taylor Swift has released her new album “The Life of a Showgirl,” which debuted at midnight and is already generating major buzz. Likely to be the year’s biggest release, the album ushers in a new era for the singer-songwriter. Kelly Keegs, co-host of Barstool Sports’ “Taylor Watch” podcast, and content creator Katherine Zaino join “CBS Mornings” to share their first reactions and how fans are responding.

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  • Taylor Swift Called Out Someone ‘Resenting’ Her Amid Charli xcx ‘Actually Romantic’ Feud Speculation: ‘Stop Talking Dirty’

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    All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, StyleCaster may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

    It might be the battle of the pop girlies right now. Taylor Swift‘s The Life of a Showgirl is already stirring up some alleged beef between the singer and Charli xcx. Some Swifties are convinced that the song “Actually Romantic” is about the Brat artist.

    In track 7 of The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor sings in the first couple of lines, “I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave.” She later disses the subject by saying “you said you’re glad he ghosted me,” and “Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face,” “How many times has your boyfriend said ‘Why are we always talking about her?” The song takes a turn with Taylor saying she finds the thoughts “sweet” since the subject is talking about “all the time you’ve spent on me.”

    Related: Charli XCX & Lorde’s Feud Timeline Explained & How They ‘Worked It Out’ on a Remix

    So what spurred this alleged beef between the icons?

    What happened between Taylor Swift & Charli xcx?

    2019: Charli talks about opening for Taylor on the Reputation Tour

    Taylor and Charli actually go way back. The “365” singer opened for Taylor during her 2018 Reputation tour. She told Pitchfork she felt like she “was getting up onstage and waving to 5-year-olds” during her experiences with Taylor. She later apologized for that statement.

    2023: Taylor gets into a relationship with Matty Healy

    Shortly before the release of Brat, Taylor Swift had a two-month long fling with The 1975 frontman Matty Healy. Charli, meanwhile, is now married to the band’s drummer George Daniel.

    2024: Charli xcx releases Brat

    When the Grammy award-winning album Brat by Charli xcx was released, many fans speculated that the song “Sympathy is a Knife” had lyrics that were alluding to Taylor Swift. In the first verse, she sings, “This one girl taps my insecurities / Don’t know if it’s real or if I’m spiraling” and the alleged beef becomes more obvious in the next couple of verses. “Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show
    / Fingers crossed behind my back, I hope they break up quick.”

    Not to mention, Charli has a track on Brat called “Everything is Romantic,” while Taylor’s song seemingly plays along with the theme with it being called “Actually Romantic.”

    October 2024: Charli xcx addresses who “Sympathy Is a Knife Is Written For

    As for the true meaning of “Sympathy is a Knife,” the singer is still keeping mum about the subject. “People are gonna think what they want to think,” she told New York Magazine. “That song is about me and my feelings and my anxiety and the way my brain creates narratives and stories in my head when I feel insecure and how I don’t want to be in those situations physically when I feel self-doubt.”

    In the same profile, Taylor had quite good things to say about her peer. “I’ve been blown away by Charli’s melodic sensibilities since I first heard ‘Stay Away’ in 2011. Her writing is surreal and inventive, always.” She added that Charli “just takes a song to places you wouldn’t expect it to go, and she’s been doing it consistently for over a decade. I love to see hard work like that pay off.”

    After Charli collaborated with Lorde on her track “Girl, so confusing,” she talked to The Guardian about how the media pits women against each other. “Relationships between women are super-complex and multi-layered,” she said. “You can like someone and dislike them at the same time; you can feel jealous of somebody but they can still be your friend.”

    October 2025: Taylor releases The Life of a Showgirl

    While Taylor hasn’t named names about who the track could possibly be about, she talked about the song in a track by track breakdown with Amazon Music. She explained that “Actually Romantic” is “a song about realizing that someone else has kind of had a one-sided, adversarial relationship with you that you didn’t know about. And all of a sudden they start doing too much and they start letting you know that actually, you’ve been living in their head rent-free and you had no idea.”

    “It’s presenting itself as them sort of resenting you or having a problem with you but you take that and just accept it as love and you accept it as attention and affection, and how flattering that somebody has made you such a big part of their reality when you didn’t even think about this,” she continued. “It’s actually pretty romantic if you really think about it.”

    What Happened With Taylor Swift & Charli XCX?

    Taylor Swift ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ Sweat & Vanilla Perfume Orange Glitter Vinyl

    Includes: 12 songs, Portofino Orange Glitter Vinyl, Double gatefold jacket, unique front and back cover, and never-before-seen photos and album lyrics

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    Lea Veloso

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  • Taylor Swift releases

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    Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” was released at midnight Friday to much anticipation from her fans.

    Swift wrote and produced the album with Swedish producers Max Martin and Shellback while she was on the European leg of her record-breaking Eras Tour. 

    “I can’t tell you how proud I am to share this with you, an album that just feels so right,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post early Friday morning just after the album was released. “A forever thank you goes out to my mentors and friends Max and Shellback for helping me paint this self portrait. If you thought the big show was wild, perhaps you should come and take a look behind the curtain…The Life of a Showgirl is out now.”

    The pop star announced the album, which has 12 tracks, in August on “New Heights,” the podcast hosted by her fiancé, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and his brother, former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.

    Swift, Martin and Shellback have written several of Swift’s past hits, including “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “Blank Space” and “Shake It Off,” but this is the first album to only feature their collaborations. 

    “We knew that we had to bring the best ideas we’ve ever had,” Swift said about working with Martin and Shellback when she announced the album.

    In celebration of the new music, a nearly 90-minute show, “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” will play at AMC Theatres nationwide Friday through Sunday. 

    The show includes the premiere of a music video for the album’s first track, “The Fate of Ophelia,” behind-the-scenes footage from the filming of the music video, stories behind each song and lyric videos, Swift said.

    “Looks like it’s time to brush off that Eras Tour outfit or orange cardigan,” Swift wrote on social media announcing the show. “Dancing is optional but very much encouraged.”

    “The Life of a Showgirl” became the most pre-saved album in Spotify history, the streaming service said on Sept. 1. The last release to set that record was Swift’s 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” which came out in April 2024.

    Nicole Brown Chau

    Nicole Brown Chau is a deputy managing editor for CBSNews.com. She writes and edits national news, health stories, explainers and more.

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  • On Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life of a Showgirl,’ love and reputation are on the line

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    Taylor Swift’s new album is set to be released next month, and you could buy it right here in New Hampshire. Target says select stores across the US will open at midnight on Friday, October 3rd. That’s when you could be the first to get 3 Target exclusive CDs of the life of *** showgirl. The participating locations in New Hampshire are in Concord, Nashua, and Somersworth. You can bet there will be long lines for that.

    Who is Taylor Swift’s heir apparent? Her 12th album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” offers an answer. It’s Taylor Swift.Her last album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” ended with the cautionary “Clara Bow,” an allegory that seemed to suggest her tenure atop the cultural mainstream was inherited from stars of the past, like the namechecked Stevie Nicks — and that a new generation of younger, elastic female pop performers could soon take her place. In 2025, there are many to choose from: Consider Chappell Roan’s full-throated theatrics, Olivia Rodrigo’s fiery punk-pop feminism, Sabrina Carpenter’s cheeky sexuality. In the knotty themes of Friday’s “The Life of a Showgirl,” best illustrated in the title track, Swift asserts that the baton hasn’t been passed, but rather shared. Because she isn’t going anywhere.Video above: Taylor Swift album released “And all the headshots on the walls / Of the dance halls are of the b—— / Who wish I’d hurry up and die,” she sings with a wink, “But I’m immortal now, baby dolls / I couldn’t if I tried.” Notably, if she has a chosen successor in someone else, it’s the album’s sole feature: Carpenter, who sings on the stomp-clap closer in her newly adopted twang. The mournful glissando of lap steel — the album’s most country moment — arrives only with Carpenter’s introduction. The western genre is Swift’s past and Carpenter’s future.Suggestive bangers and a ‘New Heights’ namecheckIf Swift is co-signing Carpenter, she’s also learning from her. Carpenter has cornered the market on tight pop songs with pert, provocative messages; Swift does the same with the manspreading swagger of the George Michael-interpolating “Father Figure,” which mentions a protege, and the funky “Wood.” (A carefully veiled PG-13 lyric: “His love was the key / That opened my thighs,” she sings. “Girls, I don’t need to catch the bouquet / To know a hard rock is on the way.”) Interwoven are suggestive, sensual ad-libs … and a direct reference to fiance Travis Kelce’s podcast.Across a brisk 12 tracks — Swift’s tendency toward abundance doesn’t manifest itself in a double album this time around, but instead in her endless vinyl variants — “The Life of a Showgirl” mostly delivers on its promise of up-tempo pop “bangers,” to borrow her own vernacular. Fans need not wait up for the long-anticipated “Reputation (Taylor’s Version),” because “The Life of a Showgirl” pulls from its essence. But this time, with a lot of affection, like a truer “Lover” era.Swift has long internalized criticisms and responded to them in her art, most directly in 2017’s “Reputation.” Here, she is once again concerned with her perception, articulated over booming, lush production on “CANCELLED!” or “Elizabeth Taylor.” On the latter, she sings, “Hollywood hates me / You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby.” Except this time, her love acts as an anchor. “I can’t have fun if I can’t have you,” she flirts.Welcome (back) to SwedenFor “The Life of a Showgirl,” Swift enlisted Swedish producers Max Martin and Shellback, the hitmaking duo she collaborated with on 2012’s “Red,” 2014’s “1989” and, of course, “Reputation.” Notably absent is her frequent producing partner Jack Antonoff. It’s a wise decision: In years past, Swift, Shellback and Martin’s pop experiments shifted not only her career trajectory but the genre itself. Before “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” an EDM drop in the middle of a radio pop hit was unimaginable. After, the style would dominate for half the decade.“The Life of a Showgirl” isn’t as seismic, but there are addictive and idiosyncratic Swiftisms here: acerbic wit and thick literary references in glassy pop hooks. Where a song like “Opalite,” if attempted by another other performer, would lose its weightlessness under its voluble aspirations, Swift manages to swoon. Stacked, opalescent harmonies and a vintage swing give the song, fittingly, an almost iridescent quality.Video below: 95-year-old local retirement home resident starts his own Taylor Swift fan clubAnd there are bops, like the undeniable opener “The Fate of Ophelia” with its 1980s-via-Robyn synth-pop and momentary “Summertime Sadness” vocal delivery.There’s a treasure trove of deliciously quotable lines, too, as expected. “Please God bring me a best friend who I think is hot,” she manages to make effortless in the “Midnights”-esque “Wi$h Li$t,” a lovely song about the mundanity of romance and the suburban fantasy of “a couple kids … a driveway with a basketball hoop.”The dictionary of a showgirlSwift’s dense vocabulary is on full display, often full of charm. But it is sometimes unwieldy, a common criticism of “The Tortured Poets Department,” like when she overstuffs “Our thoughtless ambition sparked the ignition on foolish decisions which led to misguided visions” into “Father Figure,” momentarily overvaluing clever writing over clever cadence.Or she is too modish. The colloquial “Eldest Daughter,” for example, mentions “trolling,” “memes” and “comments,” immediately dating itself. But sonically, it is a thoughtful acoustic ballad with emo movement, in which Swift contends with her “terminal uniqueness” and deep dedication to a loved one. It juxtaposes nicely with something like the casually cruel, pop-punk affected “Actually Romantic.” It’s hard not to hear some brief Hayley Williams in the distorted speakerphone vocals in the song’s coda or boygenius in its harmonies: another example of Swift pulling from those she’s influenced — and enlisted on her tours. Swift has said “The Life of a Showgirl” is meant to embody her “Eras Tour” — a singular global phenomenon, a canonical event in the history of pop performance that, in its over three-hour runtime, was a sensory explosion. On these 12 tracks, she’s approximating glitz and glamour with humanity and humor. She spends no time waiting in the wings. So let the show begin.

    Who is Taylor Swift’s heir apparent? Her 12th album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” offers an answer. It’s Taylor Swift.

    Her last album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” ended with the cautionary “Clara Bow,” an allegory that seemed to suggest her tenure atop the cultural mainstream was inherited from stars of the past, like the namechecked Stevie Nicks — and that a new generation of younger, elastic female pop performers could soon take her place. In 2025, there are many to choose from: Consider Chappell Roan’s full-throated theatrics, Olivia Rodrigo’s fiery punk-pop feminism, Sabrina Carpenter’s cheeky sexuality. In the knotty themes of Friday’s “The Life of a Showgirl,” best illustrated in the title track, Swift asserts that the baton hasn’t been passed, but rather shared. Because she isn’t going anywhere.

    Video above: Taylor Swift album released

    “And all the headshots on the walls / Of the dance halls are of the b—— / Who wish I’d hurry up and die,” she sings with a wink, “But I’m immortal now, baby dolls / I couldn’t if I tried.” Notably, if she has a chosen successor in someone else, it’s the album’s sole feature: Carpenter, who sings on the stomp-clap closer in her newly adopted twang. The mournful glissando of lap steel — the album’s most country moment — arrives only with Carpenter’s introduction. The western genre is Swift’s past and Carpenter’s future.

    Suggestive bangers and a ‘New Heights’ namecheck

    If Swift is co-signing Carpenter, she’s also learning from her. Carpenter has cornered the market on tight pop songs with pert, provocative messages; Swift does the same with the manspreading swagger of the George Michael-interpolating “Father Figure,” which mentions a protege, and the funky “Wood.” (A carefully veiled PG-13 lyric: “His love was the key / That opened my thighs,” she sings. “Girls, I don’t need to catch the bouquet / To know a hard rock is on the way.”) Interwoven are suggestive, sensual ad-libs … and a direct reference to fiance Travis Kelce’s podcast.

    Republic Records via AP

    This album cover image released by Republic Records shows “The Life of a Showgirl” by Taylor Swift.

    Across a brisk 12 tracks — Swift’s tendency toward abundance doesn’t manifest itself in a double album this time around, but instead in her endless vinyl variants — “The Life of a Showgirl” mostly delivers on its promise of up-tempo pop “bangers,” to borrow her own vernacular. Fans need not wait up for the long-anticipated “Reputation (Taylor’s Version),” because “The Life of a Showgirl” pulls from its essence. But this time, with a lot of affection, like a truer “Lover” era.

    Swift has long internalized criticisms and responded to them in her art, most directly in 2017’s “Reputation.” Here, she is once again concerned with her perception, articulated over booming, lush production on “CANCELLED!” or “Elizabeth Taylor.” On the latter, she sings, “Hollywood hates me / You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby.” Except this time, her love acts as an anchor. “I can’t have fun if I can’t have you,” she flirts.

    Welcome (back) to Sweden

    For “The Life of a Showgirl,” Swift enlisted Swedish producers Max Martin and Shellback, the hitmaking duo she collaborated with on 2012’s “Red,” 2014’s “1989” and, of course, “Reputation.” Notably absent is her frequent producing partner Jack Antonoff. It’s a wise decision: In years past, Swift, Shellback and Martin’s pop experiments shifted not only her career trajectory but the genre itself. Before “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” an EDM drop in the middle of a radio pop hit was unimaginable. After, the style would dominate for half the decade.

    “The Life of a Showgirl” isn’t as seismic, but there are addictive and idiosyncratic Swiftisms here: acerbic wit and thick literary references in glassy pop hooks. Where a song like “Opalite,” if attempted by another other performer, would lose its weightlessness under its voluble aspirations, Swift manages to swoon. Stacked, opalescent harmonies and a vintage swing give the song, fittingly, an almost iridescent quality.

    Video below: 95-year-old local retirement home resident starts his own Taylor Swift fan club

    And there are bops, like the undeniable opener “The Fate of Ophelia” with its 1980s-via-Robyn synth-pop and momentary “Summertime Sadness” vocal delivery.

    There’s a treasure trove of deliciously quotable lines, too, as expected. “Please God bring me a best friend who I think is hot,” she manages to make effortless in the “Midnights”-esque “Wi$h Li$t,” a lovely song about the mundanity of romance and the suburban fantasy of “a couple kids … a driveway with a basketball hoop.”

    The dictionary of a showgirl

    Swift’s dense vocabulary is on full display, often full of charm. But it is sometimes unwieldy, a common criticism of “The Tortured Poets Department,” like when she overstuffs “Our thoughtless ambition sparked the ignition on foolish decisions which led to misguided visions” into “Father Figure,” momentarily overvaluing clever writing over clever cadence.

    Or she is too modish. The colloquial “Eldest Daughter,” for example, mentions “trolling,” “memes” and “comments,” immediately dating itself. But sonically, it is a thoughtful acoustic ballad with emo movement, in which Swift contends with her “terminal uniqueness” and deep dedication to a loved one. It juxtaposes nicely with something like the casually cruel, pop-punk affected “Actually Romantic.” It’s hard not to hear some brief Hayley Williams in the distorted speakerphone vocals in the song’s coda or boygenius in its harmonies: another example of Swift pulling from those she’s influenced — and enlisted on her tours.

    Swift has said “The Life of a Showgirl” is meant to embody her “Eras Tour” — a singular global phenomenon, a canonical event in the history of pop performance that, in its over three-hour runtime, was a sensory explosion. On these 12 tracks, she’s approximating glitz and glamour with humanity and humor. She spends no time waiting in the wings. So let the show begin.

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  • Are Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo Still Holding a Grudge?

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    Remember when?
    Photo: @oliviarodrigo via Instagram

    The obvious drama on Taylor Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl is “Actually Romantic,” the alleged response track to Charli XCX’s “Sympathy is a Knife.” While the petty lyrics are aimed at a certain someone who calls Taylor “Boring Barbie,” the song sounds directly from Olivia Rodrigo’s guts. Wait, is that feud still a thing? Swift digs deeper on “Father Figure,” a song that posthumously doles out writing credits to George Michael, propping herself up as inspiration and guidance to “a younger version of me.” “I saw potential,” she sings on the outro.

    When Olivia Rodrigo emerged from her Disney+ cocoon with “drivers license,” her identity as a devout Swiftie was well documented. She caught the attention of Swift, they mutually posted loving photos together when they finally met at the BRIT Awards, and Rodrigo quickly became a meaningful part of the first “Taylor’s Version” rollout. Rodrigo even intentionally interpolated the piano chords of “New Year’s Day” on her Sour track “1 step forward, 2 steps back.” But her open affection eventually cost her millions in royalties after she gave Swift a retroactive credit on Rodrigo’s hit “Deja Vu” for interpolating the bridge of “Cruel Summer.” Ever since, fans have speculated about a falling out between the two pop stars. Drake and Kendrick, step aside, because breadcrumbs about the rift have seemingly been spread throughout the pop stars’ songs ever since. Below, every lyric that could lead back to the bad blood between the diaristic songwriters. Who’s afraid of this little old beef? You should be.

    Olivia Rodrigo has claimed she was “very surprised” when fans interpreted lyrics from her sophomore album’s debut single as digs at Taylor Swift. Years later, I’m even less convinced by that. The first possible dig at Swift comes almost immediately: “How’s the castle built off people you pretend to care about?” The vision of Taylor, high up in a castle protecting her kingdom, comes up regularly in the fight. Swift has built a… reputation… as a maternal figure fighting for younger artists’ rights, but if we are to believe the rumors about the feud, is it all pretend?

    Rodrigo sings, “Six months of torture you sold as some forbidden paradise. I loved you truly.” Yes, this could be her situationship with disgrace-to-my-first-name Zack Bia. But given “drivers license” was released in January 2021, and the songwriting credit was officially doled out to Swift and her “Cruel Summer” co-writers in July that year, could these six months be the brief period in which Taylor took Olivia under her wing?

    As with everything Taylor, it always comes back to the money. Olivia sings, “The way you sold me for parts,” and “Bleedin’ me dry like a goddamn vampire.” While Taylor would never “fame fuck” Olivia (I’ll leave another sect of fans to discuss that), these lyrics may point to the financial stakes of Taylor’s team demanding credit for the interpolation on “Deja Vu.”

    Finally, the lyrics “And every girl I ever talked to told me you were bad, bad news / You called them crazy, god, I hate the way I called them crazy too,” don’t immediately seem like Taylor call-outs remembering the mentors who have filled the private-jet-sized vacancy left by Swift in Olivia’s life, they could be. Think Katy Perry and Alanis Morissette, who she agreed with about the “bullying and a lot of jealousy” coming from former idols who ended up “being mean girls.”

    If “the grudge” just sounds like a breakup song to you, it should. Being betrayed by a boy is a slap in the face; being betrayed by your hero is a true gut punch. Nestled in that six months of torture, Rodrigo opens with, “I have nightmares each week about that Friday in May, one phone call from you and my entire world was changed.” Sour was released Friday, May 21, 2021. It’s safe to guess that upon hearing her influence on the album, Taylor reached out to Olivia on the day of its release to start the conversation about royalties. (Even if she needed a week to let her vampiric teeth sink in, Friday, May 28, 2021 is on the table, too.)

    Rodrigo sings, “You took everything I loved and crushed it in between your fingers.” Everything is Taylor Nation, naturally. She admits, “I say I don’t care, I say that I’m fine… but you know I can’t let it go, I’ve tried, I’ve tried, I’ve tried for so long.” Olivia’s lifelong “undyin’ love” for Taylor now haunts her. Taylor Swift was everywhere in 2023 (and still is). It makes perfect sense why she’d “hear your voice every time that I think I’m not enough.”

    Since Sour’s release, Olivia has tried her best to act cool when asked about Taylor Swift, notably saying she was “too busy” to attend the never-ending Eras Tour, but then she sings, “I say I don’t care, I say that I’m fine.” .

    In one of the song’s most damning lines, “And we both drew blood, but, man, those cuts were never equal,” she reintroduces the (bad) blood motif from “Vampire,” tying the songs together thematically. She  even appears to address the “cuts” of the profits that Taylor received from Sour. “Do you think I deserved it all? Ooh, your flower’s filled with vitriol,” paints a vivid picture of Taylor, vindicated in teaching Olivia a lesson she deserved to learn, possibly sending make-up flowers to prove her point. In the aftermath of “drivers license,” it seemed Taylor was thrilled to have a protege? All signs on social media pointed to a fruitful mother-daughter partnership (Taylor commented “I say that’s my baby and I’m really proud” on Olivia’s post about being two spots below her idol on the iTunes charts.), but instead Olivia cries, “You built me up to watch me fall.”

    In the climax of the song, Olivia belts, “You have everything, and you still want more.” Taylor is a billionaire. She does “have everything.” But for some reason, she needed a songwriting credit from a similar-sounding bridge on a 17-year-old’s debut album.

    Possibly the most intentionally scary she’s ever written (with recent addition “CANCELLED!” as a close second), this searing rant could be about any number of beefs Taylor Swift engages in. “The scandal was contained. The bullet had just grazed. At all costs, keep your good name,” she sings.

    In my vision of Taylor’s Female Rage: the Musical, she wrote this song immediately after hearing “The Grudge.” She whispers, “So tell me everything is not about me. But what if it is?” – stunned that someone would write a diss track about her. The first substantial clue that the song could be about Olivia comes from the lyrics “So all you kids can sneak into my house, with all the cobwebs.”  There are plenty of breakup songs on The Tortured Poets Department – and Taylor has a long list of revenge songs about Scooter Braun and the music exec who sold her masters, Scott Borchetta – but no one’s calling them “kids.”

    The most obvious lyrics — “That I’ll sue you if you step on my lawn,”– reference the legal back and forth that happened when Rodrigo metaphorically stepped on Swift’s lawn by borrowing her chorus structure.

    “Put narcotics into all of my songs. And that’s why you’re still singing along,” seems to directly reference “The Grudge,” when Olivia sings, “Even after all this, you’re still everything to me.” Taylor knows that even after all this battle, Olivia still loves her idol’s music – taunting her with her complicated devotion.

    The latest entry in this canon of beef is “Father Figure” from The Life of a Showgirl. Could the central interpolation of George Michael’s 1987 year hit meant to drag Olivia for the songwriting credit that started the feud? She paints a picture of taking a younger, poorer artist to the Chateau (no, not Audrey Hobert), singing, “You remind me of a younger me. I saw potential…” This twists the closing lines  on The Tortured Poets Department: “You look like Taylor Swift in this light. We’re loving it. You’ve got edge; she never did. The future’s bright, dazzling” from “Clara Bow.”

    In the second-most cringe-inducing “dick” mention on TLOAS, Taylor brags, “I can make deals with the devil. Because my dick’s bigger.” She’s puffing her chest with business acumen. “This love is pure profit, just step into my office,” she sings.“I dry your tears with my sleeve.” These lyrics make more sense remembering that the initial feud happened as Taylor was deep in her fight with Shamrock Capital, the owners of her original masters. She sneers, “Said, ‘They want to see you now. They don’t want you to reign.’ I showed you all the tricks of the trade.” Olivia herself once noted she was inspired by Taylor’s tricks of the trade when she signed her record deal and maintained control of her masters from the start. So when Taylor vows, “I protect the family. Leave it with me,” is she implying that if Olivia had left the “Deja Vu” songwriting credits with her, she’d be protected by Taylor Nation?

    “Your thoughtless ambition sparked that ignition of foolish decisions, which led to misguided visions,” could reference Olivia’s ambition to echo Taylor’s writing on “Deja Vu,” but she “foolishly” didn’t offer credit at first. “Then to fulfill your dreams, you had to get rid of me.” Once the feud dissipated, Olivia stopped mentioning Taylor Swift entirely.

    “You want a fight you found it. I got the place surrounded.” isn’t a direct reference, but four years after the initial songwriting-credit fallout, Taylor has befriended pop girls who allegedly appear in Rodrigo’s songs: Sabrina Carpenter and Gracie Abrams.

    In one of the more haunting deliveries in Taylor’s discography, “All I ask for is your loyalty. My dear protege,” she clearly draws a line between herself and her younger-me. But the bridge throws in a possible red herring: “I saw a change in you, my dear boy.” Is the song actually about Troye Sivan, her once-opener who has since gone distinctly team XCX? Or could she be shading another former devout Swiftie – Olivia Rodrigo’s best friend Conan Gray, who helped promote early snippets of Fearless (Taylor’s Version). “They don’t make loyalty like they used to,” clearly, because Conan Gray famously didn’t listen to Midnights for months after its release. Maybe the song is about all of the attached-at-the-hip former Swifties.

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    Zach Schiffman

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  • Taylor Swift Is Your New “Father Figure” on The Life of a Showgirl

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    Though the original song’s lyrics seem to address a person vowing to take care of and protect a romantic partner, in the Faith: Legacy Edition album booklet, Michael discussed the production of the song and the transformative power of adding and subtracting different musical elements.

    “It started off with a rhythm track with a snare, and when you play it like that it sounds a bit like Prince. I must have been listening to it without the snare and gone, ‘Oh my God, that totally changes the record!’ It suddenly becomes a gospel record,” he said of early versions of the song.

    “A couple of things in my career have been a complete accident, where I stumbled upon the sound. I know when something resonates, and one of my saving graces is that I can hear something when I stumble upon it. I have the ability to stop and say: ‘No. Actually, that’s much better.’ It’s tiny little things like that that make a record, I think.”

    To say that Swift has been heavily involved in the production and marketing of her own music is the understatement of the century. By nodding to Michael’s classic No. 1 hit, is she making a statement about power and musicality? Could the song be something of a spiritual sequel to “The Man,” in which she imagined how her actions would be viewed if she wasn’t a woman? Or, perhaps, the allusion is more to do with Babygirl director Halina Reijn’s interpretation of the song, as she explained to Indiewire. For her, the track is about the freedom that comes with an assurance of safety.

    “We all, men, women, any human being, any person, has a young child inside of them that needs to be taken care of,” she said. “Whether we are 80 years old or 6 years old, it’s still there. And that is what it taps into for me.”

    Whether Swift is positioning herself as the father or the fathered, her entry into the George Michael Extended Universe is sure to be a seismic one. Welcome to your Showgirl Era, Daddy.

    Representatives for Swift did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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    Kase Wickman

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  • Box Office Preview: Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ to Tower Over Dwayne Johnson’s ‘Smashing Machine’

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    Taylor Swift appears to be enjoying the role of box office queen.

    She’s returning to theaters this weekend with a special event pic promoting her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, which comes out Friday. The big screen album release party, which will also feature the world premiere of the music video for Showgirl single “The Fate of Ophelia,” music videos and behind-the-scenes footage, is expected to tower over the competition and win the relatively quiet Oct. 3-Oct. 5 box office race with anywhere from $25 million to $35 million, if not more. Tracking suggests $35 million, while distributor AMC Theatres — which also partnered with the superstar musical artist on her record-breaking concert pic Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour — is being more conservative in suggesting $25 million to $30 million.

    Either way, that’s well ahead of opening weekend projections for its closest competitor, the Dwayne Johnson-led wrestling drama The Smashing Machine. That’s not exactly a surprise, considering Johnson’s latest outing is a specialty pic from A24, versus the sort of wide-appeal action movie The Rock is best known for. Smashing Machine, which made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival as this year’s awards season kicked off, is tracking to open in the $12 million to $14 million range.

    Directed by Benny Safdie, Smashing Machine reunitues Johnson with his Jungle Cruise co-star and good friend Emily Blunt, who played a key role in bringing Johnson and Safdie together. The film is based on the real-life story of Mark Kerr, a former college wrestler who battled trauma and an addiction to painkillers during the early years of the UFC.

    Another player to watch this weekend is James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, which is being rereleased exclusively in 3D. Like Swift’s team, Cameron and partner 20th Century/Disney are using the box office for promotional purposes: this Christmas, Avatar: Ash and Fire opens.

    Cameron’s Avatar movies have generally done well when rereleased, and this time out, the focus on Imax is an added bonus. The movie will be playing in 90 percent of all Imax auditoriums domestically but will have to share Dolby Cinema screens and other premium large-format auditoriums with the Showgirl release party. Way of Water is projected to earn $3 million to $4 million domestically from 2,100 theaters; rivals think it could approach $5 million.

    Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl is only playing in cinemas for three days, and Swift’s team went to great lengths to keep the project top secret until the 11th hour (they almost succeeded, but not quite), much to the chagrin of other distributors, such as A24 or even Disney, who don’t like last-minute surprises even if the idea of a live audience watching a viewing party on the big screen is a far cry from the sort of frenzy surrounding her Eras Tour. She announced the Oct. 3-Oct. 5 special event on Sept. 19 in a well-orchestrated social media post informing fans that advance tickets would go sale that day at 12:12 local time for $12, in keeping with Swift’s longtime relationship with numbers (Showgirl is her 12th album). Consumers can expect to pay more for Imax and other premium large format screenings.

    “I hereby invite you to a *dazzling* soirée, The Official Release Party of a Showgirl: Oct 3 – Oct 5 only in cinemas,” Swift wrote across social media on Sept. 19. “You’ll get to see the exclusive world premiere of the music video for my new single ‘The Fate of Ophelia,’ along with never before seen behind-the-scenes footage of how we made it, cut by cut explanations of what inspired this music and the brand new lyric videos from my new album The Life of a Showgirl. Looks like it’s time to brush off that Eras Tour outfit or orange cardigan… Tickets are on sale now. Dancing is optional but very much encouraged.”

    Like her tour itself, The Eras Tour film was a phenomenon when opening in 2023 to a huge $93.2 million domestically on its way becoming the top grossing concert film of all time with $261.6 million in global ticket sales. Swift and her team financed the $15 million project herself, bypassing the Hollywood studio system and partnering with AMC Theatres, the country and world’s largest cinema circuit, AMC Theatres Distribution is releasing Showgirl in partnership with Variance Films in the U.S. and Canada, and with Piece of Magic Entertainment in other international markets.

    This weekend, the one-hour-and-30-minute film also opens in its first 18 international markets. It will continue its international rollout throughout October.

    Showtimes begin Oct. 3 — the day of the album’s release — at 3 p.m. local time.

    Both Avatar and Smashing Machine will host Thursday previews.

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    Pamela McClintock

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  • From Taylor Swift to Marilyn Monroe: A Brief History of Cinematic Showgirls

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    In a sense, Taylor Swift’s Showgirl era actually began two albums ago—with “You’re on Your Own Kid,” a revealing track on her 10th studio record, Midnights (2022). In the song, Swift charts her coming of age in the spotlight: first escaping her small town by writing music, then searching parties full of “better bodies / just to learn that my dreams aren’t rare,” and ultimately deciding that “there were pages turned with the bridges burned” during her so-called cancellation chapter. It’s where she, Swift, first sang of the friendship bracelets that became currency on her Eras tour—even helping to bring her now fiancé, Travis Kelce, into focus. All of it would coalesce into the biggest creative chapter of Swift’s career.

    Two years, $2 billion in ticket sales, and 11 reprisals of “You’re on Your Own Kid” (the most repeated surprise song on her live set list) later, Swift promises a look “behind the curtain” of that blockbuster tour with her new album, The Life of a Showgirl.

    Look no further than the cover art—shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot, who also worked on her Reputation (2017) imagery—meant to represent Swift’s mood getting into the bath after a night of performing during the Eras tour. “When all this has gone down, you won’t be able to get to bed until 4 in the morning,” she said while announcing the album on Kelce’s New Heights podcast, “but you had to jump through 50 million hoops in this obstacle course that is your show. And you did it. You got two more in a row, but you did it tonight.” Swift added, “This album isn’t really about what happened to me on stage. It’s about what I was going through offstage.”

    That’s also true of most great showgirl movies, where Swift has been known to find inspiration. In fact, three of cinema’s most famous showgirls—as played by Elizabeth Berkley in Showgirls, Marilyn Monroe in The Prince and the Showgirl, and Pamela Anderson in The Last Showgirl—tend to foreshadow The Life of a Showgirl as first outlined in “You’re on Your Own Kid,” and hint at what may come on the twelfth album.

    The small-town “Daisy May” who longed for stardom in “You’re on Your Own Kid” sounds a bit like Nomi Malone, the bright-eyed heroine of Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls, who hitches a ride to Las Vegas to become a dancer. Once there, she’s deceived and betrayed in both business and love. All of Nomi’s naivete is stripped away in her pursuit of fame. And she abandons her once steadfast ideals to replace Gina Gerhson’s veteran showgirl Cristal Connors, whose line, “There’s always someone younger and hungrier coming down the stairs after you,” sounds like a lyric straight out of “Nothing New,” in which Swift and Phoebe Bridgers sing about the passage of time in the spotlight. “I know someday I’m gonna meet her, it’s a fever dream / The kind of radiance you only have at 17,” the two sing of their imaginary successor. “She’ll know the way and then she’ll say she got the map from me / I’ll say I’m happy for her, then I’ll cry myself to sleep.”

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    Savannah Walsh

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  • The Life of a Showgirl nail designs inspired by Taylor Swift’s new album

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    When Taylor Swift launches a new era, she’s doing more than just dropping music. She’s inviting us to revel in the latest world she’s dreamt up. With her engagement to Travis Kelce and the upcoming release of her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, on October 3, fans have plenty of reasons to celebrate. Sequins, rhinestones, and that dazzling aqua-orange palette are practically begging to be worn, danced in, and yes, painted right onto our nails. So naturally, we’ve already got The Life of a Showgirl nail designs on our minds.

    For me, half the joy of a new Taylor era comes from finding ways to weave it into everyday life. Nail art becomes more than just polish—it’s a wink to fellow Swifties, a way to feel connected to the larger fan base even if I’m just typing away at my desk. “When you mix the artistry of nails with the devotion of fans, it creates a wearable tribute, something personal, expressive, and instantly recognisable,” says New York City- and New Jersey-based nail artist Erica De Los Santos.

    “Taylor inspires trends no matter what she does, and nails are no exception,” says Bana Jarjour, a Los Angeles-based celebrity manicurist. And Swift’s Showgirl era is already making its way into salons.

    So what manicure should you get to celebrate TLOAS’s impending drop? De Los Santos recommends any look inspired by sequin-covered costumes, sparkling jewellery, and dramatic spotlights. Vibrant oranges, milky mints, bright blues, and muted peaches from the album cover mingle well with golds and silvers, high-shine gloss, glitter, ombré, and aura fades. “The overall vibe is extravagant, luxurious, and unapologetically eye-catching,” De Los Santos says.

    Leighton Denny Sheer Nail Polish in Firefly Wings

    Baggy Jean Baby | Blue Nail Polish

    14 Day Manicure Mai Tai Bright Orange Gel Nail Polish

    Julie Kandalec, New York City-based celebrity manicurist, educator, and Kiss Nails ambassador, says the trend doesn’t have to include the album colourways: Fans can embrace bold 3D accents, including “gems and feathers (à la stage headdresses), stars, and reflective finishes like metallic and chrome.”

    Obviously, the most devoted Taylor mega-fans are booking appointments to get TLOAS nails ahead of the album’s release date, but the experts we spoke to say the aesthetic is also affecting nail art trends in general. That’s likely because the colours lend themselves to other rising fall manicure trends, like crystals and mixed metals. “Whether it’s adding an element of diamond lining to a French or creating something more intricate across the whole manicure, I have no doubt the influence of the Showgirl aesthetic will be seen,” Jarjour says.

    As with any trend, experimentation is all part of the fun. “Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone and play around,” adds De Los Santos. “Even if that means choosing glitter over a solid colour or dark purple over a neutral. There are so many colours and texture combinations that come with the trend. There is something for everyone.”

    The Life of a Showgirl nail design ideas

    Ready to channel Taylor’s new era at your next mani appointment? Ahead, you’ll find The Life of a Showgirl nail inspo all over the spectrum, from subtle aura fades and gemstone accents to full-on, rhinestone-dripping Frenches.

    Ombré and auras

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    Abby Dupes

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  • Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ is almost here. Here’s what to know

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    Lights, camera, action. Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” arrives Friday. Are you ready for it?Swift announced her latest era back in August, when she began teasing the release.Here’s everything you need to know ahead of its drop date: how to stream, which variants exist, and of course, how the album came together. Enjoy the show!How to listen to Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl””The Life of a Showgirl” will be available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music.Fans can pre-save the album ahead of its release on Oct. 3. Pre-saving ensures the new music automatically appears in a fan’s library the moment it is available. It is also a way for an artist to promote streams ahead of the drop date.On Monday, Spotify announced that Swift’s album surpassed five million pre-saves on its platform to become the most pre-saved album in its history. The previous title holder? Her 2024 album “The Tortured Poets Department.”In addition to the many streaming options, there will also be a digital-download variant of “The Life of a Showgirl” available via iTunes, featuring a new cover image and a nearly three-minute “exclusive video from Taylor herself detailing inspirations behind the album” labeled “A Look Behind the Curtain.”What physical variants are there?Target is once again a major partner with Swift. Their stores will carry three CD variants, titled “It’s Frightening,” “It’s Rapturous” and “It’s Beautiful” editions. There is also an exclusive vinyl release, “The Crowd Is Your King” edition, in “summertime spritz pink shimmer vinyl.” Many Target locations will remain open past midnight on the day of release for superfans to pick up in real time.There are a number of other vinyl variants as well: “The Tiny Bubble in Champagne Collection,” which features two vinyl variants described as “under bright lights pearlescent vinyl” and “red lipstick & lace transparent vinyl.”There is also “The Baby That’s Show Business Collection,” in two colorways: “lovely bouquet golden vinyl” and “lakeside beach blue sparkle vinyl.”Then there’s “The Shiny Bug Collection” in “violet shimmer marbled vinyl” and “wintergreen and onyx marbled vinyl.”And of course, there is the standard LP and cassette, in “sweat and vanilla perfume Portofino orange vinyl.”Artwork varies throughout.What do we know about the album so far?Swift partially announced her 12-track new album “The Life of a Showgirl” on the “New Heights” podcast hosted by Travis Kelce — Swift’s fiancé and Kansas City Chiefs tight end — and his brother, Jason Kelce, the former Philadelphia Eagles center.In the full episode, Swift revealed she worked on the album in Sweden while she was on the “Eras Tour” — flying between dates to record, truly embodying the album’s title, “The Life of a Showgirl.” The entire album was completed with producers Max Martin and Shellback, whom Swift previously collaborated with on 2012’s “Red,” 2014’s “1989” and 2017’s “Reputation.” Her frequent producing partner, Jack Antonoff, was not mentioned.She described the release as full of “bangers.” “I care about this record more than I can even overstate,” she said, agreeing with Travis Kelce when he described the release as “a lot more upbeat” than 2024’s “The Tortured Poets Department.”Across the album, there is only one feature listed: the title track, “The Life of a Showgirl,” will include Sabrina Carpenter.

    Lights, camera, action. Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” arrives Friday. Are you ready for it?

    Swift announced her latest era back in August, when she began teasing the release.

    Here’s everything you need to know ahead of its drop date: how to stream, which variants exist, and of course, how the album came together. Enjoy the show!

    How to listen to Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl”

    “The Life of a Showgirl” will be available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music.

    Fans can pre-save the album ahead of its release on Oct. 3. Pre-saving ensures the new music automatically appears in a fan’s library the moment it is available. It is also a way for an artist to promote streams ahead of the drop date.

    On Monday, Spotify announced that Swift’s album surpassed five million pre-saves on its platform to become the most pre-saved album in its history. The previous title holder? Her 2024 album “The Tortured Poets Department.”

    In addition to the many streaming options, there will also be a digital-download variant of “The Life of a Showgirl” available via iTunes, featuring a new cover image and a nearly three-minute “exclusive video from Taylor herself detailing inspirations behind the album” labeled “A Look Behind the Curtain.”

    What physical variants are there?

    Target is once again a major partner with Swift. Their stores will carry three CD variants, titled “It’s Frightening,” “It’s Rapturous” and “It’s Beautiful” editions. There is also an exclusive vinyl release, “The Crowd Is Your King” edition, in “summertime spritz pink shimmer vinyl.” Many Target locations will remain open past midnight on the day of release for superfans to pick up in real time.

    There are a number of other vinyl variants as well: “The Tiny Bubble in Champagne Collection,” which features two vinyl variants described as “under bright lights pearlescent vinyl” and “red lipstick & lace transparent vinyl.”

    There is also “The Baby That’s Show Business Collection,” in two colorways: “lovely bouquet golden vinyl” and “lakeside beach blue sparkle vinyl.”

    Then there’s “The Shiny Bug Collection” in “violet shimmer marbled vinyl” and “wintergreen and onyx marbled vinyl.”

    And of course, there is the standard LP and cassette, in “sweat and vanilla perfume Portofino orange vinyl.”

    Artwork varies throughout.

    What do we know about the album so far?

    Swift partially announced her 12-track new album “The Life of a Showgirl” on the “New Heights” podcast hosted by Travis Kelce — Swift’s fiancé and Kansas City Chiefs tight end — and his brother, Jason Kelce, the former Philadelphia Eagles center.

    In the full episode, Swift revealed she worked on the album in Sweden while she was on the “Eras Tour” — flying between dates to record, truly embodying the album’s title, “The Life of a Showgirl.” The entire album was completed with producers Max Martin and Shellback, whom Swift previously collaborated with on 2012’s “Red,” 2014’s “1989” and 2017’s “Reputation.” Her frequent producing partner, Jack Antonoff, was not mentioned.

    She described the release as full of “bangers.” “I care about this record more than I can even overstate,” she said, agreeing with Travis Kelce when he described the release as “a lot more upbeat” than 2024’s “The Tortured Poets Department.”

    Across the album, there is only one feature listed: the title track, “The Life of a Showgirl,” will include Sabrina Carpenter.

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  • Are you ready for it? Everything to know about Taylor Swift’s album release, movie and parties

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    There’s no business like showgirl business.

    Not when the sequins and feathers are worn by Taylor Swift. 

    The world’s top act is about to draw back the curtains once again with the release of her newest album “The Life of a Showgirl.”

    And a global audience of Swifties waits anxiously for her spotlight to shine and her music to start.

    The show must go on, even if it never truly stops for Swift.

    An album drop by the 14-time Grammy winner is about more than fresh tracks, stream surges and physical media resurrection. It’s a social event celebrated everywhere from bars to bookstores and airwaves to big screens.

    “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” hits movie theaters on album-release day – with Swift having sent out a mass invite to a “dazzling soiree” that will include the world premiere of the music video for her upcoming single.

    “Dancing is optional but very much encouraged,” she wrote.

    Here’s everything to know about the release of Swift’s album for those planning to listen from home, watch from the theater, or dance at a release party.

    As the showgirl recently said, “Baby, that’s show business.”

    When does Taylor Swift’s new album come out?

    Swift’s new album releases Friday, Oct. 3.

    Her website says pre-orders will ship on or about Oct. 3. Target, which is selling exclusive editions of Swift’s new album, said pre-orders made before Oct. 1 at 11:59 p.m. CST will get delivered on Oct. 3.

    Select Target stores will remain open until 1 a.m. ET on Oct. 3 for fans who want to be among the first to get their hands on the album.

    What is the name of Taylor Swift’s new album?

    The name of Swift’s new album is “The Life of a Showgirl.”

    “This album is really about what was going on in my life during this tour, which was so exuberant and electric and vibrant,” Swift said during her record-breaking appearance on the “New Heights” podcast in August alongside her fiancé, Travis Kelce and his brother Jason Kelce. “I’m so proud of it. It just comes from the most infectiously, joyful, wild dramatic place I was in my life.”

    How many albums does Taylor Swift have?

    “The Life of a Showgirl” will be Swift’s 12th studio album. Her previous album, “The Tortured Poet’s Department,” came out in April 2024.

    How many songs are on Taylor Swift’s new album?

    “The Life of a Showgirl” will include 12 tracks – making it her shortest album with one less song than “1989.”

    What is the tracklist on Taylor Swift’s new album?

    The tracklist for “The Life of a Showgirl” is…

    1. “The Fate of Ophelia”

    2. “Elizabeth Taylor”

    3. “Opalite”

    4. “Father Figure”

    5. “Eldest Daughter”

    6. “Ruin the Friendship”

    7. “Actually Romantic”

    8. “Wi$h Li$t”

    9. “Wood”

    10. “CANCELED!”

    11. “Honey”

    12. “The Life of a Showgirl” (Feat. Sabrina Carpenter)

    When Taylor Swift announced the track list of her upcoming “Life of a Showgirl” album, fans quickly began to dissect each title – especially No. 6, “Ruin the Friendship.”

    What does Taylor Swift’s new album cover look like?

    Best believe she’s still bejeweled.

    The primary cover art for the album features Swift partially submerged in water while wearing a jeweled top. The album’s title, “The Life of a Showgirl,” is displayed in orange glitter.

    “This represents the end of my night,” Swift said on the podcast. “So, when I’m on tour, I have the same day every single day…And my day ends with me in a bathtub, not usually in a bedazzled dress.”

    Multiple versions of alternate vinyl and CD covers were also made available on Swift’s website for limited periods while supplies lasted.

    How many versions of Taylor Swift’s new album are there?

    Swift’s new album is available on vinyl, CD and cassette.

    The vinyl is a translucent orange with gold glitter and includes a full-size gatefold photo and a poem written by Swift. An exclusive vinyl – titled “The Life of a Showgirl: The Crowd is Your Kind Edition” – will be sold only at Target. It will include an opaque pink and pale yellow pearlescent vinyl with gold shimmer and a 24×36 double-sided Swift poster.

    The CD – promoted as “The Life of a Showgirl: Sweat and Vanilla Perfume CD With Poster” — includes a double-sided poster that’s roughly 19×9.5. Three exclusive versions will also be available at Target: “It’s Beautiful,” “It’s Frightening” and “It’s Rapturous.”

    The cassette – “The Life of a Showgirl: Sweat and Vanilla Perfume Cassette” – features a translucent orange cassette with gold glitter.

    What is the Taylor Swift showgirl movie?

    Swift’s album release will include a theatrical event featuring the premiere of the music video for her new single “The Fate of Ophelia.”

    “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” will be in AMC movie theaters across the globe from Oct. 3 to Oct. 5.

    “I hereby invite you to a *dazzling* soirée, The Official Release Party of a Showgirl: Oct 3 — Oct 5 only in cinemas!” Swift wrote on social media. “You’ll get to see the exclusive world premiere of the music video for my new single “The Fate of Ophelia”, along with never before seen behind-the-scenes footage of how we made it, cut by cut explanations of what inspired this music, and the brand new lyric videos from my new album The Life of a Showgirl.”

    How long is the Taylor Swift showgirl movie?

    The runtime for “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” is 89 minutes, according to a release from AMC Theatres.

    When does Taylor Swift’s new music video come out?

    The music video for Swift’s lead single “The Fate of Ophelia” and the “The Life of a Showgirl” lyric videos will be available on YouTube on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.

    Where is the Taylor Swift release party?

    Swifties across the country will have plenty of ways to ring in the new era, with release parties and Taylor-themed events planned nationwide. Here are a few…

    Spotify is offering an immersive three-day activation in New York City called “The Life of a Showgirl: A Spotify Experience.” It will run from Sep. 30 through Oct 2. and include hidden Easter eggs and exclusive photo moments.  

    Celebrate the album release with real showgirls at The Newport Theater in Chicago during “The Life of a Burlesque Girl: A Taylor Swift Cabaret.”

    Artfull in Iowa is creating album-inspired art projects at “Life of an Art Girl – Taylor Swift Art Night.”

    A listening party held by Time Out Market Boston will include a Swift look-a-like contest.

    The Upscale Oven in Kansas City is hosting a “Life of a Showgirl Taylor Swift Cookie Decorating Class” with Swift-themed sugar cookies.

    Grab the mic at Sweet Caroline Karaoke Bar in Miami for a “Life of a ‘Sweet’ Girl” Swift karaoke party with a Taylor-inspired cocktail menu.

    In Philadelphia, bring your own glass and sip on your favorite drink at a cozy listening party at Cupid’s Bookstore, or bring your Swiftie energy to the dance party at Live! Casino & Hotel.

    Butterfly Pea Cafe in Los Angeles is holding “Sequins & Secrets: A Swiftie Brunch” with track-themed food and drink specials and a friendship bracelet making station.

    Capture the moment at “Paint & Sip: The Life of a Showgirl Celebration” hosted by Campus in San Francisco, a Swift-themed paint-and-sip party held the same night her fiancé Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs play the San Francisco 49ers.  

    Celebrate Swift’s new vinyl by painting her portrait on an old vinyl at “Taylor Swift Paint Your Own Record” night at Craft on Third near San Diego.

    Dan’s Bagels in Texas is offering a limited-edition Swiftie Sparkle Bagel, a sourdough bagel topped with orange and pink sugar to recreate the orange glitter on the album cover.

    Bring a “mini Swiftie” to Pink Moon in Maryland for a tribute concert by The Taylor Experience, a sparkly microphone craft and a VIP meet-and-greet with a Swift lookalike.

    Where is Taylor Swift?

    Sipping coffee like you were on a late night show.

    Swift will be making multiple late-night appearances to promote her new album. She’s expected to be overseas on release day, appearing on “The Graham Norton Show” at 10:40 p.m. London time.

    She’ll then make her return to NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Monday at 11:35 p.m. ET following Fallon’s cryptic showgirl tease. That’s followed by a long-form interview as the sole guest on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” on Thursday at 12:35 a.m. ET in what has dubbed a “TAY/kover” by the show.

    A time card posted by Taylor Nation also teased a potential event on Saturday night around 7 p.m. ET by saying simply “Standby” in what promises to be a busy week for Swift.

    That’s the life of a showgirl.

    Here comes the bride! Taylor Swift has stepped out with new fiancé Travis Kelce for the first time since their engagement.

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    Mike Gavin

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  • Glen Powell and Perry Mattfeld have relatable song choices to sing when they’re home alone: ‘It’s really high’ [EXCLUSIVE]

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    By

    Sep 28th, 2025, 2:06 pm

    two people standing in the woods

    Chad Powers starts streaming on September 30 and the show is truly one of the best comedies out there. I absolutely loved it and one of the things I think is incredibly fun about the show is the use of music in it.

    In one scene, Danny (Frankie A. Rodriguez) is singing a musical theatre song when he’s home alone. Now, if you’ve ever had a roommate or if you’ve ever lived with someone else, you know the song you choose to sing when you’re by yourself is incredibly important. After all, it may be the only time you have to see if you can hit that high note without embarrassing yourself.

    So during a game of flip cup with Glen Powell and Perry Mattfeld, I asked the two if they had the freedom that Danny does in the show to just belt it out, what song would they sing? Mattfeld responded quickly with “Cruel Summer” by Taylor Swift. But “only because it’s really high and I don’t want anyone to hear me attempt that.”

    Powell agreed saying that it was a hard song to sing. And when I had him answer the same question, he responded by saying “Now I just want to get alone so I can do ‘Cruel Summer.”” The two did then compliment Powell’s younger sister, Leslie Powell, for her musical talents, saying “My little sister, Leslie, is an amazing singer. I’m sure she could crush ‘Cruel Summer.’”

    This also comes after Powell said he’d love to see Taylor Swift on season 2 of Chad Powers so he is campaigning hard for her to join the series. And look, isn’t that what singing alone in your home is all about? If you can’t try to belt incredibly high songs when you are by yourself, what are you doing?

    You can see our full interview here:

    Chad Powers premieres on Hulu on September 30.

    (featured image: Hulu)

    Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

    Image of Rachel Leishman

    Rachel Leishman

    Assistant Editor

    Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She’s been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff’s biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she’s your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell’s dog, Brisket.

    Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.

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    Rachel Leishman

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  • The Stars on the Sidelines: Now the NFL’s A-List WAGs Have Their Own Fanbases

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    Nathaniel S. Butler

    WAG: Cardi B
    Who’s She Rooting For?: Stefon Diggs and the New England Patriots
    Status: Dating, pregnant
    What’s Her Thing?: Safe to say Cardi is having a moment. She’s primarily a musician, and just released her second album, Am I the Drama?. She’s also made the meme rounds recently, thanks to her infinitely quotable court testimony in August, pertaining to a 2018 assault accusation. The rapper was found both not liable in the civil suit, and got to explain the concept of wigs on the court record. Win-win.
    Selected Wife Trophies: 1 Grammy, 6 American Music Awards, 8 Billboard Music Awards, more. Holds seven Guinness World Records.

    The Stars on the Sidelines Now the NFL's AList WAGs Have Their Own Fanbases

    Kevin Mazur

    WAG: Alix Earle
    Who’s She Rooting For?: Braxton Berrios and the Houston Texans
    Status: Dating, cohabitating
    What’s Her Thing?: Host of Hot Mess with Alix Earle podcast, social media influencer
    Selected Wife Trophies: Presenter at American Music Awards and NFL Honors

    The Stars on the Sidelines Now the NFL's AList WAGs Have Their Own Fanbases

    Stefanie Keenan

    WAG: Olivia Culpo
    Who’s She Rooting For?: Christian McCaffrey and the San Francisco 49ers
    Status: Married since 2024
    What’s Her Thing?: Model, actor, pageant queen
    Selected Wife Trophies: Won Miss Rhode Island USA, Miss USA, and Miss Universe

    The Stars on the Sidelines Now the NFL's AList WAGs Have Their Own Fanbases

    XNY/Star Max

    WAG: Hailee Steinfeld
    Who’s She Rooting For?: Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills
    Status: Married since 2025
    What’s Her Thing?: Actor and singer
    Selected Wife Trophies: 1 Critics Choice Award, 1 Billboard Music Award, 1 Peabody Award

    The Stars on the Sidelines Now the NFL's AList WAGs Have Their Own Fanbases

    Perry Knotts

    WAG: Simone Biles
    Who’s She Rooting For?: Jonathan Owens and the Chicago Bears
    Status: Married since 2023
    What’s Her Thing?: Gymnast, has the most Olympic medals of any U.S. gymnast in history
    Selected Wife Trophies: 11 Olympic medals, 30 World Championship medals, 2 Pacific Rim championships

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    Kase Wickman

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  • The Real Reason Taylor Swift Isn’t Performing at the Super Bowl After Not Feeling ‘Respected’ by the NFL—She ‘Knows Her Worth’

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    Why Isn’t Taylor Swift Performing at the Super Bowl 2026?



























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    Lea Veloso

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  • What to Wear to Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

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    All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, StyleCaster may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

    There’s always an occasion to dress up for when you’re a Taylor Swift fan—from a concert to a Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl party. If you’re a true Swiftie, you’ll know there’s one more event that you’ll need an outfit for, and it’s coming up real soon. October 3, 2025 marks the release of the singer’s twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, but that’s not all she’s treating her fans to. The star is blessing Swifties with a movie to accompany her new album. So if you’re wondering what to wear to The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, we’ve put together a comprehensive style guide with clothing, accessory, makeup, and merch options.

    Keep reading for a breakdown of The Life of a Showgirl themes and where to buy a cute outfit (or two!) online. Our Wish List (*wink, wink*) includes items across different pricepoints, of course, and they come from your favorite retailers. Think Amazon, Etsy, Revolve, and more. Happy shopping and watching!

    When does The Life of a Showgirl movie come out?

    The Official Release Party of a Showgirl comes out on October 3, 2025 and is on the big screen through October 5, 2025. Fans have only three days to see the movie in theaters, so snag your ticket ASAP.

    What is The Life of a Showgirl movie about?

    The Official Release Party of a Showgirl is an 89-minute album-concept film that supports Swift’s upcoming album, The Life of a Showgirl. Swifties will get to see a brand-new music video for the singer’s new single, “The Fate of Ophelia,” accompanied by exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the music video, explanations of what inspired the music, and never-before-seen lyric videos from her highly-anticipated album. Be sure to get your movie tickets on AMC’s website and don’t be late to the show (there aren’t any trailers)!

    What should I wear to The Life of a Showgirl movie premiere?

    Swift has given fans a sneak peek of of her The Life of a Showgirl album imagery, on her social media platforms (like this Instagram post from August 13, 2025). The main colors are orange and green, more specifically a rich, autumnal orange and a softer mint green. Wear either of these shades in clothing that flaunts sparkly textures, such as sequins, beads, and giltter, and you’re good to go. Turn up the drama by adding feathers to your outfit, or even an extravagant, dazzling head piece. Top off your outfit with bold makeup inspired by Swift’s looks from her album photos. Unsurprisingly, she’s never without a sharp winged liner and vibrant lip (check out our guide to Taylor Swift’s makeup, which highlights products she has actually used).

    The Life of a Showgirl Visual Themes

    • Orange clothing
    • Green clothing
    • Sparkles, sequins, beads, and glitter
    • Feathers
    • Head pieces
    • Bold makeup
    • Cabaret, flappers, Las Vegas showgirls, and burlesque

    Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere Outfit Ideas

    Orange Clothing

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    Kim Shui Sequin Mini Dress

    Sizes: XS-L
    Colorways: 1

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    Sinkawa Jackets Sequin Bodysuit

    Sizes: S-XL
    Colorways: 4

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    Umenlele Layered Fringe Dress

    Sizes: XS-XL
    Colorways: 21

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    RYANTH Sequin Short Dress

    Sizes: 00-26 Plus
    Colorways: 29

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    Sizes: XS-XXL
    Colorways: 21

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    PRETTYGARDEN Chunky Knit Open Front Sweater Cardigan

    Sizes: S-XL
    Colorways: 30

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    Anthropologie The Juliet Cashmere Cardigan Sweater

    Sizes: XXS-XL
    Colorways: 17

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    Sizes: One size
    Colorways: 20

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    Kaei&Shi Sequin Fringe Romper

    Sizes: 00-12
    Colorways: 28

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    Winaiwi Sparkly Sequin Dress

    On Sale 33% off

    Sizes: 0-28 Plus
    Colorways: 35

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    SOLY HUX Sequin Glitter Halter Crop Tank Top

    Sizes: XS-XL
    Colorways: 4

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    American Trends Sequin Top

    Sizes: S-XXL
    Colorways: 11

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    Green Clothing

    While orange is the star of the show in her album images, don’t be afraid to mix in some mint green or make it the main attraction.

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    ShawGobow Sequin Mini Dress

    On Sale 21% off

    Sizes: S-XL
    Colorways: 12

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    Allegra K Glitter Sequin Dress

    Sizes: XS-3XL
    Colorways: 29

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    BIRENEROBE Sparkly Sequin Dress

    Sizes: 0-26 Plus
    Colorways: 23

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    Sizes: XXS-XXL
    Colorways: 23

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    Keliholiyu Sparkly Sequins Tank Top

    Sizes: S-XL
    Colorways: 6

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    Runway The Label Idalia Mini Skirt

    Sizes: XS-XL
    Colorways: 1

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    Asta Resort Marta Hand Beaded Mini Dress

    Sizes: XS-XL
    Colorways: 1

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    Essentiel Antwerp Ihoed Sequin Pencil Skirt

    Sizes: 32-40
    Colorways: 1

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    Alice + Olivia Cina Feather Skirt

    On Sale 24% off

    Sizes: 0-8
    Colorways: 1

    Head Pieces

    If you really want to commit to the bit, buy a glimmering, intricate head piece from Etsy. Look for ones that you might find in The Great Gatsby.

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    byArika Hair Hoop

    On Sale 30% off

    Sizes: One size
    Colorways: 2

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    IvyTelaBoutique GOLD Beads Cap

    Sizes: One size
    Colorways: 1

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    thevintagetoolshed Vintage 1920’s Style Flapper Gold Headdress

    Sizes: One size
    Colorways: 1

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    SunPiecesCom Silver Beaded Disc Headpiece

    Sizes: One size
    Colorways: 1

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    SOLIMEMORY Silver Beaded Mesh Headpiece

    Sizes: One size
    Colorways: 1

    Bold Makeup

    Swift is known for her red lip (shoutout to Pat McGrath Labs), but she’s also been rocking an orange-toned lipstick from NARS that’s perfect for embarking on your showgirl era. You can’t go to the movie premiere without a precise wing either (another Pat McGrath slay)! And since The Life of a Showgirl is so sparkle and glitter-heavy, why not slap on the Fazit glitter freckles
    Swift made viral? Nail a bold lip, a sharp cat-eye, and twinkling freckles and you’re more than ready to make the whole movie premiere shimmer.

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    Worn by Taylor Swift

    Fazit Beauty Gold Glitter Freckles Makeup Patches

    On Sale 13% off

    Colorways: 12

    NARS Lipstick in Morocco (matte warm cinnamon)

    NARS.

    Worn by Taylor Swift

    NARS Lipstick in Morocco

    Shades:

    Pat McGrath Labs PERMA PRECISION Liquid Eyeliner

    Pat McGrath Labs.

    Worn by Taylor Swift

    Pat McGrath Labs Perma Precision Liquid Eyeliner

    Shades: 2

    Pat McGrath Labs LiquiLUST Legendary Wear Matte Lipstick in Elson 4

    Pat McGrath Labs.

    Worn by Taylor Swift

    Pat McGrath Labs LiquiLUST: Legendary Wear Matte Lipstick in Elson 4

    Shades: 6

    The Life of a Showgirl Merch

    For those who don’t have time to put an entire look together, you’ve got options. Amazon and Etsy sell plenty of The Life of a Showgirl merch—from a T-shirt
    to beaded bracelets and more. My favorite item? These release party ticket stickers are a fun touch for your G.N.O. to the theater to see Swift on the big screen. And don’t forget to pre-order your The Life of a Showgirl vinyl to complete your collection.

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    Dallas Textile Vintage The Life Of A Showgirl Shirt

    Sizes: One size
    Colorways: 1

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    MillennialHuman Life of A Showgirl Inspired Beaded Bracelets – Taylor Swift

    On Sale 22% off

    Sizes: XS-3XL
    Colorways: 1

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    LoveYourSilhouette Showgirls Life Shirt

    Sizes: S-3XL
    Colorways: 24

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    SecondStarSociety Orange Heart Rhinestone Sunglasses – “In My Showgirl Era” Sparkly Beaded Festival Glasses

    Sizes: One size
    Colorways: 1

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    TSStickerStudio Showgirl Ticket Stickers

    On Sale 40% off

    Colorways: 2

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    Limited Edition Elizabeth Taylor Showgirl Crewneck Sweatshirt

    Sizes: XS-2XL
    Colorways: 1

    What to Wear to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Movie Premiere

    Taylor Swift ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ Sweat & Vanilla Perfume Orange Glitter Vinyl

    Includes: 12 songs, Portofino Orange Glitter Vinyl, Double gatefold jacket, unique front and back cover, and never-before-seen photos and album lyrics

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    Katie Decker-Jacoby

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  • Your Fave The Summer I Turned Pretty Song Moment, But Make It An ISMÊ Swim Set

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    Our sun-soaked, The Summer I Turned Pretty-core era may have “ended” with the series finale (fineee, there’s a movie coming, don’t panic), but bikini season? Yeah, she’s eternal. Especially for us international girlies. Enter ISMÊ Swim, born between Brazil and California thanks to Isabella Bailey—aka the girlboss who once schlepped around a whole rack of bikinis, hawking them on campus for 12 hours straight. Now, she’s leveled up with bead-and-charm embellishments, Sports Illustrated creds, and swim that honestly feels like it should’ve been part of Belly’s wardrobe rotation.

    So why not throw them in the mix? We lined up our fave ISMÊ styles with four iconic TSITP music moments—whether you’re Team Conrad, Team Jeremiah, or just Team “I showed up for the soundtrack.” (Beware, there are spoilers for season three past this point.)

    The Honey POP received samples from ISMÊ Swim in exchange for editorial promotion. 

    Season Three, Episode Two: ‘Forever and a Day’ By Benson Boone

    Golden hour is basically the show’s unofficial extra cast member, always swooping in to remind us how Jeremiah and Conrad Fisher see Belly. But the brightest beam of all? When our curly-haired little brother whips out a proposal while Benson Boone belts ‘Forever and a Day.’ Belly does the whole dramatic pause (gotta keep him sweating as he did just cheat on her and all) before saying yes, and they seal it with an “I love you.” Cute, right? Except, if you look closer, the light’s not all flawless — there are those little shadowy crescents dancing on the pavement and across their faces, hinting that maybe love isn’t just sunshine and butterflies, but insecurities too.

    Fashion-wise, ISMÊ Swim’s Areia Underwire top and bottoms nail the moment: hypnotic yellow velvet with beaded straps peeking through, like sunlight throwing sparkles where you least expect them.

    Image Source: Courtesy of CLDStyle

    Season Three, Episode Three: ‘No Surprises’ By Radiohead

    ‘No Surprises,’ croons Radiohead—except, surprise! Jeremiah blurts out his engagement to Belly to the family, right after his mom’s memorial. Timing, babe, timing. Belly’s in a soft blue dress, a shade that usually screams the calm and steady feelings she has around him… except nothing about this scene is steady. Her mom’s fake laughing, Conrad’s gripping the serviette like it’s a stress ball, and Jeremiah’s over here serving chaos. It’s the kind of moment where a ring pop proposal almost makes more sense.

    But if we’re talking better accessories, ISMÊ Swim’s Sky bikini is the real showstopper. Its baby-blue velvet mirrors Belly’s dress, while the dangling gold shell and star charms on the straps twinkle like little musical notes—pretty distractions that shimmer even when the scene hits a sour chord.

    Image Source: Courtesy of CLDStyle

    Season Three, Episode Five: ‘Wild Horses’ By The Rolling Stones

    Belly’s busy blowing out any birthday-candle fantasies of Conrad being the one and doubling down on Jeremiah—but those hairline cracks in Fisher’s world are starting to show. Enter a peach stand, Conrad’s soft-focus gaze, and The Rolling Stones’ ‘Wild Horses’ playing like the soundtrack to a slow-motion heartbreak.

    The peaches aren’t just props—they echo the juicy palette of ISMÊ Swim’s Citrus bikini. With its thicker turquoise straps holding everything in place, striped triangles of yellow, orange, and red feel like sunlit fruit slices, and the cheeky turquoise faux-stone charm adds just the right dash of sweetness. A little wild, a little wistful—much like Conrad’s expression watching her eat that peach.

    Image Source: Courtesy of CLDStyle

    Season Three, Episode 11: ‘Dress’ By Taylor Swift

    Belly’s lens on Conrad has always been scribbled in Taylor Swift ink, so when ‘Dress’ scores their Paris reunion—the one they swore would never-ever happen—it’s nothing short of sizzling. Taylor whispers, “Say my name and everything just stops,” and Conrad breathes, “I dream about this,” like he’s been taking notes straight from her diary. Naturally, sparks fly, lips lock, and destiny gets its way. Just as inevitable? You clicking add to cart on ISMÊ Swim’s Panther one-piece. Sleek and sultry with a crisscross back tie and a flirty little ring detail, it’s basically the swimsuit version of a secret rendezvous: snug, striking, and impossible to forget.

    Image Source: Courtesy of CLDStyle

    Okay, but seriously… which suit are you claiming now that your fave TSITP music moment is the backdrop for your try-on? Or are you being generous and handing one off to Belly? 👙✨ Peep ISMÊ Swim’s site for even more drool-worthy finds, then tag us on Twitter, Insta, or FB so we can gas you up in the comments.

    TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ISMÊ Swim:
    FACEBOOK | WEBSITE |INSTAGRAM

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    Rachel Finucane

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  • Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ Release Party Is a Lucrative Ode to Her Secret Sessions

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    Last week, Taylor Swift announced that her filmmaking era shall continue with The Official Release Party of a Showgirl. Her last theatrical venture, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert film (2023) earned more than $260 million at the box office, reviving movie theaters in a post-strike slump. Before that, Swift directed the Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions (2020) special for Disney+; was the subject of the Netflix documentary Miss Americana (2020); and also released the Reputation concert film in 2018. The corresponding Showgirl movie looks to be another feather in Swift’s bejeweled cap: It grossed $15 million in the first 24 hours of ticket presales and is expected to earn $30M-$50M opening weekend. According to Swift, the theatrical event will feature a brand new music video, lyric videos, and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, plus her commentary on every track of her new album.

    This splashy experience is reminiscent of when Swift willingly invited hordes of her most devoted fans into her actual home for the first taste of new music—although now on a global scale. In 2014, the 1989 “secret sessions” had baked goods made by Swift herself and later, in 2017, one of the Reputation listening events featured an appearance from official normie best friend Abigail Anderson of “Fifteen” fame. But what will the theatrically released Showgirl film have to offer?

    Swift’s new music—and any movie about it—is expected to delve into her headline-making romance with Travis Kelce, as well as what it meant to reclaim ownership of her masters. Ahead, everything we know about The Official Release Party of a Showgirl—including where to watch and how to get tickets.

    What Is The Official Release Party of a Showgirl?

    “I hereby invite you to a *dazzling* soirée,” Swift announced via social media on Friday, September 19, sharing that The Official Release Party of a Showgirl would play in theaters from October 3 (the day of her new album’s release) through October 5. “You’ll get to see the exclusive world premiere of the music video for my new single ‘The Fate of Ophelia,’ along with never before seen behind-the-scenes footage of how we made it, cut by cut explanations of what inspired this music, and the brand new lyric videos from my new album The Life of a Showgirl,” she wrote alongside imagery from the record.

    The Official Release Party of a Showgirl coincides with the debut of her recently announced 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl. Swift previously joined her now fiancée and his brother Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast on August 13 to reveal the cover, tracklist, and producers for the project, before later sharing the official release date at, of course, 12:12 p.m. ET.

    When and where can I watch The Official Release Party of a Showgirl?

    Surprise, surprise: When your billion-dollar global tour generates the highest-grossing concert movie of all time, most major theater chains want to do business with you. Screenings for the Showgirl experience are happening across the country, including all 540 AMC Theatres, Cinemark and Regal cinemas. Fans can search for available tickets nearest them now at releasepartyofashowgirl.com. AMC has cautioned that no trailers or ads will be shown before the event, meaning all masquerade revelers should plan to arrive early or on time.

    Tickets for the event in other countries—Canada, Mexico, the UK, France, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand among them—will go on sale September 23. Release parties for additional countries will be announced on or around October 3.

    How much are tickets to The Official Release Party of a Showgirl?

    A staunch supporter of clever numerology, Swift is charging $12 (before online booking fees) for the theatrical event celebrating her 12-track 12th album. Screenings for the 89-minute experience will start simultaneously across time zones at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT on October 3.

    How about the dance and dress code?

    While busting out into spontaneous choreography is generally frowned upon (sorry to anyone who sat near me on the opening day of 2007’s Hairspray), the theater chains are making an exception for Swifties. Perhaps because Swift herself told fans that “Dancing is optional but very much encouraged.”

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    Savannah Walsh

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  • Launch party for Taylor Swift’s “Life of a Showgirl” is coming to theaters. Here’s what to know.

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    Taylor Swift fans will soon get another chance to see the pop star on the big screen, as AMC Theaters on Friday announced an official release party for her “Life of a Showgirl” album, on Oct. 3 – 5.

    Called “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” the 89-minute theatrical experience will play at all 540 AMC locations in the U.S. as well as Cinemark and Regal theaters. It will also be shown in as many as 100 additional countries, according to AMC. Showtimes begin on Oct. 3 — the same day the album debuts — at 3 p.m. EDT, 2 p.m. CDT, 1 p.m. MDT and noon PDT.

    U.S. Ticket sales launched Friday, leading fans to flock to AMC Theaters’ website. As of 2 p.m, the wait time to buy a ticket, which costs $12 plus tax, was over an hour. 

    “Looks like it’s time to brush off that Eras Tour outfit or orange cardigan…” Swift said in an Instagram post Friday. “Tickets are on sale now. Dancing is optional but very much encouraged,” she added.

    As part of the experience, AMC will screen the world premiere of Swift’s music video, “The Fate of Ophelia,” one of the 12 tracks on her forthcoming studio album, at movie theaters across the country from Oct. 3 to 5. Fans will also be able to see behind-the-scenes footage from the music video, other lyric videos and Swift’s reflections on songs, according to the company’s statement.

    Swift announced the release of “Life of a Showgirl,” her 12th studio album, last month, dropping the news on her website and later teasing it on the “New Heights” podcast, hosted by her fiancé, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and his brother, Jason Kelce, a former center for the Philadelphia Eagles. 

    Travis Kelce and Swift announced their engagement last month.

    “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” marks AMC Theatres’ second collaboration with Swift. “The Eras Tour” movie, was the top-selling concert film of all time, according to AMC. The 2023 film which documented Swift’s recording-breaking international tour, grossed $261.6 million globally, surpassing Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” (2009), according to online music publication Pitchfork. 

    Netflix in 2020 released a documentary of Swift’s life in show business entitled “Miss Americana,”  which was screened at select theaters across the U.S.

    Mary Cunningham

    Mary Cunningham is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. Before joining the business and finance vertical, she worked at “60 Minutes,” CBSNews.com and CBS News 24/7 as part of the CBS News Associate Program.

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