The Life of a Showgirl — The AfterShow!

Report and layout by Chino Brendon Tangonan

Taylor Swift's twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, invites the listeners backstage to witness the woman behind the beaded body suits and blinding spotlights. Swift, with over 15 years of journeying in show business, a true master of reinvention, brought a new lens of looking into her music with this body of work as she explores love, regrets, relationships, fame, feuds, and the public scrutiny that comes along with the title of being the most successful woman of the present times.

At its core, this album is not about being the “showgirl,” but rather, the confusion, exhaustion, and sacrifices that it took in achieving that level of success, and Taylor made sure that her story is heard.

In this review, each track was examined and ranked based on lyricism, sonic quality, relevance to the album's concept, creativity, and replay value.

12. Wi$h Li$t

“Wi$h Li$t,” a hopeless romantic love song about longing for something quieter. Taylor, in the heights of her career, finds herself ready to leave behind all the glitz and glamour and settle down for a family of her own. Some may say it's a romanticization of domestication or being able to make a choice. Either way, it wasn't truly a stand out compared to the other love songs in this album.

11. CANCELLED!

Taylor brought back her Reputation era energy with this track that delved into public scrutiny and its cruelty specially to women in the industry. With striking lines such as “At least you know exactly who your friends are, / They’re the ones with matching scars,” CANCELLED! is one remarkable track in the album. However, some may find its lyricism dated with usage of words such as “girlbossed.”

10. Eldest Daughter

Taylor perfectly encapsulated the feeling of being the eldest daughter forced to put up a facade to shield herself from the cold and unfeeling world: “Every eldest daughter / Was the first lamb to the slaughter / So we all dressed up as wolves and we looked fire.”However, with the right partner, she finally admits her  vulnerabilities: “When I said I don’t believe in marriage, that was a lie.” The chorus cleverly parallels White Horse’ “But I'm not a princess, and this ain’t a fairytale” with “But I’m not a bad b*tch, and this isn’t savage,” a line that fits the try-hard eldest daughter persona—even though the slang may feel dated to some.

9. Honey

 “Honey” is sweet, playful, and a spiteful track that toys around the duality of “pet names” such as honey and sweetheart which can be either endearing or demeaning. However, Swift admits that although she usually finds them passive-aggressive, her partner somehow gives it new meaning and “redefines all her blue.”

8. Actually Romantic

Taylor once again proves herself as the queen of sarcasm, channeling heat and tension in a track that mocks her haters that can't look away, calling their obsession “romantic.” This one is very reminiscent of her song Who's Afraid of Little Old Me, only this time, she reclaims her power by not being affected by her foes, saying that their unprovoked hatred is “making her wet.”

7. Opalite

Catchy, breezy, and beautifully melodic—though the concept isn’t new for Taylor, who’s long associated colors with emotions: from Red to golden, and now opalite. It’s another love song that captures how her partner brings calm to her storm, describing his presence as an “opalite sky.” It’s a strong standout with solid replay value, making it one of fans’ instant favorites.

6. Ruin the Friendship

A nostalgic track that mourns with regrets, Taylor looks back on a love that never was. A chance never taken to preserve a friendship. She concludes the track with an outro layered with emotions that truly elevated this song as one of the devastating moments of the album, leaving wisdom: “And my advice is always answer the question / Better that than to ask it all your life.”

5. Elizabeth Taylor

Referencing one of Hollywood’s most glamorous icons, “Elizabeth Taylor” delves into fame’s paradox — loved by everyone and no one at the same time. In this track, Taylor laments over the shadows of the spotlight: “having so much while having nothing at all.” This track is elegant, haunting, and reflective of the uncertainties that come with fame in the show biz

4. Father Figure

Written from the eyes of a “father-figure,” Taylor takes a mafia-like imagery to tell a story of grooming and exploitation, an awfully recurring experience for most showgirls. This track is a true lyrical masterpiece as Taylor shifted the perspective of the song from the fathers to Taylor herself, symbolizing her reclamation of her agency over her career:

3. Wood

Flirty, groovy, and unapologetically sensual, Taylor channels The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” to show a fresh, fun, and fearless side. Swift proves she loves to add a shock value to her songs with lyrics: "His lovе was the key that opened my thighs." It's a refreshing and playful departure from her often-poetic lyricism, leaving the fans truly “ah-matized.

2. The Life of a Showgirl

This track is the heartbeat of the album, embodying its core theme of the complexities of a showgirl's life. The song feels like a dialogue between generations: Taylor, a veteran showgirl warning about the facades of showbiz, and Sabrina, the dreamer still chasing the lights. “The life of a Showgirl,” glitters with wisdom and cautions, giving that cinematic and reflective effect that shows that even the brightest spotlights have shadows.

1. Fate of Ophelia

With a nod to Shakespeare, Taylor opened the album with its crown jewel. Inspired by Hamlet, Taylor reimagined Ophelia's tragedy —who sang as she drowned— through her eyes and how it haunted her to meet the same fate. Taylor dramatically declared her love as her savior, singing: “You dug me out of my grave and saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia.” Long-mocked for heartbreak anthems, here, she reclaims that narrative—declaring that love and art have saved her. It’s one of her most romantic and self-aware songs to date.

Overall, the life of a showgirl is a nostalgic and reflective album from Swift. She weaved the sound of her past eras, creating lyrical and melodical parallels, cementing her growth as an artist. Though the general public expected a more "showgirl" esque music similar to Christina Aguilera's Ain't No Other Man, Taylor took a different path and stripped all the glitters. After all, it was not about the show—but the woman after the curtains close, the lights dim, and when the make up fades. This was Taylor Swift, bare and raw, letting us watch the showgirl outside the stage.