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Did Taylor Swift's New Album Flop? Or Are You Just Single?
- Rachel Persson
- Oct 28
- 5 min read
One month in, fans are divided on whether to move on from The Life of a Showgirl.
Taylor and I go WAY back. I can vividly remember first hearing “Tim McGraw” on the radio while riding in my dad’s pickup truck with the windows down as the wind whipped through my curls in the summer of 2006. I loved it. I was hooked. I was beginning middle school and her songs described precisely how it felt in more ways than one. With a little creative imagination on my part, I found it easy to relate to each song on her debut album. From there, I was a Swiftie. Born and bred from day one, I was so eager to see what her next album would be each time one was released.
I was saddened when she was canceled in 2016 during my college years, only to watch with admiration as she released my single most favorite album of hers: Reputation. My roommates and I all gathered around our TV to watch the “Look What You Made Me Do” video streaming into our apartment. We watched it over and over again, dissecting each frame looking for her so-called ‘Easter Eggs’ before they were really known by that name.
Following her into her different eras was easy for me. I knew her music would relate to me as it had from the beginning. She grew with me from middle school to high school to college and beyond.
Over the course of her discography, I have gone from a single girl to a married mother. It’s been a wild ride, and though not all of her songs immediately relate to me anymore, I still love listening and feeling the emotions they elicit in me. I loved the storybook formatting of Folklore and Evermore. Midnights and The Tortured Poets Department were fun and each album has its own mood. Though I was no longer in the dating scene, it was easy for me to recall what it was like and enjoy listening to those songs and their lyricism. I was so excited when she announced her upcoming album, The Life of a Showgirl (TLOAS). After the news of her engagement broke, I was thrilled for her, but more excited to experience music surrounding this life change for her.
Which brings me to the central issue with TLOAS: was it a flop or a major success? It depends on who you ask and where they are in their own lives. Me? I LOVED it. You can hear her happiness. Now, she’s given up caring what others think and is simply living her life with her fiancé.
My single friends? Hated it. They felt it lacked depth, and the fun songs were elementary.
The reason that the album has fallen flat for so many is that for a large portion of her fans, it’s truly hard to comprehend that kind of happiness. When you find your person, the one who brings out the absolute best in you, it’s possible to be goofy and happy and accepting of hardship in a way that you were unable before.
She writes in “Opalite” about finding love, “All the perfect couples said ‘when you know, you know and when you don’t, you don't.” When you are navigating life on your own, everything feels overwhelming. The idea of finding one person to spend your life with until you die seems an insurmountable task. However, to the bane of single women everywhere, once you find your person, it’s obvious. It’s a perspective shift.
For me, it was never one, individual moment of “this is the elusive One” but more a lack of doubt. There was never a doubt in my mind that this person was who I had been looking for. He supports me. He loves me. He makes sacrifices for me. He pushes me to be a better, more resilient person. And because of him, I have been able to handle hard things that come my way with a brighter outlook and perspective. Job changes, death of loved ones, births of children…all of these things are hard life transitions, and I cannot imagine handling them on my own as a single woman.
Without making this an ode to my husband, I do want to drive home the freedom that comes with that kind of accepting love. I would argue that is precisely what we got in TLOAS. Sure, some tracks are more dark and reflective like “Father Figure” and “Eldest Daughter,” but overall the album feels like happiness to me. Because once you are able to find happiness, you are more able to accept the struggles she sings about in those songs as they come to you in life.
The defining song for me on the whole album is “Wi$h LiSt” purely because she’s told us that she’s finally allowing herself to see the future with this man. It’s a stark contrast from “So Long, London” when she sings “The spirit was gone, we would never come to And I'm pissed off you let me give you all that youth for free…You swore that you loved me but where were the clues? I died on the altar waiting for the proof. You sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days.” The dichotomy is especially strong because her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, was such a heart-wrenching double breakup album where she was mourning two relationships at once! Now, in this album, not only has she written about the process of going from night to day as we hear in “Opalite,” but she’s writing about how she does not care what everyone else wants; she only wants him.
She’s happy. She’s content.
This kind of contentment comes with many unforeseen privileges like self-acceptance and grace. I cannot wait to see where the next chapter of her life goes, and I am eagerly waiting for her first album of lullabies. After growing with her, walking with her through all her heartbreaks, I sincerely hope that she gets the chance to “have a couple kids” and be left alone with her family as she desires in “Wi$h Li$t.”
And finally, for everyone reading who feels like the album flopped because it lacked depth or something more edgy, I hope you, too, get to experience all that comes with finding your person. I hope you can see that it really is enough to be content and enjoy fun music.
Rachel Persson is a Midwest-based writer for The Swish. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations, with minors in Psychology and Religious Studies. Her academic background brings a unique perspective to her writing. She is a wife, mother, fertility awareness educator, blogger, knitter, gluten-free baker, and self-identified crunchy mom. Rachel believes that true femininity lies in accepting all facets of ourselves, even those that might be termed “masculine,” for it is in self-acceptance that we can find the confidence to embrace our womanhood. You can read more about her life here: https://www.femmwithrachel.com/blog
