Charli XCX beef, love and sex: ‘Life of a Showgirl’ is Taylor Swift’s most adult album ever
By Lisa Respers France, CNN
(CNN) — Taylor Swift is in her grown-woman era.
While Swift’s younger fanbase of tweens and teens is often celebrated, the reality is the pop superstar who came of age in the spotlight is now 35, engaged, and over-the-top in love.
She’s also – clearly – enjoying being loved by her professional football playing fiancé, Travis Kelce.
We know this, thanks to her new album, “The Life of a Showgirl.” The 12-track collection of breezy pop songs and narrative ballads features Swift sharing – sometimes oversharing – about her life and feelings.
There’s lots of speculation about what the songs on her 12th album are about, so let’s take a closer, track-by-track look:
“The Fate of Ophelia”
Leave it to Swift to take a Shakespearian tale of tragedy and shape into one of love and triumph.
In Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” Ophelia is unable to communicate and drowns, misunderstood.
With her song, Swift seems to point to Kelce saving her from a similar fate.
“And if you’d never come for me/ I might’ve drowned in the melancholy,” she sings.
“Elizabeth Taylor”
Extra points for the lyric, “All my white diamonds and lovers are forever” given that the legendary Elizabeth Taylor had a perfume named “White Diamonds.” The late actress was also, of course, famous for her love affairs.
Swift has always written about matters of her heart.
In this track, she seems to implore Kelce to be her “the one.”
“And if your letters ever said, “Goodbye”/I’d cry my eyes violet, Elizabeth Taylor/ Tell me for real, do you think it’s forever?,” she sings.
The Oscar-winning actress was famous for her stunning, violet-hued eyes. The song could also be a statement on being a famous woman in entertainment and the scrutiny that can come with it.
“Opalite”
You shouldn’t be surprised at this point that Kelce’s birthstone is an opal.
He said during her appearance his “New Heights” podcast that the track is his favorite on the album. Now we know why.
“I had a bad habit of missing lovers past/ My brother used to call it, ‘Eating out of the trash’,” Swift sings, setting up her chorus. “It’s alright/ You were dancing through the lightning strikes/ Sleepless in the onyx night/ But now the sky is opalite.”
It’s a tribute to finding your person.
“Father Figure”
This one interpolates George Michael’s 1987 hit of the same title.
Swift’s version is believed to be taking aim at Scott Borchetta, the head of her former record label, and Scooter Braun, who acquired the company in 2019 and famously set off a battle over Swift’s music catalog – which she has since acquired.
Michael’s estate has no problem with it and posted a statement on their official Facebook page.
“We were delighted when Taylor Swift and her team approached us earlier this year about incorporating an interpolation of George Michael’s classic song ‘Father Figure’ into a brand new song of the same title to be featured on her forthcoming album,” the statement reads. “When we heard the track we had no hesitation in agreeing to this association between two great artists and we know George would have felt the same.”
“Eldest Daughter”
One of Swift’s strengths is her ability to hold her audience with lyrics that read like personal journal entries.
Such is the case with her vulnerability in this song.
“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,” she sings in the opening lines.
Swift reminds us stars are people with feelings ,too.
“Ruin the Friendship”
Yes, there was speculation that this one may have been about her friendship with actress Blake Lively, but turns out it’s much sadder.
The lyrics have Swift looking back on a school crush who her real- life bestie, Abigail Anderson, calls to let her know has passed away.
The song is a nostalgic reflection on what could have been
“Should’ve kissed you anyway,” Swift sings.
“Actually Romantic”
Here’s where some context is required.
Even before the album dropped, there was speculation that this was a diss track aimed at fellow artist Charli XCX, who performed as an opening act for Swift’s 2018 Reputation Stadium Tour and was also a guest performer during “The 1989 World Tour.”
Charli XCX has a single, titled “Sympathy is a knife,” many took it to be about Swift.
Seems Swift may have thought so, too. This track, which may or may not be a play on Charli XCX’s single from last year, “Everything is romantic,” seems to be Swift’s response.
“I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave/ High-fived my ex and then you said you’re glad he ghosted me/ Wrote me a song sayin’ it makes you sick to see my face/ Some people might be offended,” Swift sings.
Ouch.
Said “ex” is believed to be Matty Healy of the band The 1975, who briefly dated Swift in early 2023. He is now engaged to Gabbriette Bechtel. Both are friends of Charli XCX.
Also, Charli XCX is married to Healy’s bandmate, George Daniel.
Wi$h Li$t
We are far from done with the Kelce love.
Here Swift sounds like she’s yearning for a life in the suburbs with him, singing, “I just want you, huh/ Have a couple kids, got the whole block lookin’ like you” and “Got me dreamin’ ‘bout a driveway with a basketball hoop.”
Keep in mind that this album was recorded before they got engaged in August 2025, so looks like she may be getting her wish.
“Wood”
Almost positive no one saw Swift including a song that alludes to Kelce’s junk, but here we are.
There are plenty of winks on the song, with references to “wood,” “hard rock,” “magic wand” and the out and out “new heights of manhood.”
Suffice it to say, Kelce must have impressive moves off the field.
“Cancelled”
Swift has taken on cancel culture before and this one feels like a continuation of what she appears to see as her least enjoyable part of being a star.
This time she’s letting us know she’s not alone as she sings, “Good thing I like my friends cancelled” and “Welcome to my underworld/Where it gets quite dark/At least you know exactly who your friends are/ They’re the ones with matching scars.”
“Honey”
Another superpower of Swift’s is her relatability. This song nails the feeling of how a single word, meant to be endearing, feels different when it comes from “your person” versus the wrong person.
Plenty of women, in particular, can relate. feels like another touchdown for Kelce as Swift sings “But you touched my face/ Redefined all of those blues/When you say “Honey.”
“The Life of a Showgirl”
While this song feels like the passing of the torch, rest assured Swift is not going anywhere.
The title track off the album finds Swift and her protégé, fellow pop star Sabrina Carpenter, reflecting on the highs and lows of fame.
So while Swift sings of meeting the showgirl after the performance and being told, “Hеy, thank you for the lovely bouquet/ You’re sweeter than a peach/ But you don’t know the life of a showgirl, babe,” she also lets us know that she gets that she’s at the top of the game.
“I’m immortal now,” she sings.
For a woman who moves entire economies and can draw crowd to a store to buy physical copies of her album at midnight, she’s not wrong.
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