After months of anticipation and much speculation, Taylor Swift’s “The Life Of A Showgirl” (TLOAS) album has arrived! Many fans are….dissatisfied to say the least. Taylor’s announcement of the album occurred on Aug. 13, just days before her engagement announcement to Kansas City Chiefs star, Travis Kelce, on Instagram on Aug. 26.

Because of the engagement, many fans expected the album to be upbeat, differing from her previous album “The Tortured Poets Department,” but although the teasers prompted the upbeat groove, many fans think the lyricism of the songs was “lazy.”

Here are the rankings:

#12: Eldest Daughter

”Eldest Daughter” is the fifth song on the track list and overall at the bottom of the list. This track focuses on the hardships that older daughters face as they grow up, reminiscing about their childhood and never wanting to be the person who leaves when something gets hard. The song’s lyricism is not as strong as the rest, although it does have a softer undertone than the others and is not as upbeat; the song does not live up to the promise of the album.

#11: Honey

“Honey,” referring to the term of endearment, shows up as the 11th track of the album and on the ranking.

The track begins with a piano-like tune and discusses the demeaning way many people—specifically men—use the term “honey” when attempting to downplay or dismiss the work that a woman does.

Now that her fiancé, Kelce, uses that term with her, it is better because it’s not demeaning; he uses it with care. Although the song had a powerful meaning to it, some of the other tracks convey the same underlying message with a stronger beat.

#10: Opalite

“Opalite,” the third track on the album, is named after its man-made material, a crystal-like item that shines the colors of the rainbow when hit with the sun. It is meant to mimic a mix of opal and moonstone. Opal is Kelces birthstone.

According to Swift, the song “Opalite” refers to the forgiveness and grace we should give yourselves when a situation doesn’t pan out the way we hoped it would.

Though the song is sweet and has a very catchy tune to it, the lyrics are just a bit hard to understand, and between her interviews and the song lyrics, it’s easy to get lost in the meaning.

#9: The Life of a Showgirl

“The Life of a Showgirl,”, a title track, and the 12th song in the album featuring Sabrina Carpenter, a rising pop-star known for her hit “Espresso”. Carpenter opened for Swift many times on her “Eras Tour.”

TLOAS talks about the hardships that come with being part of the music industry. Although many people think that being popular is all fun and games, no one actually thinks about the dirty secrets in Hollywood.

TLOAS is meant to give a glimpse of how a showgirl really lives, how they are treated by society and by the industry when one little thing goes wrong. Her partnership with Carpenter could have been because, as a pop-star, she faces a lot of backlash, especially as a woman in a male-dominated field.

#8: Wi$h Li$t

In “Wi$h Li$t”, Swift talks about the many things that celebrities in the industry want; the dollar signs in the titles represent that all celebrities want is to do with money and fame. She mentions yachts, expensive spring break trips, and Oscar awards.

For Swift? This track says she is over that; she does not care about any of the materialistic things that come with being popular or about the popularity and fame; she reveals her deepest desires.

#7: Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor, an American actress from the 40s to the late 70s, although born in London, England, her parents relocated back to Los Angeles when Taylor was just a kid. One of their neighbors thought Taylor was stunning and suggested she should go into acting.

Swift continuously places easter eggs in “Elizabeth Taylor,” of Taylor’s life, such as the Portofino lyric where Taylor got proposed to or the Cartier lyric referring to the actress’s jewelry collection. In the song, Swift is seemingly asking Taylor about fame, if it will ever go away or stay forever.

#6: Actually Romantic

“Actually Romantic,” Swift’s response to the diss track written by pop-singer Charli XCX, “Sympathy is a knife,”.  In “Sympathy is a Knife,” XCX goes on to discuss her insecurities while being around a more famous singer, referring to Swift. When Swift and “1975” lead singer Matty Healy had an alleged fling in 2024, XCX was married to a “1975” band member, which meant XCX and Swift would be seeing each other a lot.

In response to the “diss-track” from XCX, Swift wrote “Actually Romantic” to fire back, calling XCXs behavior almost obsessive and kind of romantic, with how much XCX thinks about her.

The comebacks Swift has in this song, starting with the “coke” lyric, single-handedly put the track in the top six; it is perfectly unhinged.

“CANCELLED!” a track many fans thought represented Swift’s right-winged values. There are discussions about whether the song talks about the recent pictures going around of her and Brittany Mahomes, a known republican and Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporter. The lyrics?

“Good thing I liked my friends cancelled/I like them dressed in Gucci and in scandal, “Swift said.

Many fans were outraged by this, and others thought it was a far reach.

There are theories that the lyrics talk about the friends who stood by her side in 2016 during her “Reputation” era, where she was facing much hate and backlash from the media for her infamous feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian.

#4: Wood 

“Wood,” arguably the most out-of-pocket song in the entire album. Swift talks about how she has been superstitious about finding love, believing in signs of bad luck, such as stepping on a crack or encountering a black cat.

The track has many hidden meanings; the most provocative one would have to be the double entendre of “Wood,” which refers to knocking on wood in a superstitious manner to avoid jinxing, or suggestively referring to wood.

Because Swift does not have this in many of her songs, alot of fans were pleasantly surprised with her word choices, not only that, but Swift also name-dropped “New Heights,” the podcast that Swift’s fiancé and soon-to-be brother-in-law co-hosts.

Overall, the track is catchy, singy-songy, suggestive, and out of pocket, which makes it all the much better.

#3: Ruin The Friendship 

Sixth on the album and third ranking overall. There was much talk about this song being about Blake Lively and Swift’s falling out, but when the lyrics came out, it made sense that the song actually referred to Swift’s high school crush, who passed away in 2010.

“Abigail called me with the bad news/Goodbye/And we’ll never know why,” Swift said.

Swift reminisces about the time in high school when she would debate whether or not she should do something about her crush; she always wanted to take the chance to “Ruin the Friendship,” but because she never did, she regretted it later on in life. In her song, Swift advises those in the same situation she was in to take the risk.

This song starts with an upbeat tune, mimics the ups and downs a teenager feels when they have a crush, and in the revelation of her crush’s death, the song’s beat turns more somber.

#2: Father Figure

Everyone is going crazy over “Father Figure,” and here is why: Swift talks about being a “Father Figure,” which represents a switch in the power dynamics between man and woman. Although Swift has not spoken out about who the track is particularly about, many fans speculate it is about Swift’s former mentor, Scott Borchetta, the CEO of Big Machine Records.

The track alludes to a series of actions and words that a man in power would say because, as a man, they are allowed to.

“I’ll drink that brown liquor/I can make deals with the devil because my dick’s bigger,” not only is this a banging lyric to add in, but that further pushes the narrative that this was written in Borchettas perspective because he made a deal with Scooter Braun, Swift’s longtime enemy, making him the ‘”devil” in this case.

The reason this song is in the top three is because the tune, the vibe, the instrumentals are on the softer side, especially Swift’s vocals; they are not edgy, but the lyrics are on the opposite stance, they are strong, a way a businessman would act. Her diction and the vocals of the piece combined are what make the song perfect.

#1: The Fate of Ophelia 

“The Fate of Ophelia,” named after the Hamlet character, written by William Shakespeare, is about a character who suffers a painful fate, having to always please the men around her while she always dismisses her own needs.

Swift’s song represents Ophelia’s life and how it could have been if she had gotten away and escaped her fate, living a prosperous and happily-ever-after ending.

In Hamlet, Ophelia died by drowning. Swift talks about almost drowning in her own grief, but then someone saved her.

There is a very mythical feeling to the song because of the complex words that Swift used and the nature of the Hamlet story. Swift also includes a tune that matches the lyrics perfectly; it is both catchy and conveys how Ophelia would have been feeling in the play.

Overall, the song has everything: tune, complex word choice, references, and uniqueness.

Correction: 

Oct. 8, 2025

This article was updated because it included an error that Travis Kelce’s name was spelled incorrectly, and an additional link was inserted on behalf of viewer context.