The Japan Times - Taylor Swift strides into 'Showgirl' era with sparkly new album

On Friday, she dropped her 12th studio album, "The Life of a Showgirl," a collection of bouncy pop songs about love, marriage, success -- and score-settling.

For the hotly anticipated album, the 35-year-old artist reunited with Swedish hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback, and their influence is clear in the driving beats and catchy hooks.

"Tonight all these lives converge here, the mosaics of laughter and cocktails of tears... I can't tell you how proud I am to share this with you, an album that just feels so right," Swift posted on Instagram after the album's release, along with photos of her in showgirl outfits.

The megastar described the album as a "self-portrait" and thanked Martin and Shellback, adding: "If you thought the big show was wild, perhaps you should come and take a look behind the curtain."

The album's release comes with a special release-party event in movie theaters all weekend -- including the premiere of the video for lead single "The Fate of Ophelia" -- sure to be attended by legions of fans in Swift's signature color this time around: orange.

"Showgirl" is the most pre-saved album ever on the Spotify streaming platform, breaking the record set last year by none other than Swift's last album, "The Tortured Poets Department."

While "Showgirl" still features plenty of introspection, the 12 tracks reveal a lighter, happier Swift -- in love with her NFL Super Bowl champion fiance Travis Kelce, happy to have bought back her music catalog and proud of her record-shattering Eras Tour.

"I just want you, have a couple kids, got the whole block looking like you... Got me dreaming about a driveway with a basketball hoop," she sings on the dreamy "Wish List."

In the title track featuring pop princess Sabrina Carpenter, who opened for Swift at some Eras Tour stops, Swift tells the story of a showgirl named Kitty, and how that life became her own.

"And now I know the life of a showgirl, babe / Wouldn't have it any other way," she sings.

And on "Ophelia," referring to the tragic character in Shakespeare's "Hamlet," she says: "Late one night, you took me out of my grieving / Saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia."

- 'Only as hot as your last hit' -

"Showgirl" represents a departure from Swift's recent work -- the folksy pandemic-era "Folklore" and "Evermore" in 2020, the pensive "Midnights" in 2022 and the introspective "Tortured Poets" last year.

Ahead of release, Swift said the new album "comes from the most infectiously joyful, wild, dramatic place I was in in my life."

Some of that drama comes through on "Elizabeth Taylor," on which she laments: "Sometimes it doesn't feel so glamorous to be me."

Another one-liner from that track: "You're only as hot as your last hit, baby."

Then she seems to go for the jugular on "Father Figure," an interpolation of late pop crooner George Michael's hit of the same name that his estate said it had "no hesitation" in greenlighting.

Whose head is on the chopping block? It could be Scooter Braun, the music industry heavyweight whose company bought her previous label, which gave him a majority stake in the master recordings of her first six albums.

"My dear boy, they don't make loyalty like they used to," she sings after describing how she initially trusted the person as a father figure -- but ultimately got her revenge.

"You want a fight, you found it / I've got the place surrounded / You'll be sleeping with the fishes before you know you're drowning."

And on "CANCELLED!," she hints at the scandals battled by her friends -- Blake Lively, maybe? -- singing: "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."

Fans will be combing through the lyrics and liner notes for more "Easter eggs" -- coded words and phrases that could reveal things about Swift's life or future projects.

"Showgirl" is available on streaming platforms. Special editions will be sold by retail giant Target, including the "Portofino orange glitter vinyl" or the "summertime spritz pink shimmer vinyl."

Aside from the "Ophelia" video, the weekend screenings will also feature behind-the-scenes footage, and so-called "lyric videos" -- when a song's lyrics are displayed onscreen.

The one-off cinematic event is estimated to gross between $30 million and $50 million, according to film industry website Deadline.

Swift then hits the talk show circuit next week to promote the album.

T.Ikeda--JT