Albums to watch

The Life of a Showgirl

Taylor Swift

The Life of a Showgirl

Album number twelve from the singer-songwriter features a guest appearance from Sabrina Carpenter and was produced with Max Martin and Shellback

ADM rating[?]

6.0

Label
EMI
UK Release date
03/10/2025
US Release date
03/10/2025
  1. 10.0 |   The Irish Times

    Travis Kelce is at the heart of The Life of a Showgirl – but the ‘Boring Barbie’ singer’s disdain for fellow star in Actually Romantic is pretty central too
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  2. 10.0 |   Rolling Stone

    Swift hits all her marks — from new, exciting sonic turns to incisive storytelling
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  3. 9.0 |   PopMatters

    Taylor Swift and Max Martin reunite for The Life of a Showgirl, a scattershot collection of pop bangers and meditations on fame that captures the zeitgeist
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  4. 8.0 |   The Independent

    Contains some of her more outrageous songs, suggesting she feels confident enough at this point in her career to go as rogue as she fancies
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  5. 7.0 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    On The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift the person seems more difficult to spot than ever, while Taylor Swift the product pervades every crack and crevice. I can no longer relate, but I’ll continue to enjoy the product
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  6. 7.0 |   musicOMH

    Guaranteed to be one of the year’s biggest pop records, the follow-up to The Tortured Poets Department nevertheless sounds like an artist on autopilot
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  7. 6.7 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Despite the backup dancer aesthetic, the songs center life as a superstar
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  8. 6.3 |   Paste Magazine

    Given Max Martin’s track record in the studio with Taylor Swift, her 12th album rings a tad disappointing. Even so, it delivers on the promise of a punchier pop album and more than justifies its existence with crisp production and unexpected melodies—if you can stomach the lyrics that range from oddball to cringe
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  9. 6.0 |   DIY

    A victim of its own preamble
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  10. 6.0 |   The Arts Desk

    'Wood' just seems like a bunch of really honking knob jokes
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  11. 6.0 |   NME

    Some classically Swiftian sweetness can still be found in this escapist romp – when it’s not dissing Charli XCX or lauding Travis Kelce’s manhood
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  12. 6.0 |   Clash

    ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’ has its moments, but lacks the consistency of Taylor’s recent work
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  13. 6.0 |   Dork

    If ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ teaches us anything, it’s that she’d be better toning it down, at least for a beat. Trust the power of pop next time, and the rest will follow
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  14. 5.9 |   Pitchfork

    A dozen albums in, Taylor Swift’s never been bigger—and her music’s never been less compelling
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  15. 5.8 |   A.V. Club

    Swift's 12th album rarely reaches the dizzying heights of her previous work
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  16. 5.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    Not even a raft of dick jokes can salvage this largely joyless collection of factory-grade tunes from an increasingly overworked star
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  17. 5.0 |   Slant Magazine

    The album finds Swift making a purposeful shift in her persona
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  18. 5.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    With expectations sky-high and collaborators as legendary as Martin and Shellback in tow, The Life of a Showgirl ultimately feels like a dress rehearsal for something greater
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  19. 4.8 |   Beats Per Minute

    In a discography where even her initially assumed misstep – the edgy and passionate Reputation – has become a widely acclaimed and rightfully appreciated work, The Life of a Showgirl stands out as just confusing
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  20. 4.0 |   Northern Transmissions

    A pop album ostensibly about the push-pull of stardom but really a slate of petty grievances, out-of-touch sentiments, and unignorably atrocious writing, The Life of a Showgirl bludgeons Taylor Swift’s legacy, credibility, and image
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  21. 4.0 |   The Guardian

    Far from the Max Martin-assisted pop juggernaut fans expected, this soft-rock paean to domestic bliss is slight on tunes and still seethes with grievance. And the less said about her fiance’s ‘magic wand’, the better
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  22. 4.0 |   Exclaim

    Despite a greater variance in beat drops and textural flourishes, the middling mid-tempo The Life of a Showgirl strays even further from the magic Swift's pen once wielded
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  23. 2.0 |   Evening Standard

    Penis metaphors and poor little rich girl tales start to chafe. Is this really the same artist that gave us Folklore and Evermore?
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