On Oct. 3, 2025, Taylor Swift released her 12th album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” which so far has received generally poor reviews from Gen-Z mostly due to what critics describe as cringy, sloppy, and surface-level lyricism. The general consensus among Swifties is that this is not her best work, while some beg to differ.
The pop and soft-rock album illustrates Swift’s experiences and struggles as a public figure. She sings about her experiences with fame, being rich, and her relationship with Travis Kelce and other celebrities.
As Swift’s dedicated fanbase slowly quiets down, it seems that she has made an effort to make herself relatable and edgy to her Gen-Z audience as they grow older. However, these attempts appear futile as many Gen-Z audiences have criticized her on TikTok. She uses outdated slang phrases such as “Did you girl-boss too close to the sun?” from her track “CANCELLED!,” and “this isn’t savage” from her track “Eldest Daughter.”
On the other hand, some people are defending her choice of lyrics and saying that Swift has given up on trying to fit in and appeal to a Gen-Z audience. She sings “I’ve been dying just from trying to seem cool” before the chorus in “Eldest Daughter”. Track one, “The Fate Of Ophelia” is blowing up on social media and receiving positive reviews. Most fans say that the music video is Swift’s best one yet.
Swift also uses profanity in eight of the 12 tracks, which is about 44.1 percent more than “The Tortured Poets Department,” which previously held the record for the most profanity used on a Swift album.
Swift also alludes to many other celebrities throughout the album. Allegedly, the track “Actually Romantic” is a response to Charli xcx’s third track “Sympathy is a Knife” from her latest album “Brat.” “Actually Romantic” also appears to nod to the title ‘Everything is Romantic,” the 7th track on “Brat.” In “Sympathy is a Knife,” Charli sings about her feelings while being wrapped up in the toxic and competitive climate of female fame. Swift seems to have taken this directly toward herself and created a diss track in response. In “Actually Romantic,” Swift refers to Charli xcx as, “A toy Chihuahua barking at me from a tiny purse,” and condescendingly writes about how flattered she is that Charli put so much thought into making a song about her. Swift also allegedly references Blake Lively and Brittany Mahomes in her track “CANCELLED!,” singing about how she “likes [her] friends cancelled,” so they can understand how it feels and bond with her over it. In this track she is referencing her major cancellation in 2016.
Pascack Hills students seem to agree with TikTok’s perspective on the album. “She’s better than this. When she surrounded herself with creative people they fueled her to write more out-of-box lyrics,” said sophomore Gabriella Garcia.
Freshman Hannah Padilla added, “I didn’t listen to the album. I don’t really think Taylor Swift is all that she’s cracked up to be. A lot of her music sounds the same and the new album is just an addition to it from what I’ve heard.”
