Crystal Aura Gaze

Note: The header image is a stock photo of a model – not Taylor Swift.

I wrote this post several months ago about my disappointment with Taylor Swift – as someone who closely followed her music and career over the years. But I wanted to write something that focuses mainly on her most recent album from last fall, “The Life of A Showgirl.”

This is an album that put Taylor’s entire career into question. If it wasn’t for this album, I may have not been so critical of her past. But it did really expose a lot of things that I had previously looked over. And I want to deep-dive into that.

For a professional artist – where is the art? Where is the creativity? This is not a piece of art, but a big slop of random ideas thrown together that have nothing to do with each other.

Taylor Swift is not a showgirl. A showgirl is a dancer – and Taylor doesn’t dance. Her Eras tour would have been nothing without her professional backup dancers. Instead, she points, waves her arms around, stomps her feet, does a few hip circles – and calls that dancing, I guess.

How can you title an album “The Life of A Showgirl” – and then choose album artwork inspired after Marie Antoinette and Ophelia? I get that the Ophelia reference connects to her lead single, The Fate of Ophelia – but what does any of that have to do with showgirls?

In my opinion, a good album has a strong theme – and sticks with that theme. The success of Folklore and Evermore came from Taylor’s ability to thrust herself head-on into the album’s aesthetic. She transformed into the tea-drinking, nature-loving, introverted, story-teller that the record portrayed. If you’re going to declare yourself a showgirl – then be a showgirl.

In the lead single’s music video, we do get a few clips of Taylor dressed up as a legitimate showgirl. But this is sprinkled with many other images, including the Ophelia-inspired scenes. And that part makes sense – the lyrics are inspired by Ophelia’s story. Absolutely nowhere in the lyrics does it imply anything about being a showgirl.

In her second video, for “Opalite,” the entire aesthetic of showgirl is dropped. We don’t even get a few clips or symbols, like the first video. It actually takes an entirely opposite theme from showgirl. Instead, it’s based on a 90s infomercial, takes place in a mall, and features purposefully-awkward dancing.

Not only does the “Opalite” video stray from the showgirl theme, it also strays from its own lyrics. At least “The Fate of Ophelia” had some visual connection to its lyrics. “Opalite” should be shiny, colorful, and dazzling – and they chose to make the video as lackluster as possible.

Since its release, there has not been a single live performance of any of the songs. There is nothing “showgirl” about this showgirl era.

Most importantly, album themes are not simply about visuals – it’s about the music. A showgirl album should come with elements of jazz, big band, and so forth. It should be theatrical and loud – with saxophones, trumpets, and trombones. This record has none of that – just a flat voice that sounds tired and bored – over synths and electronica.

If this album, or any singles, or any part of it, wins a Grammy – it will further expose how fraudulent the music industry is. The Grammys are already problematic, but this would further emphasize this. It shouldn’t even receive any nominations – but likely will – either because she’s still riding off the fame of her teenage years, or because pop favors mediocracy.