Taylor Swift, the poet, the mastermind, the billionaire, has given life to 12 bodies of work, ranging from critically acclaimed releases like evermore to critically panned ones like The Life of a Showgirl. But the deluxe edition of her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore, released on Sept. 25, only digs her deeper, cementing its place among the weakest entries in her discography.
The Life of a Showgirl, released on Oct. 3, 2025, was met with rotten tomatoes flying straight at the artist in the spotlight. But, as her recent albums have shown, only time will tell their lasting impact. That longevity is best illustrated in Showgirl’s sixth track, “Ruin the Friendship,” which continues to have people online following the singer’s advice, whether they actually pull off the friends-to-lovers narrative or end up regretting their choices.
Although Taylor’s albums have proven to be slow-burners, like with how The Tortured Poets Department—once despised by the public—eventually found itself on top of Swifties’ rankings, The Life of a Showgirl seems to have missed that trajectory entirely. Among her vast catalogue, it would be hard to find a fan who would proudly call it their favorite.
And matters are only made worse by the four new songs that she added onto the deluxe edition. None of these have the staying power, lyrical depth, or sonic punch expected from a Taylor Swift release. It doesn’t help that it also boasts one of the blandest productions listeners have heard from Max Martin and Shellback.
Take us away from Cleveland!
The weakest offender from this four-track run is “Cleveland!” which returns to the stomp-clap production of The Life of a Showgirl’s title track. The instrumentation, reminiscent of 2010s music played at overpriced millennial-owned burger joints, further highlights the singer’s derivative lyricism as she addresses her detractors.
In response to the naysayers who questioned her every move, Taylor claps back with an uninspired retort that feels like a shallow victory lap. The song amounts to little more than a musical “I don’t care because someone loves me.”
Beneath the cheeky comeback is little lyrical depth, making the song feel less like Taylor learning from the criticism from The Life of a Showgirl and more like her simply doubling down. The reflective and resonant themes of “Ruin the Friendship” have been overtaken by songs that resemble the lackluster pen game of “CANCELLED!” and “Eldest Daughter.”
Furthermore, for the song’s bridge, Taylor leaned into the talk-singing style that has become increasingly common in pop music. However, her approach here feels painfully monotonous. There is little variation in her intonation or emotional delivery, leaving the weak lyrics to do the heavy lifting. It is a choice she repeats in the bridge of “Patient Zero,” where the same flat, spoken delivery once again does little to elevate the song.
Patient Zero: No Cure for Bland
“Patient Zero,” the lead single from The Encore, does not justify its place as the opener. Production-wise, the song attempted to reach for glamour with light synths and groovy beats, but it never settles into anything larger-than-life. The four additions to this album feel less like an extension of the album and more like outtakes from previous eras.
Lyrically, Swift attempts to position herself as the woman who can serve as the resident expert for a romantic disaster, but her message fell as flat as her vocal performance in the chorus. Even when she sings rather than talk-sings, her delivery remains stuck on one note.
The song never quite builds into anything worth staying for and the production follows suit—refusing to go anywhere beyond its initial groove.
Every cloud has a silver lining
All hope is not lost as there are a few bright spots in the four-track run. “Clouding Pink,” for one, sounds like an outtake from Lover, carrying the same themes of anxious attachment, avoidance, and love and loss that defined much of that era. Thematically, it feels out of place from the rest of the album, but its departure gives it a character that The Encore desperately needs.
And last is “Babylon,” which opens with a guitar that hints at a possible return to Swift’s country roots, reminiscent of the leanings of “I Knew It, I Knew You.” Its lyrics and melodic choices flirted with that direction, but the production choices ultimately pulled the song away from it. This is where the song loses some of its potential.
“Babylon” follows someone who leaves behind a small-town upbringing in pursuit of freedom and fame, only to look back at what was lost along the way. Of the four new tracks, it is the most sentimental and reflective. Though the production doesn’t meet the emotional resonance of the song, its lyricism alone makes up for what could have been a much more memorable closing.
Onto the next show
With Swift flirting with a return to her musical origins, only time will tell whether she can once again reach the heights of the music of her earlier work. For now, her attempts to revisit her former ways of writing are being held back by production that seems more interested in preserving the pop formula than letting her writing breathe.
Whether her next release is a batch of Reputation vault tracks, a 20th-anniversary edition of her debut album, or her highly anticipated 13th studio album, the question still stands: will she make music worth coming back to?
The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore, is available to stream now on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Youtube Music.
Standout track:
“Clouding Pink”
