Taylor Swift is leaning into the chaos of mixed reactions to her latest album.
“The Life of a Showgirl” dropped last Thursday and reviews swung from shout-from-the-rooftops praise to muted disappointment. While talking with Zane Lowe, the artist addressed the wide-ranging opinions by saying she was good with it all.
“I welcome the chaos,” Swift said. “The rule of show business is if it’s the first week of my album release and you are saying either my name or my album title, you’re helping. And art, I have a lot of respect for people’s subjective opinions on art. I’m not the art police. It’s like everybody is allowed to feel exactly how they want. And what our goal is as entertainers is to be a mirror.”
She continued: “Sometimes an album is a really really wild way to look at yourself. What you’re going through in your life is going to affect whether you relate to the music that I’m putting out at any given moment. And what I often love seeing my fans say is, ‘I used to be someone who didn’t relate to ‘Reputation.’ And now that I’ve been through some other things in my life, that’s my favorite album.’ Or, ‘I used to be a ‘Fearless’ girlie, now I’m obsessed with ‘Evermore.” We’re doing this thing for keeps. I have such an eye on legacy when I’m making my music. I know what I made. I know I adore it, and I know that on the theme of what the ‘Showgirl’ is, all of this is part of it.”
The album, which Swift co-produced with former “1989” and “Reputation” collaborators Max Martin and Shellback, is a 12-track return to more upbeat pop after 2024’s “The Tortured Poet’s Department.” Critical reception was largely positive with Rolling Stone, NPR, New York Times and Billboard all giving “Showgirl” glowing marks. The Guardian and The Financial Times were more critical of Swift’s 12th album.
Similarly, fans waffled between loving the artist’s return to pop while others cried out for the lyricism that made “Evermore” and “Folklore” such a hit. The discussion online has predictably been more impassioned and divided. While some fans were quick to applaud the album, others torched it as “unoriginal” and “boring.”
Watch the full interview above.
