On Aug. 13, Taylor Swift made her first appearance on the podcast “New Heights,” hosted by her fiancé, Travis Kelce. On the podcast, Swift revealed her 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl.” Released on Oct. 3, multiple controversies followed its debut, making for a difficult promotional week for Swift.
The album was a major commercial success in its first week, breaking sales records with 3.5 million sales. The success was driven by high physical sales, including 2.7 million in the first 24 hours and strong streaming numbers. The accompanying film, “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” also added to its commercial performance unlike the public reaction.
Taylor Swift vs. Charli XCX
Swift and Charli XCX have a long history. In 2015, Charli joined Swift on stage during the “1989 World Tour,” and in 2018, she served as an opening act on the “Reputation Stadium Tour.” However, after Charli released her acclaimed summer album “Brat” in 2024, fans began to speculate about a feud between the two artists, sparked by the song “Sympathy Is a Knife.”
The song explores Charli’s feelings of insecurity toward a woman in her boyfriend’s circle. Fans connected the lyrics to Swift, who previously dated Matty Healy, the bandmate of Charli’s husband, George Daniel, from The 1975.
“I’m seeing online that some people think there are diss tracks on Brat and I just wanted to come on here and clarify that there aren’t,” Charli said on TikTok. “But the other tracks in question aren’t diss tracks. They’re really just about how it’s so complicated being an artist, especially a female artist, where you are pitted against your peers, but also expected to be best friends with every single person constantly.”
The seventh track on “The Life of a Showgirl,” “Actually Romantic,” resurfaced speculation about the rumored feud. The song is widely seen as a pointed critique of Charli, especially with some of the lyrics appearing to reference Charli’s work and public persona in a negative light.
Swift’s song follows a storyline in which she describes a woman so fixated on her that it feels almost like an obsession or even infatuation. In an Amazon Music Introduction for “Actually Romantic” Swift describes it as: “a song about realizing that someone else has kind of had a one-sided, adversarial relationship with you that you didn’t know about and all of a sudden they start doing too much and they start letting you know that actually, you’ve been living in their head rent-free and you had no idea.”
Neither of them has officially confirmed or addressed the feud. On the other hand, fans of both artists have made it clear whose side they’re on by sharing their opinions on social media. Casual listeners following the drama believe Charli’s song addresses the insecurities women face rather than serving as a nasty diss, while Swift’s track is seen by many as a poorly written retaliation aimed at a diss track some say never existed.
Cancel culture
Another song on the album that garnered a lot of attention was the tenth track on the album, “CANCELLED!”
With this song, Swift reflects on her experience with cancel culture while celebrating the friendships that have endured public scrutiny. She emphasizes her ability to face scandal and controversy head-on, ultimately emerging stronger.
Drawing connections between the lyrics and Swift’s personal life, many believe the song may reference Brittany Mahomes, wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and a recent addition to Swift’s inner circle, as well as longtime friend Blake Lively. Brittany Mahomes got backlash for her political views, which don’t exactly line up with the ones Swift has publicly supported. Meanwhile, Blake Lively was caught up in a defamation lawsuit that somehow pulled Swift into the mix, putting even more attention on their friendship.
Many fans felt the song was tone-deaf, especially given the current political climate. There’s been disappointment over the fact that, after a long period of silence on major social and political matters, this is how Swift chose to respond to criticism, by focusing on her personal experiences and defending those close to her.
AI used for promotion
Fans took to social media to call out Swift for her alleged use of generative AI on promo videos. On TikTok and X, some Swift fans started using the hashtag #SwiftiesAgainstAI to show their disappointment and concerns.
Swift had addressed AI-generated images and videos during her endorsement of Kamala Harris in 2024 with an Instagram post where she stated, “recently, I was made aware that an AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site. It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation.”
Despite her previous cautions about AI, many fans were taken aback when Swift used AI-generated art to promote her album. Known for advocating for artists’ rights, especially regarding creative ownership, her decision surprised and disappointed many.
The promotional videos were later taken off all platforms without the issue being addressed by Swift or her team.
Every new Taylor Swift album gets its fair share of criticism, but this one is getting the most so far and the controversies around it aren’t helping either. Swift responded to all the backlash on the album in a Zane Lowe interview for Apple Music.
“I welcome the chaos,” Swift replied to Lowe in the interview. “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.”
