It's a mixture of 80s pop synth, known iconic fictional themes (a familiar Taylor Swift tool), self-referencing, and a dash of happiness: Taylor Swift's new album“The Life of a Showgirl” promises the world all this and more. It has love and friendship stories that are full of heart and honest-to-goodness beauty, but there is also darkness that makes you stop and reconsider the message Swift has delivered.

The much-awaited album, which was announced on Swift's fiancé Travis Kelce's podcast, New Heights, has finally hit streaming platforms, and it is every bit as worth it as the clever marketing promised. It's a step away from her earlier albums, with their alternative pop-rock feel, such as Evermore or Folklore, but seems more in line with Midnights and Tortured Poets Department. While they seem upbeat, they tell darker, more forbidden tales.

Taylor's maturity as a storyteller is on bold display as she self-references in Life of a Showgirl's (eponymous track featuring Sabrina Carpenter) end. Her 'thanks' to the crowd at the end is a step further than the self-reference she executed in her previous album with Clara Bow.

The self-referencing doesn't end there. In Wi$H Li$t, she decodes her life beyond the screens and the media. It's a romantic song, but it's not just that; it's an incisive perspective on how life truly exists for larger-than-life media personalities such as herself.“They want the Oscar on the bathroom floor” and“a contract with Real Madrid,” it says, but it speaks clearly:“I just want you”. A nod to Travis Kelce? One would think so.

Finding love amidst the chaos of being known as Taylor Swift, whose popularity continues to hit all-time highs, deserves a song from an acclaimed songwriter.

Elizabeth Taylor and The Fate of Ophelia follow similar themes of misunderstood, trailblazing, iconic real and reel life characters. Elizabeth Taylor is filled with references to her 'violet' eyes and 'Portofino'. In the 1960s, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor stayed in Portofino and their love was the talk of the town at the time, not very different from Swift and Kelce's love story. Taylor asks,“Tell me for real, is it forever?”.

The Fate of Ophelia appears to be a direct reference to Kelce. Swift writes about a dangerous turn that lies in the fates of women in love who are often reliant on symbolism and social and public pressures: failure in love and losing themselves. With her 'new love' she seems happy and secure:“I might have drowned in melancholy ... right before you lit up my sky”. It cleverly denotes how one is about to drown, they see a sky but her true love saved her from a dark fate and showed her a new world full of hope and joy.

Swift is at her snarkiest best in Cancelled (“Did you girl boss too close to the sun?”) and tells the story of her response to 'cancel culture'. She paints an accurate psychological portrait of the“Eldest Daughter”, peeling through layers of the strong daughter that wants to do it all, prove it all but eventually finding closure, in love and in faith. In“Father Figure” she references to The Godfather and a godfather like figure, some say it is a comment on her journey from her early beginnings.

Honey also seems like a nod to Kelce but it reads more than that. It reads like a young insecure girl who is often bullied who knows she's getting a raw deal, but it's a story of recognition of love, love that doesn't let you feel slighted or invisible. Actually Romantic is allegedly about her rift with Charli XCX and Ruin The Friendship is a bittersweet tale of young romance. Wood is about making your own luck and forgetting the silly superstitions that often surround us.

With The Life of a Showgirl, Swift ushers in a new era, one where she hasn't lost her edge, even though she writes about happy moments and joy. Her skill as a songwriter shines as she balances the light and the dark. It may tell a lot of her critics that heartbreak and scandal isn't the only way for Swift to make bold moves and best-selling albums.

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