Taylor Swift Reacts to Mixed Reviews of Life of a Showgirl: ‘I Welcome the Chaos’

While appearing on Apple Music’s The Zane Lowe Show, the singer addressed the mixed reviews she received from critics — and even some fans — about her 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl.

“I welcome the chaos,” Swift, 35, said when Lowe asked how she navigates the wide variety of reactions. “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,” she continued.

The Grammy winner pointed out that the “goal” of “entertainers is to be a mirror.”

“Oftentimes, 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,” Swift explained. “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,” she added. “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.”

Swift, 35, released The Life of a Showgirl on Friday, October 3, and has already broken records in the days since. The Grammy winner sold 2.7 million albums on the first day, according to the Associated Press, citing tracking firm Luminate, with Swift breaking her previous record of 2.61 first week sales of 2024’s The Tortured Poets Department in a single day. In addition, The Life of a Showgirl had the second-largest sales week of any album since 1991, when Luminate began tracking data. It’s second only to Adele’s 2015 album, 25.

Critic reviews of Showgirl have been very mixed. For example, Pitchfork rated the pop album 5.9 out of 10, while Rolling Stone gave the album five out of five stars.

See how fans reacted to the album, who Swifties speculate the songs are about, and Swift’s breakdown of the meaning behind the tracks, in the articles and gallery, below!