Taylor Swift 12th album come from
Di last time we meet Taylor Swift, she bin dey ball.
Her last album, The Tortured Poets Department, na emotional song – one ogbonge postmortem of two bitter, messy break-ups.
We bin see her for her lowest, "she bin dey cry for gym" and "dey vex" say she waste her youth on top one six-year relationship wit British actor Joe Alwyn, wey later end as she chop breakfast.
Eighteen months later, she don come back wit di latest update from her bureau; and di story dey very different.
Di songs wey she record for stolen moments during di record-shattering Eras tour, don see di 35-year-old happy, energised and newly in love wit American Footballer Travis Kelce.
"Dis album dey about wetin dey happun behind di scenes for my inner life during dis tour, wey dey so energetic and electric and vibrant," she tok as she appear on Kelce New Heights podcast last month.
To capture dat dynamic, she produce di album no be wit her longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff – wey im productions define di sounds of Midnights, and Tortured Poets Department – but wit Swedish pop masterminds Max Martin and Shellback, wey don work wit Swift bifor on hits like Shake It Off and I Knew You Were Trouble.
Di goal, Swift tok na to make a tight, compact album of "bangers" with "melodies wey dey so infectious wey go make you almost dey vex for am".
But dis rant don do. Dis The Life of a Showgirl na rhinestone-studded success, or a chorus line catastrophe?
Getting straight to the point: It's a triumph.
To get straight to di point: na victory.
Na combination of compelling songwriting and whip-smart production easily clear di high bar wey Swift don set for herself.
Fans wey dey expect a return to di maximalist pop of Red and 1989 go dey surprised.
Swift new music dey more cool and collected pass her previous collaborations wit Martin; e tap into di atmospheric textures of im recent hits for The Weeknd and Ariana Grande.
At 41 minutes, The Life of A Showgirl na di shortest album Swift don release since her debut for 2006.
Thematically, Swift latest lyrics get two distinct threads.
Half of di album 12 songs na about falling completely, goofily, head ova heels in love. Di rest tackle di seedy underbelly of fame.
Along the way, we get some classics, like di image of one burlesque dancer "wey dey glow like di end of cigar"; she compare one critic yarn to "a toy chihuahua wey dey bark from a tiny purse".
Anoda entire song dey wey dey filled witvplayground innuendo.
Di album open wit a misdirect.
Fans bin expect say The Fate of Ophelia go be like Swift Shakespeare story of one noblewoman wey drown in a fit of mania afta grief make her mad.
Instead, she sing about how Kelce save her from dat fate, for one crisp pop track wey dey packed wit cute references to dia relationship – wey include di Kansas City Chiefs, and di number 100 (di total of Kelce jersey number, 87, and Swift lucky number 13).
"I hear you dey call me on di megaphone," she tok, as she confam how dia romance start wen Kelce publicly declare im affection on im podcast for July 2023.
"If you no ever come for me, I for don drown for sadness."
Musically, di song play clever trick as e add one extra bar for di end of evri oda phrase, as though Swift dey linger in di moment, too swept up for her feelings to continue.
She pepper di album wit little flourishes like dat - and e dey supremely satisfying.
Di lovestruck theme bin continue on Opalite, whose breezy chords and Abba-esque harmonies unfurl like a blossoming romance; and Wi$h Li$t, wia Swift remove herself from di Hollywood pack for a life of domestic bliss.
"Dem want dat critical smash Palme d'Or and an Oscar on diabathroom floor," she observe. "
(Plus "a couple of kids" wit "a best friend wey I tink say dey hot").
But perhaps di most eye-opening tribute to Kelce na Wood - one staccato dance track, wey complete wit a Jackson 5 guitar riff.
For there, we see Swift superstitiously "knocking on wood" say dia relationship go last, and knocking wood for di bedroom, for one unexpected homage to her fiancé "manhood".
E dey so silly and unexpected and e make me laugh out loud.
Di same thing goes for Actually Romantic, one fantastically sarcastic track about one fellow pop star (unnamed), wey call Swift a "boring Barbie" and write songs about how much dem hate her.
Ova grungy guitars and a slapping drum beat, Taylor taunt dem wit a touch of reverse psychology.
"E bin sound nasty but e feel like you dey flirt wit me," she trills. "All di effort you don put inside, actually dey romantic."
She continue to settle scores on Father Figure - di scathing story of a backstabbing protégé, wey interpolate di George Michael classic of di same name.
Fans go try hard to uncover di subject identity, but, to me, di song be more like a morality tale about a music industry Svengali, wey possess di power to wipe out anyone wey no dey "loyal to di family".
Full of cinematic strings and disorientating key changes, e sit alongside No Body, No Crime, Bad Blood and Vigilante S*** for Swift expanding catalogue of revenge anthems.
Di album best track, however, na di soft-focus ballad Ruin The Friendship.
Time-travelling to Swift high school days for Tennessee, recollect di tori about one boy wey she put for friend zone as she dey long for a single kiss.
Delicate and nostalgic, e take a heart-wrenching turn for di third verse, wen Swift real life best friend Abigail call to say dia former schoolfriend don die, and she fly through di night to attend di funeral.
For inside album wey largely centre on contentment, di regret and sadness hit double hard.
Di collection end wit di title track, one spirited duet wit Sabrina Carpenter wey double as a cautionary tale about stardom.
Na di only song wey really lean into di showgirl concept, wit a percussive tap-dancing interlude and ostentatious key changes, as di stars trade lines about dia cut-throat industry.
"All the headshots on the walls of the dance hall / Are of the bitches who wish I'd hurry up and die," Swift sings.
Then di punchline: "But I'm immortal now, baby doll."
E feel like a deliberate call-back to Look What You Made Me Do, wey she write for 2017 afta one public showdown wit Kanye West and afta months of negative press.
Back then, she sing: "The old Taylor can't come to the phone right now… Why? Oh, cause she's dead."
For 2025, wit di world at her feet, Swift fit finally tok wit certainty say her place for pop history dey guaranteed.
The Life of a Showgirl na her well-earned victory lap.
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