"That album, despite its astonishing run atop the charts, quickly became one of the most divisive of Swift's two-decade career. Critics balked at the 31-song, two-hour runtime and Swift's wordy lyricism. She faced accusations of " quality-control issues" and a kind of comfort-zone hubris in her continued collaborations with go-to producer Jack Antonoff. Fans lamented that "Poets" was too morose and boasted no pop bangers or obvious hits, undermining Swift's cultural impact. In the wake of all this discourse, Swift went home empty-handed from the Grammys in February, despite netting six nominations."
"But Swift is nothing if not a proudly Type-A striver. So when she returned to the fray this summer ready to promote her "Poets" follow-up, she plastered her social media pages with a new mantra: "Baby, that's show business for you." And what is show business? It's knowing the crowd is king. It's adjusting to their whims to keep them clapping and buying tickets. It's offering an extra wink, a bit of razzle-dazzle, maybe even a heel-turn, when you can sense boredom creeping in. That's exactly what Swift has done."
"Like a personification of the eternally people-pleasing "millennial boss" meme, Taylor Swift is taking fans' feedback to heart on "Showgirl." So much so that the key pillars of the album - the creative process, the length, the structure - seem deliberately developed in response to the critiques of its predecessor, 2024's " The Tortured Poets Department.""
Taylor Swift retooled her approach for The Life of a Showgirl, delivering a concise 12-song album that emphasizes audience appeal and streamlined structure. The change responds to backlash against the 31-track, two-hour The Tortured Poets Department, which critics and fans labeled overly long, lyrically dense, and safe in repeated producer collaborations. The previous album's morose tone and perceived quality-control issues coincided with a Grammys snub. The new album adopts a show-business mindset: prioritizing hooks, pacing, theatricality, and fan feedback to restore cultural momentum and commercial clarity.
Read at Business Insider
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