False God: The great Swiftie conundrum

 

Editor’s note: Pop icon Taylor Swift has perhaps the most committed fanbase in all of pop music right now. The Swifties have been following, analysing, and dissecting every single move she has made for close to two decades, united in their adoration. However, her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, has caused a rare ‘glitch’, dividing her fanbase—the disillusioned, the loyal, and the cult conspiracy theorists. All of them trying to grapple with the big Q: What has Taylor Swift become? 

 

Music journalist and former Advisory editor Arunima Joshua pens a wonderful essay about making sense of Taylor Swift, with a bonus playlist of all the songs mentioned here. 

 

Written by: Arunima Joshua 

 

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Taylor Swift has, for once, left her fans fiercely divided. The Life of a Showgirl, her 12th studio album released last month, has been scrutinised more than any other work she’s put out in the two decades of her career. As the dust begins to settle, it is clear, to use Taylor’s words, “there’s been a glitch.” There are three factions of fans. We have cult conspiracists; blind worshippers; and disillusioned believers.

 

What does this mean for the most powerful pop fandom in the world? 

 

We, Swifties, have gone through a lot together. From being a part of the OG ‘Love Story’ (2008) generation, to the contagious joy of 1989’s unabashed pop debut in 2014, to Twitter meltdowns over Folklore (2020) during lockdown. And then reliving it all with Taylor’s re-recorded versions of the same to reclaim ownership of her work. When she announced her reunion with legendary music producer duo Max Martin and Shellback for Showgirl, everyone anticipated a prodigal return to the heights of her pop prowess, perhaps with some larger-than-life big band showmanship.

 

On October 3, something unexpected happened when Showgirl dropped. As questions and eyebrows were raised, faithful stans stayed the course, others expressed disappointment, and the usual decoding of easter eggs took even stranger turns. We were soon in the weirdest era of Swiftie fandom. “This is me trying”...to make sense of it all. 

 

Stans and fans 

 

“We might just get away with it

The altar is my hips”

 

Rolling Stone and Variety loved the new album. The New Yorker, musing the mixed reaction, wondered if people simply don’t want Taylor Swift to be happy. Yet for all this soul-searching, Showgirl surpassed Adele’s first-week sales record for the album 25, making Taylor the first artist to do so in a decade. The lush visuals on ‘The Fate Of Ophelia’ video are undeniably stunning. The hooks on the three opening tracks are certified earworms, with feel-good chorus structures and that very hummable cadence Swift does so well. 

 

Some of us loved Showgirl despite what others may say (“It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero”). I, for one, was elated when Swift announced her engagement to American footballer Travis Kelce. We’ve all grown up with her love life, immortalised in song: teenage dalliances, ugly breakups, below-the-radar long-term relationships. So when she announced her engagement on August 26 this year, the internet sort of broke. The Swifties, at least, all remember exactly where we were. 

 

Coming on the heels of this unifying celebration, the Showgirl schism comes as an even greater shock. Sexist commentators are questioning her solo writing credits, attributing the strength of the songwriting in the last six years to her former partner. The Swiftie fandom, too, has been patronised in the past—with pretentious memes like “Songs that would give Swifties an aneurysm” mocking her largely young, female fanbase, allegedly incapable of emotional range and depth. 

 

The conspiracy theorists

 

“We were crazy to think

Crazy to think that this could work”

 

A cult of self-proclaimed  “performanceartlors” claim that the poorly received record is an elaborate form of performance art, a ‘faux’ album and rollout. This is hardly unexpected from a certain kind of Swiftie who has long engaged in conspiracy theories, decoding every lyric or social media post for hidden meaning.

 

A curiously compelling thread on X points out how the album draws from the plot of Hamlet, with Swift simultaneously playing the part of a misunderstood Ophelia and a provocateur Hamlet–who put on a play for his uncle King Claudius to expose his betrayal:

 

Hamlet has [C]laudius.

 

Taylor has us.

 

"The crowd is your King"

 

Our reactions are being "studied" and tells more about us than about her.

 

About our "guilt" to project expectations, projections that traps her in this mold decided by society standard and keeping her from being her

 

“To assess the equation of you”, or us, as she sings on her 2022 track, ‘Mastermind’. 

 

Wait, there’s more. Some ‘performanceartlors’ believe Swift is cosplaying as famous actor Elizabeth Taylor (also the eponymous second track on Showgirl). The Hollywood icon had a well documented sham romance with football champion Glenn Davis in the ’40s. Is Swift referencing her own engagement to Kelce? The conspiracy claims that the track is the popstar’s confession. The ridiculous extreme are wild theories about her nude lipstick—which seems to have replaced the signature bright red. Red herrings or oracular revelations? After all, on ‘Mastermind’, Swift said “it was all by design.”

 

The critics and the haters

 

“They say the road gets hard and you get lost

When you're led by blind faith, blind faith”

 

Elaborate justifications aside, there is now a growing legion of critics—both measured and overly harsh: stagnation as a songwriter, money-grubbing opportunism, silly feuds—real or fake—with industry peers; blocking criticism on album-rating websites; unlicensed sampling and interpolation. Last not least: using AI slop for promotion—see #SwiftiesAgainstAI. 

 

There is a sense too that the so-called Swift economics—which can boost entire GDPs—has been built on the backs (and wallets) of her most devoted fans. Over the past few years, Swift has routinely put out varied and exclusive variants of singles and the main album in physical and digital releases. Swifties often purchase several copies of the album which helps the release gain traction on the sales charts. But many of us simply can’t afford to spend exorbitant amounts of money just to access different versions of one track. 

 

Then there is her politics. In the Netflix documentary Miss Americana (2020), Swift spoke openly about queer rights, sexual assault, discrimination, vote suppression and other liberal causes. She has consistently donated to many affiliated charities and was awarded the Vanguard award by LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD.

 

Lately, however, she’s been far less vocal, even as her wealth and privilege has surged to ever greater heights. Swift’s current cosiness with Trump-lover Brittany Mahomes (best known as the football wife of Kelce’s bestie Patrick Mahomes) and podcast hosts of "Bussin' With the Boys” feels like the exact opposite of values she’s expressed in the past.

 

Adding to the suspicions is a song on Showgirl called ‘CANCELLED!’, where she defends her friendship with people who have been called out for their offensive views. Many are troubled by what comes across as sweeping advocacy of not just people but also their politics. Equally damning is the allegation that Swift has taken on an alt-right MAGA and TradWife persona. Some of us don’t like the idea of a guy ‘saving’ her, as she implies in the lead single. The sentiment echoes her conversations on television talk shows, where she seems to trivialise her career in comparison to that of her NFL fiancé. 

 

Do celebrities owe us their political opinions? When an artist associates an entire album era with it, as she did on ‘Lover’, yeah. 

 

Swift recently came on Apple Music host Zane Lowe’s show and responded to the critical reception of her new album. She said she’s not the “art police” and respects people’s subjective opinions on art. She also mentioned that the entire phenomenon ties in with the theme of ‘showgirl’, and she welcomes the “chaos.” We’d welcome the return of Taylor as the strong, creative woman we know and love—rather than a product being sold to us. We’re still waiting on “the other side of the door.”

 

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Arunima Joshua is a Mumbai-based journalist who writes on music, culture, and lifestyle. 

 

As always, here’s a playlist with all the songs mentioned in this essay!