There is fun to be had with Taylor Swift‘s latest drop of songs for those willing to look past the meta-commentary often baked into the singer’s work. Swifties could conceivably bop along to “Patient Zero,” “Cleveland,” “Pink Clouding,” and “Babylon” without giving any of it much thought. However, when the singer’s most loyal fans spent the lead-up to The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore decoding clues and navigating scavenger hunts, it’s hard to fault them for expecting the singer to return the favor and deliver something with depth.
On September 25, just in time for Grammy voters to begin determining next year’s nominees, Swift resurfaced The Life of a Showgirl to reveal an expanded version of the critically maligned 2025 album featuring four new tracks. The Life of a Showgirl achieved commercial success thanks, at least in part, to Swift releasing 34 variants of the record, securing its record for the biggest-selling debut week for an album in history. However, fans who dug through the variants largely derided the body of work and, now, The Encore is facing the same fate.
“I am a swiftie but I also have ears,” wrote one fan on X in response to a fan’s claim that anyone not in love with Swift’s new songs is at risk of having their Swiftie card revoked. The in-fighting has begun.
“Taylor Swift you’ve written some of the best bridges in lyrical history i know you’re in there somewhere come back to us please,” pined another.
In Swift’s new songs, she continues a derivative theme of score-settling that permeated an album fans expected to be about life on Swift’s record-breaking Eras tour.
“Patient Zero” is directed at a woman recently scorned by a man who burned Swift and carries with it a healthy dose of “I told you so” in its lyrics.
In “Cleveland,” Swift hits back at critics who say she dresses “like trash” and has an “annoying” smile. Her weapon of defense is that her husband, Travis Kelce, loves her. “My baby likes what he likes […] So, hate all you like / This is the love of my life,” she sings. Of course, the issue with Swift so frequently writing songs about not caring what the haters say is that it becomes hard to convince us that she doesn’t care what the haters say. The repetitive nature of Swift’s writing on this extended version of her 12th album appears to have left many fans longing for a time gone by rather than craving what’s next.
would never relinquish my swiftie duties…but after 20 years sometimes you just have to say that’s nice honey and press play on state of grace.
— 💌 (@Iikeapattern) September 25, 2026
Nevertheless, the songs will find their place at the top of the charts because Swift has this down to a science, but this is where she falls on her own sword. Swift’s refusal to take creative risks might not hurt her commercially but after numerous panned releases, her legacy may take a hit.
More Stories from Entertainment
