AILSA CHANG, HOST:
OK, Taylor Swift is used to attention. For the better part of two years, millions of people saw her perform during her record-breaking world tour. And just in August, she announced that she was engaged to football star Travis Kelce, which produced even more fanfare. But does Taylor actually still want the spotlight?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL")
TAYLOR SWIFT: (Singing) You're sweeter than a peach, but you don't know the life of showgirl, babe, and you're never, ever gonna.
CHANG: Her new album, which just dropped today, is called "The Life Of A Showgirl." In it, she dives deep into her life offstage and contemplates whether or not she's ready to walk away from the pop star life. Here with us today to break it all down for us is NPR Music's Stephen Thompson. Hi, Stephen.
STEPHEN THOMPSON, BYLINE: Hello, Ailsa.
CHANG: Hello, hello. OK, so Travis said this album was a banger on he and his brother's podcast. Is this album a banger to you?
THOMPSON: Well, I mean, it's certainly been billed as such, and it's definitely a pivot away from this kind of dusky, autumnal folky sound that she's been exploring on recent records. She's also, you know, kind of switched producers back to the producers she was working with on albums like "Red" and "1989," Max Martin and Shellback. And they give it not so much a sense of, like, wall to wall colossal pop bangers, but just a little bit more range. It can be theatrical or soulful or spangly, like in the song "Opalite."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "OPALITE")
SWIFT: (Singing) Sleepless in the onyx night. But now the sky is opalite. Oh, oh oh oh oh.
CHANG: Well, as the whole world knows, Taylor and Travis are betrothed. What do you think this album reveals to us about their relationship, I mean, like, beyond what we keep seeing in the Instagram post or the tabloids?
THOMPSON: Well, several songs early on are clearly about falling in love with Travis Kelce. Lots of stuff about, like, I'd be melancholy if you hadn't found me, you know, that sort of thing. There is a song that's pretty clearly about him that I really like called "Honey" that talks about the language couples use and how the meaning of words can shift depending on whether those words are used in good faith or bad faith.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HONEY")
SWIFT: (Singing) But you touched my face, redefined all of those blues when you say, honey.
THOMPSON: The one that feels the most enlightening, that is probably saying the most about her thoughts on the relationship would be the song "Wi$h Li$t," where she imagines a life of normalcy that has obviously eluded her.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WI$H LI$T")
SWIFT: (Singing) Boss up. Settle down. Got a wish list. I just want you.
CHANG: I mean, and that is such a sweet side to this record. But also, come on. We all know that Taylor loves using music to take on critics, whether they be exes or other artists, right? So do you hear her doing that on this?
THOMPSON: Oh, gosh, yes.
(LAUGHTER)
CHANG: Give it to us.
THOMPSON: I mean, it's Taylor Swift. I mean, she is settling some scores here. I want to tread somewhat carefully because a lot is left for listeners to assume. And some of those songs are definitely dropping Easter eggs that are allowing sleuths on the internet to kind of piece together what they're about.
CHANG: Which she loves to do. She loves dropping those eggs.
THOMPSON: Yeah, she does. I mean, you've got a song like "CANCELLED!" which is kind of a dig at people who've criticized her friends. The song "Father Figure" is, you know, dressing down a music industry executive. Fans can surely tell you which one. And there's a song called "Actually Romantic" that appears to be a response to the Charli xcx song "Sympathy Is A Knife."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ACTUALLY ROMANTIC")
SWIFT: (Singing) Like a toy chihuahua barking at me from a tiny purse, that's how much it hurts.
THOMPSON: "Actually Romantic" is saying, like, you know, the fact that you're obsessed enough to write and talk smack about me is actually romantic.
CHANG: (Laughter).
THOMPSON: Writing a song mocking someone for writing a song is definitely a move. We'll leave it at that.
CHANG: OK, so a lot of this album feels like it is about Taylor's struggle with the spotlight, but it's also about her newfound love. But do we also get a sense of what she wants to do next?
THOMPSON: Well, I would imagine a lot of the scuttlebutt about what she wants to do next is going to revolve around getting married. But what's interesting to me about her next step is that Taylor Swift is very, very famously into numbers. This is her 12th album. Her next album is her 13th. And I don't need to tell any Taylor Swift fans listening how big the number 13 is...
CHANG: So big.
THOMPSON: ...To Taylor Swift (laughter).
CHANG: That is NPR Music's Stephen Thompson. Thank you so much, Stephen.
THOMPSON: Thank you, Ailsa.
CHANG: And you can hear more of his thoughts on the new Taylor Swift album on the New Music Friday podcast from NPR Music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE FATE OF OPHELIA")
SWIFT: (Singing) All that time I sat alone in my tower. You were just honing your powers. Now I can see it all. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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