Pictured: Taylor Swift (Wikimedia Commons) and Charli XCX (Wikimedia Commons) [edited]

Like her song title suggests, Taylor Swift is more than used to the idea of being ‘CANCELLED!’, and her new album reflects this sentiment. The Life of a Showgirl, Swift’s thirteenth album, was released on the 3rd of October. Under the microscope of criticism, Swift’s latest album has been dubbed her worst despite raving reviews from Rolling Stone with five stars. On its release date, people flooded online to post their opinions on the album, many being negative, which is surprising for so many die-hard fans to dislike something by Taylor Swift, and to reveal their own theories for the meanings behind the songs.

Speculation online since the release of The Life of a Showgirl has been about the muses behind some of the songs. Many people are certain that the song ‘Actually Romantic’ is not about Swift’s fiancé, Travis Kelce, who is confirmed to be the subject of many of the album’s songs. But rather, track number 7 may be Swift’s comeback in the speculated ongoing feud with Charli XCX.

Charli XCX and Taylor Swift seemed to be friends from at least 2014, when Swift brought out XCX during her 1989 world tour in Toronto. On top of this, in 2018, Charli XCX joined Taylor Swift as her opening act for the Reputation world tour. However, this friendship seems to have dissipated in the public eye to the point where their individual artistry is being inextricably linked to one another.

It is widely speculated by fans that the BRAT song ‘Sympathy is a Knife’ is about Taylor Swift, and more specifically about XCX’s own insecurities as an artist in comparison to Swift’s success. However, some fans have taken this as a go-ahead to send hate in Swift’s way. Fans of XCX were even reported chanting ‘Taylor Swift is dead’ at the BRAT tour, which she declared she would not tolerate on her Instagram story.

Both the music industry that detriments female artists’ relationships and fans who flock behind screens that amplify these situations. Feuds between female artists are being aggrandised on social media, and it’s clear that women are still often exclusively branded to the entertainment that they bring through their personal lives over the art they have produced.

Swift seems to be feeding into this narrative that drama is somehow necessary for an artist to stay relevant online and in the industry. The new album does not rely on her artistry, the lyrics are not comparative to the poetic lyricism of previous albums; Swift is moving away from this part of herself and into the ‘showgirl’ persona she is emulating recently.

Speaking directly to fans on her TikTok, Charli XCX revealed that her song, or any song on the BRAT album, for that matter, is not supposed to be a ‘diss track’. Charli explains how being a female artist is ‘complicated’, but that speculated songs are not aimed at particular people.

It seems that Swift does not agree: ‘I was tame, I was gentle, til the circus life made me mean’, (Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?) Within the ever-so-distant world of show business, individualism is the armour that artists are often seen wearing. What Swift’s Life of a Showgirl does teach us, as lowly civilians, is that we will never be able to understand the perils of the life she has chosen. What is actually conveyed to listeners is not an artist trying to protect her art, refine her sound, but an experienced woman in the industry deflecting onto others what she is attacked for. 

This sense of individualism, shovelled into media by capitalism clothed in choice feminism, drives this sentiment into art. Swift’s album comes under the view of losing touch, in ways, because of this – without mentioning the strange ‘trendy’ lyrics. 

It showcases Swift out of touch with the reality of her stardom, despite it being thrown into the face of those listening with lyrics such as, ‘I would trade the Cartier for someone to trust’ followed immediately by a whispered, “…just kidding.” This line, and others, from ‘Elizabeth Taylor’ highlight how much of the mark has been missed in this album. Jeered on by Western individualism and the approval given by critics that need drama for their businesses, Swift embodies a gimmick of the ‘showgirl,’ whilst actually she has vast wealth and artistic power. 

Pop culture today is, unfortunately, only massively excited by drama and falling outs. Gossip panels of the elite rich are more enthralling to us than the news – which can be excused by the overwhelmingly negative state of world news at the moment. However, when even turning to popular musicians and our favourite songs, we are still met with an avalanche of negativity. It would seem that in the music industry and in current information outlets such as TikTok and X, competition between female artists and their usually imagined rivalries is what gets amplified, over thoughtful critique.

Reported by Rolling Stone, Lorde brought Charli XCX onto stage to perform XCX’s ‘Girl, So Confusing’ as a collaboration during her Ultrasound world tour in Los Angeles on October 18. The two artists brought together a song deemed as a diss track by some and turned it into an alliance, proving competition between artists only detriments their work.

It is, in part, up to the listeners, those online with accounts and abilities to comment, to not pit singers and songwriters against each other. To appreciate art for what it is. To respect artists for their art and not the spectacle created behind it.

Despite differing ways of doing so, both singers are trying to show their audiences that need grace, something this society has forgotten how to do. Comparison is the killer of art but twistedly crucial for success in this day and age. Competition is a spectacle that feeds from our own insecurities which were, of course, sold to us by the same companies that are the mass culprit for this ‘cancel culture.’

Women in the public eye exist only to compare to the next, always as antagonists to each other. This is culminated by what we see highlighted by reporters and critics of public figures such as Taylor Swift and Charli XCX. Hate is not eternally satisfying. Hate comments and gossip columns are quick, easily digestible and sell fast. But ultimately, by feeding into feuds, we are distracted from empowering each other. When we aren’t being persuaded to compete and “girlboss too close to the sun” (CANCELLED!), what forms our respect and art appreciation?