Taylor Swift - The Life of a Showgirl (12th album)

I do think Ophelia is genuinely great and deserved the success. Opalite is good too if a bit dull. But I still can't believe how fucking SHIT the rest of the album was considering Max and Shellback were heavily involved. I mean, even @joanne gave it only a 77.
 
her list of Hot 100 #1s generally don’t feel like her biggest hits really. Love story, you belong with me, I knew you were trouble, etc seem bigger than the likes of Willow, cardigan (though I love it), look what you made me do, is it over now, all too well, etc. that made #1.
 
I do love Opalite, though. It has been a solid streaming and airplay force but wouldn’t have had a chance at #1 without the physical variants this week. It’s out of the top 30 I think at this point on Spotify. Post album singles are rarely chart toppers in this climate but still.
 
OutSynk said:
I do think Ophelia is genuinely great and deserved the success. Opalite is good too if a bit dull. But I still can't believe how fucking SHIT the rest of the album was considering Max and Shellback were heavily involved. I mean, even @joanne gave it only a 77.
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in hindsight i fear that 77 was too generous. The Life of a Tradgirl truly should’ve been an Eras Tour EP just like Britney Jean should’ve been a Vegas EP i should really be managing the pop girls’ careers

marvellous EP:

1. The Fate of Ophelia
2. Opalite
3. Elizabeth Taylor
4. Ruin The Friendship
5. Honey
6. The Life of a Tradgirl featuring Sabrina *tis would’ve been the EP-filler
 
Sheena said:
Except most of it was PAID FOR by her record company!

Another era, just as much chart fixing!
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I wasn’t chart watching really before 2005 or so but what did this consist of in the pre digital era? I know about Loverboy’s 99 cent discount (that particular tactic didn’t contribute to her #1 roster) and Thank God I Found You initially struggling until they released the physicals. But I figured the others had a healthy amount of airplay/sales and staying power.
 
POP! said:
I wasn’t chart watching really before 2005 or so but what did this consist of in the pre digital era? I know about Loverboy’s 99 cent discount (that particular tactic didn’t contribute to her #1 roster) and Thank God I Found You initially struggling until they released the physicals. But I figured the others had a healthy amount of airplay/sales and staying power.
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PAYOLA !
 
Yeah, payola. Sony were apparently the absolute worst for it and Mariah was their cash cow. They apparently used to "persuade" radio DJs to play her songs with envelopes of cash, hence a disparity between sales and airplay figures. I remember Emotions being cited as one of the big ones- the single didn't even make the sales top ten if I remember, but still hit #'1 on the Hot 100, due to the airplay being insane. That second album was a disappointment overall- despite three big smash singles, it didn't sell anywhere near the first one, and was actually panic stations at Sony. They cottoned on to the sales part of the equation later on with, as said, ridiculously discounted singles.

Whilst there is no denying she was a superstar, a lot of those number ones were supposedly artificially inflated, particularly in the early and latter part of her Sony tenure. Also, three of her number ones are ridiculously long- All I Want For Christmas Is You for obvious reasons, and One Sweet Day and We Belong Together. The former was part of the discounted single "scandal" for sure and was an airplay juggernaught as well, which is what kept it at number one for that long. Make of that what you will...
 
oh Good, it's one of the few I genuinely like.

Mostly because she always strives to recreate the Lana Born To Die sound, unfortunately, it's let down by her penchant to talk about things high-schoolers would get excited about, though; Lana would have chosen Dostoevsky.
 
That one does nothing for me, but I guess it’s done well streaming wise. I would have preferred Father Figure but not much else on the album I still play.
 
I gave this a re-run, because if I'm going to slag her off for being evil I should at least know her, and Ruin The Friendship is the only keeper from the lot. Even if it does lean into her high-schooler tendencies.

Elizabeth Taylor I immediately forgot even after a re-listen.
 
Unfortunately TLOAS is her weakest album to date IMO.
I'll need to re-listen to the album to think about what the next singles should be.
 
I think she'll be quickly moving on to the next era now, out by the end of this year - the honeymoon era post wedding :eyes: The album has been out for nearly 6 months without a performance to speak of.
 
The remix of Elizabeth Taylor with BSB was fabulous, but they’ve replaced it on Spotify with different lyrics and not her vocal, obviously to do with licensing.

If she just released the original remix that would be fabulous. But I can’t see them doing THAT.
 
I remembered this being one of the better tracks on the album but playing it on its own I'm stuck by how bad it is. I guess both things can be true.
 
Rumours that she's up the stick now absolutely flying because she isn't in her own video.
 
I like the song but it's also nothing she hasn't done better which is essentially the whole album's problem. We have better versions of everything.
 
I've now decided that Opalite is bland as shit. And when I think of the word reductive I think of Elizabeth Taylor. These two were the highlights from the album along with Ophelia. She's so spent.
 
Elizabeth Taylor is one of the weaker moments on already subpar Taylor Swift album for me. But I guess it was one of the stronger performers on streaming. I would’ve preferred Father Figure or a re release with some good songs.
 
I'd be disgusted if enough people still cared about Kanye to make him any kind of chart prospect. Still, I'm ready to be disgusted.
 
octophone said:
I'd be disgusted if enough people still cared about Kanye to make him any kind of chart prospect. Still, I'm ready to be disgusted.
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Bad luck with that- sat in the barbers this morning and two people in the chair AND one of the three hairdressers were excitedly banging on about his comeback as, apparently, "he's apologised and said he was on medication".

(I haven't followed enough to have any idea if that is true...)
 
Sadly I agree. Kanye is still catnip for a lot of unimaginative "hinged" menchild. Rappers in general have always been uncancellable.
 
Sheena said:
Bad luck with that- sat in the barbers this morning and two people in the chair AND one of the three hairdressers were excitedly banging on about his comeback as, apparently, "he's apologised and said he was on medication".

(I haven't followed enough to have any idea if that is true...)
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Yeah Twitter is aflame with people proclaiming he is unable to be cancelled because he is the GOAT and the only people that want him cancelled are women and fags
 
Because Kanye is very very famous, you could easily overestimate how much of his sales and legacy were driven by general public / mainstream crossover. In reality he's always been buoyed by a very very specific demographic, and that demographic has never ever cared a jolt about misogyny or homophobia or extremism.
 
Shoat said:
Because Kanye is very very famous, you could easily overestimate how much of his sales and legacy were driven by general public / mainstream crossover. In reality he's always been buoyed by a very very specific demographic, and that demographic has never ever cared a jolt about misogyny or homophobia or extremism.
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THAT t-shirt should have finished him forever.
 
Sheena said:
Hoping this refers to something I know nothing about and the time he randomly somehow wore a vintage Portsmouth FC top on social media :D
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Afraid not - he sold a t-shirt with nothing but a swastika on it from his website. It had the catalogue number HH-01.

I will never know why that didn't finish him.
 
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