Taylor Swift Talks Reactions to ‘The Life of a Showgirl’

Taylor Swift said she “welcomes the chaos” when it comes to people’s reactions to her new album, The Life of a Showgirl.  

“The rule of show business is if it’s the first week of my album release and you are saying either my name or my album title, you’re helping,” she told Zane Lowe in an interview that aired Tuesday. “And art, I have a lot of respect for people’s subjective opinions on art. I’m not the art police. It’s like everybody is allowed to feel exactly how they want. And what our goal is as entertainers is to be a mirror.”

She added, “Oftentimes, an album is a really, really wild way to look at yourself. What you’re going through in your life is going to affect whether you relate to the music that I’m putting out at any given moment. And what I often love seeing my fans say is, ‘I used to be someone who didn’t relate to Reputation. And now that I’ve been through some other things in my life, that’s my favorite album.’ Or, ‘I used to be a Fearless girlie, now I’m obsessed with Evermore.’

“We’re doing this thing for keeps, she continued. “I have such an eye on legacy when I’m making my music. I know what I made. I know I adore it, and I know that on the theme of what the Showgirl is, all of this is part of it.”

Despite some mixed reactions, Swift said that she enjoyed creating the album, which has accrued more than three million sales in the United States, buoyed by some 28 different versions of the project being for sale — and counting. 

“Making this album was really something I’ve been wanting to do for my entire career, because I have always wanted to have fun in this type of way,” she told Lowe. “To have fun, to exhibit mischief and be flirty, and fun, and make jokes, and get to have that side of my personality. That’s a huge part of my personality.”