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Taylor Swift gives ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ a bigger identity crisis with her disjointed ‘Encore’: review

Read the original at New York Post ↗
Cite

Todisco, E. (2026, September 25). Taylor Swift gives ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ a bigger identity crisis with her disjointed ‘Encore’: review. New York Post. https://pagesix.com/2026/09/25/entertainment/taylor-swift-the-life-of-a-showgirl-the-encore-review/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-09-25 · by Eric Todisco

Quick Summary

A music critic reviews Taylor Swift's four-track "Encore" addition to her album "The Life of a Showgirl," arguing that it fails to improve or clarify the album’s inconsistent style and theme. The new tracks, such as "Patient Zero," "Babylon," "Pink Clouding," and "Cleveland!," are criticized for sounding out of place and not fitting cohesively with the existing album's vibe. Fans on social media further echo disappointment, expressing that the "Encore" edition does little to salvage an already perceived weak work by Swift.
Written by AI on 2026-09-25, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 25, 2026, Taylor Swift released four new tracks titled "Patient Zero," "Cleveland!," "Pink Clouding," and "Babylon" as part of the extended edition of her album "The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore." These songs were written in Sweden with collaborators Max Martin and Shellback, celebrating the original album's unprecedented first-week success. While Swift expressed gratitude to her fans for their support, critics have mixed opinions about the new tracks, noting that they may not fit seamlessly into the album's existing themes. For instance, "Patient Zero" is described as being out of place compared to Swift’s previous works like "The Tortured Poets Department," while "Pink Clouding" and "Babylon" feel more suited for her albums "Folklore" and "Midnights." The track "Cleveland!" is particularly noted for its apparent dedication to NFL player Travis Kelce, referencing his hometown of Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Despite the critical reception, all four new songs have charted in the Top 10 on platforms like Apple Music and Spotify.

Written for “Taylor Swift New Songs Release” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Taylor Swift New Songs Release
Entertainment · 3 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 4% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
All the Easter eggs from Taylor Swift’s 4 new songs off ‘The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore’ explained Same event
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Hedges 6 of 33 claims Outlet record 66/100
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CBC News
Hedges 1 of 41 claims Outlet record 74/100
Taylor Swift announces deluxe version of The Life of a Showgirl with 4 new songs Different event
CBC News
Hedges 0 of 21 claims Outlet record 74/100
“Article A announces the release of the deluxe version, while Article B provides a review of it.”
Taylor Swift breaks Spotify 2026 record as most-streamed female artist in a day Different event
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“The articles describe different aspects of Taylor Swift's activities: one is a review of her 'Encore' release, while the other reports on her breaking Spotify streaming records with that same release.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
26
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
4%
1 of 26 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 16054 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Eric Todisco
82 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 “And [she and husband Prince Harry] thought it would be helpful in the moment for there to be a reason for their move.”
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 82 articles by Eric Todisco →

Topics

Cleveland NFL The Heights

Subjects

Swift PERSON · 5× Taylor Swift PERSON · 2× Travis Kelce PERSON · 2× Cleveland PERSON · 1× NFL ORG · 1× Page Swift PERSON · 1× The Heights GPE · 1×

Narrative

“Patient Zero” sounds like it belongs on “The Tortured Poets Department,” while “Babylon” and “Pink Clouding” would have felt more at home on “Folklore” and “Midnights,” respectively.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-25
🔮 “Patient Zero” sounds like it belongs on “The Tortured Poets Department,” while “Babylon” and “Pink Clouding” would have felt more at home on “Folklore” and “Midnights,” respectively.
2026-09-25 · New York Post
Taylor Swift gives ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ a bigger identity crisis with her disjointed ‘Encore’: review · assertive framing

Claims (26 extracted, 1 hedged)

She gave us an encore. asserted
She → give → encore
But did we really need this encore? asserted
we → need → encore
Taylor Swift had the chance to redeem “The Life of a Showgirl,” arguably one of her weaker albums in her prolific discography, with her four-track “Encore” edition, released Friday. asserted
Swift → have → edition
Instead, the songs arguably gave the album even more of an identity crisis. asserted
songs → give → crisis
However, the songs should at least feel like they’re on the right stage. asserted
they → feel → stage
“Patient Zero” sounds like it belongs on “The Tortured Poets Department,” while “Babylon” and “Pink Clouding” would have felt more at home on “Folklore” and “Midnights,” respectively. asserted
Babylon → sound → respectively
At least “Cleveland!” gives some “Showgirl” vibes — but that’s not entirely a compliment. asserted
that → give → vibes
Swift’s blatant Travis Kelce love song is far too on the nose, complete with too many cringey lyrics to count. asserted
song → count → lyrics
“He already took me to Cleveland / And he showed me The Heights / so hate all you like (Uh-huh) / This is the love of my life,” she sings. asserted
she → take → life
Then there’s the raunchy line, “The taste of me is acquired, but it’s his favorite dish.” asserted
it → ’ → me
We do have to give Swift some credit, though, as the rest of the “Encore” songs aren’t asbad. asserted
rest → have → songs
“Babylon” is probably the best of the bunch — though it takes lots of brain power to figure out exactly what she’s saying. asserted
she → take → what
The internet, where “Swifties” are crawling everywhere, isn’t giving a standing ovation to her “Encore” edition, either. asserted
Swifties → crawl → edition
“Showgirl really her weakest work not even the encore could save this,” one disappointed fan wrote on X. Get the latest news on Taylor Swift every week. uncertain
fan → save → Swift
Another fan shaded Swift, “Does she know it’s ok to keep songs in the vault?” asserted
it → shade → vault
“Sometimes u listen to a song and thank god u have free will and never have to hear it again,” read a different brutal comment. asserted
comment → listen → it
Now let’s clarify one thing: Swift is still a music mastermind. asserted
Swift → let → thing
Some of the greatest artists in the world have highs and lows. asserted
Some → have → highs
She’s also not the same girl she was when she wrote “Teardrops on My Guitar” and “All Too Well.” asserted
she → ’ → Guitar
She’s happier now. asserted
She → ’ → ?
And maybe that’s what happens when you fall in true love (with her now-husband, NFL star Travis Kelce). asserted
you → ’ → husband
Since she was 16 years old, Swift has never stopped putting on a show for us. asserted
Swift → stop → us
That’s why, bad album or not, she’ll never be knocked off the stage. asserted
she → ’ → stage
But she should’ve sat this show out. asserted
she → sit → show
Conversation Your voice matters. asserted
voice → matter → ?
Discussions are moderated for civility. asserted
Discussions → moderate → civility
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