Life Listens: Taylor Swift may dominate the charts, but is The Life Of A Showgirl any good?

SINGAPORE – In this monthly column, The Straits Times curates the most buzz-worthy music released in the past month.

Chart Champ: Taylor Swift – The Life Of A Showgirl

Unfairly or not, expectations were sky-high for The Life Of A Showgirl, American pop star Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album. After all, it was produced jointly by Swedish pop maestros Max Martin and Shellback. The two collaborated with the 35-year-old on her biggest hits, such as Blank Space and Shake It Off, both off her seminal 2014 album 1989. 

By numbers alone, Showgirl is a tremendous success. It is now Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day, having reached the milestone within 11 hours of its release in early October.

In the US, it became the fastest-selling album in history, moving more than four million album-equivalent units in its first week.

As at press time, all 12 album tracks remain in the top 15 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Musically speaking, however, the new record does not quite crest the highs of 1989 or Swift’s other hits, such as Folklore (2020). 

Still, moments of pop brilliance abound. In Father Figure, for instance, she skilfully interpolates the late English singer George Michael’s 1987 classic into a sinister and ultimately triumphant bildungsroman about her ascension to the top of the music industry.

Other songs chronicle her love story with her fiance, American football player Travis Kelce, in the midst of her epic The Eras Tour in 2023 and 2024. They include the joyful opening track and lead single The Fate Of Ophelia, as well as Wood, an innuendo-laced bop reminiscent of 1960s American pop group The Jackson 5.

There is also the controversial diss track Actually Romantic, reportedly based on British singer Charli XCX’s alleged vocal dislike of Swift. The alt-rock riff is catchy, but with lyrics such as “you think I’m tacky, baby, stop talking dirty to me”, Swift sounds like she’s trying to convince herself, more than the listener, that she is amused and unbothered.

Ultimately, even as Swift sings about her inner life as a showgirl during The Eras Tour, she never quite settles into the raw, painful vulnerability that has become her trademark.

This could very well be intentional on the singer-songwriter’s part – a way to direct listeners to her six-part The Eras Tour The End Of An Era docuseries, which will land on Disney+ on Dec 12.

And, as she observes on the closing title track – a mid-tempo, country-inspired duet with her protege, American pop star Sabrina Carpenter – being an entertainer means one’s pain is “hidden by the lipstick and lace”. 

But do not worry too much about Swift as she closes the song with “I know the life of a showgirl, babe, wouldn’t have it any other way”. – Yamini Chinnuswamy

Stream This Song: Jisoo and Zayn – Eyes Closed

It is safe to say that a pairing between a member of K-pop girl group Blackpink and a former member of English-Irish boy band One Direction was not on many people’s bingo cards for 2025.

But while the duet between Jisoo and Zayn might be unexpected, their first collaboration has generated buzz among their respective fan bases.

Eyes Closed, a tender pop and R&B-leaning song about finding love despite past heartbreaks, features a pleasant vocal interplay between the singers.

The high-profile pairing for Jisoo’s first official English-language single is doing wonders for her solo presence outside of Blackpink. Eyes Closed is also a reminder that Zayn, who left One Direction a decade ago, was one of the band’s strongest vocalists.

The song has been doing well in the regional charts, hitting the top 5 in Singapore, as well as in Taiwan and Hong Kong. – Eddino Abdul Hadi

Ace Album: Geese – Getting Killed

With fourth album Getting Killed, Brooklyn band Geese have ditched the post-punk structures of their earlier records for a looser, more chaotic sound.

It is a strategy that works, resulting in one of 2025’s most intriguing rock releases, a collection of songs brimming with unruly yet joyous energy.

There is greater sonic ambition to be found in the new tunes, a willingness to abandon rigid formulas for unexpected and experimental textures.

The title track, for example, melds samples from a Ukrainian choir, garage guitar riffs and technical drumming. Opening number Trinidad is adrenaline-charged, while Islands Of Men propels forward with horn sections and atmospheric build-ups.

Lyrically, Geese tackle topics such as faith, bureaucracy and existential dread, but the heaviness is made lighter with copious amounts of melody and lead singer Cameron Winter’s off-kilter charm.

There is a lot of emphasis on grooves, and it is a fantastic record to dance to with wild abandon. One can only imagine what the mosh pit at the band’s live shows must be like. – Eddino Abdul Hadi

Must-See MV: Abangsapau and Alyph – Boom Bada Bada

Singaporean hip-hop artistes Abangsapau and Alyph take to the heartland in this quietly ridiculous music video set at the fictitious Yishun Community Centre.

Playing to a senior crowd in an event billed as Yishun Community Bingo Night, the initially indifferent audience is eventually won over by the pair’s performance.

Boom Bada Bada is a standout track from Abangsapau’s recently released eponymous debut album, a soulful R&B ballad that tackles the awkwardness that often comes with new love and infatuation.

The song is also significant as it is the first collaboration between the two artistes. Both are signed to Def Jam Recordings South East Asia, the regional wing of the American hip-hop music label.

Abangsapau was recently a guest on an episode of ST’s Music Lab podcast, where he spoke candidly about how his tough childhood became fuel for his music.

Listen to the Music Lab podcast at 

str.sg/pNYi

– Eddino Abdul Hadi

Singapore Scene: motifs – If This House Was Bigger

For the songs on their new EP, home-grown shoegaze/dream-pop band motifs travelled to Iceland in late 2024 to write and record in Sundlaugin, the studio used by acclaimed Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Ros.

After eight days amid snow, silence and the Northern Lights, the result is four songs that balance intimacy with vastness.

Marked by shimmering guitars, ethereal soundscapes and singer-guitarist Elspeth Ong’s gossamer vocals, tracks such as Aug 16 and Maybe In Another Dream explore themes of distance, growth and quiet grief.

The quintet also produced a same-titled documentary that chronicles their time crafting their songs in Iceland. The 22-minute film will be released on YouTube at a date that is yet to be confirmed.

Motifs are one of the home-grown artistes performing at Sing60, a music festival at Fort Canning Park celebrating Singapore music. They take to the stage on Dec 7 at 4pm.

They will also play at the Esplanade’s alternative music festival Baybeats. Their sets take place at the Chillout Stage on Oct 31 at 5 and 7.30pm, and Powerhouse2 on Nov 2 at 8.20pm. – Eddino Abdul Hadi