âI’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,â Swift explained.
Taylor Swift is responding to the varied reactions to her new album, The Life of a Showgirl.
While speaking on Apple Musicâs The Zane Lowe Show on Tuesday, the singer-songwriter talked about processing the mixed reactions to her 12th album, which has received both praise and criticism from critics and fans.
âI welcome the chaos. The rule of show business is if itâs the first week of my album release and you are saying either my name or my album title, youâre helping. And art, I have a lot of respect for peopleâs subjective opinions on art. Iâm not the art police. Itâs like everybody is allowed to feel exactly how they want. And what our goal is as entertainers is to be a mirror,â Swift explained.


Taylor Swift Shoots Down “Shockingly Offensive” Question During Interview
She went on to explain how albums are a âreally wild way to look at yourselfâ and âwhat youâre going through in your life is going to affect whether you relate to the music that Iâm putting out at any given moment.â
With a catalog of 12 albums, Swift says sheâs experienced fans expressing love for an album later on, even if they didnât when it originally released.
âAnd what I often love seeing my fans say is, âI used to be someone who didnât relate to Reputation. And now that Iâve been through some other things in my life, thatâs my favorite album.â Or, âI used to be a Fearless girlie, now Iâm obsessed with Evermore.â Weâre doing this thing for keeps. I have such an eye on legacy when Iâm 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.â
On Friday, Swift made her return to upbeat pop following last yearâs melancholy The Tortured Poets Department. For Showgirl, Swift reunites with Swedish hitmaker producers Max Martin and Shellback. The album sold 2.7 million copies on release day (Oct. 3), making that day alone her largest week ever, according to Luminate via Billboard.
âMaking this album was really something Iâve been wanting to do for my entire career because I have always wanted to have fun in this type of way,â Swift told Lowe. âTo have fun, to exhibit mischief and be flirty and fun and make jokes and get to have that side of my personality, thatâs a huge part of my personality.â
She noted that even though oftentimes she can be âso seriousâ and be known for her âsad,â âcatharticâ and âbreakup songs,â thatâs ânot the placeâ sheâs at in her life. âSo what I have left behind is something that really exhibits who I am in this moment [and] pays homage to the most important moment of my life, which was the exuberance and electricity of The Eras Tour,â she said. âIâm so proud of this songcraft. Iâm so proud of these melodies and these lyrics and these stories and going in and out of character and kind of playing with your style of speak.â
âThis album by personality was a funnier album,â she explained. âIt was like coming off of Tortured Poets Department. The character attributes I was highlighting in that writing process were much more serious and sensitive and introspective and oftentimes more earnest and stoic and the characteristics of a poet. This one was like, showgirls are mischievous, fun, scandalous, sexy, fun, flirty, hilarious.â