Taylor Swift's new album turns the page in singer's legacy

The pop star has released her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, featuring love and friendship stories that are full of heart and honest-to-goodness beauty, mixed with darkness

- Mahwash Ajaz

It's a mixture of 80s pop synth, known iconic fictional themes (a familiar Taylor Swift tool), self-referencing, and a dash of happiness: Taylor Swift's new album The Life of a Showgirl promises the world all this and more.

It has love and friendship stories that are full of heart and honest-to-goodness beauty, but there is also darkness that makes you stop and reconsider the message Swift has delivered.

The much-awaited album, which was announced on Swift's fiancé Travis Kelce's podcast, New Heights, has finally hit streaming platforms, and it is every bit as worth it as the clever marketing promised. It's a step away from her earlier albums, with their alternative pop-rock feel, such as Evermore or Folklore, but seems more in line with Midnights and Tortured Poets Department. While they seem upbeat, they tell darker, more forbidden tales.

Taylor's maturity as a storyteller is on bold display as she self-references in Life of a Showgirl's (eponymous track featuring Sabrina Carpenter) end. Her 'thanks' to the crowd at the end is a step further than the self-reference she executed in her previous album with Clara Bow.

The self-referencing doesn't end there. In