Taylor Swift has embraced being a showgirl, for better or worse. On Oct. 3, the singer released her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl , which reunites her with collaborators Max Martin and Shellback for a rumination on fame, love, and her career. Nowhere is this clearer than on the title track, which features her friend and Eras Tour opening act, Sabrina Carpenter .

In “The Life of a Showgirl,” Swift tells the story of a showgirl named Kitty, who was constantly underestimated by critics but made a fan out of her. “They gave her the keys to this city, then they said she didn’t do it legitly,” she sings. (Yes, she made “legitly” a word.) But when she meets Kitty at the stage door, she receives a stern warning about what lies beyond the onstage glitz and glamour.

“ The mo

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