[3 to 12] CANCELLED!

[note: this is simply a prediction post, and does NOT contain any leaked content]

Finally getting back on schedule, and The Life Of A Showgirl is less than 72 hours away now! So today's song is CANCELLED! which is a song that led to a lot of intrigue, and I think it's pretty clear what the overall theme will be, but making specific predictions is harder since it's a one-word title that could apply to many areas of Taylor's life.

One thing I wanted to very briefly mention is a highly unlikely prediction that some people have, that I have very high doubts is true. The cancelled Eras Tour shows in Vienna are a very serious topic that Taylor said she wanted to stay quiet about to protect people's lives. I don't think Taylor would ever sing about something that involves human safety. Also on the podcast Travis referred to this song as a "banger" and the title evokes a more angsty thing with the all-caps and exclamation point, which would not match at all with this topic. By the way, this is where I'll say my heart goes out to anyone who planned on going to a Vienna Eras Tour show, because I know this was all a very devastating situation.

Taylor has been cancelled by the media a few times. The earliest example is the "serial dater" allegations, where people claimed Taylor dated too many guys, even though she just dated like a normal person - because she's one of the most famous people in the world, she can't be in a relationship without being intensely judged for it. (I'll come back to this one later because this is part of a strong prediction I have.) This is satirized in 1989 in Blank Space and even Shake It Off so Taylor has turned this allegation into possibly her two biggest songs to date. Of course there was the feud with Katy Perry which inspired Bad Blood, and as Taylor ended up getting more popular during the 1989 era, she started getting a reputation for being "manipulative" and "calculated". I think there's a direct correlation there, and this could be described in this song as one of the darker aspects of being a showgirl - only the most famous people can be "cancelled".

Obviously the most notable media cancellation Taylor faced was in the time between 1989 and Reputation, after her ex Calvin Harris started the #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty rant, and Kim Kardashian edited a phone call between Kanye West and Taylor Swift to paint Taylor as the villain. Taylor has written countless songs about this era, including Look What You Made Me Do, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Mad Woman, Cassandra, and thanK you aIMee. I think it's most likely this song will be closest to TIWWCHNT out of those, a sort of satirical, sarcastic, almost joking song about how Taylor got cancelled but still manages to continuously be the biggest star in the world. Then there is the prediction that this song will be about Donald Trump's offensive remarks towards Taylor, publicly expressing his hatred for her and claiming she's "no longer hot". A lot of people have thought of this due to the title being in all-caps with an exclamation point. Obviously I'm not gonna get into politics here, this is a music blog... but if this is really what it means, it would not be her first political song so it's not necessarily an unlikely prediction. Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince, You Need To Calm Down, and most notably Only The Young are all songs that cover political issues, so there is a chance. 

Any way it goes, it'll probably be super angsty and explosive and I am ...ready for it. Going back to the serial dater claims, my #1 strongest prediction for this song is that it'll be a bit like Blank Space or a flip side to the "I go on too many dates but I can't make them stay" line from Shake It Off. Like the public always believed she'd never find the one, but... well, she did. And after being cancelled for being a serial dater, Taylor cancelled them back. I do think it could also just be a general critique of cancel culture as a whole, about a dark side of being above everyone else in the industry - the more famous you are, the more people know you, and the more haters you'll have... and the more likely you are to be "cancelled", but on the other side, no matter how much everyone seems to hate you, there will always be the crowd of supporters on your side (like me!) and you'll still be successful no matter what you do.

Okay, let's songwrite now! No AI assistance and no leaks were used. (I'm genuinely really proud of what I came up with for this one!)

"You try to knock me down from miles away
I try to drown out every word you say
With the sound of fans screaming my name
I'll sell even more than they thought
And my baby still thinks I'm hot
It feels insane, this kind of fame
I'll get CANCELLED!
But I'll cancel you out all the same"

That's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!

[4 to 12] Wood

[note: this is simply a prediction post, and does NOT contain any leaked content]

Finally almost back on schedule. Welcome back to 12 to 12, here with probably the weirdest title on The Life Of A Showgirl.

Wood. Nothing else. Just "W o o d". And it's a track 9, which are not talked about enough. We all know the track 5s are usually the most heartwrenching moments and track 6s are the more fun and bubblegummy songs, but I find it interesting that there's a trope across most of Taylor's track 9s - Should've Said No, You're Not Sorry, Enchanted, Stay Stay Stay, Wildest Dreams, Getaway Car, Cornelia Street, This Is Me Trying, Coney Island, Bejeweled, Guilty As Sin?... notice a pattern? I think track 9s are the "fearful" songs. The "will things work out between us?" songs, some about unrequited crushes, some about losing trust with someone while in a relationship, some about recovering from past relationships, and usually emotionally climactic in the context of the album.

Wood can have a lot of different meanings. A statue in the back of the New Heights podcast suggested a connection to Pinocchio so this might be the most likely meaning. Obviously there's Hollywood, something I was surprised to see Taylor only mentions in one song - White Horse has the iconic "this ain't Hollywood, this is a small town" line. There's Natalie Wood, another famous showgirl like Elizabeth Taylor that Taylor Swift could base a song off of. The superstition of knocking on wood for good luck is another possibility, something that was referenced in one of Taylor's pre-debut unreleased songs called Cross My Heart. And then there's wood being a common slang term for... yeah. That. 

I think a common theme that ties most of those meanings together is a sort of fear in love, which also fits as a track 9. In the parallel songs post, I mentioned Rose - Messy (possibly my favorite k-pop song I've ever heard) which is in my opinion a rare and hard-to-achieve case of a song with a lot of fear and ache and emotional depth that also happens to be about... doing the thing. Taylor has done this really well in Dancing With Our Hands Tied, False God, Labyrinth, and most recently in TTPD's track 9, Guilty As Sin? and I think Wood will be a little like those songs. Musically, I've seen some people suggesting a connection to the Folklore and Evermore eras, and even more specifically the supposed unreleased album Woodvale which you all know by now I do not believe is real. Honestly, I think The Life Of A Showgirl might have a few ballads, like 1989's This Love or Reputation's New Year's Day, and this could be one of them. I do think it's interesting that this is the shortest song on the whole album, so that might make that theory less likely, but then again there is the gorgeous masterpiece that is I Look In People's Windows, the shortest song Taylor has ever released at just 2:12 that is also a ballad.

Conceptual songwriting for this was harder for me but I did it.

"Wooden figures watched through glass
They'll try to control but only we can do that now
Cuz we've been brought to life
Diamond rings, she'd make a great wife now
This city has a lot of pretty little dolls
But you see more in us as our flame burns
Let's knock on wood and hope this works"

That's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!

AllTheHits 9/28/25

Hi! Welcome to the mid-12 to 12 edition of AllTheHits, last AllTheHits of September, and official first AllTheHits of the autumn season. And it finally happened. Laufey's insane 22-week consecutive streak at the #1 spot, between Silver Lining, Tough Luck, Lover Girl, Too Little Too Late, and Carousel, has finally been broken by the Favors' new single David's Brother rising to the top spot off of its debut, a likely contender for my top song of the year. (Will it be overthrown soon by The Life Of A Showgirl? Possibly.)

HitsForEvermore 30

Exits:

Laufey - Clean Air (5 wk: Peak #13)

Chappell Roan - The Subway (8 wk: Peak #8)

#30: Faouzia - Unethical (=) (5 wk: Peak #30)

#29: Lyn Lapid - You (-4) (2 wk: Peak #25)

#28: Mgk - Can't Stay Here (Debut) (1 wk: Peak #28)

#27: Debbii Dawson - You Killed The Music (+1) (24 wk: Peak #2)

#26: Finneas - Same Old Story (=) (31 wk: Peak #2) (FINAL ELIGIBLE WEEK)

Golden Extra: Olivia Rodrigo - Stranger

#25: Sombr - 12 to 12 (Debut) (1 wk: Peak #25)

#24: Lyn Lapid - Floater Friend (-2) (23 wk: Peak #2)

#23: Favors - Times Square Jesus (+6) (7 wk: Peak #11)

#22: Laufey - A Cautionary Tale (-5) (6 wk: Peak #14)

#21: Miley Cyrus, Lindsey Buckingham & Mick Fleetwood - Secrets (-3) (2 wk: Peak #18)

Underground Extra: Faouzia - Peace & Violence

#20: Favors - The Hudson (=) (10 wk: Peak #12)

#19: Laufey - The Risk (-3) (2 wk: Peak #16)

#18: Sabrina Carpenter - Goodbye (+5) (4 wk: Peak #16)

#17: Mitski - Let My Love Open The Door (+10) (2 wk: Peak #17)

#16: Laufey - Castle In Hollywood (-2) (6 wk: Peak #11)

Rising Extra: Doja Cat - Gorgeous

#15: Florence + The Machine - Everybody Scream (+6) (4 wk: Peak #15)

#14: Laufey - Cuckoo Ballet (+1) (6 wk: Peak #12)

#13: Laufey - Snow White (=) (8 wk: Peak #3)

#12: Laufey - Silver Lining (=) (25 wk: Peak #1 for 4 wk)

#11: Laufey - Mr. Eclectic (=) (6 wk: Peak #9)

Almost There Extra: Pierce The Veil - Kiss Me Now

#10: Taylor Swift - So High School (=) (3 wk: Peak #6)

#9: Laufey - Clockwork (=) (6 wk: Peak #8)

#8: Laufey - Lover Girl (=) (14 wk: Peak #1 for 1 wk)

#7: Favors - The Little Mess You Made (=) (14 wk: Peak #2)

#6: Laufey - Tough Luck (-3) (20 wk: Peak #1 for 13 wk)

Almost Showgirl Extra: Taylor Swift - The Lucky One

#5: Laufey - Forget-Me-Not (-1) (6 wk: Peak #4)

#4: Laufey - Too Little, Too Late (-2) (6 wk: Peak #1 for 1 wk)

#3: Laufey - Sabotage (+3) (6 wk: Peak #3)

#2: Laufey - Carousel (-1) (6 wk: Peak #1 for 3 wk)

#1: Favors - David's Brother (+4) (2 wk: Peak #1 for 1 wk)

Biggest jump: Mitski - Let My Love Open The Door (+10)

Biggest drop: Laufey - A Cautionary Tale (-5)

5 longest running songs right now:

#5: Laufey - Tough Luck (20 wk)

#4: Lyn Lapid - Floater Friend (23 wk)

#3: Debbii Dawson - You Killed The Music (24 wk)

#2: Laufey - Silver Lining (25 wk)

#1: Finneas - Same Old Story (31 wk)

Almost There

Pierce The Veil - Kiss Me Now (Debut)

Faouzia - Peace & Violence (Debut)

Florence + The Machine - One Of The Greats (Debut)

Tame Impala - Dracula (Debut)

Motion City Soundtrack & Patrick Stump - Particle Physics (Debut)

Alessi Rose - First Original Thought (Debut)

Lewis Capaldi - Something In The Heavens (Debut)

Doja Cat - Gorgeous (Debut)

Favors - Ordinary People (2)

Pixies - Chicken (3)

Lyn Lapid - Settle (2)

Spoon - Chateau Blues (3)

Conan Gray - Vodka Cranberry (4)

Alexander Stewart & Lauren Spencer Smith - Friends Don't (2)

Doja Cat - Jealous Type (4)

Teen Jesus & The Jean Teasers - Mother (2)

3Quency - Top Down (2)

Dropouts:

Favors - Home Sweet Home (1)

Faouzia, G.E.M. & Illenium - Still Breathing (1)

Miley Cyrus & David Byrne - Lockdown (1)

Debbii Dawson - I Want You (1)

Raye - Where Is My Husband (1)

Lady Gaga - The Dead Dance (3)

Abyss

Conan Gray - This Song

Favors - Home Sweet Home

Favors - Lake George

Favors - Moonshine

Favors - Necessary Evils

Huntr/X - How It's Done

Huntr/X - What It Sounds Like

Lyn Lapid - High Note

Lyn Lapid - White Flag

Sabrina Carpenter - My Man On Willpower

Sabrina Carpenter - Never Getting Laid

Sabrina Carpenter - Tears

Sabrina Carpenter - We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night

Sabrina Carpenter - When Did You Get Hot?

NEBULA

Olivia Rodrigo & Robert Smith - Friday I'm In Love (Live From Glastonbury)

Olivia Rodrigo - So American (Live From Glastonbury)

Taylor Swift - Engagement Playlist

Taylor Swift - New Era Mix

Taylor Swift - September

That's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!

[5 to 12] Wi$h Li$t + alternate album covers ranked

[note: this is simply a prediction post, and does NOT contain any leaked content]

Well, I'm still behind, but here I am trying to catch up before it's too late. The days of wrapping up our Tortured Poets era, listening to SiriusXM channel 13, and eating sourdough before the day we'll get 12 never-before-heard songs by the queen of the musicverse can literally be counted on one hand now. (Wow, it feels like just a second ago I was clowning over Reputation TV coming out on April 1st, and now we're getting TS12 about a year before I thought we would.) Wi$h Li$t is a song that I honestly don't have much to say about.

So, the title has a lot of fans intrigued, and many people... skeptical? I feel like this song could very much go either way for me, it could be my favorite song on the whole album or my least favorite. The title is interesting and actually had the Kelce brothers chuckling a bit when Taylor revealed it on New Heights, but it's amazing that we can even pull anything out of six letters and two special characters. I think it's pretty obvious what the theme of Wi$h Li$t will be - someone who only wishes for money. Sound familiar? Yeah, I think this is gonna be a song about 5(0++ 80r(h3++@ and 5(00+3r 8r@un, and how they profited off of Taylor's creations, and how she ultimately bought the rights to her own masters.

Of course, my parallel song prediction was Lyn Lapid - Producer Man, with the refrain of "what she couldn't see was he was in it for the money", a song critiquing the many people of the music industry who want to make money off of other people's talent. That's what I sort of think this song will be like. It'll probably feel very celebratory and glamorous, with a cross between the dark Reputation-y sounds of songs like I Did Something Bad and This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things mixed with more of that Bejeweled-style sparkling production I keep predicting this album will have.

Songwriting time! Still no AI or leaks.

"Tiny bubbles in champagne
Spelling out your name
They've all gone away
Life is more than fame
I want happiness and love
I want friends that I can trust
I want control over my life
And I find it funny
That your wi$h li$t is nothing but money"

And now, today's double-stuffed Showgirl post!

Ranking all 12 alternate album covers for The Life Of A Showgirl

Yes, these are all Taylor's official names of the variants in case you didn't know.

#12: Baby, That's Show Business (Lovely Bouquet Golden)

#11: Baby, That's Show Business (Lakeside Beach Blue Sparkle)

#10: It's Beautiful

#9: Tiny Bubbles In Champagne (Under Bright Lights Pearlescent)

#8: Tiny Bubbles In Champagne (Red Lipstick & Lace Transparent)

#7: The Crowd Is Your King

#6: A Look Behind The Curtain

#5: It's Rapturous

#4: It's Frightening

#3: The Shiny Bug (Wintergreen & Onyx)

#2: The Shiny Bug (Violet Shimmer)

#1: Sweat & Vanilla Perfume (standard album cover)

That's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!

[6 to 12] Actually Romantic + track lengths of The Life Of A Showgirl revealed

[note: this is simply a prediction post, and does NOT contain any leaked content]

Welcome to the obligatory day-late post. Now all four daily series I've done so far on my blog have had at least one post that was a day behind. (I had a concert last night that went pretty late so I didn't really have time to make a post yesterday.) 

I have a lot to catch up on with AllTheHits also being today, but I don't really feel like making three whole posts in one day, so my plan I'm gonna do this and my weekly AllTheHits today, and then tomorrow I'll do both of the W songs - Wi$h Li$t and Wood. And then if possible I can just go back to one every day.

Well now there are half as many days until The Life Of A Showgirl as there are tracks, and I'm less than a week away from going to see The Official Release Party Of A Showgirl which I am really excited about! Today's track is Actually Romantic, and the first two songs I thought of after hearing this title were New Romantics and Lover. Despite the similarity to the former's title, I actually thing this song will be more like the latter song.

New Romantics is a satire of immaturity in relationships and never taking anything seriously. This song, now that Taylor is engaged, will likely flip this concept and be about a relationship that really does feel serious, more like Lover. One prediction I have that would be similar to Lover (or even Sweet Nothing for that matter) is that Actually Romantic will be about joy in the "normal" things. Travis clearly has a connection to her that runs deeper than "ohmygod I'm dating the prettiest most famous woman in the universe", he's actually romantic, and this song would likely be about that. It might even have a similar concept to Begin Again about how for once she can move on from the abusive relationships she's had in the past now that she has an actually romantic person.

Musically, Taylor rarely comes back to the lilting, chiming, percussive sound of the song Lover. The closest other songs I can think of that musically sounds a bit like Lover in Taylor's discography are a few older songs - Last Kiss or maybe Sad Beautiful Tragic. These are three Taylor songs I really love so it would be cool to get more of this soundscape. Judging by the title I think it'll probably have a more chill and lowkey sound to it that most of the rest of this album. I've seen a lot of people predicting this album will be like a Reputation 2.0, with a more mature return to the heavy, explosive, dark, synth-pop sound, but I think Actually Romantic will probably be the more calm and intimate moment amidst the storm, similar to, say, Delicate, Call It What You Want, or New Year's Day.

Okay, songwriting time. Yet again, no leaks or AI was used.

"They kept me down when I was going up
Talking about how much they loved me
They never gave me any real love
They only wanted a shiny statue
But I turned to green
You talk to me
You hold my hand
And it's actually romantic
It's beautiful"

Also, the track lengths for The Life Of A Showgirl have finally been revealed!

1. The Fate Of Ophelia - 3:46
2. Elizabeth Taylor - 3:28
3. Opalite - 3:55
4. Father Figure - 3:32
5. Eldest Daughter - 4:06
6. Ruin The Friendship - 3:40
7. Actually Romantic - 2:43
8. Wi$h Li$t - 3:27
9. Wood - 2:30
10. CANCELLED! - 3:31
11. Honey - 3:01
12. The Life Of A Showgirl (featuring Sabrina Carpenter) - 4:01

I was honestly expecting there would be at least one long song since it's only a 12-track album, so I was moderately surprised to see that the longest track (Eldest Daughter) is only a little over four minutes, but actually that makes me even more excited to see how much depth is packed into this 41-minute runtime. This will be Taylor's second-shortest full-length album, a mere seventy-two seconds longer than the standard 11-track edition of Debut.

That's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!

[7 to 12] Ruin The Friendship

[note: this is simply a prediction post, and does NOT contain any leaked content]

One week until The Life Of A Showgirl is released! I'm very excited to talk about Ruin The Friendship today.

There are two common interpretations of this song, but I think there's one that's much more likely. I see some people saying that this might be a song about Taylor's drama with Blake Lively, and there are a few reasons why I don't think this is a plausible theory. The timeline wouldn't make sense since Taylor said she wrote this album during the Eras Tour which was before the Blake Lively situation happened. It's also been said that Taylor's songs could be used as evidence in court cases and may cause more drama so Taylor might never make a song about Blake Lively for this reason. One other less important and less defining reason why this is unlikely is because generally track 6s are happier songs to provide "relief" after the sadder track 5s. For example, White Horse followed by You Belong With Me, All You Had To Do Was Stay followed by Shake It Off, and probably most famously the insane rollercoaster experience that is All Too Well followed by 22.

In my parallel songs post, I mentioned a slightly obscure song that was featured in AllTheHits a few months ago, Peggy - Friends To Lovers. I think the title Ruin The Friendship suggests not wanting to be friends... but wanting to be lovers. Yep, yet another song I think is about Travis Kelce. I do think there will probably be a bit of a sadder undertone to this song. Obviously this concept would suggest taking a risk, because most of the time, friendships last longer than romantic relationships, and after a breakup, it would be hard to be friends again. As far as I can remember, Taylor is only currently friends with one of her ex-boyfriends - Taylor Lautner, the subject of Back To December who she apologized to and made peace with, and even featured in the I Can See You music video. There's a sort of fear I associate with this song - if this doesn't work out, the friendship will still be ruined. 

Musically, it'll probably follow that mood - very passionate-sounding, slightly off-kilter, but still upbeat and romantic. Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince comes to mind, and that song has some top-tier production so that would be setting pretty high expectations for this song. This is a bit unlikely, but another song that could fit this vibe in a different way (and that Taylor hasn't really made another song like) is Haunted. To me, Haunted feels like one of few Taylor songs (along with It's Nice To Have A Friend and Closure and probably a few others) that doesn't have a "sister song" in a similar musical style. I would love more of the emo Taylor we briefly got in the middle-early eras of Speak Now and Red. Taylor has surprised us many times before, and I hope Showgirl is the same way!

Alright, time for songwriting! No leaks, no AI assistance, just HFE94. I'm really proud of this one honestly.

"Being seen as a queen
When the crowd is your king
Written as a dream
And it's a lonely thing
Except when you're there
Etched in my top lip
If you really care
Baby, gimme your bracelet and ruin the friendship!"

That's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!

[8 to 12] Eldest Daughter + saddest to happiest songs prediction

[note: this is simply a prediction post, and does NOT contain any leaked content]

One week until Showgirl eve, and we're already discussing the highly anticipated track 5! I'm very excited to hear what Eldest Daughter is like, and here are some of my thoughts.

Now, I know some of you may be thinking "there's no way it can be that sad, Taylor herself has said that The Life Of A Showgirl is a happy album". No one's saying that every song on a "happy" album has to be pure fun and joy - this is actually very uncommon because... well, it's just not how the human brain works. 1989 is considered a "happy" and upbeat pop album, and that album still has a few slow ballads like Wildest Dreams, This Love and Clean, and a lot of uptempo songs with sad lyrics, like All You Had To Do Was Stay (that album's track 5... and probably my least favorite track 5 of Taylor's discography), I Wish You Would, Bad Blood, and pretty much all the vault tracks fitting into that category. This song could fit either category, but I'm thinking it's more likely to be the latter category - a song with sad lyrics but relatively upbeat production.

Taylor herself is an eldest daughter, so it's possible that this song could be about her brother Austin Swift. Taylor doesn't sing about him much, and there's really only one song I think is entirely about him - I'm Only Me When I'm With You (my favorite song on Debut) and even that one is ambiguous. His only direct mentions in songs were brief - The Best Day contains a rare occurrence of a line explicitly about him ("God smiles on my little brother, inside and out he's better than I am"), and seeing someone else like a brother is a trope that appears in Call It What You Want and Peace. As a track 5, it could be a sort of bittersweet reflection on Taylor chasing her dreams, while Austin - who has a fairly obscure acting career and helps with some of Taylor's production and business management - ends up being relatively overshadowed by his sister, in a similar manner to the Tis The Damn Season/Dorothea storyline, Laufey - Forget-Me-Not, and Finneas - Family Feud but from the other perspective. Based on what I've seen however, it does seem like Austin sort of prefers to keep a low profile. The theme could still work regardless.

Another theory I've seen is that it won't be about biological siblings but rather Taylor being a metaphorical "eldest daughter" in the music industry and feeling protective (and sometimes even overshadowed) with the newer, younger stars she takes under her wing, like Sabrina Carpenter and Gracie Abrams. In my parallel songs post, I mentioned Billie Eilish's song Goldwing, which was written about being protective over Olivia Rodrigo. I could definitely imagine this song being about a similar theme and it would work as a track 5, and fit the showgirl theme.

Alright, it's time for songwriting! Again, there are no leaks and no AI assistance used for songwriting here.

"She's gorgeous, she's iconic
In wintergreen and onyx
Eldest daughter keeping us on the ground
Is she on her own now?"

Predicting how The Life Of A Showgirl tracks will rank saddest to happiest

Welcome to the second double-post of the series, and in celebration of track 5, I'm predicting where each song will fall from saddest to happiest. I can't wait to see how wrong I am.

#12: Eldest Daughter (saddest) - track 5 is usually the saddest

#11: Elizabeth Taylor - might touch on darker side of fame

#10: Wi$h Li$t - same as above

#9: CANCELLED! - probably the angriest

#8: Ruin The Friendship - either of the common interpretations have sad undertones

#7: Father Figure - likely thematic similarity to George Michael

#6: The Fate Of Ophelia - probably a love song with slight fearful undertone

#5: Wood - I don't really know...

#4: The Life Of A Showgirl - seems fun to me

#3: Opalite - probably a love song

#2: Actually Romantic - same as above

#1: Honey - same as above

That's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!

[9 to 12] Father Figure

[note: this is simply a prediction post, and does NOT contain any leaked content]

Wow. We are now at single-digit days until the release of The Life Of A Showgirl, which is insane. Today's song is another one I had a harder time coming up with predictions for, but here are a few theories about track four, Father Figure!

One common theory I've seen is that this song will be connected to George Michael's classic song of the same name. It would be really interesting if Taylor actually covered this song. Obviously Taylor has done live covers, and some official covers released separately from albums like September and all the Christmas songs, but somehow across her entire main 11-album discography so far, there's only been one cover - Untouchable (originally by Luna Halo). We know Taylor likes likes to make the songs her own - Untouchable is originally a rock song, and Taylor's cover is a more soft, country-folk ballad, and September is a similar case. So we shouldn't expect it to sound exactly like the original, but... if it is relatively close to the original, this could be an indicator of some of the type of music we're getting with this album. It probably won't be another album of folk ballads considering what Taylor has said about the album (and as much as I loved the folk sound, I'm glad we're seemingly getting the long-awaited change in direction now), so maybe there'll be some of this 80s-y synth-pop style to it?

Similarly, I've also seen a theory that this song will sample or interpolate George Michael's Father Figure. Like with covers, you don't see sampling/interpolation much in Taylor's discography. I may be forgetting something but as far as I can remember she's only done that one time, with Look What You Made Me Do crediting I'm Too Sexy by Right Said Fred as an interpolation, and for me that was hardly even noticeable. As for more specific lyrical content, I'm sure most of you are familiar with the term "father figure", referring to someone who has a fatherly role in a person's life and usually isn't referring to someone's actual father. George Michael's Father Figure is a song about wanting to be like a father figure to someone else in a relationship, keeping someone secure and protected, which could be applied to either Taylor or Travis. Taylor singing this song would be really interesting to hear, but I guess I could see how it would be controversial. It would also be cool if George Michael's voice was actually sampled and used to represent Travis taking on the father figure role, in a similar way to a song like Midnight Rain or even Exile where Taylor is having a conversation with another voice. Again, I'm not really sure.

Okay, I do not take any credit for the songwriting you're about to see. Even if the cover/sample/interpolation theory is incorrect, this is still my prediction. Enjoy the chorus of George Michael's Father Figure. 

(I will also add Father Figure to the AllTheHits Nebula for the last ATH before Showgirl comes out.)

"I will be your father figure
Put your tiny hand in mine
I will be your preacher, teacher
Anything you have in mind
I will be your father figure
I have had enough of crime
I will be the one who loves you
Til the end of time"

- George Michael, not HFE94

That's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!

[10 to 12] Opalite

[note: this is simply a prediction post, and does NOT contain any leaked content]

Hi! We are now at the 10-day countdown until The Life Of A Showgirl, and I'm very excited! Today's track discussion will be about Opalite, and for this one, I don't have as much to say because it's only a one-word title.

For a bit of context on the titular crystal, opalite is a synthetic stone that resembles opal, and it has a lot of symbolism. Probably the primary thing that opalite symbolizes is healing. It is said to have calming properties and improve communication, and is considered one of the best crystals for love. This seems to suggest that this will be a love song about Travis and how he provides healing and calm amidst everything that goes on in the showgirl's life. Opalite is also known for its bright, shiny colors, usually blue, and I could see it being used to refer to Travis' eyes as well. 

Although I'm no expert on crystals, I am aware that opalite and opal are two different things, but I find it interesting that Travis Kelce's birthstone is opal, which was even something that Taylor mentioned on the New Heights podcast. Opal is something that has been referenced before in Taylor's discography - the song Ivy mentions someone's "opal eyes". Opalite also has some similarities to moonstone - Bejeweled, which I noted earlier in the series might be connected to The Fate Of Ophelia, contains the line "some guy said my aura's moonstone". Again, I know these are three different kinds of crystal, but there's still a connection to be found here.

I think it's pretty likely that musically it'll also have a Bejeweled sort of sound to it with shimmery production, but one song with a production style that I would love for Taylor to come back to is Clean. Not only does that song have absolutely gorgeous production (top 13 in Taylor's discography at least), but it would fit the theme nicely. Clean is very much a song about healing, and this could be a more developed take on that theme about finding the love of her life who heals her, and keeps her healed. (It would be interesting to see one of those unusual instruments make a comeback on this album - I wouldn't mind it at all if we got a second Taylor song with boomwhackers in it.)

Okay, and what do we have here for songwriting? I didn't write as much for this one as I was having a harder time building off of just this one word, but here it is I guess. (I'm sure most of you know this by now, but I just have to reiterate the disclaimer every time: this is not leaked content. None of this is official. This is HFE94's own words. This is all me-he-he.)

"Sinking under cameras and spotlights
You're soft and bright, you're opalite
Your radiant smile, your crystal eyes
Bring me to life, you're opalite"

That's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!

[11 to 12] Elizabeth Taylor + songs I think will parallel each The Life Of A Showgirl track

[note: this is simply a prediction post, and does NOT contain any leaked content]

Welcome to day two of the 12 to 12 special, and we are now at 11 to 12. This is insane. There are fewer days until The Life Of A Showgirl than there are tracks on the album. Today I'll be discussing the album's second track, titled Elizabeth Taylor.

Elizabeth Taylor has been referenced in Swift's discography before - ...Ready For It? draws a direct connection between the two ("he can be my jailer, Burton to this Taylor" referencing Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor), and Taylor Swift references Elizabeth Taylor's iconic hairstyle in the Wildest Dreams music video:

These may not be an intentional references, but Elizabeth was also known for her seemingly violet-colored eyes, which immediately made me think of the I Think He Knows lyric about "indigo eyes" (although that line isn't referring to Taylor's eyes), and later the Violet Shimmer vinyl edition of The Life Of A Showgirl. Also, Elizabeth Taylor famously portrayed Cleopatra in the titular 1963 film, and Cleopatra has also been mentioned in Taylor's discography, specifically in the song When Emma Falls In Love ("she's the kind of book that you can't put down, like if Cleopatra grew up in a small town").

There are a lot of parallels between Taylor Swift and Elizabeth Taylor - they're both performers, and they've both been unfairly criticized for their romantic lives. I would predict/hope that this means the song will follow a similar narrative structure to The Lucky One or The Last Great American Dynasty, telling Elizabeth's story and drawing parallels to Swift's life. Musically, I would love a return to the sound of The Lucky One. That song feels very glamorous but it has a bittersweet feeling to it, which I think would encapsulate what I think Taylor is going for with a song inspired by Elizabeth Taylor.

Alright, now for the songwriting. Again, none of these will be full songs, as I don't want to give myself too much work or resort to using AI, but I have a short few lines that capture the vibe I'm getting from this title:

"Violet shimmer through the streets
All they know is me
Dating any guy I see
Blinded by the camera gleams
All they see is me
Being who they want me to be
And it's frightening"

Oh, and one more thing... for about every three of these posts, I'll do a sort of double-post where I'll also share predictions or hopes relating to the entire album.

Songs I think will parallel each The Life Of A Showgirl track

So, these are just my hopes, and if this album is nothing like any of these, that's even better. These are just songs I've selected that I could imagine each Showgirl track paralleling, lyrically and/or musically. I've limited myself to only three of Taylor's own songs for this, so nine of these are by other artists.

The Fate Of Ophelia -> -> Taylor Swift - Love Story

Elizabeth Taylor -> -> Sabrina Carpenter - Because I Liked A Boy

Opalite -> -> Benson Boone - Mystical Magical

Father Figure -> -> George Michael - Father Figure

Eldest Daughter -> -> Billie Eilish - Goldwing

Ruin The Friendship -> -> Peggy - Friends To Lovers

Actually Romantic -> -> Camila Cabello - In The Dark

Wi$h Li$t -> -> Lyn Lapid - Producer Man

Wood -> -> Rose - Messy

CANCELLED! -> -> Taylor Swift - This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

Honey -> -> Olivia Rodrigo - So American

The Life Of A Showgirl (ft. Sabrina Carpenter) -> -> Taylor Swift - Long Live

That's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!

[12 to 12] The Fate Of Ophelia

[note: this is simply a prediction post, and does NOT contain any leaked content]

Sourdough Swifties, you are in luck because you're getting a sourdough pun every day.

Welcome to the first installment of the 12 to 12 special, where I'll talk about each track from The Life Of A Showgirl every day until the album comes out! The first one is a very interesting one, The Fate Of Ophelia, which is not only the opening track of the album but also confirmed to be the lead single and first music video of the era.

At first I thought this must be a sad song. As most of you probably know, Ophelia is a character in Shakespeare's Hamlet who is controlled by the men in her life and descends into madness, and drowns in a brook under a willow tree (as depicted in the John Everett Millais painting "Ophelia", which is thought to be part of the inspiration of The Life Of A Showgirl's album cover).

Knowing it is the lead single changes my predictions a bit. Lyrically, a song I could see it paralleling would be Love Story, another song based on a Shakespearean tragedy. Taylor tells the story of Romeo and Juliet's forbidden romance, but ends happily with the two ultimately getting married. A common theory is that The Fate Of Ophelia will follow a similar romantic narrative, where Ophelia (Taylor) has been done wrong but later finds someone who truly loves her and treats her well (Travis). It could also be a song about owning her masters, which would fit the theme of losing control but finding happiness in the end. Musically, my prediction for what this song would sound like would be something similar to Bejeweled. Fun, smooth, sparkly, a little bit sultry. Considering what Taylor has said about this album, I do think it would be a bit more upbeat than Bejeweled, but with a similarly shimmering production style. It is hard to say however, and I would be interested to hear Taylor go an unexpected direction.

And as for the music video, the concept I have in mind is that Taylor will be playing Ophelia and it will begin with an aesthetic like the Folklore/Evermore music videos with Taylor falling into a brook beneath a willow tree, but then become bright, sparkly, and orange. This could represent the transformation and moving from the more sad indie eras into this new, joyful, glamorous Showgirl era (like the ME! music video beginning with a snake turning into butterflies symbolizing the transformation from Reputation into Lover). As I said in my last post, I am going to The Official Release Party Of A Showgirl the day after the album on October 4th, so I'm super excited and honored to be one of the first people to see this music video and behind-the-scenes.

And now... the moment you've all been waiting for.

Songwriting.

No, I'm not writing 12 whole songs in 12 days, or breaking my three-year AI-free blogging streak. But for each song, I've come up with just a few conceptual lyrics, like maybe one verse or chorus. I can assure you that I have not looked at leaks, and none of these are confirmed lines. Many of the lyrics I've come up with will contain the song titles and/or some of the vinyl variant names, but none are fully confirmed official or leaked lines. This is simply HFE94's version.

"Thinking I had met my doom
In a brook of sweat and vanilla perfume
But I reach my hands out and feel ya
I survived the fate of Ophelia"

That's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!

AllTheHits 9/21/25 + 12 to 12 intro

Okay... I have a lot to say here.

How is music so good right now? I wake up and the Favors have a new album, the soundtrack for A Big Bold Beautiful Journey has been announced with new songs from both Laufey and Mitski, Laufey has a second song on Hits 1, Lyn Lapid has a deluxe album with four new songs, Miley Cyrus has a deluxe album featuring members of Fleetwood Mac and the Talking Heads and a 13-minute-long song, Olivia Rodrigo announces a live album, we are 12 days away from Taylor Swift's long-awaited 12th album, The Life Of A Showgirl, and Taylor announced an exclusive movie event The Official Release Party Of A Showgirl and I got tickets to it!

And speaking of The Life Of A Showgirl... I have a new series from now until the release of the album. I took a page out of Sombr's book and called it... the 12 to 12 special! For each of the 12 days leading up to the release of TS12, I'll make a post themed around each track of the album, complete with predictions, hopes, conceptual songwriting, and sourdough puns. Stay tuned for the first installment in the series later tonight!

As for AllTheHits, obviously there's a ton of new songs, all five debuts are skipping Almost There, Finneas's Same Old Story became my chart's first ever 30-weeker, and the Laufey domination has now reached week twenty-twooooooooo, between Silver Lining, Tough Luck, Lover Girl, Too Little Too Late, and Carousel each taking turns at the #1 spot. (This streak might be broken in a few weeks with The Life Of A Showgirl, and the Favors are close contenders as well.)

HitsForEvermore 30

Exits:

Taylor Swift - I Can Do It With A Broken Heart (1 wk: Peak #22)

Em Beihold - Brutus (3 wk: Peak #25)

Lyn Lapid - Where Is My Mind (4 wk: Peak #21)

Alessi Rose - Same Mouth (7 wk: Peak #16)

Faouzia - Porcelain (18 wk: Peak #2) (goes recurrent)

#30: Faouzia - Unethical (=) (4 wk: Peak #30)

#29: Favors - Times Square Jesus (-3) (6 wk: Peak #11)

#28: Debbii Dawson - You Killed The Music (-3) (23 wk: Peak #2)

#27: Mitski - Let My Love Open The Door (Debut) (1 wk: Peak #27)

#26: Finneas - Same Old Story (-2) (30 wk: Peak #2) (two weeks left of eligibility)

Golden Extra: Finneas & Ashe - Till Forever Falls Apart

#25: Lyn Lapid - You (Debut) (1 wk: Peak #25)

#24: Chappell Roan - The Subway (-5) (8 wk: Peak #8)

#23: Sabrina Carpenter - Goodbye (-5) (3 wk: Peak #16)

#22: Lyn Lapid - Floater Friend (-2) (22 wk: Peak #2)

#21: Florence + The Machine - Everybody Scream (-4) (3 wk: Peak #17)

Underground Extra: Faouzia, G.E.M. & Illenium - Still Breathing

#20: Favors - The Hudson (+3) (9 wk: Peak #12)

#19: Laufey - Clean Air (-3) (5 wk: Peak #13)

#18: Miley Cyrus, Lindsey Buckingham & Mick Fleetwood - Secrets (Debut) (1 wk: Peak #18)

#17: Laufey - A Cautionary Tale (-3) (5 wk: Peak #14)

#16: Laufey - The Risk (Debut) (1 wk: Peak #16)

Rising Extra: Raye - Where Is My Husband

#15: Laufey - Cuckoo Ballet (-1) (5 wk: Peak #12)

#14: Laufey - Castle In Hollywood (-1) (5 wk: Peak #11)

#13: Laufey - Snow White (-1) (7 wk: Peak #3)

#12: Laufey - Silver Lining (-3) (24 wk: Peak #1 for 4 wk)

#11: Laufey - Mr. Eclectic (-1) (5 wk: Peak #9)

Almost There Extra: Favors - Ordinary People

#10: Taylor Swift - So High School (-4) (2 wk: Peak #6)

#9: Laufey - Clockwork (-1) (5 wk: Peak #8)

#8: Laufey - Lover Girl (-1) (13 wk: Peak #1 for 1 wk) (gold this week)

#7: Favors - The Little Mess You Made (+4) (13 wk: Peak #2) (gold this week)

#6: Laufey - Sabotage (-1) (5 wk: Peak #5)

12 to 12 Extra: Taylor Swift - Shake It Off

#5: Favors - David's Brother (Debut) (1 wk: Peak #5)

#4: Laufey - Forget-Me-Not (=) (5 wk: Peak #4)

#3: Laufey - Tough Luck (=) (19 wk: Peak #1 for 13 wk)

#2: Laufey - Too Little, Too Late (=) (5 wk: Peak #1 for 1 wk)

#1: Laufey - Carousel (=) (5 wk: Peak #1 for 3 wk)

Biggest jump: Favors - The Little Mess You Made (+4)

Biggest drop: Sabrina Carpenter - Goodbye & Chappell Roan - The Subway (-5)

5 longest running songs right now:

#5: Laufey - Tough Luck (19 wk)

#4: Lyn Lapid - Floater Friend (22 wk)

#3: Debbii Dawson - You Killed The Music (23 wk)

#2: Laufey - Silver Lining (24 wk)

#1: Finneas - Same Old Story (30 wk)

Almost There

Favors - Ordinary People (Debut)

Pixies - Chicken (2)

Lyn Lapid - Settle (Debut)

Spoon - Chateau Blues (2)

Faouzia, G.E.M. & Illenium - Still Breathing (Debut)

Conan Gray - Vodka Cranberry (4)

Raye - Where Is My Husband (Debut)

Lady Gaga - The Dead Dance (3)

Alexander Stewart & Lauren Spencer Smith - Friends Don't (Debut)

Doja Cat - Jealous Type (3)

Debbii Dawson - I Want You (Debut)

Sombr - 12 To 12 (3)

Teen Jesus & The Jean Teasers - Mother (Debut)

Mgk - Can't Stay Here (6)

Miley Cyrus & David Byrne - Lockdown (Debut)

3Quency - Top Down (2)

Favors - Home Sweet Home (Debut)

Dropouts:

Sabrina Carpenter - Tears (1)

Beauty School Dropout - Heart Away (1)

Twenty One Pilots - City Wall (1)

Lyn Lapid - Back Up Plan (2)

Matthew Ifield - She Doesn't Care (3)

Saja Boys - Soda Pop (4)

Madds Buckley - Overboard (7)

Hayley Williams - Glum (7)

Renee Rapp - You'd Like That Wouldn't You (7)

Abyss

Conan Gray - This Song

Favors - Lake George (Debut)

Favors - Moonshine (Debut)

Favors - Necessary Evils (Debut)

Huntr/X - How It's Done

Huntr/X - What It Sounds Like

Lyn Lapid - High Note (Debut)

Lyn Lapid - White Flag (Debut)

Sabrina Carpenter - My Man On Willpower

Sabrina Carpenter - Never Getting Laid

Sabrina Carpenter - Tears

Sabrina Carpenter - We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night

Sabrina Carpenter - When Did You Get Hot?

NEBULA

Olivia Rodrigo & Robert Smith - Friday I'm In Love (Live From Glastonbury)

Olivia Rodrigo - So American (Live From Glastonbury)

Taylor Swift - Engagement Playlist

Taylor Swift - New Era Mix

Taylor Swift - September

That's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!

AllTheHits 9/14/25

100 posts this year and almost 22K views let's goooooooooo!

Well this time was different from last week, I didn't actually forget about AllTheHits this week but I was late because of overwhelm by things going on in my life at the moment, so sorry about that. This also means the AMOT review will be later than planned... and I also might just not do a full review of Man's Best Friend. Showgirl tracklist predictions will hopefully be done before the end of the month, but we'll see how things go. 

Speaking of Taylor, I realized a... "loophole"(?) in my eligibility system that actually allowed two Taylor songs to debut the countdown. The eligibility requirements are being released or charted within a year. This was really meant so that old songs becoming popular again have a chance to debut, but technically this means So High School is eligible until November 16th and I Can Do It With A Broken Heart is eligible until December 7th.

of course my impatient self found a way to get Taylor Swift back on the chart before The Life Of A Showgirl

HitsForEvermore 30

Exits:

Evanescence - Afterlife (17 wk: Peak #28)

Laufey - Seems Like Old Times (3 wk: Peak #15)

#30: Faouzia - Unethical (=) (3 wk: Peak #30)

#29: Em Beihold - Brutus (-4) (3 wk: Peak #25)

#28: Faouzia - Porcelain (-1) (18 wk: Peak #2)

#27: Alessi Rose - Same Mouth (-1) (7 wk: Peak #16)

#26: Favors - Times Square Jesus (-3) (5 wk: Peak #11)

Golden Extra: Ariana Grande - Breathin

#25: Debbii Dawson - You Killed The Music (-4) (22 wk: Peak #2)

#24: Finneas - Same Old Story (-9) (29 wk: Peak #2) (three weeks left of eligibility)

#23: Favors - The Hudson (-1) (8 wk: Peak #12)

#22: Taylor Swift - I Can Do It With A Broken Heart (Debut) (1 wk: Peak #22)

#21: Lyn Lapid - Where Is My Mind (+8) (4 wk: Peak #21)

Underground Extra: Spoon - Chateau Blues

#20: Lyn Lapid - Floater Friend (-2) (21 wk: Peak #2)

#19: Chappell Roan - The Subway (+1) (7 wk: Peak #8)

#18: Sabrina Carpenter - Goodbye (+6) (2 wk: Peak #16)

#17: Florence + The Machine - Everybody Scream (=) (2 wk: Peak #17)

#16: Laufey - Clean Air (-3) (4 wk: Peak #13)

Rising Extra: Sabrina Carpenter - Tears

#15: Laufey - A Cautionary Tale (-1) (4 wk: Peak #14)

#14: Laufey - Cuckoo Ballet (-2) (4 wk: Peak #12)

#13: Laufey - Castle In Hollywood (-2) (4 wk: Peak #11)

#12: Laufey - Snow White (-5) (6 wk: Peak #3)

#11: Favors - The Little Mess You Made (+5) (12 wk: Peak #2) (one week until gold status)

Almost There Extra: Hayley Williams - Glum

#10: Laufey - Mr. Eclectic (-1) (4 wk: Peak #9)

#9: Laufey - Silver Lining (-1) (23 wk: Peak #1 for 4 wk)

#8: Laufey - Clockwork (+2) (4 wk: Peak #8)

#7: Laufey - Lover Girl (-1) (12 wk: Peak #1 for 1 wk) (one week until gold status)

#6: Taylor Swift - So High School (Debut) (1 wk: Peak #6)

Seasonal Extra: Taylor Swift - September

#5: Laufey - Sabotage (=) (4 wk: Peak #5)

#4: Laufey - Forget-Me-Not (=) (4 wk: Peak #4)

#3: Laufey - Tough Luck (=) (18 wk: Peak #1 for 13 wk)

#2: Laufey - Too Little, Too Late (-1) (5 wk: Peak #1 for 1 wk)

#1: Laufey - Carousel (+1) (4 wk: Peak #1 for 3 wk)

Biggest jump: Lyn Lapid - Where Is My Mind (+8)

Biggest drop: Finneas - Same Old Story (-9)

5 longest running songs right now:

#5: Laufey - Tough Luck (18 wk)

#4: Lyn Lapid - Floater Friend (21 wk)

#3: Debbii Dawson - You Killed The Music (22 wk)

#2: Laufey - Silver Lining (23 wk)

#1: Finneas - Same Old Story (29 wk)

Almost There

Pixies - Chicken (Debut)

Spoon - Chateau Blues (Debut)

Conan Gray - Vodka Cranberry (3)

Lady Gaga - The Dead Dance (2)

Doja Cat - Jealous Type (2)

Sombr - 12 To 12 (2)

Lyn Lapid - Back Up Plan (2)

Matthew Ifield - She Doesn't Care (3)

Beauty School Dropout - Heart Away (Debut)

Twenty One Pilots - City Wall (Debut)

3Quency - Top Down (Debut)

Saja Boys - Soda Pop (4)

Madds Buckley - Overboard (6)

Mgk - Can't Stay Here (5)

Hayley Williams - Glum (7)

Renee Rapp - You'd Like That Wouldn't You (7)

Sabrina Carpenter - Tears (Debut)

Dropouts:

Em Beihold - Hot Goblin (1)

Alec Benjamin - The Knife In My Back (1)

Alex Warren - Eternity (2)

Sabrina Carpenter - We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night (1)

Conan Gray - My World (3)

Audrey Hobert - Phoebe (3)

Abyss

Conan Gray - This Song

Huntr/X - How It's Done

Huntr/X - What It Sounds Like

Sabrina Carpenter - My Man On Willpower

Sabrina Carpenter - Never Getting Laid

Sabrina Carpenter - We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night (re-entry)

Sabrina Carpenter - When Did You Get Hot?

NEBULA

Taylor Swift - Engagement Playlist

Taylor Swift - New Era Mix

Taylor Swift - September

The Life Of A Showgirl is less than three weeks away!!!

That's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!

AllTheHits 9/7/25

:guysiliterallyforgotaboutallthehitsyesterday:

Welcome to my 99th post of the year, my first ATH of September, and the less-than-a-month-until-Showgirl edition of AllTheHits and... I guess the one benefit of being a day late this time is I can share some of my thoughts about the VMAs. 

(If you didn't watch the VMAs live and are waiting to see it on-demand, don't read the following paragraph.)

All of the performances were pretty... out-there, but none of them were bad. Conan Gray and Sombr were two of my favorites, but really my top favorite performance was the Ozzy Osbourne tribute from Yungblud and Aerosmith. As for the awards, I'm pleasantly surprised at the recognition for Ariana Grande, as she was my top choice in numerous categories and I didn't expect her to win. And honestly, this might shock the viewers knowing how much of a Swiftie I am, but I'm not that disappointed Lady Gaga took away Artist Of The Year instead of Taylor Swift. Taylor has had a huge year announcing an album, buying her masters, getting engaged, and finding a way onto every news article, but... the award is Artist Of The Year, and Taylor hasn't released new music yet this year. So I think if she won she would've just been even more ridiculed by the haters. I think Lady Gaga was more deserving of it this year, but maybe next year after Showgirl comes out Taylor will have a better shot.

As for AllTheHits, we have a new #1 from the same artist who's been dominating my chart for months, and a pretty modest week otherwise with two debuts and one re-entry, and a moderate Almost There. Let's get into it!

HitsForEvermore 30

Exits:

Role Model & Laufey - The Longest Goodbye (8 wk: Peak #4)

Rose - Messy (8 wk: Peak #7)

Lyn Lapid - Buttons (16 wk: Peak #7)

#30: Faouzia - Unethical (=) (2 wk: Peak #30)

#29: Lyn Lapid - Where Is My Mind (-1) (2 wk: Peak #28)

#28: Evanescence - Afterlife (+1) (17 wk: Peak #28)

#27: Faouzia - Porcelain (-4) (17 wk: Peak #2)

#26: Alessi Rose - Same Mouth (=) (6 wk: Peak #16)

Golden Extra: Olivia Rodrigo - Favorite Crime

#25: Em Beihold - Brutus (=) (2 wk: Peak #25)

#24: Sabrina Carpenter - Goodbye (Debut) (1 wk: Peak #24)

#23: Favors - Times Square Jesus (-1) (4 wk: Peak #11)

#22: Favors - The Hudson (Re-entry) (7 wk: Peak #12)

#21: Debbii Dawson - You Killed The Music (=) (21 wk: Peak #2)

Underground Extra: Conan Gray - My World

#20: Chappell Roan - The Subway (-3) (6 wk: Peak #8)

#19: Laufey - Seems Like Old Times (-1) (3 wk: Peak #15)

#18: Lyn Lapid - Floater Friend (-4) (20 wk: Peak #2)

#17: Florence + The Machine - Everybody Scream (Debut) (1 wk: Peak #17)

#16: Favors - The Little Mess You Made (-1) (11 wk: Peak #2)

Rising Extra: Lady Gaga - The Dead Dance

#15: Finneas - Same Old Story (-2) (28 wk: Peak #2) (four weeks until eligibility cutoff - will become recurrent)

#14: Laufey - A Cautionary Tale (+5) (3 wk: Peak #14)

#13: Laufey - Clean Air (+3) (3 wk: Peak #13)

#12: Laufey - Cuckoo Ballet (=) (3 wk: Peak #12)

#11: Laufey - Castle In Hollywood (=) (3 wk: Peak #11)

Almost There Extra: Mgk - Can't Stay Here

#10: Laufey - Clockwork (=) (3 wk: Peak #10)

#9: Laufey - Mr. Eclectic (=) (3 wk: Peak #9)

#8: Laufey - Silver Lining (=) (22 wk: Peak #1 for 4 wk)

#7: Laufey - Snow White (=) (5 wk: Peak #3)

#6: Laufey - Lover Girl (=) (11 wk: Peak #1 for 1 wk)

VMA Extra: Conan Gray - Vodka Cranberry

#5: Laufey - Sabotage (=) (3 wk: Peak #5)

#4: Laufey - Forget-Me-Not (=) (3 wk: Peak #4)

#3: Laufey - Tough Luck (-1) (17 wk: Peak #1 for 13 wk)

#2: Laufey - Carousel (-1) (3 wk: Peak #1 for 2 wk)

#1: Laufey - Too Little, Too Late (+2) (4 wk: Peak #1 for 1 wk)

Biggest jump: Laufey - A Cautionary Tale (+5)

Biggest drop: Chappell Roan - The Subway (-3)

5 longest running songs right now:

#5: Laufey - Tough Luck (17 wk)

#4: Lyn Lapid - Floater Friend (20 wk)

#3: Debbii Dawson - You Killed The Music (21 wk)

#2: Laufey - Silver Lining (22 wk)

#1: Finneas - Same Old Story (28 wk)

Top 5 songs six months ago:

#5: Taylor Swift - The Manuscript

#4: Finneas - Same Old Story

#3: Sabrina Carpenter - Dumb & Poetic

#2: Olivia Rodrigo - Stranger

#1: Taylor Swift - The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived

Almost There

Conan Gray - Vodka Cranberry (Re-entry) (2)

Lady Gaga - The Dead Dance (Debut)

Doja Cat - Jealous Type (Debut)

Sombr - 12 To 12 (Debut)

Em Beihold - Hot Goblin (Debut)

Alec Benjamin - The Knife In My Back (Debut)

Lyn Lapid - Back Up Plan (Debut)

Sabrina Carpenter - We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night (Debut)

Matthew Ifield - She Doesn't Care (2)

Alex Warren - Eternity (2)

Saja Boys - Soda Pop (3)

Conan Gray - My World (3)

Audrey Hobert - Phoebe (3)

Mgk - Can't Stay Here (4)

Madds Buckley - Overboard (5)

Hayley Williams - Glum (6)

Renee Rapp - You'd Like That Wouldn't You (6)

Dropouts:

Eminem - Everybody's Looking At Me (1)

Jvke - Oh To Be Loved (1)

Sombr - I Wish I Knew How To Quit You (2)

Luca George - Better Apart (3)

Vibi - Why You? (3)

Zara Larsson - Crush (3)

Abyss

Conan Gray - This Song

Huntr/X - How It's Done

Huntr/X - What It Sounds Like

Sabrina Carpenter - My Man On Willpower

Sabrina Carpenter - Never Getting Laid

Sabrina Carpenter - Tears (newly added!)

Sabrina Carpenter - When Did You Get Hot?

NEBULA

Connie Francis - Pretty Little Baby

Ozzy Osbourne, Post Malone & Travis Scott - Take What You Want

Taylor Swift - Engagement Playlist

Taylor Swift - New Era Mix

Taylor Swift - September (newly added!)

Weezer & Olivia Rodrigo - Buddy Holly (Live From Lollapalooza)

Weezer & Olivia Rodrigo - Say It Ain't So (Live From Lollapalooza)

Removed:

Taylor Swift - August

That's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!

[SURPRISE ALBUM REVIEW] August slipped away into a moment in time...

Hi! (Sorry for slight delay.) Welcome to the second half of my Labor Day/end of summer/goodbye August double-post, and I'm here with my surprise album review that will probably be unsurprising to a lot of you: Folklore by Taylor Swift! Aka the album where Taylor invented the month of August. I've been wanting to review this album for a while since I had reviewed Evermore before, and this felt like the right time since August slipped away into a moment of time and we got a lot of Taylor news in August. I also just recently rewatched the Long Pond Studio Sessions and grew to love this album even more after that. By the way, you should definitely watch LPSS. It gives a whole new perspective on the songs seeing the production process and how it was all made during COVID. Let's see how it scores!

1. The 1

My rating: 4/5 Good

And we start with a song that's just kinda there. It's a solid opening track and I'll sing along when it comes on, but I don't really listen to this song much outside of the context of the album. I love the piano and the vocals, and I love how every time she says "the 1" it's a little bit different. The swinging rhythm and snapping is... alright. A bit out of place on this album in my opinion, but it works. The lyrics are simple but really drive the message home about wishing for someone you can't have, with some great lines like "I thought I saw you at the bus stop, I didn't though" and "tossing pennies in the pool, and if my wishes came true it would've been you". Overall, solid song.

2. Cardigan

My rating: 5/5 Great

Cardigan needs no introduction. This is by far the biggest chart hit from Folklore, and a huge fan favorite. I already loved this song back in 2020 before I was a Swiftie, and I actually didn't even know the full story behind this song yet. Obviously Folklore was written during COVID so it was a time of isolation where Taylor was reading a lot and crafting a lot of characters and stories in her mind that became songs. Cardigan is a member of a trilogy (along with August and Betty) told from the perspective of teenage lovers Betty, Augustine, and James. Cardigan is from Betty's perspective about James leaving her for someone else, with a simple but powerful refrain of "when I felt like I was an old cardigan under someone's bed, you put me on and said I was your favorite", using a double-meaning of "put me on" that seems like a romantic gesture at first but is actually... well, a hoax, which we'll come back to later. This also has some of Taylor's most gorgeous piano lines, and a sound sample (as you know I'm a huge fan of those) using high heels on cobblestone as percussion. Love it.

3. The Last Great American Dynasty

My rating: 5/5 Great

Another storytelling-heavy song, but this time not a fictional one. (At least not entirely, it's somewhat of a fictionalized biography I guess.) This song draws parallels between Taylor Swift and the former owner of her Rhode Island Holiday House, named Rebekah Harkness. It tells the story of how she was blamed for all the problems in her neighborhood, hung out with famous people in a champagne pool, and in a feud with her neighbor, dyed his dog key-lime green (supposedly it was actually a cat but Taylor changed it since she would never dare disrespect a cat like that). And then there's the production. I love the very tropical, summery sound it has going on, which is very fitting for this end-of-summer atmosphere we're in right now. One of my favorites.

4. Exile (with Bon Iver)

My rating: X/5 no opinion

Ok, I really don't want to get into this, but I associate this song with an incredibly distressing time in my life. Not because of the lyrical content, but literally this song in and of itself. I've briefly mentioned this before but I don't want to elaborate. Especially seeing as I used to like this song but now cannot listen to it, I don't think it would be fair to have this song weigh down the total score just by association. Moving on.

5. My Tears Ricochet

My rating: 5/5 Great

"Taylor Swift isn't a good singer!" they scream. Swifthaters, I hereby present to you My Tears Ricochet, a song in which Taylor sings more than two octaves worth of vocal range, and it sounds gorgeous all the way through. This is a heart-wrenching track 5 if I've ever heard one, with production that evolves in the most heartbreaking and angry way. Lines like "you wear the same jewels that I gave you as you bury me" and "you hear my stolen lullabies" point to this song being a story about Taylor's masters being stolen. (Still super excited that Taylor finally owns her masters now!) I do kinda wish the original "look at all my tears... turning into your tears" outro line from LPSS was left in the final studio version, but that's a very minor "complaint". This is an amazing song all-around.

6. Mirrorball

My rating: 5/5 Great

Hello Speak Now, is that you? Yeah, even though lyrically this song is very different, the production sounds very much like Taylor's earlier country-rock sound, with a bit of a more mature and more synth-infused tinge to it. I find the songwriting in this song very intriguing - it uses an analogy between Taylor Swift and a disco ball and details all the aspects of it. A lifeless object that people are reflected off of. (This is not how I see Taylor, by the way! It's what she said.) Not much to say, it's just a really well-made song.

7. Seven

My rating: 5/5 Great

"Love you to the moon and to Saturn" is among Taylor Swift's most iconic lyrics. This song has a lot of aspects to it. The title is inspired by the perspective of a seven-year-old child. On the surface, it's a playful and innocent song about Taylor and a childhood friend/crush, but it's got some real hard-hitting lines. "I've been meaning to tell you, I think your house is haunted / your dad is always mad and that must be why". Once you realize what that actually means, it's one of the most heartbreaking lines on the album. Really sad song but I adore it.

8. August

My rating: 5/5 Great

Ah yes, the month Taylor Swift invented that just slipped away into a moment in time. This is the second song in the teenage love triangle, told from Augustine's perspective about her summer fling with James and how it faded away from her. The production is a standout on this album. I mean this in a great way, Chappell Roan's new song The Subway reminds me a bit of this in a lot of ways. The chord progression, the guitars, the drums, even the strings near the end. I love the lyrics here. I especially am a fan of the "get in the car" part in the outro, which according to LPSS she added in the studio during the recording process. Gorgeous.

9. This Is Me Trying

My rating: 5/5 Great

Contender for the saddest song on Folklore. "Pulled the car off the road to the lookout, could've followed my fears all the way down"... wow. Taylor described a whole tragic story in just seventeen words. "I was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a sphere" has always been an intriguing line to me. And the production is some of Taylor's most gorgeous. It's a departure from the rest of Folklore, with a very synth-heavy, swirling production that seems to simulate the swirling of thoughts, or the feeling of being on the aforementioned "sphere" of not being able to move forward in life no matter how hard you try. W o w. Yet another great song.

10. Illicit Affairs

My rating: 5/5 Great

Whenever I listen to this song I always feel like rewatching the Eras Tour movie. Something that I love about Illicit Affairs is how minimal it is. Although it may not be her shortest, in my opinion it goes by quicker than any other Taylor song, and I can't quite explain why. In very few words, Taylor captures the "dwindling mercurial high" of secretly loving someone. Obviously, the bridge is absolutely iconic (especially on the Eras Tour). "DON'T CALL ME KID. DON'T CALL ME BABY." How can you not love it. Amazing song.

11. Invisible String

My rating: 6/5 Curious, Mystical, Wondrous... Words That Describe Time Also Describe This Song

We went from "ME-HE-HEEEE!" to "meeee-eeeeee-eeeeee-eeeeee-eeeeeeeeeeeeeee" in just two albums. In all seriousness, after listening to it on repeat, watching LPSS, and beginning reading the fanmade book "Invisible Strings", a collection of poetry inspired by Taylor Swift songs and edited by Kristie Frederick Daugherty (highly recommend to the more torturedly poetic Swifties), an invisible string began to tie me to this song. I've decided that this song is one of my all-time top 13 songs in Taylor's discography. I get chills when I listen to this song. The vocals, the guitar, the bells, the key changes, the lyrics about fate (even though it's about a now somewhat problematic ex-boyfriend but I like to just ignore that), Invisible String has it all. I don't think I need to say more.

12. Mad Woman

My rating: 5/5 Great

Another stunning piano line! I don't know why but musically this song reminds me a bit of Cardigan. They're in the same key and have similar melodic progressions. This makes me think there's a connection - maybe this song is also from Betty's perspective years later? The songwriting is some of Taylor's strongest. Taylor talks about themes of sexism in The Man, but that song has been criticized for being presented in a much more basic, almost cliched way. This song has been known to elevate this theme by a mile. It's another song allegedly about Scooter Braun, with refrains of "every time you call me crazy I get more crazy" and "no one likes a mad woman, you made her like that". It's another example of effective simplicity. Once again, great song.

13. Epiphany

My rating: 6/5 No I'm Not Gonna Try To Make A Joke About This One Because Of The Song's Subject Material

Alright, now here's my favorite song on Folklore. This song has historically been one of my, not just top 13, but actually top 5 all-time favorite songs of Taylor's, up there with The Way I Loved You, Enchanted, Happiness, and All Too Well. This is another one of the saddest songs on Folklore, that's quite simply about... all the things people just can't speak about. In very few words, she describes her late grandfather's experience fighting in the war: "keep your helmet / keep your life, son / just a flesh wound / here's your rifle / crawling up the beaches now / sir, I think he's bleeding out / and some things you just can't speak about". She likens this to the experience of health workers during the COVID pandemic: "something med school did not cover / someone's daughter, someone's mother / holds your hand through plastic now / doc, I think she's crashing out / and some things you just can't speak about". Not to mention the production. It captures the storytelling atmosphere very well, with just a few simple piano chords and sweeping synths. Absolutely gorgeous.

14. Betty

My rating: 1/5 Bad

...well this sticks out like a sore thumb. As much as I hate to say this about a song on one of my favorite albums, I just genuinely do not like this song at all. This song completes the teenage love triangle with a song from James' perspective. I find it a lot harder to get into a song told from the opposite gender perspective (unless it's Too Little Too Late by Laufey of course, that song is amazing). I think James' character is really annoying and unlikable in this song, so it doesn't really work out-of-context because people who don't know about the love triangle (that's not many people, but some) may think Taylor is actually the one showing up to an ex's party uninvited after being with someone else over the summer and just wanting Betty back. (And also continuing to claim that Taylor is gay. Can we just not obsessively assume someone's sexuality? I know that just because she said she's straight doesn't mean she has to be straight, but like... that's for another post later on.) This song isn't a 0/5 because of the guitar and I like the bridge and outro okay, and the fact that this is one of my bottom 13 least favorite Taylor Swift songs is honestly a really good sign about how strong Tay's discography is, with only two or maybe three songs out of over 250 being true 0/5s for me.

15. Peace

My rating: 5/5 Great

I feel like this song could fit on Reputation. The instrumentation is nothing like Rep, as Rep is known for maximalist, bass-heavy, hyperpop-tinged synth-pop songs, but the lyrical themes could fit together. It's sort of like Delicate, about the challenge of finding love as a famous person, especially in a time of not having the greatest... well, reputation. "I'd give you my sunshine, give you my best, but the rain is always gonna come if you're standing with me." It is thought to be about Joe, and it's sadder now looking back on how he was affected by this publicity. One thing I love about this song (which Taylor mentions in LPSS) is how it works on many levels, so although in her case it's about how she could never give someone peace due to her fame and reputation, people who aren't famous can still relate to the feeling of giving all their love and questioning if it's enough due to their inevitable flaws. And the production, which I mentioned earlier, is a standout. There's really only five components to it: the vocals which were recorded in one take, the relentless pulse synth, the sweeping synth pads, the electric guitar, and the piano, and I love this sort of anxiously relaxing sound. Beautiful.

16. Hoax

My rating: 5/5 Great

And we've reached the end of the main edition of Folklore. This is another song with a lyrical style sort of like Epiphany, using very few words: "my only one / my smoking gun / my eclipsed sun / this has broken me down / my twisted knife / my sleepless night / my winless fight / this has frozen my ground". It's very poetic, telling the story of a deceptive relationship, which could be applied to a failed romance or to the masters situation. Similarly to Peace, this song also has fairly minimal production and it's quite effective. It's really just Taylor, a piano, a guitar, and some light synth strings. By the way, Aaron Dessner really did a great job on this one, playing multiple instruments and it all comes together gorgeously. Another great track.

17. The Lakes

My rating: 3/5 Decent

So Folklore has one bonus track, and it's... ok. I'm not huge on this whole "hyper-poetic juxtaposed with modern references" lyrical style, and the "what are my Wordsworth" line is a bit cringey. Yes, I understand the idea of escapism and trying to get away from the modern world and run off to The Lakes where all the poets went to die and how this requires these delicate poetic lines like "I want auroras and sad prose / I want to watch wisteria grow" and "I bathe in cliffside pools with my calamitous love and insurmountable grief" in the same song as these out-of-place references like "hunters with cellphones", "namedropping sleaze", "no one around to tweet it"... the combination of them is just not really my style. Musically however, this song is quite gorgeous. The intro is a bit unsettling with the intentionally distorted, silent film-style orchestra, but it grows into something pretty beautiful. Overall it's just a decent track for me.

Conclusion

Overall album rating: 95% (Great Album)

Wow. This album now beats out Taylor's own Midnights and TTPD by one point, ties Lyn Lapid's Buzzkill, and sits just two points behind Laufey's Bewitched. This album has an incredible amount of great music, but it's unfortunately not quite a no-skip album due to Exile and Betty. I'd place it within my top 5 Taylor albums alongside Midnights, Speak Now, Red, and Evermore. (Will The Life Of A Showgirl beat it out? We can't say for sure yet...)

Favorites: Epiphany, Invisible String

Least favorites: Betty, Exile

I'll be reviewing A Matter Of Time and possibly Man's Best Friend later this month, but that's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!