‘The Fate of Ophelia’ celebrates its 10th non-consecutive week at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100: no Taylor Swift single has ever done so. Meanwhile, the song remains at the highest positions on the global Spotify list, alternating between positions 1, 2 and 3 depending on the day, since the return of Bruno Mars alone is not, at the moment, posing any threat to it. With this scenario, part of the JENESAISPOP editorial team debates what the second official single from ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ should be, if Taylor Swift plans to release one. Does it make sense to talk about “singles” at this point?
«No matter how many records she breaks, the truth is that Taylor Swift has not released a good album with ‘The Life of a Showgirl’. It’s not even a failed album that becomes quite decent with scissors, like ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ was: here’s a magnificent first single, a couple of good songs… and stop counting.
Therefore, although ‘Opalite’ and ‘Elizabeth Taylor’ (and yes, ‘Eldest Daughter’) are much better, I would love for the next single to be ‘Actually Romantic’, with its corresponding video clip and going all out with the beef towards Charli XCX. Not much has happened with this because as a song it is somewhat forgettable, wasting its capabilities in the lyrics, and diluting the few darts with a rather gray production. But what if he takes the opportunity to make a remix, like Kendrick’s in ‘Bad Blood’? Or not even that: simply with a proper video clip that enhances the best moments of the lyrics, Taylor could give us the first great pop moment of 2026.
Within a flat and boring album (and a musical context as well), doing something unexpected that would shake everything up would actually be romantic fun. Also, wasn’t this ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ going to be ‘Reputation 2.0’? Well, what better than a ‘Look What You Made Me Do Pt.2’. Pablo Bacon
«The public has already decided that the second single from ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ should be ‘Opalite’, since it is the second song with the most streams on the album, by far. But it turns out that it is also the best song on ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ and the most representative. The secret lies in its use of the opal symbol, a mineraloid known for its light colors. In the song, Taylor celebrates the arrival of love in her life by metaphorizing that her “heaven” used to be dark, but now it is starting to become clear. Swift does not speak of complete happiness, but of a moment of transition.
That’s why ‘The Life of a Showirl’ sounds so surprisingly melancholic: the album comes from finding herself alone at the top, longing for love. ‘Opalite’ radiates happiness, especially in its bouncy “oh oh oh” chorus, which refers to the Ronettes; but the lyrics still contain a trace of melancholy, as they directly mention the end of life, which ends “as a song does.” I don’t want to say that ‘Opalite’ is a well of darkness, but it does manage to represent the content of the album without giving up offering a much more uplifting composition than ‘The Fate of Ophelia’.
That’s where the crystalline jangle guitars come in (someone call The Drums!) of the song, its soft and padded disco rhythm, the nice “ah ah ah” of the verses, again similar to those of the girl groups of the 60s, a chorus that is an irresistible candy for any pop fan and, above all, that bridge that alludes to Swift’s own career and is worth gold. “This is a storm in a teacup, but shelter here with me, my love, this life is going to give you a hard time,” Swift sings. «This is just a temporary blip; Failure gives you freedom, and I can give you love, love, love, love. The best moment of the album, in general. Jordi Bardaji
Charging …