Taylor Swift’s ShowGirl Release Party: Watch It Now

Taylor Swift dominated the conversation last week in more ways than one. On Friday, she returned with her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, though that same exact day she also returned to theaters with The Official Release Party of a Showgirl. Unsurprisingly, the film rocketed to #1, though the film’s centerpiece has already arrived online to watch.

The elaborate music video that was the highlight of Swift’s cinematic release, “The Fate of Ophelia”, has debuted online after a brief theatrical window. Additionally, you can watch the lyric videos for all 11 of the remaining tracks from The Life of a Showgirl, which were also part of the limited theatrical run of the release party over the weekend.

The three-day global theatrical event ran from October 3 to 5, distributed exclusively through AMC Theaters, with ScreenRant reporting yesterday that it was projected to earn $33 million at the domestic box office by the end of Sunday, knocking One Battle After Another from the #1 spot. Swift fans will be overjoyed to discover they can already relive its biggest moments.

“The Fate of Orphelia” Is Taylor Swift At Her Most Spectacular

The video for “The Fate of Ophelia” is directed by none other than budding auteur Taylor Swift herself, showcasing the album’s glamorous showgirl aesthetic in a number of different contexts. The video opens with Swift inhabiting a vision of the tragically fated Ophelia herself, before it then shifts vibrantly through a spectacular variety of different costumes and time periods.

You’ll see Swift transformed into a vision of a classic showgirl with platinum-blonde locks; a go-go dancer from the 1960s performing in a smoky lounge; as well as the lead in a Golden Age Hollywood movie musical who is made to walk the plank in a pirate-themed performance.

Before the video was released to the public late on Sunday, Swift posted an interview clip to her socials where she went into detail about how the new album’s spectacular artwork came to be.

“There was this moment in the photo shoot, right at the end of the day, the last setup, I’m in this bathtub in this bedazzled dress. They take my picture. I see it on the monitor. I see it pop up. Even though it was at the weirdest angle, and I’m in the bathtub, I’m just like, ‘That’s the cover.’ And it was.”

The Life of a Showgirl Has Dominated The Musical Conversation

On Friday, ScreenRant reported on the world’s response to The Life of a Showgirl, attempting to dissect the album’s themes as fans worldwide tried to unpack its different themes. Some songs appear to be about her fiancé, the Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, while Swift borrows the George Michael 1987 classic “Father Figure” and gives it her own unique spin.

The biggest controversy brewed around “Actually Romantic,” the seventh cut on the album, in which it is alleged that Swift takes a swing at singer Charli XCX, speculated to be in response to the lyrical jabs thrown at Swift on Charli’s own song, “Sympathy Is A Knife.”

Otherwise, the album represents Swift confidently stepping back into pop-focused territory, following a string of genre-bending exercises like her The Tortured Poets Department, Midnights, Evermore, Folklore, and Reputation albums. Swift also produced Showgirl herself, alongside the Swedish production team of Max Martin and Shellback.