While the songs on Taylor Swift‘s new headline-grabbing album, The Life of a Showgirl, are now being dissected by fans, one of the cuts, “Actually Romantic,” seems to be getting broken down the most.
The new album, Taylor’s twelfth, was released today, Friday, October 3, and the reviews range from people calling it strong to lackluster.
As with any art project, though, fans should develop their own opinion instead of adopting quick social media takes, since a lot of people review albums based on expectation, individual taste, and nostalgia—choosing to judge an artist’s past work based on how they feel about an older release.
But in regard to “Actually Romantic,” it seems to be unanimous that Taylor is taking a direct shot at Charli XCX, and she explained what the lyrics mean on Amazon Music.
How The Possible Beef Between The Singers Began
If you ask Swifties and other people, Charli dissed Taylor on the song “Sympathy is a Knife,” one of the tracks on the English singer’s 2024 album, Brat.
“Don’t know if I’m spiraling / One voice tells me that they laugh / George says I’m just paranoid / Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show / Fingers crossed behind my back / I hope they break up real quick,” Charli sings.
The George that Charli is referring to is George Daniel, drummer for the band The 1975, who she married in July at London’s Hackney Town Hall. The couple then had another ceremony earlier this month in Sicily, Italy.
For Taylor’s part, she used to date the band’s frontman, Matty Healy, which fuels the theory that “Actually Romantic” is a diss song.
“I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave / High-fived my ex and then said you’re glad he ghosted me/ Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face / Some people might be offended / But it’s actually sweet,” Taylor sings.
“Actually Romantic” Explained
It could be said a breakdown of the song truly wasn’t necessary, because Taylor’s explanation matches her lyrics perfectly. However, while discussing the cut, she didn’t say it’s about Charli or anyone else, for that matter. That probably still won’t quiet the Charli diss talk, though.
“[Actually Romantic is] a song about realizing that someone else has kind of had a one-sided, adversarial relationship with you that you didn’t know about, and all of a sudden they start doing too much, and they start letting you know that actually, you’ve been living in their head rent-free, and you had no idea,” Taylor explained.
Nicki Minaj Is Impressed With “Actually Romantic”
Nicki Minaj, who recently updated her beef with Cardi B this week and pretty much insulted half of hip-hop, commented on The Life of a Showgirl, saying the sexually charged song “Wood” is “exactly what she needed.”
Nicki then tweeted about “Actually Romantic,” and she’s also convinced that it’s about Charli. “The sagittarius lashing spree culminates with The Life of a Showgirl,” the New York rapper tweeted.
“Taylor said, ‘I heard you called me boring Barbie when the coke’s got your brain,'” she added. “Why all the SAG’s giving out lashings tonight? Oh wow. And #Cancelled is diabolical. Let’s go TAYLOR!!!!!! … GO IN FOR THE KILL, TAYLOR. LET’S GO!!!!”
The pop star hasn’t responded to Nicki yet, and Charli hasn’t mentioned anything about “Actually Romantic.” But it’s safe to say that Charli’s fans, especially the ones who don’t care for Taylor, are eager for a clapback.
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