By GENEVIEVE PRESLEY Multi-Media Reporter
On September 25, Taylor Swift surprised fans by unveiling “The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore.” This project expands on the original album released on October 3 2025 and features four brand new tracks, “Patient Zero,” “Cleveland!,” “Pink Clouding,”
and “Babylon.”
When I heard that this new version of “Showgirl” was being released I was so excited. I loved the original and could not wait to hear the new songs, and from the first listen they instantly blew me away.
“Patient Zero” serves as the lead single and tells the powerful story of a woman receiving a phone call from her toxic ex’s new partner and offering her guidance and empathy. Throughout the song, Swift uses the term “patient zero” to describe the fact that she was the first to experience the partner’s toxic behavior and the emotional damage caused from it. This is shown lyrically in the chorus when she sings, “if you’re sick of him, I got you, I was patient zero.” I was extremely fascinated by Taylor’s vocals in this song in addition to the phenomenal storytelling, causing it to rank as my favorite.
“Cleveland!” is a truly fun and cheerful song all about Taylor’s relationship with Travis Kelce and also a straightforward brush-off to the critics and haters. What I love most about this one is instead of letting the haters get her down, she instead sings, “hate all you like, this is the love of my life.” That is such a bold declaration, and I am so happy that Taylor decided to release this amazing song.
“Pink Clouding” is another track that had me entirely captivated from the very beginning. Throughout the song, Taylor carries on with her renowned use of metaphor, now addressing the temporary high of entering a rebound relationship and how new love masks the unresolved pain of a previous breakup. I especially love the lyrics, “I was pink clouding from the thrill of it,” and “I didn’t want to let you down, so I left you up there on a pink cloud.” This is definitely one of those relatable songs that has the power to stick with listeners forever, and for that reason it is my
second favorite.
“Babylon” is a deeply nostalgic song about not realizing what you have until it’s gone. It stuck out to me for both the overall meaning and the powerful lyrics, especially the chorus when she sings, “and you hate this song, but you wake up on the train with your headphones gone. Then that melody is all you want, you never knew that it was Babylon ‘til it was gone.” Those words sum up the theme perfectly, providing a solid ending to “Showgirl:
The Encore.”
On release day, the album received 60,206,955 streams, with 40.53 million coming from just the deluxe tracks. “Patient Zero” led with 13.709 million streams, setting a record for the biggest single-day debut by a female artist in 2026. Overall, I loved “The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore” so much. There was not a single bad song on it and I am so happy that Taylor chose to continue this
remarkable era.
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