With the release of the extended version of Taylor Swift’s twelfth album ‘The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore’, now is a good time to re-rank the tracks of the album including the 4 new tracks added alongside the original tracks which we have now had almost a year to develop our ranking of.

I originally wrote a ranking of the album tracks shortly after the album was first released, but my ranking of the original songs has slightly changed since then and I have quickly formed opinions on the four new tracks from the extended version of the album.

Disclaimer: This ranking is based on my own personal taste although I do find this often aligns with the quality of the lyrics and production on a song too (be sure to let me know how your ranking differs in the comments below 🤠).

16. CANCELLED!

This song is catchy but still hasn’t really grown on me at all and the lyrics are not something I relate to.

It seems to be a bit of a hit or miss for most with the song proving to be an acquired taste.

15. Patient Zero

This song may grow on me overtime but as it stands it is my least favourite additional track from ‘The Encore’.

The chorus of this song is catchy but the verses and bridges don’t flow well (at least so far on my first few listens) which can make the song feel like it is dragging on.

14. Wood

Sonically great and lyrically clever, this song is well crafted but isn’t a song which I personally care for or ever feel like listening to.

13. The Life of a Showgirl

This is a fun and easy song to listen to with the somewhat lazy lyrics which serve the purpose of the song.

The Life of a Showgirl is in my opinion the worst title track of any Taylor Swift album although it isn’t necessarily a ‘bad song’.

12. Pink Clouding

Pink Clouding is a very 1989-esque track which marks the beginning of what I consider to be actually good songs which I will listen to often from ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ (12 playlist worthy songs from one album is a rare feat for any album for me personally – but not for a Taylor Swift album).

I can definitely see this song growing on me even more overtime but for now it is just a fun and easy listen that I am reaching to less than two of the other ‘The Encore’ additions.

11. Actually Romantic

This song is very catchy and makes for a great upbeat song to listen to when on the go.

10. Eldest Daughter

I feel like this song has been subject to a lot of ‘out of context’ criticism as I personally believe the lyrics of this song suit the sentiment/message of the song perfectly.

It features a really great bridge towards the end of the song and makes for a really welcome mellow song on the album.

9. Cleveland!

Although some of the lyrics are maybe slightly jarring on first listen (which is likely why the song has been criticised so heavily), this song really grows on you the more you listen to it.

What this song lacks lyrically it really makes up for sonically. 💀

The fun and upbeat nature of this song really fits the vibe of the album with the Christmassy production likely to see the song see a little more love during the festive season (in the same way Opalite does).

8. Elizabeth Taylor

This is a really strong pop song which was initially one of my favourites on the album but is a song I have found myself listening to less and less over the last year.

7. Wi$h List

I really love the sentiment of this song and the lyrics/production are perfect for matching it.

This song has been a surprising favourite of some of the non-Swifties in my life.

6. Ruin The Friendship

Ruin The Friendship is a track which I loved from the get-go due to it’s ’nostalgic’ production and Folklore-esque lyrics.

I have continued to reach for this song throughout the year and it is a song which I think will remain a staple in my late summer/autumn listening.

5. Honey

Honey was the least popular song from The Life of a Showgirl when it was first released and I ranked it as my least favourite song on the album in my previous ranking as I found it to be lyrically boring.

Overtime, this song has become one of my favourites as it really is just THAT catchy and has become a staple for my treadmill listening. 🍯

4. Opalite

This song is pop perfection and is truly worthy of the success it has found on the charts. It is sonically upbeat and lyrically meaningful which is exactly what you want in a Taylor Swift pop song.

3. The Fate of Ophelia

The Fate of Ophelia topped charts for a reason and was definitely the right choice for the lead single of the album.

This song is objectively great in every aspect and is the type of song which everyone loves (which explains its chart success).

2. Babylon

Babylon is the highlight of ‘The Encore’ and has been on repeat for me since it was dropped. This song is Taylor’s lyricism at its best with a story and imagery which the lyrics perfectly convey without being overly descriptive.

This is a song which is likely to please those who prefer her more poetic songs with it meeting the ‘Evermore’ level writing which such fans love (including me).

1. Father Figure

Father Figure is a unique song for Taylor’s discography and marks my favourite song on ‘The Life of a Showgirl’.

This song does not disappoint on any front. In my opinion, it is both lyrically and sonically the strongest on the album.

The unique sentiment and story of the song is perfectly matched by the imagery/production throughout which is why it found a spot on the top of my Spotify Wrapped last year.

Final Thoughts

That wraps up my ranking of the tracks of ‘The Life of a Showgirl’. My ranking is likely to change overtime but as it stands right now, the additional songs from ‘The Encore’ besides ‘Babylon’ are all in the bottom half of my ranking.

I think the additional songs are a welcome addition as I will never complain about extra music from an artist and I am actually quite bored of a lot of the criticism the additional songs have received as I feel like it is easy to pick apart lyrics from most artists (especially out of context).

The fact that it is quite literally newsworthy that a song on the album isn’t to everyone’s liking or has lyrics people feel are a bit sloppy is somewhat of a testament to the quality of the album as for just about any album, a few duds are likely to be present.

Let me know in the comments below what your ranking of ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ tracks is and whether or not you are a fan of the additional tracks which were added in ‘The Encore’.