The facts
Swift released a 16-track edition of “The Life of a Showgirl” that adds four songs to last year’s 12-track album. The new tracks are “Patient Zero,” “Cleveland!,” “Pink Clouding” and “Babylon,” according to Variety and the Apple Music listing.
Swift said she went to Sweden with collaborators Max Martin and Shellback after the original album’s first week, and the three wrote more songs there. She had previously said she was happy with the original 12-song configuration.
Our take
Last year’s tracklist was “exact,” right up until Swift went back into the studio and came out with four more songs. The curtain call got a sequel, and the sequel brought its own new material instead of rummaging through the outtake drawer.
She says these are freshly written songs, not leftovers. Fair. But “Encore” now adds four new tracks to the album, after which the showgirl gets to take another bow. At this rate, the show is refusing to get the fuck offstage.
