The Canopy Club hosted The Party of a Showgirl in honor of Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” on Friday.
The event started at 8 p.m. with Swift fans from the University and surrounding areas lining up outside The Canopy Club to celebrate the album. From there, the club blasted Swift’s new singles like “Father Figure,” alongside older tracks like “…Ready for It?” and “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” featuring Zayn Malik.
Before the Oct. 3 release, Swift’s album made records as the most pre-saved in Spotify’s history. Since its release, “The Life of a Showgirl” has had the largest sales week from an album since Luminate, a data company tracking entertainment consumption, started in 1991. The record now has nearly half a billion streams in the U.S.
One attendee of the party was Quinn Stearns, a Champaign-Urbana resident who recently finished attending a work conference and wanted to celebrate the new release. Despite listening to the entire album, Stearns says that her favorite song from the album changes frequently.
“It changes every 30 minutes,” Stearns said. “But ‘Father Figure’ has been stuck in my head all day, and I had to avoid singing it at work because it’s not work appropriate.”
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
“Father Figure” wasn’t the only song that Stearns liked from the album. She also resonated with “Eldest Daughter” as one herself and says she “claimed it before I heard it.”
Not all of the feedback on Swift’s album has been positive — it’s received mixed reactions from fans and critics alike. Swift recently responded to the criticism on Apple Music’s “The Zane Lowe Show,” saying that she “welcomes the chaos” of the album’s release since it’s a “rule of show business.”
Dylan Taylor, a C-U resident who went to the album party with his girlfriend, says he’s not sure of his stance, but he thinks some of the album’s criticism holds some truth to it.
“I’m undecided,” Taylor said. “But I’ve seen some of the accusations of stealing music and riffs, but some of them seem like a stretch and others have merit.”
Not everyone at the event liked the recent criticism of Swift’s album. Stearns was outraged over the controversy of one of Swift’s songs, “Opalite” – which is alleged to have referenced the relationship between her fiancé, Travis Kelce, and his ex, Kayla Nicole.
“It’s freaking crazy,” Stearns said. “This woman has gone to bed with many marginalized communities, and yes, everyone can do better, but that’s ridiculous. And sue her for having fun — she’s happy and it’s a fun album.”
Stearns wasn’t the only person who didn’t like the response “Life of a Showgirl” got. Laura Switzer, an Indiana resident who went to the event to celebrate her 23rd birthday, said “haters gonna hate” when asked about the critics’ responses.
Alongside Switzer was her friend, Abby Wittenmyer, an Indiana resident who had a different opinion on the album’s controversy. Wittenmyer expressed her dislike of some of the songs and said that Swift should re-evaluate them.
“I think she needs to go back to the drawing board on a couple of songs,” Wittenmyer said. “CANCELLED!” sounds like a (Make America Great Again) anthem, relating to the allegation she’s been dealing with. It’s not in her favor right now and is so f—ked up.”
Despite her criticism of Swift’s album, Wittenmyer states her response is “a conduit for (Swift’s) art, not a takedown of (her) character.”
