To celebrate the upcoming release of Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl, Spotify is inviting fans to step into a dazzling three-day immersive activation in New York City.

After listening to the most controversial tracks − “Wood,” “CANCELLED!” and “Actually Romantic” − on Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Life of a Showgirl," I almost couldn’t bear continuing.

I’ve never been a self-proclaimed “Swiftie,” but I grew up watching her career take off with classics like “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story,” attended the Eras tour with my mom in 2022, and appreciated the intricate storytelling on her COVID-era albums, “folklore” and “evermore,” which some fans argue are her best work to date. It’s hard to imagine that the same artist who crafted such beautiful melodies and narratives (“I think your house is haunted / Your dad is always mad and that must be why,” she sings in “seven”) could write something as derivative as “Did you girlboss too close to the sun?” She’s already proven to be an amazing songwriter, even before her 2020 albums, so why regurgitate years-old internet slang?

And despite my desire to erase "Wood" from my memory forever, criticism of the album has been inescapable on my social media feed.

Many pointed to Kelce as the root problem. “He should have been a better muse,” one critic posted on X, with others arguing her best music was inspired by her six-year relationship with Joe Alywn. Others joked, perhaps uncreatively, that she may be the first case of “secondhand CTE.”

Headlines from The New Yorker and Slate called Swift "stuck” and dubbed the album a “masterpiece of cringe.”

But music criticism aside, some fans feel betrayed by the album — and not just by the lyrics. To them, it's personal.

Why?

Swift cultivates a close relationship with her fans, but "stan culture" can go too far and develop into parasocial relationships, which are the "illusion of friendship" with a public persona. When Swift acts in a way that is seemingly out of character, audiences feel cheated.

Why some fans feel let down

Kaeli Dance, a 26-year-old content creator, says some fans are "definietly dissapointed." "But they would have been disappointed regardless of how good each song is just because it is unfamiliar," she told USA TODAY in the early hours of the album’s release on Oct. 3.

“She has the most loyal fans and the most loyal haters,” one fan posted to Instagram, describing how each album was hated at first, but eventually admired.

Swift isn’t the first artist to face resistance to change. Arctic Monkeys, who had a flawless run of six Number 1 albums in the U.K. starting with their 2006 debut, also get slack for changing their sound between each album. Even Olivia Rodrigo received backlash when she turned from soft ballads on “SOUR” (except for “brutal”) to angsty, explicit pop rock on “GUTS.” But for both artists, their later albums have come to be some of their most renowned.

This disappointment can stem from parasocial relationships. Swift's songs have narrated many of their milestones, heartbreaks and victories, so people feel like they know her personally, Dance says.

After announcing her engagement, many fans took to social media to celebrate their "close personal friend, Taylor Swift." "I am so glad to be engaged at the same time as Taylor," one fan posted.

"Fans are very shocked when Taylor says anything that contradicts the image of her they have built up in their heads," says Dance. "At this point, the idea of Taylor Swift looms much larger than the actual person and they believe they understand her because of their devotion to her music. When in reality, I don’t think many people know her deeply at all."

Contributing: Nicole Fallert

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Some Taylor Swift fans are hating on 'The Life of a Showgirl.' Why?

Reporting by Alyssa Goldberg, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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