"I mean where’s the lie???": Fans react as Pitchfork rates Taylor Swift's Life of a Showgirl among worst of 2025 with "more variants" than COVID

American online music magazine Pitchfork included Taylor Swift's 2025 album The Life of a Showgirl in its year-end feature, “101 Things That Happened in 2025, Ranked on the Pitchfork Scale,” published in December 2025. The entry placed Swift’s album among the site’s least-favored cultural moments of the year and mocked its extensive rollout, joking that it had “more variants” than COVID.

The Pitchfork entry did not focus on the album’s chart performance, instead zeroing in on what it framed as an excessive rollout strategy that became emblematic of pop marketing in 2025.

The phrasing quickly circulated online, drawing strong reactions from fans who questioned whether the criticism was unfair or simply blunt commentary on modern pop marketing. Some commentators seemed to agree with Pitchfork's ranking of the album, asking "where's the lie?"

Others did not seem to agree with the review, with some accusing Pitchfork of "ragebaiting."

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More about Taylor Swift's multi-variant album rollout

Much of the Pitchfork critique centered on the sheer number of versions released for The Life of a Showgirl, a strategy detailed extensively by Variety in a report published on August 25, 2025, and updated on October 11, 2025.

Taylor Swift’s album rollout included at least 11 different CD editions, eight vinyl variants, one cassette, and five distinct digital download editions, in addition to the standard version. Many of these variants were available only for short windows, ranging from a few hours to a single day, seemingly often coinciding with Billboard chart tracking deadlines.

Fans pose with Taylor Swift's new album 'The Life of a Showgirl' during the midnight release at Target on October 03, 2025 in Burbank, California. (Image via Getty)

Several digital editions included acoustic recordings, alternate mixes, or songwriting voice memos, while physical versions were differentiated by cover art, vinyl color schemes, or bundled merchandise such as cardigans or crewnecks.

According to Variety, only the standard edition and Target-exclusive versions were supposed to be permanently available, while most others were marketed as limited-edition versions. The publication also noted that Taylor Swift released multiple variants featuring identical core tracklists, with differences largely confined to packaging or bonus material.

This strategy, while popular among collectors, drew criticism from some observers who argued it artificially inflated sales metrics. Pitchfork’s “more variants” comparison appeared to reference this pattern directly, framing the rollout as emblematic of excess in modern pop marketing rather than a reflection of musical output alone.

At the same time, Variety acknowledged that many fans responded positively to the visual elements of the releases, frequently praising alternate covers and treating the editions as collectibles rather than necessities.

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The Pitchfork ranking landed amid continued commercial success for The Life of a Showgirl. According to Billboard in their December 14, 2025, report, the album earned its ninth nonconsecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart dated December 20, 2025, with 89,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. during the tracking week ending December 11, 2025.

The release remains one of Taylor Swift’s most durable chart performers, surpassed in longevity at No. 1 only by The Tortured Poets Department, 1989, and Fearless. Billboard reported that streaming accounted for roughly 50,000 units, while album sales rebounded to the top of the Top Album Sales chart. The strong numbers arrived despite widespread holiday competition, with half of the Billboard 200’s top 10 composed of seasonal releases.

Edited by Devangee