Some critics praised the orchestral production and storytelling lyrics of "Elizabeth Taylor", while several others deemed the sound unoriginal and the lyrics overwritten. The track peaked at number three on the Billboard Global 200 and on the charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the US.
Background and release
The American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift created her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, to reflect on her triumphant state of mind amidst the success of the Eras Tour and her relationship with the football player Travis Kelce in 2024.[1] She recorded the album with the producers Max Martin and Shellback in Sweden during May–August 2024, in between the European stops of the Eras Tour.[2] Swift announced the album during the August 13, 2025, episode of Travis and Jason Kelce's podcast New Heights; "Elizabeth Taylor" was revealed as the second track.[1] The album was released on October 3, 2025, via Republic Records.[3]
Upon the release of The Life of a Showgirl, "Elizabeth Taylor" peaked at number three on the Billboard Global 200[4] and on the charts in Australia,[5] Canada,[6] Ireland,[7] New Zealand,[8] Portugal,[9] Sweden,[10] Switzerland,[11] and the UK.[12] It also peaked at number four in Denmark,[13] Germany,[14] Norway,[15] the Philippines,[16] and Singapore.[17] In the US, all 12 songs from The Life of a Showgirl debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, occupying the top spots; "Elizabeth Taylor" debuted and peaked at number three.[18][19]
"Elizabeth Taylor" is titled after the late British-American actress Elizabeth Taylor, whom Swift described as "one of the most ultimate, quintessential showgirls".[30][31] Previously, Swift had been influenced by Taylor: she channelled her style in the video for "Wildest Dreams" (2015), and referenced her in "...Ready for It?" (2017), in which she compared her romance to that of Taylor and the Welsh actor Richard Burton.[32][33] "Elizabeth Taylor" was the first song that Swift wrote for The Life of a Showgirl. According to Swift, she had a "sudden burst of inspiration" and recorded a draft demo of her singing the refrain on piano, using her smartphone. She sent the demo to Martin and Shellback. The three completed the album's final version.[34][20] In an interview with Pandora, Swift said that she decided to write a song inspired by Taylor after watching an online video in which Taylor's son said that if he were to choose a person to compare his mother with in terms of popularity and "chaos", it would be Swift.[35]
The lyrics of "Elizabeth Taylor" detail how fame and public perception affect personal relationships.[33][23][36] They include multiple references to the late actress; the verses mention "Plaza Athénée"—either the New York luxury hotel, where Taylor had a duplex penthouse, or the Paris luxury hotel, where Taylor and Burton lived for six months; and the Italian resort town Portofino—where Burton proposed to Taylor.[30][23][36][27] The refrain's line, "I cry my eyes violet", references the public perception that Taylor's eyes were a shade of violet.[23][36] Later, she references Taylor's branded fragrance White Diamonds: "All my white diamonds and lovers are forever."[33][37][35]
In the song, Swift draws parallels between her life and Taylor's as two famous women receiving heavy media gossip for their tumultuous love lives.[23] She expresses anxiety and self-doubt about her status ("Oftentimes it doesn't feel so glamorous to be me"; "You're only as hot as your last hit, baby").[23][38] Although she has always been "number one", she was convinced that most men could not deal with her enormous success, until she finds the one.[39] Towards the end, she hopes that this romance will last forever, but concludes that even if it does not, she will still end up as a wealthy and glamorous woman.[40]
Critical reception
Several reviews praised the production of "Elizabeth Taylor". Alexis Petridis of The Guardian dubbed the track as the only one on the album with a "killer chorus".[41]Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph selected it as one of the best songs of The Life of a Showgirl, highlighting it as the album's only ballad with an "edge of tension"—the "longing dreamy verses" and the explosive choruses.[21] Similarly, Consequence's Wren Graves opined that the production had an "old-school", earworm quality thanks to the "dramatic keys and grooving bass line".[42]
Other critics complimented the lyrics and songwriting. O'Connor lauded Swift's storytelling lyrics and the "magnificent" soundscape.[27]The New Yorker'sAmanda Petrusich wrote that "Elizabeth Taylor" was one of the album's "best and heaviest tracks", opining that the lyrics portrayed both power and insecurity, which served as the central thesis for the album.[43] In a similar vein, Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone considered "Elizabeth Taylor" the emotional centerpiece of The Life of a Showgirl, for depicting a yearning for love and a sense of independence at the same time,[23] and Rachel Leong of Atwood Magazine opined that it had the best songwriting on the album.[44]
There were less complimentary reviews. Chris Willman of Variety opined that the song is the album's "closest flirtation" with a "truly big" and "overwhelming" sound, but he deemed it as the least interesting track due to its "Reputation-but-not-as-good" sound.[45] Josh Mercado of ABS-CBN News criticized the sound as "rushed, unseasoned and did not live up to the album's title".[46] Criticizing the lyrics, India Block of the Evening Standard wrote that it was "a bit tone deaf" for Swift to complain about a lack of glamour given her wealth,[47] while Paste's Ellen Johnson picked it as one of the album's worst tracks, saying that it "takes us for an dizzying ride on the diphthong express".[48]Stereogum's Tom Breihan opined that some lyrics were overwritten, like the line, "Be my NY when Hollywood hates me."[49]
↑"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 41. týden 2025 in the date selector. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
↑"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 41. týden 2025 in the date selector. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
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