Entertainment
Taylor Swift Brings the Bangers on ‘Life of a Showgirl,’ But Don’t Call It ‘1989, Pt. 2’: Critic’s Take
“Bangers.” That’s the word Taylor Swift used to describe all 12 songs on her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, and the world knew what that meant. Swift’s last album, 2024’s The Tortured Poets Department, may have scored the superstar’s biggest opening-week debut and ruled the charts for months on end, but the sprawling, relatively mournful project was a departure from the immaculately constructed pop anthems that had defined her career (give or take a Folk-more) for a decade.
When Swift announced that its follow-up was created in Sweden during the Eras Tour with pop geniuses Max Martin and Shellback — who helped create some of Swift’s most enduring pop smashes from the mid-2010s, and who hadn’t worked with her in eight years — the expectation of wall-to-wall bangers that Swift set seemed attainable, given their skills and shared history. The timing for a return to anthemic pop felt right, too: with Swift recently engaged to NFL star Travis Kelce and the Eras tour conquering the world, a full-length celebration seemed to be in order.
And while The Life of a Showgirl is composed of classically designed pop tracks, with standard verse-chorus arrangements and rarely exceeding four minutes in run time, Swift’s eagerly anticipated Return to Bangers is not, say, 1989 Pt. II. Instead of coming back with party tracks, Swift has synthesized the commitment to pristine hooks that she shares with Martin and Shellback, an increasingly idiosyncratic lyrical slant, and the mid-thirties perspective of her past few albums. The result is a collection of songs that are immediately engrossing and among the most affecting of Swift’s career, while also focusing on topics like Hamlet and suburban bliss. Call it Bangers for Adults.
For the countless fans who have grown up alongside Swift, The Life of a Showgirl offers a settled, grown-up phase of the love stories that she’s been telling for decades — although the album doesn’t rely on clichés, or go heavy on the cheese. Swift makes no bones about the fact that her happy ending has come after a lot of regrets, missed opportunities and heartache, and that, while she’s achieved previously unknown heights as a global pop superstar, her time in the spotlight has not been perfect. Yet she uses The Life of a Showgirl to showcase the different sides of her personality, perhaps more wholly than any previous album.
Pissed-off songs like “Actually Romantic” and “Father Figure” detonate like Internet grenades, “Wood” and “Wi$h Li$t” find Swift at her most playful, and “Honey” and “Ruin the Friendship” slice through the noise with the emotional songwriting of an expert. Not surprisingly, Martin and Shellback once again serve as welcome foils, packing a ton of instrumentation into each production and streamlining the final product into a finely crafted mix. And she does indeed have a proper top 40 banger at the top: “The Fate of Ophelia” is a stick of dynamite opening the album, and sounds like it will join her collection of smashes in no time.
The limit does not exist to how high Swift can keep soaring — anytime her downfall (or even a notable downturn) has been predicted, she climbs higher and winks at her naysayers. By pivoting back to pop anthems with humor, empathy, a little fury and a lot of wisdom, Swift ensures that ascent will continue. The Life of a Showgirl is one of the most grounded, well-rounded projects of Swift’s career — a surprise, in the context of the hype preceding it. That doesn’t make it any less successful.
Television this year is about to get turned up a few notches, as Euphoria is slated to return with season three on April 12 following a four-year hiatus. HBO released a second trailer for the Zendaya-starring show on Monday (March 30).
The high-school days seem to be long in the rearview mirror, as season three feels more like a set of Grand Theft Auto campaign missions and takes place about five years post graduation.
The clip kicks off with Rue (Zendaya) being interrogated by authorities about a recent trip to Mexico. The scene pivots to her involvement with a Mexican drug lord, which finds Rue in a tricky predicament of having to swallow what appears to be a ball of drugs and act as a mule.
Nate (Jacob Elordi) and Cassie’s (Sydney Sweeney) toxic relationship ended with wedding bells, as the trailer shows the couple getting married, which is sure to come with plenty of drama. Maddie (Alexa Demie) also hops behind the camera to direct some adult content photo shoots for Cassie, who has rekindled their friendship.
Lexi (Maude Apatow) looks to have landed her dream job working on the set of a TV show. Euphoria also welcomes the returns of the late Eric Dane (who portrays Cal Jacobs), Colman Domingo (Ali), Dominic Fike (Elliot), Hunter Schafer (Jules) and Chloe Cherry (Faye).
“Mom, I really need to come home,” a teary-eyed Rue pleads with her mother. The superstar actress is also seen in the trailer being pulled over by police during a traffic stop, which appears to lead to the intense interrogation.
There’s also some new blood injected into season three, which will find appearances from Sharon Stone, former NFL star Marshawn Lynch, Rosalía, Danielle Deadwyler, Trisha Paytas, Natasha Lyonne and Eli Roth.
Season two aired in 2022, which came three years after a dynamic opening season in 2019.
Watch the Euphoria trailer above. Season three returns on April 12 on HBO, with the eight-episode season set to wrap on May 31.
The third and final day of the 2026 Tecate Pa’l Norte festival on Sunday (March 29) brought the triumphant return of The Killers to Monterrey, Mexico — with plenty of music and Spanish dialogues from lead singer Brandon Flowers — as well as the comeback of Zoé after an eight-year absence, and the energy of singer-songwriter Halsey, who celebrated the Mexican rock trio The Warning as “hometown heroes.”
Panteón Rococó added a festive touch to close out the marathon day with its brand of ska, and Djo took the audience on a musical journey filled with synthesizers and melodic guitars, creating an intimate moment full of nostalgia and joy. Molotov stood out with their punk rock and irreverent lyrics, while the veteran band Los Cardenales de Nuevo León reaffirmed their status as legends of regional Mexican music.
The final day of activities at what is considered the largest music festival in northern Mexico also delivered thrilling moments with performances by Siddartha, Omar Courtz, Santos Bravos, Rusowsky, Yami Safdie, Moenia, Love of Lesbian, Marky Ramone and Daniela Spalla. Among the surprises the festival offered was a performance by the female duo Los Horóscopos de Durango, as well as a ‘90s party brought to life by bands such as OV7, Magneto and JNS.
In total, Tecate Pa’l Norte 2026 brought together approximately 300,000 people over its three days, according to estimates from the organizers based on figures recorded in recent years. In its 14th edition, the acclaimed festival — founded by Apodaca Group and in recent years associated with promoter Ocesa — was held from March 27 to March 29 at Parque Fundidora in this city bordering the United States.
Below, read about five of our favorite moments from Day 3 of the festival. (Click for summaries of Day 1 and Day 2.)
Entertainment
‘Saturday Night Live UK’: Where to Watch the British Version of the Sketch Comedy Show Online for Free
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“Live from London, it’s Saturday Night!” After more than 50 seasons of TV, Saturday Night Live expands outside of the United States to England with Saturday Night Live UK. The new sketch comedy show has tapped Fifty Shades of Grey actor Jamie Dornan to host, while English rock band Wolf Alice is set to perform as musical guest.
Although SNL UK broadcasts live on Saturday, March 28 at 10 p.m. GMT on British broadcaster Sky UK, it drops in the United States the following day on Sunday, March 29 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Peacock.
Peacock
Want to watch SNL UK online for free? Your easiest bet is to sign up a 30-day free trial to Walmart+, which features access to Peacock as one of its member’s perks, to stream the sketch comedy show online without needing a pay for a subscription service. Learn more about Walmart+ here.
Alternatively, you can subscribe to Peacock directly, which is the official NBCUniversal streamer, starting at $10.99 per month. Peacock gives you access to NBC, Bravo, USA Network, CNBC, NBC Sports and Peacock Originals, like SNL UK.
Meanwhile, Jamie Dornan has taken a few years away from starring on the big screen with his last appearance in A Haunting in Venice in 2023. However, he’s due to star in Michael Cera’s feature film directorial debut Love Is Not the Answer later in 2026 or 2027.
As for Wolf Alice, the band is coming off the release of their album The Clearing in August 2025, while they are set to tour the world starting at the Pepsi Center in Mexico City, Mexico on Wednesday, May 20.
SNL UK features a cast of British comedy actors and comedians, including:
- Hammed Animashaun
- Ayoade Bamgboye
- Larry Dean
- Celeste Dring
- George Fouracres
- Ania Magliano
- Annabel Marlow
- Al Nash
- Jack Shep
- Emma Sidi
- Paddy Young
In the meantime, watch a promo reel for this weekend’s episode below:
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