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Taylor Swift Brings the Bangers on ‘Life of a Showgirl,’ But Don’t Call It ‘1989, Pt. 2’: Critic’s Take

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“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.

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Kendrick Lamar, Clipse & Doechii Show Rap Can Shine in Every Style With 2026 Grammy Noms

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On Friday (Nov. 7), the Recording Academy unveiled the nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards, and as always, the hip-hop world has plenty to celebrate and debate. With everyone on pins and needles, this year’s lineup delivers no shortage of storylines, surprises and standout performances from rap’s elite.

For the second consecutive year, Kendrick Lamar leads all contenders with a staggering nine nominations, courtesy of his late-2024 masterclass, GNX. After last year’s dominant run, capped by him ultimately claiming song and record of the year for “Not Like Us” at the Grammys in February, Lamar is looking to go back-to-back, with “Luther” also recognized in both categories. Joining him in the Big Four categories are fellow rap titans Tyler, The Creator and the Clipse, both of whom are nominated for album of the year. Tyler’s Chromokopia flexed his creative range and unfiltered candor, while Clipse’s unapologetic return to their trademark druglord narratives with Let God Sort Em Out sparked a wave of critical acclaim and Grammy contention.

The women of hip-hop also showed out in this year’s nominations, further proving the genre’s depth. Doechii, Cardi B, and GloRilla each earned major recognition, underscoring why rap remains in a healthy, evolving place despite outside noise. Doechii, who claimed best rap album last year, scored six more nominations on the strength of her viral smash “Anxiety” and the enduring impact of Alligator Bites Never Heal. Likewise, GloRilla’s 2024 comeback has catapulted her back to the top of the food chain, marking a powerful redemption run.

See what else Billboard has to say about this year’s hip-hop nominees below.

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From The Weeknd to Gracie Abrams, Which Snubbed Artist Should’ve Gotten a 2026 Grammy Nod? Vote!

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Numerous artists are currently flying high after scoring 2026 Grammy nominations on Friday (Nov. 7) –but there are also several major contenders who didn’t get quite as lucky.

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Kendrick Lamar

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Despite garnering major award buzz this past year, stars such as The Weeknd, Gracie Abrams and Alex Warren didn’t get recognized in certain categories, which were unveiled Friday morning in a livestream on the Grammy website. The absence of the artist born Abel Tesfaye from the nominations list was particularly noticeable, as he had just reconciled with the academy last year and dropped Billboard 200-topping album Hurry Up Tomorrow in February. But while Kendrick Lamar, Sabrina Carpenter and Bad Bunny got honors in the album of the year category, The Weeknd did not.

Both Abrams and Warren were also excluded from the major categories, with neither “That’s So True” nor “Ordinary” getting song or record of the year consideration, even though those were two of the biggest Billboard Hot 100-charting tracks of the year. Warren at least scored a nod for best new artist, but that category was also missing several big names, including Zach Top, Megan Moroney, Ella Langley and Ravyn Lenae.

The producer of the year, non classical category will turn heads for the second year in a row as well, as Jack Antonoff — who was notably excluded from the list in 2025 — once again did not make the cut. That comes in spite of his work on two album of theyear contenders, Lamar’s GNX and Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend, both of which spent time at No. 1 on the U.S. albums chart. Instead, Dan Auerbach, Cirkut, Dijon, Blake Mills and Sounwave will fight it out for the prize.

But while the academy’s word is final, it’s your turn to share how you feel about the outcome of the initial voting process this year. Have any strong feelings on which snubbed artist was the most deserving of recognition? We want to know.

Tell us who you think should have been nominated in a category they were shut out of by voting in the poll below.

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Pete Davidson Surprises on ‘SNL,’ Jokes About Ferry Boat He Bought With Colin Jost: Watch

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Pete Davidson returned to Saturday Night Live for a surprise appearance on Nov. 8.

The comedian and actor, who was an SNL cast member from 2014 to 2022, crashed the “Weekend Update” segment to poke fun at a recent article about a decommissioned Staten Island ferry he purchased with Colin Jost in 2022. The two had planned to transform the vessel into an upscale entertainment venue.

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The New York Times recently ran an article calling the Staten Island Ferry that I purchased with Pete Davidson a ‘money-losing fiasco.’ With more on this, is Pete Davidson,” Jost said in introducing The King of Staten Island star.

“Colin, you’re looking great as ever. [Michael] Che, starting to crack,” Davidson joked, mentioning his recent appearance at the 2025 Riyadh Comedy Festival and that he’s expecting his first child.

“So yeah, in case you’re wondering why I had to do a show in Saudi Arabia, we’re losing millions on this ferry,” he continued. “I assume that’s what the article says. I can’t spend $5 on a paywall when I got a kid on the way.”

Davidson and Jost then continued trading jokes about the 2,109-ton ferry, which they bought at a New York auction for $280,100.

“We even gave the boat a new name,” Davidson said. “We thought the Staten Island Ferry sounded too depressing, so now it’s called the Titanic 2.” Jost added, “That’s right, and it’s actually going very well. Recently, we got paid by Nike to put an ad on it for the New York City Marathon.”

Earlier on Saturday, Davidson told People that he’d “do anything” for SNL boss Lorne Michaels, saying he’d return to the show if asked.

“I had a great time hosting last time, and anytime you get that call, it’s an honor and a privilege,” the eight-season SNL vet said. “It’s always relevant, it’s a hot show. People look forward to it, and the cast is great.”

Saturday’s episode was hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser, with singer-songwriter Sombr serving as the musical guest.

Watch SNL’s “Weekend Update” segment with Davidson below, and find all the ways to stream the full episode here.

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