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Draft:Cleveland!

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  • Comment: Background and release section needs inline citations. Beta Beta Beta - talk 20:08, 27 September 2026 (UTC)


"Cleveland!"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore
ReleasedSeptember 25, 2026 (2026-09-25)
Genre
Length3:26
LabelRepublic
Songwriters
Producers
  • Taylor Swift
  • Max Martin
  • Shellback

"Cleveland" (stylized as Cleveland!) is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, from The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore (2026), the deluxe edition of her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl (2025). Swift wrote and produced the track with Max Martin and Shellback. "Cleveland!" was released on September 25, 2026, by Republic Records, along with the deluxe album.

The song is a lighthearted tribute to Swift's husband, the American football player Travis Kelce, and his hometown Cleveland Heights, a suburb of Cleveland. In the lyrics, Swift addresses the negative remarks she has received about her appearance, relationships, and personality, contrasting them with Kelce's love. Musically, "Cleveland!" is a theatrical pop and rock song, supported by a jaunty piano line, snare drums, jingle bells, and xylophone.

Upon release, "Cleveland!" received mixed reviews from music critics; some praised its audacious and frivolous quality while others considered it a subpar track in Swift's discography. In honor of the song, Destination Cleveland added exclamation marks to its signs across the city.

Background and release

[edit]

American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift released her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, on October 3, 2025. Written and produced by Swift, Max Martin, and Shellback,[1][2] the album's music, lyrics and visuals reflect Swift's her triumphant state of mind amidst the success of the Eras Tour and her relationship with her then-boyfriend, American football player Travis Kelce.[3][4] The Life of a Showgirl is inspired by Swift's experiences with fame and entertainership,[5] incorporating glamorous showgirl-related visual aesthetics.[6] Swift and Kelce married on July 3, 2026.[7]

On September 23, Swift announced the album's deluxe edition, The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore, containing four additional tracks as disc-two, which includes "Cleveland!".[8][9] She said that she wrote these additional songs with Martin and Shellback in their studio when she took a trip to Sweden to celebrate the album's record-breaking success.[10] In honor of the song, Destination Cleveland added exclamation points to its script signs across Cleveland at Euclid Beach Park, Edgewater Park, Tremont, North Coast Harbor and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.[11] On their podcast New Heights, Kelce and his brother Jason expressed their admiration for the song; Travis Kelce thanked Swift for making the song and giving the city "a little more life".[12]

Composition

[edit]

"Cleveland!" is a lively pop song with a theatrical production driven by a jaunty piano line, "snappy" marching quarter-note snare drums, "Christmassy" bells, and xylophone.[13][14][15] Therefore, it has also been described as a piano rock song.[16] The song references all types of criticism and internet trolling Swift has received over the years, including remarks about appearance, personality, dancing, dressing, and romantic life, contrasting those with Kelce's love and acceptance of who she is.[17][18] The song is a straightforward declaration of love for Kelce,[19] as well as his hometown Cleveland Heights, a suburb of Cleveland.[7] The bridge incorporates a spoken-word monologue, announcing that Kelce is her "the one".[20]

Reception

[edit]

Upon release, the song faced ridicule online.[21] Critics commented on "Cleveland!" in their reviews of The Encore. Chris Willman of Variety wrote that Swift is a "love-besotted goofball" in the song, which he considered a 1980s synthpop-inspired fusion of her audacious, celebratory songs like "Me!" (2019), "So High School" (2024), and "Wood" (2026).[20] He also compared Swift in 2026 to Paul McCartney in 1971, saying "Cleveland!" is Swift's "Silly Love Songs" (1976), a song McCartney wrote with his wife Linda in response to criticism towards his songs about "matrimony and domestic bliss".[22] Will Hodgkinson of The Sunday Times and Melissa Ruggieri of USA Today both thought the song is the "catchiest" amongst the four additional songs, showcasing the best aspect of Swift's relatable writing about the intersection of self-awareness and romantic love. Ruggieri praised the music's "jangly gallop" in the verses and the chorus for evoking 1980s television themes.[19][23] Aisling Murphy of The Globe and Mail harkened the song to "a postcard from a honeymoon", complimenting its liked unapologetic lyrics and "schmaltzy" bridge.[24]

Craig Jenkins of Vulture described "Cleveland!" as a honest and realistic albeit odd song about "the power couple's media ever-presence, which draws as much excited attention as eye-rolling".[16] Michael Savio of Slant claimed "Cleveland!" is the "most egregious blunder" on the deluxe, taking issue with its "tepid" self-deprecation and Swift's talk-singing cadence in the verses. He dmissed "Cancelled!" as just "another screed against her critics" in line with other The Life of a Showgirl tracks "Cancelled!" and "Actually Romantic".[14] Poppie Platt of The Daily Telegraph felt underwhelmed by the song's lyrics, dubbing the Reputation (2017) tracks "King of My Heart", "Call It What You Want" and "New Year's Day" as better love songs than "Cleveland!".[18] Callie Ahgrim of Business Insider claimed that "Cleveland" will go down as one of Swift's worst songs; Ahlgrim said that while she is a fan of Swift confronting her critics, "Cleveland!" does that with neither the finesse nor the appeal of "Mean" (2011), "Shake It Off" and "Blank Space" (2014).[25]

The Independent writer Roisin O'Connor negatively compared it to "The Last Great American Dynasty" (2020), commenting that Swift has written better songs about tackling criticism than "Cleveland!"[26] Exclaim!'s Alex Hudson compared the song's music to Los Campesinos! and dubbed the lyrics "vapidly juvenile".[27] Laura Snapes of The Guardian said the song was "dogshit" "sung with such oozing self-satisfaction it’s like being repeatedly poked and asked if it hurts", and described the song as "a cut-and-shut of two of her worst songs ever", "Me!" and "Honey".[28] "Cleveland!" charted at No. 3 on the UK singles chart.[29]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Anon. (2025). The Life of a Showgirl (Vinyl liner notes). Taylor Swift. Republic Records. 602478225338.
  2. ↑ Dailey, Hannah (August 13, 2025). "Taylor Swift Reveals Life of a Showgirl Release Date, Album Cover & Track List Featuring Sabrina Carpenter". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 14, 2025. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  3. ↑ Jenkins, Craig (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift Chooses Chaos". Vulture. Archived from the original on October 3, 2025. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  4. ↑ Power, Ed. "Five stars for Taylor Swift's Life of a Showgirl: Travis Kelce at the heart; as is disdain for fellow star". The Irish Times. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
  5. ↑ Weigert, Franziska. "Musikstück der Woche: Taylor Swift, The Life of a Showgirl (2025)" (in German). University of Regensburg. Archived from the original on August 6, 2026. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  6. ↑ Finder, Moriel Mizrahi; Gonzales, Erica (August 21, 2025). "Everything to Know About Taylor Swift's New Album, The Life of a Showgirl". Elle. Archived from the original on August 24, 2025. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  7. 1 2 Tolentino, Daysia (September 30, 2026). "Travis Kelce reacts to Taylor Swift's song 'Cleveland!' amid mixed reviews". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
  8. ↑ Brown, Lily; Longmire, Becca (September 25, 2026). "Taylor Swift Sings About Escaping a Toxic Relationship as She Drops New Single "Patient Zero"". People. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
  9. ↑ Pilley, Max (September 25, 2026). "Listen to Taylor Swift's Bittersweet New Single "Patient Zero" – Along With Three More Encore Tracks". NME. Archived from the original on September 25, 2026. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Taylor Swift to Release Expanded Version of The Life of a Showgirl With Four New Songs". The Irish Times. September 23, 2026. Archived from the original on September 24, 2026. Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Cleveland! signs pop up after Taylor Swift's song release". Yahoo Entertainment. September 27, 2026. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
  12. ↑ West, Bryan. "Travis, Jason Kelce react to Taylor Swift's 'Cleveland!'". USA TODAY. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
  13. ↑ Abram, Malcolm (September 25, 2026). "Taylor Swift wrote a whole song called 'Cleveland!' and Travis Kelce is the reason". Cleveland.com. Retrieved September 26, 2026.
  14. 1 2 Savio, Michael (September 26, 2026). "Review: Taylor Swift 'The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore'". Slant Magazine. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
  15. ↑ Hudson, Alex (September 25, 2026). "The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore Makes Me Wonder If I Ever Liked Taylor Swift in the First Place". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on September 25, 2026. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
  16. 1 2 Jenkins, Craig (September 25, 2026). "Taylor Swift Needs to Let the Showgirl Era Go". Vulture. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
  17. ↑ Meyer, Anna (September 25, 2026). "Taylor Swift's new 'Cleveland!' song includes references to Travis Kelce and Cleveland Heights". WKYC.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. 1 2 Platt, Poppie (September 25, 2026). "I'm a Swiftie and even I think these new songs are terrible". The Telegraph. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
  19. 1 2 Ruggieri, Melissa (September 25, 2026). "Taylor Swift adds 4 'Encore' songs. Here's why they deserve an ovation". USA Today. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
  20. 1 2 Willman, Chris (September 25, 2026). "Taylor Swift Still Has Unfinished Business With Her Exes — Thank God! — While Also Mooning Over Her Groom in 'The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore': New Tracks Review". Variety. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
  21. ↑ Tolentino, Daysia (September 30, 2026). "Travis Kelce reacts to Taylor Swift's song 'Cleveland!' amid mixed reviews". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
  22. ↑ Willman, Chris (October 1, 2026). "There Is Precedent for Taylor Swift's 'Cleveland!' Making the World Go Crazy: Paul McCartney's 'Silly Love Songs' Era". Variety. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
  23. ↑ Power, Ed (September 25, 2026). "Taylor Swift's Showgirl Encore: Three Superb New Songs and a Colin Farrell Cameo". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on September 25, 2026. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
  24. ↑ Murphy, Aisling (September 25, 2026). "The Life of a Showgirl Was Taylor Swift's Worst Album. Its Encore Is a Whole Lot Sharper". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on September 25, 2026. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
  25. ↑ Ahlgrim, Callie (September 25, 2026). "Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl Deluxe Album Has 4 New Songs. They Range from Inspired to Indefensible". Business Insider. Archived from the original on September 25, 2026. Retrieved September 28, 2026.
  26. ↑ O'Connor, Roisin (September 25, 2026). "Taylor Swift Review, The Life of a Showgirl Encore – One Diamond and Three Duds". The Independent. Archived from the original on September 25, 2026. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
  27. ↑ Hudson, Alex (September 25, 2026). "The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore Makes Me Wonder If I Ever Liked Taylor Swift in the First Place". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on September 25, 2026. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
  28. ↑ Snapes, Laura (September 25, 2026). "Taylor Swift: The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore review – flashes of humanity and bafflingly vindictive love songs". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
  29. ↑ "Taylor Swift does chart double with The Life Of A Showgirl expanded edition and Patient Zero". www.musicweek.com. Retrieved October 3, 2026.
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