Raised in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, Lauren Spencer Smith started out posting covers online before a wider audience found her during her run on American Idol in 2020. But things really shifted in 2022, when “Fingers Crossed” took off globally after gaining traction on TikTok. The song didn’t just travel — it stuck, and quickly put her at the centre of a wave of emotionally direct pop.
She followed it up with tracks like “Flowers” and her debut album Mirror, leaning into the same kind of writing that first connected. Nothing about it feels overworked — it’s direct, personal, and comes from wherever she’s at in that moment. As things have grown, that approach hasn’t really changed.
If anything, it’s clearer now that this is the lane she’s choosing to stay in — say it as it is, don’t dress it up too much, and let people take what they need from it.
You broke through with a song that travelled globally very quickly. Has that changed how you approach releasing music now?
I think it definitely made me more aware of how quickly things can grow, but I try not to let that pressure change how I write or release music. The songs that connected the most were the ones that were the most honest and unfiltered, so I just try to stay in that space instead of overthinking what “might” work.
There’s clearly a demand right now for emotionally direct songwriting. Why do you think audiences are responding to that again?
I think people are craving honesty. Everything feels so curated and filtered now, so when someone says exactly what they’re feeling in a really raw way, it cuts through. It makes people feel less alone, and I think that’s what people really want from music.
You’ve moved from online momentum into a global career. What’s something about that transition people underestimate?
I think people underestimate how much your life changes personally, not just professionally. It’s amazing, but there’s also a lot of pressure and a lot of growing up really quickly. You’re figuring out who you are while everything around you is moving so fast, all while trying your best to stay relevant to your audience.
When a certain kind of song works at scale, it can define expectations. How do you avoid getting boxed into that?
I think it’s just about reminding myself why I started. If I only chase what’s already worked, I’m not really growing. I want to keep evolving and writing about different experiences, even if it surprises people a bit.
What’s something you’ve learned about yourself through your music that you didn’t expect people to hear?
I think I didn’t realize how deeply I feel things until I started writing and sharing my music. I always knew I was emotional, but putting it into songs and seeing how people connect to that made me understand that it’s actually a big part of who I am, not something I need to tone down.
Do you ever feel pressure to stay in a certain emotional space because that’s what people connect to most?
I don’t really feel like I’m choosing an emotion; I just write from wherever I am in my life. I feel things really deeply, and when I’m sad, I feel it strongly, so that naturally comes out in my music. But if I’m happy or in a different place, I want to be honest about that too. I’ve always just wanted to be myself in my songs. I’ve been through a lot of hard things and struggles in my life, so sometimes the so-called “sad emotion” feels like it overpowers the others within my songs overall.
What are your thoughts about the future of music in Canada?
I think it’s really exciting. There are so many unique artists coming out of Canada right now, and I feel like people are paying more attention globally. I also think what makes Canada special is how accepting it is of different cultures and backgrounds, and you can really hear that diversity in the music. It creates space for people to be themselves, which I think is why so many distinct voices are coming out of here.
The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr, Bono and Adam Clayton (from left) in 1978 Patrick Brocklebank
Class photo from Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin, 1978. Bono is in the front row, third from left; his future wife, then Ali Stewart, is to his left. The Edge is in the back row, center, in jacket and tie. Courtesy of U2
U2 in Berlin circa Achtung Baby Anton Corbijn
Anton Corbijn
Bono, the Edge, and Clayton perform at the Sphere in Las Vegas in 2023, with Bram van den Berg filling in for Mullen on drums Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
U2 shooting the “Street of Dreams” video in Mexico City in May Eloisa Sanchez
Michael Schwartz
The All-American Rejects at Soho House Courtesy of Soho House
Did ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ Need an Encore? And Where Is Taylor Swift Going Next?
Taylor Swift has always loved a story. It’s what has set her songwriting apart for 20 years now — and what she has used to maintain her almighty superstar status. Both in her work and in the presentation of it, Swift has woven strong narratives of heartbreak, success, redemption, torture, and glory where all of the pieces fall into place and it’s easy to root for her.
With her latest album, The Life of the Showgirl, Swift presented a sequined tale of triumph. Finally, finally, the girl who spent her whole life trying to put the feeling of love into words had changed the prophecy by getting engaged (and now married) to Travis Kelce. Professionally, Swift was at her peak, too. She’d just bought back her masters with the earnings from her historic Eras Tour, an all-encompassing career feat that inspired the project.
But there’s no debating that the musician’s 12th album was her most polarizing yet (yes, even more than the 2017 LP, Reputation). Some critics and fans alike didn’t appreciate the execution of the “showgirl” idea sonically or thematically. But hate it or love it, Showgirl was the perfect way for Swift to revel in her success — and set the stage for her next show-stopping move.
That’s why it’s so confusing that the expert storyteller decided the show wasn’t over when she released The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore with four bonus tracks. One of the strongest elements of the original album was that Swift delivered a tight 12, and only 12, songs. “There’s not a 13th, there’s not other ones coming,” she said last year. “Every single song is on this album for hundreds of reasons, you know, and you couldn’t take one out and it’d be the same album. You couldn’t add one. It’s just right.”
Now, there is suddenly more to the story with the addition of “Patient Zero,” “Cleveland!” “Pink Clouding,” and “Babylon.” Unfortunately, as many fans have pointed out, none of the songs add to the narrative set forth in Showgirl.
Swift said she wrote the bonus tracks last year following the success of the album. “We just wanted to reflect and take in how grateful we were for the moment we were in,” she said, referring to the project’s collaborators, Max Martin and Shellback. That moment found Swift newly engaged, yet her lead single back, “Patient Zero,” looks back at a past relationship. “Pink Clouding” also reflects on a former flame, but without the regretful yearning that made “Ruin the Friendship” a standout. Meanwhile, “Cleveland!” takes the gushing over-the-heels joy from “Honey” and “Wood” and adds an almost spiteful twist. And then there is the new curtain-closer, “Babylon” where Swift hands out more pearls of wisdom over an acoustic cut that would fit better on Folklore or Evermore. In fact, all four songs sound like they were plucked from previous albums like Midnights or The Tortured Poets Department. With these four tracks, she has not only confused the story of Showgirl, she’s also muddled that of Taylor Swift™.
Swift is a known mastermind, who has planned her next career move years in advance, and she’s been celebrated for her expert marketing power moves. But where does the showgirl go from here? The Encore has unleashed more questions about Swift’s next chapter rather than offer a clear path forward.
On Sunday, Swift premiered the cinematic music video for “Patient Zero” at the 2026 MTV VMAs. It’s a chilling thriller, and one of her most impressive visuals to date. Was that the point of it all, to highlight her full-throttle pivot to film? We know that the musician has a directorial debut on the way with Searchlight Pictures. Maybe she finally found the time to finish it, and that’s why she worked on the Toy Story 5 soundtrack.
The Encore could also just be a way for Swift to get her 12th album back into the conversation, just in time for the first round of voting for the 2027 Grammys. One would expect the singer-songwriter to submit the project for all of the major categories, including the coveted Album of the Year and Song of the Year. It’s unclear whether Swift will submit both “The Fate of Ophelia,” which became Swift’s longest-running Number One song atop the Billboard Hot and her new shining single “I Knew It, I Knew You” for Song of the Year — the songwriting-focused Grammy she has yet to win.
Swift has spent the last six months riding on the high of “I Knew It, I Knew You.” The song dominated on country radio — and led the musician to drop a ton of Easter eggs hinting at her big return to the genre. She could honor her songwriting legacy with a country music return timed to the 20th anniversary of her debut in October. Now that would be a great story.