Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl broke every streaming record and still got called a flop. Critics say she’s out of ideas; fans say the lyrics sound like ChatGPT in heels. Maybe that’s the point. This episode dives into how pop stars weaponize boredom, why “bad” albums reset fandom addiction, and what Baudrillard, Bourdieu, and Banet-Weiser can teach us about performing failure for profit.