LONDON: Britain&#39;s music industry contributed &pound;8 billion to the UK economy in 2024, but the effects of Brexit and AI have clouded the sector&#39;s outlook, an industry report showed Wednesday.&nbsp;UK tours by Taylor Swift and Take That helped lift the industry&#39;s contribution to the UK economy last year, according to the annual report from UK Music, an umbrella organization for the industry.&nbsp;Music exports were also boosted by the international success of artists such as Charli XCX and Lola Young.&nbsp;However, annual growth was slower than the double-digit increases recorded in the immediate aftermath of the Covid pandemic, the report said.&nbsp;UK Music&#39;s chief executive Tom Kiehl warned that the industry faced a number of challenges, pointing to the &quot;need for urgent action&quot;.&nbsp;He said that the UK government would be judged on the &quot;progress it makes in regulating artificial intelligence and unlocking EU touring&quot;.&nbsp;The impact of Brexit, such as through increased touring costs, red tape and fewer EU clients making recording studio bookings, is &quot;still bad and is getting worse&quot;, the report said.&nbsp;Elsewhere, two-thirds of music creators surveyed by UK Music said that AI poses a threat to their career.&nbsp;Ninety percent of British music creators said protections should be in place to stop their work being used without permission or payment.&nbsp;The UK government plans to make it easier for AI companies to access data by introducing a copyright exception for commercial AI training with its Data (Use and Access) Bill.&nbsp;Under the proposed law, companies developing AI models would not need permission from creatives to access certain content, a plan that has provoked a fierce backlash from the cultural sector.

Artificial Intelligence

UK Music’s 2024 report says the industry added £8 billion to the economy but faces threats from Brexit and AI, warning of rising touring costs, copyright risks, and slower growth despite major tours and exports.

UK music industry warns growth threatened by AI, Brexit

Web Desk

At the Wall Street Journal&#39;s Innovator Awards, Billie Eilish delivered a stark challenge to the wealthy elite, asking pointedly, &quot;If you&#39;re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire?&quot; Her words came moments after announcing an $11.5 million donation from her tour to support climate justice and food equity, crystallizing a generational divide that goes far beyond celebrity posturing. The contrast between Eilish and Taylor Swift epitomizes this divide. While Eilish designs sustainable tours with plant-based catering and biodegradable confetti, Swift&#39;s private jet logged 170 flights in 2022, generating an estimated 8,300 tonnes of CO2 emissions, roughly 1,200 times the average person&#39;s annual carbon footprint. A single flight from Tokyo to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl emitted 40 tonnes of carbon, with her Eras Tour generating 139 metric tonnes during its US and South American legs. Swift&#39;s representatives argue that she purchases more than twice the number of carbon credits needed to offset her travel. But climate experts repeatedly note that carbon offsets are fundamentally flawed &mdash; often unverifiable, sometimes fraudulent, and incapable of undoing atmospheric damage. The only real solution, they insist, is to simply fly less. This isn&#39;t merely a celebrity spat, but a broader generational reckoning about wealth, responsibility, and planetary survival. Eilish, born in 2001, represents a generation that experiences climate anxiety as background noise. This cohort watched Greta Thunberg sail across the Atlantic rather than fly, viewing sustainability not as a brand, but as an existential necessity. Swift, born in 1989, comes from an era when private jets were status symbols, not sources of shame. The underlying issue cuts deeper than individual carbon footprints. It&#39;s about a system that allows extreme wealth accumulation while the planet suffers. Eilish&#39;s generation increasingly sees through the performative gestures of wealthy individuals &mdash; understanding that no one truly needs a billion dollars and that such wealth could solve massive global problems rather than fund private jet junkets. Celebrity behavior shapes cultural norms, and when Swift flies private for convenience, she normalizes a fundamentally unsustainable lifestyle. When Eilish questions the very existence of billionaires, she challenges the premise that extreme wealth accumulation is morally neutral. The climate crisis demands more than individual action; it requires a complete reimagining of societal values. Carbon offsetting has become the refuge of wealthy polluters, a corporate indulgence that allows the rich to buy the right to pollute while the poor suffer the consequences of a warming planet they did little to create. Eilish&#39;s approach differs dramatically: Her tour sustainability measures are systematic, not performative, acknowledging that having a massive platform comes with a responsibility to minimize harm. The uncomfortable truth remains: The planet is burning. Some are trying to put out the fire, while others are adding fuel and calling it innovation. When Eilish asks why billionaires exist, she&#39;s articulating what her generation increasingly takes for granted: Extreme wealth is indefensible when the planet is in crisis. Swift could choose differently. She could tour sustainably, fly commercial, or simply fly less. She could donate a fraction of her estimated $1.6 billion net worth to climate causes. Instead, she buys carbon credits and sends cease-and-desist letters to students tracking her flights. Meanwhile, Eilish keeps asking the questions no one in that room of billionaires wants to answer. And the planet keeps burning.

Blogs

Billie Eilish challenges billionaire wealth and celebrity hypocrisy on climate action, contrasting her sustainable, charitable approach with Taylor Swift’s heavy private jet emissions and questionable carbon offsets.

Two generations, one planet: Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift's divergent climate paths

Angelina Duaa Hashir

<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Taylor Swift may have dropped a chart-topper, but she has also stirred a raging controversy over the originality of her new album, &quot;The Life of a Showgirl.&quot;&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her latest release has ignited a fierce debate online, as fans and musicians alike accuse her of borrowing too heavily from musical eras of the past, from 1980s Latin rhythms to 2000s alt-rock riffs.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first sparks flew on Reddit&rsquo;s&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">r/SwiftlyNeutral<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, where listeners noticed uncanny overlaps between &quot;The Life of a Showgirl&quot; and the Jonas Brothers&rsquo; 2019 single &quot;Cool.&quot; The similarities, particularly in rhythm and melody, led some fans to call it &quot;the same song in a different outfit.&quot; When favorable YouTube comments began vanishing, the conversation on Swift&rsquo;s new album shifted from musical coincidence to possible reputation management.<div class="fr-embed"><blockquote class="reddit-embed-bq" style="height:316px" data-embed-height="316"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SwiftlyNeutral/comments/1nwv2qn/the_life_of_a_showgirl_sounds_like_a_straight/">&quot;The Life of a Showgirl&quot; sounds like a straight copy of &quot;Cool&quot; by the Jonas Brothers</a> by<a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Royal-Rope-1480/">u/Royal-Rope-1480</a> in<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SwiftlyNeutral/">SwiftlyNeutral</a></blockquote></div><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Meanwhile, over on Threads, indie musician&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Karsen Veazey<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;lit up the feed with a post claiming that Swift&rsquo;s &ldquo;Actually Romantic&rdquo; was a near-carbon copy of one of her own songs from last year.&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The post exploded, with thousands backing her up and commenters telling her to &ldquo;get those royalties.&rdquo;&nbsp;Some even dredged up Swift&rsquo;s earlier tangle with Olivia Rodrigo over &ldquo;Deja Vu&rdquo; and &ldquo;Cruel Summer.&rdquo;&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/fa2813c1-8ee8-449b-82c3-8c4fce1c914b.png" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not long after, writer&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">David Dark<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;added fuel to the fire on X, noting that &lsquo;Actually Romantic&rsquo; &ldquo;sounds&nbsp;a lot like the Pixies &lsquo;Where Is My Mind?&rsquo;,&rdquo; a&nbsp;comparison fans were already making note for note.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The latest flashpoint is &ldquo;Opalite.&rdquo; A&nbsp;viral post on X from&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">@mr_evertz<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;claimed Swift &ldquo;straight up plagiarized&rdquo; it from&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luis Miguel&rsquo;s<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;1982 track &ldquo;1 + 1 = 2 Enamorados.&rdquo; The&nbsp;clip, a split-screen comparison, came with the caption, &ldquo;Swifties, meet Luis Miguel. You hear it too, right?&rdquo; Within&nbsp;hours, fans were pointing out the identical synth pulse and chord progression straight out of early-&rsquo;80s Latin pop.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/8b716f88-85a7-4df0-82ab-deeb2180158a.png" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Soon, the debate widened. &lsquo;Cancelled!&rsquo; drew parallels to Lorde&rsquo;s &lsquo;Yellow Flicker Beat,&rsquo; &lsquo;Wood&rsquo; to the Jackson 5&rsquo;s &lsquo;I Want You Back,&rsquo; and &lsquo;Opalite&rsquo; yet again to Post Malone&rsquo;s &lsquo;Circles.&rsquo; Defenders dismissed these as coincidences born of pop&rsquo;s self-referential nature, but detractors saw irony: Swift herself has demanded credit for far subtler overlaps.&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/0cdcbe21-a958-49ec-a3a9-fa6786593508.png" style="width: 402px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" id="isPasted"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/8fbf44d4-a600-492c-ba5e-0585fc4a8f83.png" style="width: 442px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The controversy has revived a timeless question in music: Where does influence end and imitation begin?

Taylor Swift poses for her new ablum The Life of a Showgirl in a photo shared on X, Aug. 26, 2025.

Entertainment

Her newest release has ignited a fierce debate online, as fans and musicians alike accuse her of borrowing too heavily from musical eras of the past, from 1980s Latin rhythms to 2000s alt-rock riffs.

Chart-topping or copy-pasting? The Swift plagiarism debate

NEW YORK: Taylor Swift on Friday quickly set a streaming record with &quot;The Life of a Showgirl,&quot; her new album of bouncy pop songs about love, success -- and score-settling -- that had fans analyzing every word. Critical opinion of &quot;Showgirl&quot; ranged from glowing to unimpressed, but fans flocked to Spotify to hear the 12 tracks, making it the most streamed album in one day in 2025 in less than 11 hours, the platform said. Swift reunited with Swedish hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback for her 12th studio album, and their influence is clear in the driving beats and catchy hooks. &quot;I can&#39;t tell you how proud I am to share this with you, an album that just feels so right,&quot; the 35-year-old artist posted on Instagram. Joyful Swift&nbsp;While the album still features plenty of introspection, it reveals a lighter, joyful Swift -- in love with her NFL Super Bowl champion fiance Travis Kelce, happy to have bought back her music catalog and proud of her record-shattering Eras Tour. &quot;I just want you, have a couple kids, got the whole block looking like you... Got me dreaming about a driveway with a basketball hoop,&quot; she sings on the dreamy &quot;Wish List.&quot; On &quot;Opalite,&quot; which Kelce has said is his favorite track, she says, &quot;You were dancing through the lightning strikes/Sleepless in the onyx night/But now the sky is opalite.&quot; &quot;I used to have this dark fear that if I ever were truly, like, happy and...nurtured by a relationship -- what happens if the writing just dries up?&quot; Swift told BBC Radio 1. &quot;And it turns out that&#39;s not the case at all.&quot; &lsquo;Release party&rsquo;Elated fans worldwide snapped up tickets to special &quot;release party&quot; screenings in movie theaters -- including the premiere of the video for lead single &quot;The Fate of Ophelia.&quot; In Melbourne, Swifties -- many dressed in orange, the artist&#39;s signature color for the album -- were among the first to dance and sing to &quot;Showgirl.&quot; &quot;I love the album,&quot; Kerry Brookes, a 54-year-old British IT manager attending a screening in the suburbs of Washington, told AFP. &quot;I&#39;m just interested to see what she has to say about it,&quot; said Brookes, who was wearing a showgirl headpiece and a feather boa. &quot;Showgirl&quot; represents a shift from the folksy pandemic-era &quot;Folklore&quot; and &quot;Evermore&quot; in 2020, the pensive &quot;Midnights&quot; in 2022 and the introspective &quot;Tortured Poets&quot; last year. Swift said ahead of the release that the new album &quot;comes from the most infectiously joyful, wild, dramatic place I was in in my life.&quot; Fans are also musing that &quot;Actually Romantic&quot; is a diss track referring to a rumored feud with pop singer Charli XCX. &quot;Showgirl&quot; is available on streaming platforms. Special editions are for sale at retail giant Target, including the &quot;Portofino orange glitter vinyl&quot; or the &quot;summertime spritz pink shimmer vinyl.&quot; $30-50 million&nbsp;Aside from the &quot;Ophelia&quot; video, the weekend screenings feature behind-the-scenes footage and lyric videos. The one-off cinematic event is estimated to gross $30-50 million, according to film industry website Deadline. &quot;And now I know the life of a showgirl, babe,&quot; Swift sings in the title track featuring pop princess Sabrina Carpenter, who opened for her at some Eras Tour stops. &quot;Wouldn&#39;t have it any other way.&quot;

Taylor Swift's 12th album The Life of a Showgirl broke 2025's streaming record on Spotify, showcasing a joyful, pop-driven sound. Fans embraced its themes of love, success, and reinvention, fueling global release celebrations. 

Taylor Swift breaks streaming record with new 'Showgirl' album

<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" id="isPasted">NEW YORK:&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Taylor Swift&rsquo;s 12th studio album,&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Life of a Showgirl,<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;released Friday, declares that her heir apparent is none other than herself.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her last album,&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Tortured Poets Department,<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;ended with the cautionary &ldquo;Clara Bow,&rdquo; an allegory that suggested her tenure atop the cultural mainstream was inherited from stars of the past, such as the name-checked Stevie Nicks &mdash; and that a younger generation of female pop performers could soon take her place.&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 2025, there are plenty of candidates: Chappell Roan&rsquo;s theatrical style, Olivia Rodrigo&rsquo;s fiery punk-pop feminism, and Sabrina Carpenter&rsquo;s playful sensuality. But in the knotty themes of Friday&rsquo;s&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Life of a Showgirl,<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;best illustrated in the title track, Swift asserts that the baton has not been passed, but rather shared. She is not going anywhere.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&ldquo;And all the headshots on the walls / Of the dance halls are of the b------ / Who wish I&rsquo;d hurry up and die,&rdquo; she sings with a wink. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m immortal now, baby dolls / I couldn&rsquo;t if I tried.&rdquo; Notably, if she has a chosen successor, it is the album&rsquo;s sole featured guest: Carpenter, who appears on the stomp-clap closer with a newly adopted twang. The mournful lap steel &mdash; the album&rsquo;s most country moment &mdash; accompanies Carpenter&rsquo;s entrance. Country is Swift&rsquo;s past and Carpenter&rsquo;s future.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Suggestive bangers and a &lsquo;New Heights&rsquo; nod <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;If Swift is co-signing Carpenter, she is also learning from her. Carpenter has mastered tight pop songs with an edge; Swift mirrors that energy in the George Michael-interpolating &ldquo;Father Figure&rdquo; and the funky &ldquo;Wood.&rdquo; In the latter, she slyly sings, &ldquo;His love was the key / That opened my thighs.&rdquo; She adds, &ldquo;Girls, I don&rsquo;t need to catch the bouquet / To know a hard rock is on the way.&rdquo; Interwoven are sensual ad-libs and a direct reference to fianc&eacute; Travis Kelce&rsquo;s podcast.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Across a brisk 12 tracks &mdash; restrained compared to her sprawling double albums &mdash;&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Life of a Showgirl<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;mostly fulfills its promise of up-tempo pop &ldquo;bangers.&rdquo; Fans awaiting&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reputation (Taylor&rsquo;s Version)<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;may hear echoes of its essence here, though filtered through the affection of her&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lover<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;era.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As in&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reputation,<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;Swift responds to criticisms head-on. On &ldquo;CANCELLED!&rdquo; and &ldquo;Elizabeth Taylor,&rdquo; she reflects on perception and legacy. &ldquo;Hollywood hates me / You&rsquo;re only as hot as your last hit, baby,&rdquo; she sings. But unlike her past work, love steadies her. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t have fun if I can&rsquo;t have you,&rdquo; she flirts.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Welcome (back) to Sweden <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;For this project, Swift reunited with Swedish producers Max Martin and Shellback, her collaborators on&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Red,<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1989<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;and&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reputation.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;Absent is frequent partner Jack Antonoff. The shift pays off: A decade ago, Swift, Martin and Shellback&rsquo;s experiments reshaped not only her career but mainstream pop itself.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Life of a Showgirl<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;may not feel seismic, it brims with addictive Swiftisms &mdash; wit, literary flourishes and crystalline hooks. Songs like &ldquo;Opalite&rdquo; shimmer with layered harmonies and vintage swing. Meanwhile, &ldquo;The Fate of Ophelia&rdquo; bursts with 1980s-style synth-pop, echoing Robyn and a touch of Lana Del Rey.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fans will find quotable gems, too. On &ldquo;Wi$h Li$t,&rdquo; she pleads, &ldquo;Please God bring me a best friend who I think is hot,&rdquo; before sketching suburban dreams of &ldquo;a couple kids &hellip; a driveway with a basketball hoop.&rdquo;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The dictionary of a showgirl <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;Swift&rsquo;s dense vocabulary dazzles but occasionally overreaches, as in the line-heavy &ldquo;Father Figure,&rdquo; where cleverness outpaces cadence. Elsewhere, she leans too trendy, as in &ldquo;Eldest Daughter,&rdquo; which references &ldquo;trolling,&rdquo; &ldquo;memes&rdquo; and &ldquo;comments,&rdquo; risking quick obsolescence. Still, its acoustic emo balladry &mdash; about &ldquo;terminal uniqueness&rdquo; and deep devotion &mdash; resonates. It contrasts with &ldquo;Actually Romantic,&rdquo; a sharp pop-punk track with echoes of Hayley Williams and boygenius.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Swift has said the album channels her &ldquo;Eras Tour&rdquo; &mdash; a global phenomenon spanning more than three hours of spectacle. On these 12 songs, she captures that glitz with humanity and humor. She does not linger backstage. The show has already begun.

People wait to enter a Spotify pop-up event for Taylor Swift’s album "The Life of a Showgirl" in New York City, U.S., September 30, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper

Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, released Friday, declares that her heir apparent is none other than herself.

Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ debuts to buzz and early reviews

NEW YORK: Lights, camera, action. Taylor Swift&#39;s 12th studio album, &ldquo;The Life of a Showgirl,&rdquo; arrives Friday. Are you ready for it? Swift announced her latest era back in August, when she began teasing the release. Here&#39;s everything you need to know ahead of its drop date: how to stream, which variants exist, and of course, how the album came together. Enjoy the show! How to listen to Swift&#39;s &ldquo;The Life of a Showgirl&rdquo;&ldquo;The Life of a Showgirl&rdquo; will be available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. Fans can pre-save the album ahead of its release on Oct. 3. Pre-saving ensures the new music automatically appears in a fan&rsquo;s library the moment it is available. It is also a way for an artist to promote streams ahead of the drop date. On Monday, Spotify announced that Swift&#39;s album surpassed five million pre-saves on its platform to become the most pre-saved album in its history. The previous title holder? Her 2024 album &ldquo;The Tortured Poets Department.&rdquo; In addition to the many streaming options, there will also be a digital-download variant of &ldquo;The Life of a Showgirl&rdquo; available via iTunes, featuring a new cover image and a nearly three-minute &ldquo;exclusive video from Taylor herself detailing inspirations behind the album, labelled &ldquo;A Look Behind the Curtain.&rdquo; What physical variants are there?Target is once again a major partner with Swift. Their stores will carry three CD variants, titled as &quot;It&rsquo;s Frightening,&quot; &ldquo;It&rsquo;s Rapturous&rdquo; and &ldquo;It&rsquo;s Beautiful&rdquo; editions. There is also an exclusive vinyl release, &ldquo;The Crowd Is Your King&rdquo; edition, in &ldquo;summertime spritz pink shimmer vinyl.&rdquo; Many Target locations will remain open past midnight on the day of release for superfans to pick up in real time. There are a number of other vinyl variants as well: &ldquo;The Tiny Bubble in Champagne Collection,&rdquo; which features two vinyl variants described as &ldquo;under bright lights pearlescent vinyl&quot; and &ldquo;red lipstick &amp; lace transparent vinyl.&rdquo; There is also &ldquo;The Baby That&rsquo;s Show Business Collection,&rdquo; in two colorways: &ldquo;lovely bouquet golden vinyl&rdquo; and &ldquo;lakeside beach blue sparkle vinyl.&rdquo; Then there&#39;s &ldquo;The Shiny Bug Collection&rdquo; in &ldquo;violet shimmer marbled vinyl&rdquo; and &ldquo;wintergreen and onyx marbled vinyl.&rdquo; And of course, there is the standard LP and cassette, in &ldquo;sweat and vanilla perfume Portofino orange vinyl.&rdquo; Artwork varies throughout. What do we know about the album so far?Swift partially announced her 12-track new album &ldquo;The Life of a Showgirl&rdquo; on the &ldquo;New Heights&rdquo; podcast hosted by Travis Kelce &mdash; Swift&rsquo;s fianc&eacute; and Kansas City Chiefs tight end &mdash; and his brother, Jason Kelce, the former Philadelphia Eagles center. In the full episode, Swift revealed she worked on the album in Sweden while she was on the &ldquo;Eras Tour&rdquo; &mdash; flying between dates to record, truly embodying the album&rsquo;s title, &ldquo;The Life of a Showgirl.&rdquo; The entire album was completed with producers Max Martin and Shellback, whom Swift previously collaborated with on 2012&#39;s &ldquo;Red,&rdquo; 2014&#39;s &ldquo;1989&rdquo;, and 2017&#39;s &ldquo;Reputation.&rdquo; Her frequent producing partner, Jack Antonoff, was not mentioned. She described the release as full of &ldquo;bangers.&quot; &ldquo;I care about this record more than I can even overstate,&rdquo; she said, agreeing with Travis Kelce when he described the release as &ldquo;a lot more upbeat&rdquo; than 2024&#39;s &ldquo;The Tortured Poets Department.&rdquo; Across the album, there is only one feature listed: the title track, &ldquo;The Life of a Showgirl,&rdquo; will include Sabrina Carpenter.

Taylor Swift’s 12th album The Life of a Showgirl drops Oct. 3 with multiple vinyl variants, a Sabrina Carpenter feature, and upbeat tracks. Recorded during her Eras Tour, it’s her most pre-saved album ever.

Taylor Swift's 'The Life of a Showgirl' is almost here. Here's what to know

ISLAMABAD: American pop icon Taylor Swift has invited fans to a dazzling cinema event, according to her Instagram post, featuring the world premiere of her new music video, exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, and more.&nbsp;&ldquo;Dancing is optional but encouraged,&rdquo; she added.&nbsp;With those words, Taylor Swift didn&rsquo;t just tease a new album, she summoned her fanbase to a collective cinematic experience.&nbsp;The Life of a Showgirl isn&rsquo;t merely arriving. It&rsquo;s arriving in lights, in crowds, in theaters. If The Eras Tour taught us anything, it&rsquo;s that Swift knows how to elevate a listening party. But this time, it&rsquo;s more intimate. She&rsquo;s asking fans to scrub off their streaming apps and tread into auditoriums together.&nbsp;Over the first weekend of October, movie theaters in many parts of the world will host &ldquo;Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,&rdquo; an 89‑minute celebration timed exactly with the album&rsquo;s launch.&nbsp;More than just a film, this event is a collage of creative moments: the world premiere of &ldquo;The Fate of Ophelia&rdquo; music video, lyric videos, unfinished footage, and Swift&rsquo;s own reflections on what inspired each cut.&nbsp;Dress code? Think Eras glamour or that orange cardigan that&rsquo;s already made fan‑theory legend. Swift&rsquo;s fine with voices raised in song and feet tapping in aisles. Between the scenery and the soundtrack, the energy is expected to be electric.&nbsp;For the &ldquo;Swiftie&rdquo; who&rsquo;s been collecting tour tees since 2008, this offers a new way to engage. For the new listener, it&rsquo;s an invitation, a chance to witness the making of an era from the inside out. That&rsquo;s something streaming tabloids and home playlisting can&rsquo;t replicate. Theaters become vessels of shared emotion, of laughter when lyric videos flash, of chills at the first beat drop of &ldquo;The Fate of Ophelia.&rdquo;&nbsp;Tickets are set at $12, an accessible price that matches the symbolism. It&rsquo;s available through major theater chains, AMC, Regal, Cinemark, and digital ticketing hubs. International fans aren&rsquo;t left in the dark either: Canada, Mexico, the UK, France, Germany, Australia, and more nations will host showings.&nbsp;On October 3, the lights dim. You&rsquo;ll hear &ldquo;The Fate of Ophelia&rdquo;. You&rsquo;ll join strangers in song. And maybe you&rsquo;ll leave the theater changed, or at least humming a new favorite track, clutching a lyric in your heart, thinking: I was there.&nbsp;Because this is the invitation not for passive listening, but active belonging. And that might be the most glamorous part of all.

Film & TV

Taylor Swift unveils global cinema event “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” with new music video, behind-the-scenes, fan experiences.

Articles tagged with "Taylor Swift"