<\/p>\n
THE RUNDOWN<\/strong><\/p>\n This past weekend, Taylor Swift\u2019s theatrical event for The Life of a Showgirl brought fans together for an inside look at the making of the album.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Swift explained the meaning and inspiration behind all of the songs, which were played in full with lyric videos.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n The film also premiered the music video for \u201cThe Fate of Ophelia\u201d and showed behind-the-scenes footage of how it was made.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n On October 3, Taylor Swift released her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl,<\/a> and kicked off her weekend-long theatrical event, The Official Release Party of a Showgirl.<\/p>\n Over the film\u2019s limited three-day run in theaters, fans came out to hear Swift discuss her creative process, her inspirations, and the world she built around this era. The movie also featured lyric videos and behind-the-scenes footage from her music video for \u201cThe Fate of Ophelia,\u201d<\/a> which premiered during the screening.<\/p>\n Ahead, everything we learned from the film.<\/p>\n In the film, Swift says she \u201cobviously\u201d loves Shakespeare, adding that his stories hold up to this day and are \u201cactually not overhyped.\u201d Her opening track<\/a> refers to the character Ophelia in Shakespeare\u2019s Hamlet, but Swift rewrites her version of the story so that it doesn\u2019t end in tragedy.<\/p>\n \u201cOphelia drowned because Hamlet just messed with her head so much that she went crazy, and she couldn\u2019t take it anymore,\u201d Swift explained, adding that \u201call these men were just gaslighting her until she drowned.\u201d She decided to make the song\u2019s hook more uplifting by saying she was saved from suffering the same fate as Ophelia.<\/p>\n \u201cI love those tragedies so much. I fall in love with those characters so much that it hurts me that they die,\u201d she continued. So she decided to imagine a world in which a woman who could have ended up like Ophelia had a happier ending. \u201cI\u2019m just kind of putting this romantic spin on the fact that Ophelia was driven mad\u2014they drove her mad\u2014but not me.\u201d<\/p>\n Throughout the film, Swift shared behind-the-scenes footage of the music video for \u201cThe Fate of Ophelia.\u201d<\/a> In the final cut, she moves through historical periods of thespianism, including a scene in which she seems to be dressed as Arthur Hughes\u2019s Ophelia from Ophelia (\u201cAnd He Will Not Come Back Again\u201d)<\/a>. To capture these scenes, Swift worked with her Eras Tour choreographer, Mandy Moore, and had a specific directive for her dancers. In one part of the BTS footage, she encourages them to lean into the dramatics, yelling, \u201cMore theater!\u201d<\/p>\n Here are all the Easter eggs<\/a> from the video.<\/p>\n Fans have speculated that Swift\u2019s fourth Showgirl track, \u201cFather Figure,\u201d<\/a> is either about her alleged feud with Olivia Rodrigo or her public falling out with Scott Borchetta, her former label boss and the CEO of Big Machine Records (the latter seems to be the leading theory).<\/p>\n Never one to call someone out by name, Swift took a more general approach in her explanation of the song in her film. She said it\u2019s about how power dynamics between a mentor and mentee can change over time, revealing, \u201cI can relate to both characters in certain parts of the song.\u201d<\/p>\n Read ELLE\u2019s complete breakdown of \u201cFather Figure.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Swift said \u201cEldest Daughter\u201d came from her desire to create a song about the charade of looking \u201ccool,\u201d \u201cbusy,\u201d and \u201cunbothered.\u201d She described it as a commentary on the \u201cfacades that we put in front of ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s also a reflection of her journey toward becoming softer, she noted, saying that it\u2019s okay to \u201cneed somebody.\u201d This alludes to her relationship<\/a> with fianc\u00e9 Travis Kelce<\/a>, which she sings about in other tracks such as \u201cOpalite,\u201d<\/a> \u201cWi$h Li$t,\u201d<\/a> \u201cWood,\u201d<\/a> and \u201cHoney.\u201d <\/a><\/p>\n Read all of her standout lyrics about Kelce here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Reminiscing on her teenage years\u2014when her music career started taking off\u2014Swift said \u201cRuin the Friendship\u201d<\/a> refers to high-school-age anxieties about telling someone you have feelings for them. \u201cIt would\u2019ve been fine to take chances I didn\u2019t take,\u201d she said, calling her high school self \u201cso disciplined.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s more on the track<\/a>, which Swift described as \u201cvery wistful and very nostalgic.\u201d<\/p>\n While fans theorize that Swift\u2019s song \u201cActually Romantic\u201d<\/a> is a jab at Charli XCX, the singer didn\u2019t name anyone specific while explaining the track. She said that it\u2019s a \u201clove letter to someone who hates you,\u201d adding that it\u2019s \u201cvery, very sweet\u201d of someone to \u201cthink about me this much, even if it\u2019s negative.\u201d She continued, \u201cIn my industry, attention is affection, and you\u2019re giving a whole lot of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s more on the speculation about Swift and Charli\u2019s alleged feud<\/a> and what might have been a subtle response<\/a> from the British singer.<\/p>\n In her song \u201cCancelled!\u201d\u2014which some believe is about Swift\u2019s friendships with Blake Lively<\/a> and Brittany Mahomes<\/a>\u2014Swift sings about growing stronger through public scrutiny. In her film, she said being canceled is \u201csomething everyone goes through now\u201d and revealed that whenever someone in her circle is facing backlash, \u201cI tend to be the person they reach out to.\u201d<\/p>\n She continued, pretending to be on the phone, saying, \u201cIt\u2019s just sort of like, \u2018Oh yeah, OK, somebody told me that you got in trouble for making that joke. Hey, yeah, how are you doing? It\u2019s going to be fine. You\u2019re going to be fine. Do you want to go to lunch? Yeah, it\u2019s fine.\u2019\u201d She added that she judges people \u201ca lot less now that I\u2019ve been kind of under the microscope for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more about the inspiration behind \u201cCancelled!\u201d<\/a> and Swift\u2019s commentary.<\/p>\n \u201cHoney,\u201d<\/a> which explores how Kelce redefined pet names for Swift, turned out to be a major addition to the project. Swift explained that the song added such a different feel from previous works that it made her team say, \u201cThis is a whole new album.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s more about the track<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sabrina Carpenter is the only featured artist on The Life of a Showgirl\u2014and Swift gave her that honor in the title track intentionally.<\/p>\n While reflecting on the inspiration behind the song \u201cThe Life of a Showgirl,\u201d Swift said she wanted Carpenter to sing on it \u201cso bad,\u201d calling her \u201ca friend of mine\u201d and \u201cone of my favorite artists.\u201d<\/p>\n Swift continued, saying, \u201cShe\u2019s been the opener for the Eras Tours, but she\u2019s also really well-equipped for this career. She is so good at moving through backlash or criticism or people just being unfair to her, picking her apart. She has the temperament to, like, pivot and use it as fuel.\u201d<\/p>\n Swift said she reached out to see if Carpenter would want to collaborate because \u201cI really feel like she\u2019s got the same mentality as what this song sings about\u2014like, having this love for it and a love for the game that overrides how hard this can be.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Swift, Carpenter \u201chad the most wonderful, immediate response\u201d and agreed with a resounding yes. At the time, the \u201cEspresso\u201d singer was on tour in Sweden but recorded her part for \u201cThe Life of a Showgirl\u201d on her days off. \u201cAnd that is a showgirl for ya,\u201d Swift said.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a lyrical breakdown of Swift and Carpenter\u2019s duet<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
\nSwift is a big fan of Shakespeare, which explains why \u201cThe Fate of Ophelia\u201d served as an anchor for the album.<\/h2>\n
She wanted to lean into theatrics as much as possible in the music video for \u201cThe Fate of Ophelia.\u201d<\/h2>\n
Swift said she could \u201crelate to both characters\u201d in her song \u201cFather Figure.\u201d<\/h2>\n
Her song \u201cEldest Daughter\u201d reflects her realization that it\u2019s OK to \u201cneed somebody\u201d and alludes to Travis Kelce.<\/h2>\n
She opened up about feeling like she was too rigid in high school.<\/h2>\n
Amid her alleged feud with Charli XCX, Swift said she thinks \u201cattention is affection\u201d in the music industry.<\/h2>\n
Swift is the go-to person for friends who go through PR nightmares and worry about being \u201ccanceled.\u201d<\/h2>\n
According to Swift, \u201cHoney\u201d was a game-changer on the album.<\/h2>\n
Swift wanted Sabrina Carpenter on the title track for a specific reason.<\/h2>\n
Swift said fans who attended her Eras Tour became the \u201cunknowing inspiration\u201d behind The Life of a Showgirl.<\/h2>\n