SHE turned her heartbreak into billions of pounds, with her pain and suffering from failed romances fuelling her platinum records and filling stadiums around the world.
So I can see why Taylor Swift was scared when it came to writing her new album The Life of a Showgirl, which, for once, is all about being in love.
The Anti-Hero singer, who is engaged to American football player Travis Kelce, told Radio 1's Greg James: "It's wonderful. I used to kind of have this dark fear that if I ever were truly happy and free, being myself and nurtured by a relationship, what happens if the writing just dries up?
"What if writing is directly tied to my torment and pain?
"And it turns out that's not the case at all, and we just were catching lightning in a bottle with this record."
She chose the UK to launch her new record and revealed on last night's Graham Norton Show how she is about to crack on in organising her nuptials, now that the record is finally out.
She said: "I want to do the album stuff first, and the wedding is what happens after in terms of planning. I think it will be fun to plan."
And on the same show, she revealed he used her interview on his New Heights podcast to get her out of the house in order to transform his garden into the fairytale setting he proposed in, as seen on photos shared online.
Taylor said of the proposal: "He really crushed it in surprising me.
"While we were talking on his podcast, he had a complete garden built out the back of his house to propose in. He went all out – ten out of ten."
She even told how she had first dropped hints about an engagement ring just six months into their relationship.
Taylor told Heart Breakfast: "He designed it with this amazing jeweller Kendrik Lubek.
"I showed him a video a year and a half ago, and he was just paying attention to everything it turns out because when I saw the ring I was like 'I know who made that, I know who made that!'"
As for the ceremony itself, she hasn't thought much about it… yet.
She said: "You'd think I'd be the type of person who would have obsessed over the idea of a wedding my whole life, but I actually never thought about what I would do, what I would want, until I met the person."
But there's one person who she's sure will be there and gagging to perform – her old pal Ed Sheeran.
She told Hits Radio: "I mean it would be hard to keep him from it I think.
"That's the thing he's like, 'I'm always being asked to sing at weddings' and you're like, 'Ed if there's a stage you know that you'll be on it!'
"He knows what people want and he wants to give people what they want. That's the fun thing about our friendship is we both love performing and we love writing and we love singing.
"It's actually not that hard to talk either of us into performing at anything."
I'd say that would save them a few quid on the entertainment, but something tells me they won't need to scrimp for this occasion.
End of an Eras, thankfully
HER Eras Tour was the most successful tour of all time, but you won't catch Taylor on the road again any time soon.
Asked if she misses it, she told Radio 1: "I'm so good right now. My joints are good, I'm baking, I have hobbies again.
"I could only do the Eras Tour when I was on the Eras Tour and that's two years of having no other hobbies. Now I have hobbies again."
And asked if she has the itch for "another something, soon", she instantly replied: "No, no. I'm going to be really honest with you, I am so tired when I think about doing it again.
"I would want to do it really well, again."
MAKING the album helped keep Taylor sane on the European leg of the Eras Tour, when she would fly to Sweden between shows to work on it.
She told the Magic Radio Breakfast Show: "When I was on tour last summer it was the point in the tour where we had so many shows so frequently I was getting sick a lot.
"I was always like physically sore, but I had reached the point in the show where I could do it from muscle memory.
"So I needed something to wake my brain back up. It felt like was so physically exhausted from the shows, but being mentally and emotionally stimulated by making this music, got me to the point where I was so excited to step back on stage because I knew I had this little secret project I was working on."
TAYLOR had no problem buttering up journalists as she did the rounds on radio stations in London – as she took some of them loaves of bread.
I'm told she gave a selection of merchandise to presenters on Hits Radio and even baked bread for her visit to Radio 1.
She said: "I've been baking so I brought some sourdough. It's lemon-blueberry which I think is a really nice variation."
I'M not sure who was more excited to see who, when Taylor arrived at Heart Radio to be interviewed by breakfast show host Emma Bunton.
They hugged and had a photo together, as Taylor revealed the Spice Girls star was her idol as a youngster.
She explained: "It's so crazy to be in the same room as you.
"I used to have your doll, the Baby Spice doll, and it was my favourite one, and we would all fight on who got to be you amongst the girls.
"Honestly, you just mean the world to me. You were the first artist I used to freak out over."
Emma replied: "I don't know how to take all this in, because we are obviously huge fans of yours.
"My family, here, it's just been incredible. I must admit, I came to your tour twice."
Singer on frenemy lines
SHE set social media alight with her song Actually Romantic, which is a diss track aimed at former pal Charli XCX, and now Taylor has opened up about it.
In the tune, she claims the unidentified woman calls her "Boring Barbie when the coke's got you brave," before adding: "High-fived my ex and then said you're glad he ghosted me."
It comes after Charli wrote a song last year called Sympathy is a Knife, in which she said she felt insecure around Taylor because of her success.
In a new Amazon Music commentary, Taylor explained: "Actually Romantic is a song about realising that someone else has kind of had a one-sided, adversarial relationship with you that you didn't know about.
"It's presenting itself as them sort of resenting you . . . but you take that and just accept it as love and you accept it as attention and affection, and how flattering that somebody has made you such a big part of their reality.
"It's actually pretty romantic if you really think about it."
Lola's legal battles
IT'S been a tough few days for Lola Young, who announced she was stepping back from the spotlight for the foreseeable.
And now I have been told about a very ugly legal row that has been brewing in the background.
I have seen court filings showing a dispute between the South London singer and US producer Carter Lang, who is claiming she owes him money from her breakout track Messy.
The song, which came out in May last year, is close to hitting a billion streams on Spotify, which isn't half bad for a track she wrote in her bedroom.
When it went to No1, Lola became the youngest British artist to land the top spot since Dua Lipa in 2017.
A source said: "Lola and her team were stunned when they found out Carter wanted a cut from the success of Messy.
"Now Messy is only getting more traction, he has come out of the woodwork and is demanding money. It has blindsided everyone.
"Lola's legal team have got involved now and are hoping to put this to bed quickly because it is incredibly stressful for a young artist who has only ever supported the people she's worked with.
"Lola wrote Messy in her bedroom and then went into 64 Sound in LA with producers Jared Solomon, William Brown and Conor Dickinson to work on the track.
"Carter was involved in producing her album, This Wasn't Meant For You Anyway, but when this song was conceived there wasn't much of an input from him. He's also claiming he is owed money for three other songs."
A statement from her lawyers reads: "It is with immense disappointment we have had no choice but to respond to recent writing credit claims from Carter Lang on four Lola Young songs by issuing legal proceedings.
"Carter's claims are strongly refuted and we will not allow Lola's reputation and integrity to be called into question, particularly so long after the sessions took place and agreements were put in place.
"Lola has always been authentic in her songwriting process and acknowledges songwriting contributions where appropriate.
"This dispute has been ongoing for several months and we look forward to the truth being established."
Seeing Lola cancelling all her shows to take a break, having collapsed on stage last month, made me feel incredibly sad.
The pressure on young artists is something none of us will ever be able to truly understand.
Lola has worked insanely hard to get to where she is and to hear that Carter, the brains behind Justin Bieber's last two albums, has come in to try and cream off his share of the profits is grim.
You weren't bothered when Messy first came out, Carter, so why now?
Post a Comment