TAYLOR Swift takes aim at her former label boss Scott Borchetta and music industry mogul Scooter Braun on her new album Folklore.
She hit out at them both last year after Scott went behind her back and sold off her back catalogue of music to Scooter, meaning that she no longer has control of her old albums — but then they lied and insisted she had known about the deal.
In an attack on the pair, she sings on Mad Woman: “It’s obvious that wanting me dead has really brought you two together.”
Insisting Scott and Scooter are to blame for the backlash they faced last year after she called them out, she continues: “What a shame she went mad, no one likes a mad woman. You made her like that. And you’ll poke that bear till her claws come out.”
She adds: “They say, ‘Move on’ but you know I won’t. And women like hunting witches too.”
Another song, My Tears Ricochet, which she said was the first track written for the album, also appears to be about the situation.
She suggests she would have liked to return to old label Big Machine Records, referring to it as “home”, but now cannot do so due to Scott selling it to Scooter.
In a remark about losing ownership of her music, she refers to her songs as “stolen lullabies”.
She sings: “I can go anywhere I want. Anywhere I want, just not home.
“And you can aim for my heart, go for blood, but you would still miss me in your bones.
Away from that situation, Taylor uses opening track The 1 to ponder what could maybe have been with a past love. She sings: “I persist and resist the temptation to ask you, if one thing had been different would everything be different today?”
That theme continues in lead single Cardigan and fans are convinced it is about Harry Styles, who she dated from 2012 to 2013, because the video features her playing a piano leaking water — the same concept Harry used for his Falling video in February.
Taylor’s album doesn’t put herself at the centre of all of the songs, though.
During a fan Q&A, she said: “One thing I did purposely on this album was to put the Easter eggs (clues) in the lyrics, more than just the videos.
“I created character arcs and recurring themes that map out who is singing about who.
“For example, there’s a collection of three songs I refer to as the Teenage Love Triangle.
“These explore a love triangle from all three people’s perspectives, at different times in their lives.”
It’s thought the song Betty is told from James’s point of view, track Cardigan from Betty’s and third song August from Inez’s.
And quick-thinking fans are now guessing that she has revealed her close friend Blake Lively’s third child’s name as Betty, because the Gossip Girl actress already had children James and Inez.
The American superstar is also clearly besotted with her British actor boyfriend Joe Alwyn and tells of her desire to start a family with him.
The lyric goes: “Give you my wild, give you a child.”
Featured on the track Peace, it seems to be a tribute to Joe, who hails from North London.
Taylor also sings: “All these people think love’s for show, but I would die for you in secret.”
But while she is gushing about Joe, Taylor pulls no punches with her enemies.
Her fans are convinced she takes a pop at Kanye West by calling the US rapper a clown during the same song.
She announced on Thursday that she would be releasing Folklore the next day — putting her head-to-head with Kanye’s new album Donda: With Child.
In the end, his latest record wasn’t released on Friday.
Taylor’s latest album, which I gave a five-star review on Friday, takes her in a very different, stripped-back direction, away from the pop sound which her fans have come to know and love.
But it could be the great British countryside that has influenced her new music, because bonus track The Lakes is all about escaping showbiz to go to the Lake District — presumably somewhere she has visited with Joe during her time in the UK.
She sings: “Take me to the Lakes, where all the poets went to die.
“I don’t belong and, my beloved, neither do you.
“Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry.”
Taylor is more than welcome to take refuge here in the UK, just as long as the music continues.
READ ON FOR MORE OF SIMON BOYLE'S BIZARRE COLUMN
Zayn stays silent on 1D’s 10th anniversary
ZAYN Malik has distanced himself from One Direction ever since he quit in 2015 – but it couldn’t have been more apparent as the band celebrated their tenth anniversary on Thursday.
While Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson posted on social media about the life-changing experience of being in the band, Zayn stayed silent.
Pals say the singer, who is expecting his first child with model Gigi Hadid, is working on new music and wants nothing to do with the group that made him famous.
A friend said: “Zayn is of course grateful for One Direction for giving him the platform it did, but he’s a solo artist now.
“He’s working on new music and wants to cut ties so he’s taken seriously in his own lane.”
Zayn unfollowed the lads on social media some time back and described their albums as being “generic as f**k”.
His last album failed to set the charts alight, so his next needs to be something special.
bizbit
COMIC Tom Lucy stars in the first of ten episodes of London After Lockdown, a new series all about the hospitality business, on Posh Cockney TV’s YouTube channel. A new episode lands every Friday at 7pm.
Rita locks down tracks
AFTER a well-earned break, Rita Ora’s music career has got her pretty tied up again – a bit like her shirt.
She was pictured in this knotted top after spending the day at a recording studio in London. She carried a £4,000 Prada handbag but stuck on jogging bottoms to lay down her vocals. Rita has been hard at work on her third album following 2018’s Phoenix, spending lockdown writing new songs.
Shouldn’t be long until we can hear what she has been up to.
bizbit
MOVIE director Ridley Scott and producer Andrew MacDonald are asking the public to send in clips for new film Life In A Day 2020. Andrew said: “Film what’s important to you.” See lifeinaday.youtube to take part.
Bey missed off Colplay mix
NORWEGIAN dance duo Seeb have revealed they accidentally left out Beyonce’s vocals when they remixed Coldplay’s collaboration with Queen Bey, Hymn For The Weekend, in 2016.
In an exclusive chat, Espen Berg said: “I could kind of hear some female voice in there but I was like, ‘Well, let’s focus on the main vocals’.”
He and partner Simen Eriksrud were practically begged to do the remix by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, who was a huge fan of their 2015 hit I Took A Pill In Ibiza. Espen said: “He kind of proposed to us on the internet.”
Simen added: “He had some small ideas of how to make the remix better. The management said he’d call me, so I was waiting the whole day, like nervous.
“But there was a mix-up and he ended up calling Espen, who was in his own world, doing his taxes. Suddenly he sees his phone with a picture, like, ‘Who the f*** is this guy? Oh it’s Chris Martin’.”
Espen added: “The main reason he called me was that we’d left out Beyonce on the remix. We were completely unaware of that. We were like, ‘Oh is she there?’.”
The duo have dropped the first part of new album Sad In Scandinavia, with seven songs including the title track and Unfamiliar with Hrvy.
The rest is due out later this year – so maybe Beyonce will be on part two.
bizbit
BAD news for anyone hoping for another Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams collaboration on her new album Disco. Asked if it had happened, Kylie said: “I didn’t hear that rumour. So yes, it was a rumour.”
It's Bon stove-y
JON Bon Jovi could have been forgiven for slacking during lockdown but instead he got a job as a chef.
The Bon Jovi frontman has been working at his JBJ Soul Kitchen Community Restaurant in New Jersey in the US to serve meals to those most in need.
But now he is back to his regular day job after the experience inspired him to write new single Do What You Can, which is out this week. It will be on their next album called 2020, out on October 2.
It also includes a second extra song, American Reckoning, inspired by the response to the death of George Floyd in the US in May.
Jon said: “I am a witness to history. The greatest gift of an artist is to use their voice to speak to issues that move us.”
bizmeter charts
JOEL Corry and MNEK have both scored their first No1 single with summer banger Head & Heart, which has sold 68,000 copies this week.
DRAKE has two new entries, at No8 with DJ Khaled on Greece and at No9 on Only You Freestyle with Headie One. The rapper has now scored a total of 22 Top Ten singles. Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande’s Rain On Me is one of the songs of the summer after a ninth week in the Top Five.
Official singles chart:
- Head & Heart – Joel Corry ft. MNEK
- Savage Love – Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo
- Rockstar – DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch
- Rain On Me – Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande
- Watermelon Sugar – Harry Styles
- West Ten – AJ Tracey and Mabel
- Secrets – Regard and Raye
- Greece – DJ Khaled ft. Drake
- Only You Freestyle – Headie One and Drake
- Dinner Guest – AJ Tracey ft. Mostack
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