SHE is the biggest pop star on the planet and renowned for using her rollercoaster love life to inspire her mega-hits.
Now Taylor Swift is at it again, having opened up her vault of unreleased songs for her fourth rerecorded album — and a whole can of worms with it.
This time the American singer has revisited fifth studio album 1989, which transformed her into a global superstar on its release in 2014.
On one of the five new never- before-heard tracks included, the 33-year-old slams a former flame for being a “lying traitor” and bedding a string of models after their break-up.
Taylor, whose current relationship with Kansas City Chiefs NFL ace Travis Kelce, 34, is dominating headlines, also addresses being branded a serial dater and “slut shamed”.
In the years she was writing 1989, Taylor dated One Direction heart-throb Harry Styles and Conor Kennedy, son of independent candidate for the 2024 US presidential election Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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Both men are tipped to have inspired the record.
But the track Style convinced fans that the bulk of the album was about Harry.
As is the norm, Taylor has avoided naming names on her newly unearthed songs, which will only fuel speculation.
That said, her lyrics are peppered with hints, including a lover with “mismatched star signs” and another who grew his hair long and revamped his image.
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On single Slut!, Taylor sings about the backlash she received for bagging a heart-throb.
She goes on to brand the man in question a gent for comforting her.
‘I might as well be drunk in love’
Harry has often been dubbed the world’s most eligible bachelor and an all-round nice guy.
Taylor sings: “I will pay the price you won’t.
“And if they call me a slut, you know it might be worth it for once.
“And if I’m going to be drunk I might as well be drunk in love.”
She continues: “He’s waiting there. The sticks and stones they throw froze midair.
“Everyone wants him, that was my crime.
“The wrong place at the right time . . . I break down and he’s pulling me in.
“In a world of boys, he is a gentleman.”
Over the years Taylor has dated actor Jake Gyllenhaal, who inspired her 2012 hit All Too Well, DJ Calvin Harris, and been linked to a string of men, including fellow singers Joe Jonas and John Mayer.
She reflected on her early dating life in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe in 2019, saying: “When I was 23 people were making slideshows of my dating life and putting people in there that I’d sat next to at a party once.
“It’s a way to take a woman who’s succeeding at her job and figuring out how to completely minimise that skill by taking something that everyone in their darkest moments loves to do, which is just to slut-shame.”
Writing on the inside of the 1989 (Taylor’s Version) vinyl, Taylor reveals she tried to avoid men altogether in a bid to stop the rumour mill.
She formed a close-knit group of famous female friends, including models Karlie Kloss and Gigi Hadid and singer Selena Gomez, who joined Taylor on stage at her 1989 world tour.
Taylor writes: “It became clear that for me there was no such thing as casual dating or even having a male friend.
“If I was seen with him, it was assumed I was sleeping with him.
“And so I swore off hanging out with guys. Dating.
“Flirting or against anything that could be weaponised against me by a culture that claimed to believe in liberating women but constantly treated me with the harsh moral codes of the Victorian era.”
But Taylor doesn’t hold back when she revisits some of her past romances on the album.
On From The Vault track, Is It Over Now, she calls an ex a “lying traitor” for seemingly moving on with a number of “models” in front of the paparazzi.
Fans will no doubt connect this to Harry, who was linked to beauties Cara Delevingne and Emma Ostilly around the same time.
Taylor hits out: “You dream of my mouth before it called you a lying traitor.
“You search in every model’s bed for something greater.”
She continues: “Your new girl is my clone.
“And did you think I didn’t see you? There were flashing lights.
“At least I had the decency to keep my nights out of sight, only rumours ’bout my hips and thighs, and my whispered sighs, oh Lord.”
Despite the brutal lyrics, Taylor says the five new tracks are some of her favourites.
When she announced 1989 (Taylor’s Version) on social media in August, the singer said: “The 1989 album changed my life in countless ways.
“This is my most favourite re-record I’ve ever done because the From The Vault tracks are so insane.
“I can’t believe they were ever left behind. But not for long.”
Taylor shows her more vulnerable side on Say Don’t Go, co-written with Grammy-winning writer Diane Warren.
On it, the heartbroken star pines for a mystery lover to give their fling another shot.
She sings: “I’ve known it from the very start.
“We’re a shot in the darkest dark. I hold my breath a little bit longer.
“Halfway out the door but it won’t close.
“I’m holding out for hope for you to say ‘don’t go’. I would stay forever if you say ‘don’t go’.”
‘Truth is I can’t pretend it’s platonic’
Upbeat track Now That We Don’t Talk appears to be about a short romance Taylor had with someone she wasn’t suited to.
She sings: “What do you tell your friends, we shared dinners, long weekends with?
“Truth is I can’t pretend it’s platonic, it’s just ended so.”
Taylor adds: “Now that we don’t talk I don’t have to pretend I like acid rock.
“Or that I’d like to be on a mega yacht with important men who think important thoughts.”
In the ten years since the release of 1989, Taylor and Harry seem to have made up.
In February, Taylor hit the headlines for jumping to her feet and clapping in a show of support for Harry, who was being heckled during his acceptance speech for Album of the Year at the Grammys.
Despite Harry’s House topping charts around the world, many believed the gong should have gone to Beyonce’s Renaissance, prompting boos from the live audience.
It was reminiscent of the time Kanye West interrupted Taylor’s speech for Video of the Year at the 2009 VMA awards because she had trumped Beyonce’s Single Ladies.
And, earlier in the evening, Harry and Taylor were seen fist-bumping and hugging after she approached his table at the bash.
Taylor may now be hoping the speculation surrounding her new album does not tarnish their friendship.
It is predicted 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is on track to shift close to one million sales in its first week alone.
An impressive feat, especially in the age of streaming.
Taylor’s first three re-recorded albums — a bid to regain control of her music after her masters were acquired by talent manager Scooter Braun in 2020 against her wishes — have consecutively done better than the earlier releases.
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) shifted 716,000 copies in July.
Upon its initial release in 2014, 1989 hit No1 in the UK charts and gave Taylor three UK Top Ten hits — Shake It Off, Blank Space and Bad Blood.
It also turned her into a pop phenomenon after she had dominating country music for years.
Taylor is on a career high right now.
Last week her single Cruel Summer gave her a tenth No1 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
And the worldwide release of her Eras Tour film broke box-office records.
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The tour, tipped to be one of the biggest in history, will reach the UK in June 2024 and see Taylor play six nights at Wembley Stadium.
The run of shows is another place in the history books for the star, who will hold the highest number of nights at the 90,000-seater venue for a female act ever.
TAYLOR SWIFT, 1989
*****
SOMEHOW Taylor Swift has done it again.
It’s hard to believe that any of the five 1989 (Taylor’s Version) vault tracks never made the cut the first time around.
Peppered with hints and clues about her former flames, each song is a tantalising insight into Taylor’s world away from the stage as she teetered on the brink of superstardom.
Now her fourth Taylor’s Version release in little over two years, you’d be forgiven for having fatigue at the sheer volume of songs the singer is putting out.
But with an almost whimsical summery feel to it, Taylor’s 1989 Vault is once again the pinnacle in songwriting and ear- worm pop.
All five songs could easily be singles.
The influence of her long-term collaborator Jack Antonoff is also undeniable, with the songwriter and producer working on four of the five hits.
A personal stand-out track comes in the form of her collaboration with legendary Grammy-winning songwriter Diane Warren, Say Don’t Go.
1989 (Taylor’s Version) looks certain to give Taylor another No1 album and no doubt single too.
