Hands up if you correctly guessed the reference Taylor Swift is making on the cover of her new album, The Life of a Showgirl.
During an interview with BBC Radio 1’s Greg James on Friday, October 3, Swift, 35, confirmed that the artwork — which sees the singer posing in a bathtub in a bedazzled corset — is a reference to Ophelia, a 1851 to 1852 painting by British artist John Everett Millais.
“Thank you for appreciating that the album cover is a reference to the famous Ophelia painting, which then ends up being referenced in the music video,” Swift said, teasing the visual for the album’s first track, “The Fate of Ophelia.”
“There’s more references to this painting,” she said, referring to the music video, which will premiere in theaters later on Friday.
Who Is Ophelia? Breaking Down Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Song Title
The album’s first track refers to Ophelia, a character in William Shakespeare’s classic play Hamlet, who dies by drowning after being scorned by Hamlet and following the death of her father.
“I just love the idea of you saved me from love driving me mad,” Swift told James, referring to the lyrics to “The Fate of Ophelia,” which appear to be about her fiancé, Travis Kelce.
“Saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia,” Swift sings on the song, alluding to Kelce saving from her a similar fate to Ophelia.
She also sings, “Pledge allegiance to your hands, your team, your vibes,” which appears to refer to Kelce’s position as a tight end with the Kansas City Chiefs football team.
For the new album, Swift said, “I was really playing with writing in character, and developing these characters and these character arcs and things. … Even though [the album] is about my life, sometimes you cosplay, like, ‘This is a love song through the lens of Elizabeth Taylor’s life.’ There’s different motifs that I think we’re trying out on this record that were a culmination of me practicing and working up to the point where I could make this kind of album.”
Swift announced The Life of a Showgirl during an August appearance on Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast.
Taylor Swift Breaks Down Inspiration for ‘Life of a Showgirl’ Album, Cover
“This represents the end of my night, like, when I’m on tour, I have the same day every single day,” Swift said of the cover art for the standard edition of the album. “My show days are the same every single day. I just happen to be in a different city, and my day ends with me in a bathtub — not usually in a bedazzled dress.”
For the cover, the singer worked with photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, describing the experience as “extraordinary.” She added, “I was so happy with it that I just wanted the fans to have as many images from this sort of world [and] this album era.”
