Taylor Swift’s new song ‘Father Figure’ was inspired by Succession’s Logan Roy, the musician has said.

Swift released her 12th studio album ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’ on Friday (October 3), the follow-up to last year’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’.

Now, speaking to Jimmy Kimmel, Swift has said the song, which interpolates George Michael’s 1987 classic tune of the same name, was inspired by Logan Roy – head of the family of hit show Succession and played by Brian Cox. The show concluded in 2023.

She said: “And this is written from the perspective of like, the mentor to the protege, because I kept thinking about that scene in Succession where Logan looks at his kids, and says, ‘I love you. But you are not serious people.’ And I think about that scene constantly.

“I was like, ‘I want to write a song that has that energy of sort of Logan Roy being like, ‘You bit the hand that fed you, and you do not have possess the vernacular to be doing this.’ But I also really have completely related to the protege perspective in so many of these situations, right? Like I relate to the younger one, like when I’m listening to this song, even though it’s from the perspective of the father figure character.”

You can watch the clip here:

Michael’s estate has responded to Swift’s interpolation of ‘Father Figure’, writing on social media: “We were delighted when Taylor Swift and her team approached us earlier this year about incorporating an interpolation of George Michael‘s classic song ‘Father Figure’ into a brand new song of the same title to be featured on her forthcoming album.”

“When we heard the track we had no hesitation in agreeing to this association between two great artists and we know George would have felt the same,” they continued, before going on to wish Swift “every success with The Life of a Showgirl and ‘Father Figure.’”

In other news, Swift has broken Adele’s streaming-era record with her new album release, chart figures have revealed.

‘The Life Of A Showgirl’ has earned 3.5million album units in the US alone, as per Billboard. Of this total, traditional album sales (physical and digital purchases), equal 3.2million copies, while the remaining 300,000 relate to streaming.

This now surpasses the record previously set by Adele in the opening week of ‘25’ when it debuted with 3.378million copies sold in 2015. Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ has now secured a new record for the largest week, by equivalent album units, for an album, since the Billboard chart began ranking the most popular albums by equivalent units in 2014.

Elsewhere, the singer has ruled out touring off the back of her record-breaking Eras tour, adding: “I’m gonna be really honest with you. I am so tired, like when I think about doing it again. Because I would want to do it really well again, you know?”

NME gave ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’ three stars, writing: “To seek escapism is not a sin, but the best pop music makes the personal feel like life or death. ‘Speak Now’, ‘Reputation’, ‘Folklore’: her greatest works could be genuinely transformative. For the first time, ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’ sees Swift not catalysed into artistic growth by love, but merely comfortably secured by it.”

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