To understand the cultural phenomenon that is Taylor Swift, consider this: There are very few pop stars who can entice fans to a movie theatre to pay at least $20 to watch the world premiere of a music video that will be available on YouTube within days.
But that’s exactly what Swift has done with “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” out in theatres this weekend to coincide with her latest album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”
And while tickets seem not quite as in demand as they were for her Eras tours — the first showing at a Cineplex in Oakville at 3 p.m. Friday, for example, was far from a full theatre — all the hallmarks of that record-breaking tour were in evidence: Passionate fans in friendship bracelets, dressed up in their merch or sporting outfits Swift has worn on stage, like a sparkly jacket or a T-shirt with “A lot going on at the moment” written on it, everyone excited to be around other people who love being Swifties as much as they do.
“There’s no way we weren’t coming,” says an Eras tour merch-wearing Abbey Crowley, who came with her mother Tara, who herself was in a Kansas City Chiefs shirt as a nod to the man who inspired large chunks of this latest album, Swift’s fiancé Travis Kelce. “I’m hoping to learn more about the production of how she does this, how she writes an album and gets it out there.”
They actually had tickets to another movie theatre location but because they were running late — Tara needed to renew her passport to go to a Chiefs game next month, in fact — the pair bought new tickets at a closer location to make it on time.
“I don’t even know how to word (what Taylor means to me). Her music can bring a smile to my face on a rough day,” says Abbey. “Having good music with an artist I love, and who I think is a great person, it just helps. I love her music.”
Her mother Tara adds that it’s a special thing to be able to do with her daughter. “I don’t know how much longer she’ll want to do these things with me,” she says. “As a musician, Taylor speaks for herself, but as a person, she’s a role model. That’s pretty unique in an artist in today’s musical options.”
Angelina Ponomarenko and Ningyue Zhou, who came together to the screening, say it’s a chance to keep the Eras tour fun alive.
“Last year, I went to the Eras tour in Amsterdam. I crossed the world to see her,” says Ponomarenko, who’s been a fan for over a decade. “It brings such a joy to my life to be in such a safe environment with all of these amazing people. I’m just very happy to be here.”
For Zhou, who moved to Canada two months ago, it’s a way to get close to something that’s felt far off for a long time. “When I was in China, there was no Eras tour,” she says. “I’ve loved her from primary school. I haven’t been to a show, but I have watched (the Eras tour movie) 13 times.
“I was very excited to hear about this event because we don’t have this in China,” said Zhou, wearing friendship bracelets — a Swiftian tradition — that her friends from back home gave her.
Ponomarenko says it’s just another example of how Swift unites. “She brings people from all over the world together,” she says. “Whatever this woman does is absolute fire.”
As for the release party itself, it’s exactly as Swift advertised when she announced it a few weeks ago: First, you get the world premiere of the music video for “The Fate of Ophelia,” the lead single, some behind-the-scenes footage of the video’s production, and then lyric videos for each of the 12 tracks.
After the same clock that counted down to the start of the Eras tour hits zero, Swift — in a necklace with two Ts on it and a pendant in the shape of a padlocked vinyl case, a motif that has intrigued fans since it also appeared as a prop in the Spotify pop-up experience for the album earlier this week — appears on the screen to welcome fans. “I’m just so excited we can all be together again,” she says, inviting fans to dance and sing together like they did at the tour. “This is something that’s never been done before.”
Next, we get the premiere of the music video, which starts with a painting of Swift — posing in the style of Sir John Everett Millais’s famous painting of the doomed Ophelia — that suddenly comes to life before she dances through a series of vignettes through the decades, playing parts that include a 1960s lounge singers, a Busby Berkeley-style variety show dancer, a 1920s burlesque performer, and finally closing with the shot of her in a bathtub — inspired by her ritual after the Eras tour — that’s on the cover of this album.
“It’s a journey through ways you could be a showgirl, how you could be in the public eye,” says Swift, who also jokes that it’s “art history for pop fans,” filled with lots of details for fans to enjoy as they watch it over and over.
After the music video, there are behind-the-scenes snippets that air in between the lyric videos. Through them, we learn some fun facts, like that Swift, who directed it, spent three weeks rehearsing before shooting it. Her sourdough bread — a new hobby she revealed when she appeared on Kelce’s podcast to announce the album — also makes a cameo in one of the scenes. In another nod to her fiancé, she’s wearing a sea otter shirt in the rehearsal footage, a reference to his apparent obsession with the creatures.
The most instructive part of this experience comes in the short introductions Swift does for each lyric video, giving some insight into the song.
“Father Figure,” for example, was sparked by a “creative writing exercise” where she imagines the relationship between a mentor and an ingénue becoming complicated over time. “It’s a story about power and betrayal,” she says. “I can relate to both characters.”
“Eldest Daughter” comes from her own experience of living that place in the birth order, that “feeling of you have to do it all, the constant quest for perfectionism.”
“Actually Romantic,” which many on the internet have interpreted as a diss track about Charli XCX, she explains as “love letter to someone who hates you.” “Wood,” one of the raunchier tracks on the album, she winkingly called a “song about superstitions,” sparking knowing giggles from the theatre audience.
