Song: ‘The Fate of Ophelia’
Artist: Taylor Swift
US chart peak: 1*
Release date: October 3, 2025
Writers: Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Shellback
Producers: Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Shellback
Quintessential Max moment: The second part of the chorus, where the melody dances around “keep it one hundred…”
Video synopsis: A glossy art history lesson meets a rigid take on Burlesque.

Like most people I’d assumed Max and Taylor Swift’s professional relationship had come to an end. Having worked on 2012’s ‘Red’, 2014’s ‘1989’ and 2017’s ‘Reputation’, chiefly alongside Shellback, Max disappeared from the credits as Taylor’s sonic palette changed. By the time she was roaming around the woods in a big coat with Bon Iver ‘et al’ in 2020 via ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’, it seemed likely the pair were moving in different directions. Added to the mix was Taylor’s back catalogue war with Scooter Braun – who Max had been seen chatting to at a concert shortly after – and the fact that the (Taylor’s Version) re-recordings of ‘Red’ and ‘1989’ didn’t feature Max’s input.

So it was a shock when Taylor announced details of her twelfth album, ‘The Life of a Showgirl’, via her fiancé Travis Kelce’s podcast on 12 August. And not just because everyone assumed she might be taking a little break after completing the globe-straddling, culture-absorbing, GDP-shifting Eras tour; but because it was to be entirely co-produced by Max and Shellback, alongside Taylor herself. The vibrant artwork and imagery – Taylor as the Showgirl of the title in various different poses across the various different variants released for limited periods in order to fleece fans in spectacular new ways – mixed with the hiring of the hitmakers that helped conjure up the likes of ‘Shake It Off‘, ‘…Ready For It?‘, ‘I Knew You Were Trouble‘ and ‘Style‘, and a statement from Taylor stating she was in “the most infectiously joyful, wild, dramatic place” of her life, had fans assuming it was going to be a big old bop fest.

Reader, it is not that. With no pre-release singles to manage expectation, ‘The Life of a Showgirl’, which features Max and Shellback on piano (no synths), bass, percussion, omnichord and more drum kits than drum machines, arrived like a spluttering firecracker rather than an all guns blazing Catherine wheel. It also felt like it lived within the same musical worlds as the more muted ‘Midnights’ and 2024’s endless ‘The Tortured Poets Department’, both chiefly produced by Jack Antonoff. Why, people asked, bother popping over to Stockholm if you’re not going to play to its occupants main strengths? Obviously, things weren’t helped by the cacophony of chatter that greets every Taylor Swift album, from the penis-based punnery to the misjudged clapback to the frankly hilarious notion that Taylor doesn’t want any of the trappings of unimaginable fame and wealth, just a driveway and a basketball net. I will aim to explore more of those topics if the relevant songs make the US top 10, which seems likely let’s be honest.

Opener ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ is the album’s proper single, having been sent to US radio and popped on YouTube alongside a (very good) video. ‘IMHO’, after living with the album for a few days, it’s probably her best single since ‘Anti-Hero’, all 70s-indebted soft-pop production flourishes with some Euro oompah thrown in, all anchored by a cavalcade of hooks presented with a simplicity that’s been missing from her recent oeuvre. If Max is the professor of melodic math, than Jack Antonoff is often its boffin-adjacent renegade, keen to do long division when using a calculator was probably the better bet.

There’s a gorgeous moment at 2:55 when Taylor emerges from the typically lovely bridge (I can just about forgive her for the use of the word “‘Tis” – JUST!), and flutters the final note just before the chorus crashes back in with some perfectly placed vocal ad-libs. That chorus is also elevated to gold standard by a shuffling melody that is tweaked in its second half as she sings about “keeping it one hundred” by pretending to enjoy American Football for her (well-endowed) man.

Obviously Shakespearean scholars have already started yanking at their ruffs over Taylor’s admittedly weak grasp of Hamlet, and she does have previous when it comes to bastardising so-called sacred texts and flattening out complex characters into fairytale-esque avatars. But, and this can be really difficult to remember if you’re near the internet, Taylor is a pop star and this is pop music. I realise that sounds reductive to some but I don’t mean it that way. It can just be worth reminding yourself of that fact every so often; yes Taylor wants each of her albums to come with an accompanying guidebook to walk you through the layers of lore, but that doesn’t mean you have to engage. For me, the opening trio of songs on ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ work so well because they are essentially daft love songs with big hooks. Sometimes, just to cleanse my brain, I choose not to interact with lyrics beyond how they sit within the melody, and it’s often a lovely place to be, especially with Taylor.

Having always wanted a fairytale ending, Taylor now has her big-dicked knight in shining armour, or whatever it is NFL players wear. ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ is their song, and it’s a good one.

* ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ is Max’s 28th US number 1 single (!!), and fifth with Taylor.