3 weeks ago
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Taylor Swift has released the music video for “Opalite” from her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl. Swifties everywhere can finally rejoice — but only if you have Spotify or Apple Music. At least, for the video is available exclusively on the streaming platforms, and not on YouTube.
As Swift explained in a message posted to social media, the video was born out of her recent appearance on the Graham Norton Show: “When we were all talking during the broadcast, Domhnall [Gleeson] made a light hearted joke about wanting to be in one of my music videos. He’s Irish! He was joking! Except that in that moment during the interview, I was instantly struck with an *idea*. And so a week later he received an email script I’d written for the ‘Opalite’ video, where he was playing the starring role. I had this thought that it would be wild if all of our fellow guests on the Graham Norton Show that night, including Graham himself, could be a part of it too. Like a school group project but for adults and it isn’t mandatory. To my delight, everyone from the show made the effort to time travel back to the 90’s with us and help with this video.”
In the video, which Swift wrote and directed herself, the pop star plays a lonely woman whose only companion is a pet rock. Gleeson, meanwhile, is equally forlorn, with only a pet cactus to keep him company. The pair are eventually brought together by a mysterious solution called Opalite.
As Swift noted, the star-studded video also features cameos from other celebrities who appeared on The Graham Norton Show that evening, including Cillian Murphy, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Lewis Capaldi.
“Opalite” details Swift’s public romance with NFL player Travis Kelce. On the track, Swift sings about finding love after dealing with a past full of heartbreaks and bitter disappointments. Everything from the lyrics, to the name of the song itself ties in with the two lovestruck partners; Swift has revealed that she loved opals as a kid, and it’s also Kelce’s birthstone.
Instead of leaving the song up to interpretation, Swift detailed the song’s meaning in a conversation on Hits Radio. “’Opalite’ is a song about forgiving yourself for having gone through something that didn’t pan out the way you wanted it to,” she explained to the show’s host. “It’s giving yourself permission to not have it all figured out or not marry the first person you ever dated.”
Kelce hasn’t kept a secret how much he loves the track. On an episode of his New Heights podcast, he revealed that it’s one of his favorite songs from The Life of a Showgirl. “Every time it comes on, I always catch myself,” he said.
Swift’s new single comes out just days after she was elected into the Songwriters Hall of Fame as part of its 2026 class.
With her induction, she became the second-youngest honoree in the Hall’s history, joining the likes of Mariah Carey, Chad Hugo, and more.
Read our rankings of Swift’s albums from worst to best here.
English (US) · 