Taylor Swift.Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Movie nights in quarantine played a part inTaylor Swift’s creative process for her albumfolklore.
The “Cardigan” singer, 30, appears on the cover ofEntertainment Weekly’s January 2021 issue as one of the Entertainers of the Year, opening up about her career and her most recent musical project. Swift told the magazine thatFolkloredrew some inspiration from her at-home entertainment while isolating with boyfriendJoe Alwynduring the pandemic.
“I feel like consuming other people’s art and storytelling sort of opened this portal in my imagination and made me feel like: ‘Well, why have I never done this before? Why have I never created characters and intersecting storylines? And why haven’t I ever sort of freed myself up to do that from a narrative standpoint?’ "
Swift’s Entertainer of the Year cover reunites the pop star with herFolklorephotographer, Beth Garrabrant.Beth Garrabrant for EW
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Swift explained that taking inspiration from the movies and entertainment she consumed during isolation helped her be more cinematic in her songwriting, opening her imagination.
For the album, Alwyn, 29 — known for roles inThe FavouriteandHarriet—co-wrote the songs “Betty"and “Exile” with Swift under the pseudonym William Bowery.
“That was huge for me,” Swift said of writing from a male perspective in “Betty.” “And I think it came from the fact that my co-writer, William Bowery [Joe Alwyn], is male — and he was the one who originally thought of the chorus melody. And hearing him sing it, I thought, ‘That sounds really cool.’ "
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“Obviously, I don’t have a male voice, but I thought, ‘I could have a male perspective.’ Patty Griffin wrote this song, ‘Top of the World.’ It’s one of my favorite songs of all time, and it’s from the perspective of this older man who has lived a life full of regret, and he’s kind of taking stock of that regret. So, I thought: ‘This is something that people I am a huge fan of have done. This would be fun to kind of take this for a spin.’ "
Alwyn and Swift begandating in fall 2016, which she confirmed in a diary entry from the deluxe edition of her albumLover.
While the two have kept their relationship private, Alwyn made a brief appearance in her Netflix documentaryMiss Americanain which the “Blank Space” singer ran into the actor’s arms before they walked around backstage following one of her concerts.
source: people.com
