Swift wrote and produced "The Fate of Ophelia" with Swedish producers Max Martin and Shellback. It is instrumented by drums, bass, piano, steel guitars, synthesizers, and Omnichord. The lyrics depict Swift pledging herself to an honorable and deserving soulmate, who saves her from a destiny of death similar to that of Ophelia, a character in English playwright William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, whose madness from grief and romantic rejection fatally drowns her.
Music critics generally selected "The Fate of Ophelia" as one of the strongest, catchiest songs on The Life of a Showgirl, praising its composition, hook, and vocal performance. Commercially, "The Fate of Ophelia" has reached number-one in Australia, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. On the streaming platform Spotify, it broke the global record for the highest streams for a song in a single day, surpassing her own single "Fortnight" (2024).
The music video, written and directed by Swift, premiered as part of The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, an album launch and event film released in cinema theatres on the same day as the album. The video portrays Swift in various styles of showgirls throughout different historical time periods. Swift worked with the Mexican cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, the American choreographer Mandy Moore, and the Canadian production designer Ethan Tobman on the video, and cast her band and dance crew from the Eras Tour. Both the song's lyrics and the video feature references to Swift's fiancé, the American football player Travis Kelce.
Background and release
On August 13, 2025, Taylor Swift announced her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, during an episode of then-boyfriend Travis Kelce's podcast New Heights.[1] "The Fate of Ophelia" was also announced that day as the album's opening track.[2] Swift referenced William Shakespeare's play Hamlet during the podcast, noting the descent into madness and eventual death by drowning of the character Ophelia.[3] She also hinted that both the song's title and theme allude to Ophelia's tragic fate.[4] The album's standard cover artwork was inspired by artistic depictions of Ophelia's death, particularly John Everett Millais's 1850s painting Ophelia, where the character is portrayed as lying in a body of water before drowning.[5]
On September 19, 2025, it was announced that the release of the album would coincide with the premiere of an 89-minute film event titled Taylor Swift: The Release Party of a Showgirl.[6] During the announcement, it was revealed that "The Fate of Ophelia" would receive its own dedicated music video within the film, along with behind-the-scenes footage from the video's production.[7] The track was also confirmed as the lead single from The Life of a Showgirl through a post on Swift's official Instagram account.[8][9][10]
The song includes numerous references to Swift's relationship with her partner Travis Kelce.[18] Swift pledges loyalty to an honorable and deserving man for saving her from a death similar to that of Ophelia, a character in William Shakespeare's tragic play Hamlet.[18][19] Throughout the song, Swift recalls moments when Kelce supported her, drawing a parallel to how Ophelia might have been saved if she had received help. She also reflects on the period before they got to know each other. References include his career as a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, his public declaration with intent to court Swift on his podcast through comparison to a megaphone, nods to his team, and his frequent use of the phrase "keep it one hundred".[20] The number 100 also symbolizes the sum of the couple's signature numbers, 13 and 87, both of which were referenced on Instagram and the New Heights podcast ahead of the release.[21] She credits Kelce with saving her from "insanity, drowning, deception, and purgatory" brought on by past relationships and the isolation of fame, citing him as the reason she avoided an Ophelia-like fate.[22]
Critical reception
"The Fate of Ophelia" received positive critical response for its melodic composition, highlighting its catchiness and hook. Maya Georgi of Rolling Stone commended the song's "tantalizing" melody and "wondrous" mix.[15]BBC writer Mark Savage called it a "crisp" pop song with clever production details.[18]Variety critic Chris Willman hailed the throbbing, "gleeful" production delivered by Martin and Shellback.[23] Calling it a "glittering single," Ed Power of The Irish Times said the song exemplifies the "classic Swiftian manoeuvre of cramming in not one chorus but two against a cascading synth groove." [24] Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times and Nicole Fell of The Hollywood Reporter also praised the groove; Wood found it "irresistible,"[14] while Fell described it as "mellow but catchy."[25]PopMatters critic Mathew Dwyer described it as a dynamic and slow-burning tune with a "glamorous tension".[26]
Maria Sherman of the Associated Press,[11] Anna Gaca of Pitchfork,[27] and Carl Wilson of Slate named it a standout track from The Life of a Showgirl.[28] In his list ranking the album's songs, Billboard editor Jason Lipshutz ranked "The Fate of Ophelia" second, calling it a masterclass in pop composition, featuring a "star-crossed" chorus and "a pensive piano line that builds into squelched drums, chewy keys, siren-cry harmonies, and plenty of clap-along opportunities."[29] Music critic Ann Powers, reviewing for NPR, praised the musical arrangement, highlighting the "commanding" drums, the "dreamy" keyboard, and the "buoyant" bass.[17] Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the Financial Times admired the smooth transition from the piano to the upbeat bassline.[12]
Swift's vocals were also a subject of praise. Savage appreciated Swift's "lingering" vocal delivery in the song, as though she were "too swept up in her feelings to continue." [18] Hague remarked that Swift's "purring lower-register vocal" enhanced the song.[16] Hunter-Tilney characterized her vocals as committed and charismatic.[12] Power opined that Swift had never sounded better than she does on "The Fate of Ophelia." [17]
Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic commented that the song is "relatively strong, if unexpectedly downcast."[33]Will Hodgkinson of The Times claimed that while the production is catchy and the lyrics poetic, the analogy comparing Swift to Ophelia "doesn't really work."[34] Similarly, Hunter-Tilney thought the lyrics conflating "doomed Ophelia with a Rapunzel-style figure waiting in a tower for a heroic lover" have a misplaced feel.[12] Conversely, Breihan found the lyrics effective, arguing that Swift is not changing the plot of Hamlet in the song, as Swift and Ophelia are two different characters: "Ophelia still loses her mind and drowns herself. There but for the grace of Travis Kelce, apparently, goes Taylor Swift. She sings that she didn't go out like Ophelia because you saved her."[35]The Independent’s Roisin O'Connor dubbed it a sublime song, appreciating its "literary flair."[36]
Commercial performance
"The Fate of Ophelia" set the single-day streaming record for any song on Spotify, becoming the first song to accumulate 30 million streams in a single day. The record was previously held by Swift's own "Fortnight".[37][38] "The Fate of Ophelia" also broke the Spotify record for the most streamed song in a single week.[39] In the United Kingdom, the song became Swift's fifth number-one single and opened with 132,000 units, which became the largest first-week sales of the year and the highest in Swift's career.[40]
Music video
The video for "The Fate of Ophelia" depicts Swift in various showgirl attires.
The music video for "The Fate of Ophelia" premiered on October 3, 2025, as part of The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, which was screened in cinemas worldwide for three days as part of the album's promotional rollout. It was released on YouTube on October 5. Written and directed by Swift, the video sees her working again with dancers from the Eras Tour, choreographer Mandy Moore, and production designer Ethan Tobman.[41][42][43] The music video is played twice during The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, which also features behind-the-scenes footage from the production process.[42] The video was made in collaboration with cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto and rehearsals took place over three weeks.[44][45] Filming for the music video's opening scene and the dressing room scenes took place at the Los Angeles Theatre.[46]
The start of the video features Swift depicted as Ophelia in the painting by Friedrich Heyser.
The music video opens inside the foyer of the Los Angeles Theatre before panning to a painting on the wall, the first of many depictions of various showgirls from different historical times.[48] Swift starts as a model for a pre-Raphaelite portrait of Ophelia, in a similar vein to the painting by Friedrich Heyser.[47] Swift is then portrayed as a blonde burlesque performer in the style of Marilyn Monroe, a 1960s Ronnie Spector-like go-go dancer, a stage actress similar to Sarah Bernhardt, and an Esther Williams-type actress in a musical number in the style of Busby Berkeley.[42][44][45][43] Later on, Swift wears a dress made of rope and resembles Elizabeth Taylor before the scene transitions to a Bob Mackie-style showgirl routine, and finally a pop star at an afterparty in a hotel room.[48][45] The end of the video features Swift half-submerged in a bathtub, an image which is featured on the album cover for The Life of a Showgirl.[44] Danielle Pascuale from Billboard identified several Easter eggs in the video, including choreography with chairs similar to that in "Vigilante Shit" during the Eras Tour, as well as Swift catching a football and 87 being the hotel room number, both references to Kelce.[45] Visual references to other songs from the album include a chihuahua in a purse ("Actually Romantic"), an Oscar statuette on the bathroom floor ("Wish List"), a piece of opalite by the bathtub ("Opalite"), and a table with a peach and a pearl necklace ("The Life of a Showgirl").[49][48]
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