Music critics generally praised the composition of "The Fate of Ophelia" as catchy but were lukewarm towards the conventional tropes of its lyricism. Commercially, the single broke the global records for the most streamed song in a day and a week on the streaming platform Spotify. It peaked atop the Billboard Global 200 and became Swift's first number-one single in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands. In the United States, "The Fate of Ophelia" spent 10 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, marking Swift's longest-running number-one song. It also reached number one on Pop Airplay and Adult Pop Airplay, becoming the first song in history to debut in the top-10 region of the former chart.
Swift wrote and directed the song's music video, which premiered as part of the promotional film The Official Release Party of a Showgirl. The video draws on various historical, cultural, and artistic inspirations of female performers, portraying Swift as showgirls throughout different periods of time and incorporating hints at other songs of The Life of a Showgirl. She worked with the cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, the choreographer Mandy Moore, and the production designer Ethan Tobman on the video, and cast her band and dance crew from the Eras Tour—the tour that inspired the album. Both the song's lyrics and video feature references to Swift's fiancé, the football player Travis Kelce.
Background and release
The American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift created her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, to reflect her triumphant state of mind amidst the success of the Eras Tour and her romantic relationship with the American football player Travis Kelce throughout 2024.[1] She announced the album during the August 13, 2025, episode of Travis and Jason Kelce's podcast New Heights; "The Fate of Ophelia" was revealed as the opening track.[2] During the episode, Swift discussed William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, specifically the descent into madness and death by drowning of the character Ophelia, which influenced the album's cover artwork.[3][4][5]
"The Fate of Ophelia" was released as the lead single from The Life of a Showgirl. On October 3, 2025, concurrently with the album's release, Universal Music Group released the song to radio airplay in Italy,[6] and its music video premiered as part of the film Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, before being released onto YouTube two days later.[7] In the United States, Republic Records released the song to hot adult contemporary radio on October 6 and to contemporary hit radio on October 7.[8] Throughout October, "The Fate of Ophelia" was released on limited-time CD singles and download (including the original, acoustic, and instrumental versions)[9][10][11][12] and in December Swift released the song on a 7-inch vinyl.[13] Three renditions of the song were subsequently released: an acoustic "Alone in My Tower" version,[14] a remix by the Canadian DJ duo Loud Luxury (including an extended one),[15][16] and a remix (as well as an extended version[17]) by the Chainsmokers.[18]
The lyrics of "The Fate of Ophelia" were influenced by Swift and Kelce's relationship.[36] According to Swift, the idea for the track came when she was in the studio with Martin and Shellback while scrolling through her list of song ideas on her smartphone. As Shellback was playing a "really cool chord progression", Swift came across the word "Ophelia" in her list and imagined a scenario where Ophelia did not go insane and die, but instead met someone who treated her well. From there, she conceived the hook, "You saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia."[37]
In the song, Swift's narrator pledges loyalty to a man who saved her from a fate of "insanity", "drowning", "deception", "purgatory", and ultimately a death, similar to that Ophelia.[36][38][39] The tragedy of Ophelia is referenced in the verse: "The eldest daughter of a nobleman/ Ophelia lived in fantasy/ But love was a cold bed full of scorpions/ The venom stole her sanity."[5] The refrain depicts Swift's narrator as "alone in the tower", waiting for her suitor to come.[5] He then "dug her out of [her] grave", which rescued her from the tragic death.[37] The bridge ("'Tis locked inside my memory/ And only you possess the key") references Act 1, scene iii of Hamlet, where Ophelia tells her brother Laertes: "Tis in my memory locked, and you yourself shall keep the key of it."[40][41]
According to several publications, the song contains real-life references to Kelce, including his career as a footballer, his public declaration of affection for Swift, and his frequent use of the phrase "keep it one hundred".[39][42][43] Several interpretations of "The Fate of Ophelia" likened its narrative to that of Swift's "Love Story" (2008), which was inspired by another Shakespearen tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. Both songs depict happy romantic endings, contrary to Shakespeare's original tragic conclusions;[44][45][46] Swift herself acknowledged that this was the second time, after "Love Story", that she attempted to rewrite a Shakespearean tragedy.[38] According to Serena Trowbridge, a scholar in Victorian literature, "The Fate of Ophelia" was also possibly inspired by the Pre-Raphaelite model and poet Elizabeth Siddal, who was the muse for John Everett Millais's Ophelia, which influenced The Life of a Showgirl's cover artwork.[5][47]
Critical reception
"The Fate of Ophelia" received positive critical response. Some reviews selected it as a highlight on The Life of a Showgirl.[23][48][49] Various critics praised the composition and production as clever, resulting in a catchy melody.[26][36][50][51]Rolling Stone ranked "The Fate of Ophelia" eighth on their list of the 100 best songs of 2025,[24] and Billboard placed it at number 14 on their year-end list.[52] The New York Post named it the top song of 2025 on its year-end list.[53] Powers, Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the Financial Times, and Jason Lipshutz of Billboard complimented the transition and build-up from the piano to the bassline.[21][29][54] Lipshutz ranked it the second-best song of the album (behind "Ruin the Friendship").[54]
Maya Georgi of Rolling Stone commended the "tantalizing" melody and "wondrous" combination of instruments,[27] while Matthew Dwyer of PopMatters highlighted the dynamic composition and "glamorous tension".[55] Georgi and Hague opined that the track embraced a new musical direction for Swift.[27][31] Swift's vocals were also a subject of praise: Hague opined that her lower register enhanced the track,[31] Hunter-Tilney described her singing as having "characteristic commitment and charisma",[21] and Powers opined that her voice "has never sounded stronger", assisted by reverb that made her sound "massive and intimate at the same time".[29] On a less enthusiastic side, Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic commented that the song was "relatively strong, if unexpectedly downcast".[56]
The reception of the lyrics was not as uniformly positive. The Independent's Roisin O'Connor dubbed "The Fate of Ophelia" a sublime song for its "literary flair",[57] and Hague commented that the track exhibited Swift's signature confessional songwriting with poetic verses and a tongue-in-cheek refrain.[31] Comparing it to "Love Story", Tom Breihan of Stereogum wrote that both songs "[miss] the entire point" of the Shakespearean tragedies, but "that kind of writerly excess" still turned out engaging and "fucking rules".[44] In a mixed review, Carlos Marcos from El País praised the song's "original" production but contended that it was burdened by the "plaintive" lyrics.[58]Will Hodgkinson of The Times opined that although the lyrics were poetic, the analogy comparing Swift to Ophelia "doesn't really work".[59]
Some reviewers debated the progressive nature of the lyrics. Hunter-Tilney wrote that the lyrics conflating "doomed Ophelia with a Rapunzel-style figure waiting in a tower for a heroic lover" felt misplaced.[21] In congruence, The New York Times' Lindsay Zoladz commented that it was dispiriting that Swift reduced Ophelia to "just another princess waiting for her Prince Charming".[38] In a more moderate take, Trowbridge opined that the narrative of a female waiting for a rescuer was not progressive, but it helped explore "the public face of women" and their painful experiences, in the context of the overall album.[5] In Psychology Today, the psychotherapist Whitney Coulson wrote that "The Fate of Ophelia" captures the "emotional alchemy" of female pain in the context of patriarchy and popular culture, providing psychological insight into "how easily a woman's pain is rewritten as instability" through the use of literary archetypes.[60]
"The Fate of Ophelia" marked Swift's first number-one single in Austria,[74] Denmark,[75] Germany,[76] Spain,[77] and the Netherlands.[78] In France, it debuted at number four and became her highest-charting solo single, surpassing "Shake It Off" (2014).[79] It spent 12 weeks at number one in Canada;[80] 10 weeks in Germany, Norway, and Switzerland;[76][81][82] nine weeks in Austria, Ireland, and the Netherlands;[74][83][78] seven weeks in Belgium (Flanders);[65] six weeks in Australia;[84] and five weeks in Sweden and the Czech Republic.[85][86] In the United Kingdom, "The Fate of Ophelia" debuted atop the UK singles chart with 132,000 first-week units, registering the largest first-week sales of the year and of Swift's career.[87] It spent seven non-consecutive weeks atop the chart, becoming her longest-running number-one song in the United Kingdom.[88] The single has been certified triple platinum in Canada,[89] double platinum in Australia,[90] and platinum in France,[91] New Zealand,[92] Portugal,[93] Spain,[94] and the United Kingdom.[95]
In the United States, "The Fate of Ophelia" became Swift's 13th number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, debuting atop the chart with 92.5million on-demand streams.[96] It spent 10 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Hot 100, becoming her longest-running number-one song.[97] After being made available for digital downloads, the single became Swift's record-extending 13th number-one song on the Digital Song Sales.[98] On the US airplay charts, "The Fate of Ophelia" debuted in the top 10 of Pop Airplay, Adult Pop Airplay, and Adult Contemporary. On Pop Airplay, it became the first song in history to debut in the top-10 region and subsequently became Swift's record-extending 14th number-one single.[99][100] It also reached number one on Adult Pop Airplay.[101]
Music video
Production and synopsis
Swift as a showgirl in the music video for "The Fate of Ophelia", featuring the same dancers from the Eras Tour
Swift wrote and directed the music video for "The Fate of Ophelia", which features dancers from the Eras Tour. On the video, she worked with the choreographer Mandy Moore and the production designer Ethan Tobman, both of whom had collaborated on the tour, and the cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto.[102][103] 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.[104] Rehearsals took place within over three weeks,[105] and filming for the opening scene and the dressing room scenes took place at the Los Angeles Theatre.[106]
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.[105][107] 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.[103] The video features Easter eggs referencing other tracks from The Life of a Showgirl[107][109] and moments from the Eras Tour, as well as Kelce.[105]Vancouver's Science World makes a brief appearance near the end of the video.[110]
Reception
The music video trended at the number one spot on YouTube, receiving 25 million views within three days.[111] Journalists praised the spectacle and production value of the music video. Vogue called the video a "true visual feast", highlighted the glamorous costumes and detailed production design.[112]Elle and The Times of India praised the nods to classical art and pop-cultural references.[113][114]Rolling Stone highlighted how the video leans into theatrical imagery and costume transformations emphasizing visual flair that match TheLife of a Showgirl theme.[115]Deadline Hollywood commended Swift's direction and visual storytelling.[116]
Journalists described the release and success of "The Fate of Ophelia" as a cultural phenomenon. Sunil Thomas of The Week opined that "The Fate of Ophelia" has become an "unprecedented" global phenomenon, spurred by its "high art" references, inspiration from 1960s stage productions, and its adult contemporary musical composition. He also highlighted its viral dance on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.[64] Anthony Palomba, professor of business administration at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, said that the song's success did not rely on fan-driven pre-coordination or extensive advertisement, suggesting it came from "organic fan behavior, natural curiosity and mainstream media amplification."[120]
The video caused Swift's fans to visit the Museum Wiesbaden in Wiesbaden, Germany, to view Friedrich Heyser's c. 1900 painting Ophelia.[121][122][123]Timon Gremmels, the minister of higher education, research and the arts of the German state Hesse, expressed his delight over the attention the painting has received: "When a music video gets people to visit a museum, it shows that culture works - on all levels", and extended an official invitation to Swift to visit Wiesbaden.[124] On November 2, 2025, the museum hosted an event featuring a guided tour of Ophelia, for which tickets sold out in a few hours.[125][126] Attendees wearing outfits inspired by Swift or Ophelia received free admission.[127]
In December 2025, AI-generated songs featuring a translated version of "The Fate of Ophelia" in the Portuguese language, named "A Sina de Ofélia", with voices resembling a duet of Luísa Sonza and Dilsinho went viral.[138] It entered the top 50 of Spotify's Brazilian chart before being removed from streaming platforms.[139] This brought several legal debates about music generated by artificial intelligence and ownership rights.[140]
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Life of a Showgirl[19]
Studios
Produced at MXM Studios and Shellback Studios, Stockholm
↑"Media Forest – Weekly Charts". Media Forest. Note: Romanian and international positions are rendered together by the number of plays before resulting an overall chart. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
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