Taylor Swift says Opalite is Travis Kelce’s ‘favourite’ track from new album

Popstar Taylor Swift has said her song Opalite is Travis Kelce’s “favourite” track from her new album.

The 35-year-old musician spoke about her 12th studio album, The Life Of A Showgirl, during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, which was filmed on Thursday and is due to air on Friday night, hours after the album was released.

Swift revealed on the show that her dad is “excited” about the song, which is about her fiance, the American football star Kelce, who she got engaged to earlier this year and whose birth stone is opal.

The 14-time Grammy winner told Norton: “My dad is very excited about Opalite, and it is Travis’s favourite.

“Growing opals in a lab is an interesting metaphor for making your own happiness; to rise above the trials and tribulations and be happy you did things on your terms.”

In the song, Swift says that she “had a bad habit of missing lovers past” before singing “now the sky is Opalite” in the chorus and adding “oh my god, never made no-one like you before” to a Fleetwood Mac-style soft rock backing.

Speaking about acquiring the rights to her music, Swift said it was “a lifelong dream” that came true, adding that she was “happy to pay” to have them back.

She said: “I was able to buy my entire back catalogue. I don’t respond to stuff generally but not owning it really pissed me off.

“I didn’t think I should be given it – I was happy to pay, and at a premium. I am glad I spoke publicly about it and my fans got behind it and championed it.

“I couldn’t believe it happened. Travis and I were in tears when it did. Every time it is mentioned, I get a wave of euphoria still.”

The singer announced plans to re-record all her songs in 2019 following a dispute with retired talent manager, Scooter Braun, after he acquired the recordings of her first six studio albums when he bought her former label.

Though the masters changed hands again, after a deal with Shamrock Capital, Swift continued with a bid to regain ownership of the music by re-recording her albums and re-releasing them as “Taylor’s Version”.

In May, she announced that she acquired the rights to all of her music, including the rights to all of her concert films, music videos, album art and photography, as well as unreleased songs.

The singer also revealed to Norton that she wanted to finish promoting her new album before the “fun” task of planning her wedding to the NFL star, following the announcement of their engagement in August.

She said: “He really crushed it in surprising me. While we were talking on his podcast, he had a complete garden built out the back of his house to propose in. He went all out – 10 out of 10.”

On Thursday evening, Swift wore a little black dress with a jewel-encrusted halter neck and her engagement ring, which the PA news agency understands to be an Old Mine Brilliant Cut.

Sitting alongside the singer this time were Peaky Blinders screen star Cillian Murphy, Tron: Ares actresses Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith, Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson, and Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi.

Swift’s new record is expected to top charts around the world and the singer said she recorded it while in Europe on the Eras Tour, reuniting with producers Max Martin and Shellback.

The Life Of A Showgirl features 12 songs, with fellow US pop star Sabrina Carpenter joining the title song as the only collaboration.

It is Swift’s first album since she announced her engagement to Kelce, also 35, in an Instagram post in August that was captioned: “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”

The Graham Norton Show airs on Friday at 10.40pm on BBC One.