George Michael‘s estate has said they were ‘delighted’ to have the singer’s track Father Figure feature on Taylor Swift‘s new album The Life Of A Showgirl.
Ahead of the record’s release on Friday, it was revealed that Taylor, 35, has recorded a song called Father Figure, which shares the same name as George’s 1987 track, as well as an interpolation.
In a statement shared by George’s estate on Instagram, they said that George, who died in 2016, would have fully backed the inclusion of his song in Taylor’s track.
They said: ‘We were delighted when Taylor Swift and her team approached us earlier this year about incorporating an interpolation of George Michael’s classic song ‘Father Figure’ into a brand new song of the same title to be featured on her forthcoming album.
‘When we heard the track we had no hesitation in agreeing to this association between two great artists and we know George would have felt the same.
‘George Michael Entertainment wishes Taylor every success with The Life Of A Showgirl and Father Figure.’
George Michael ‘s estate has said they were ‘delighted’ to have the singer’s track Father Figure feature on Taylor Swift ‘s new album The Life Of A Showgirl
The track is also written by pop product and longtime Swift collaborator Max Martin, who Taylor has cryptically confirmed she is working with by curating a playlist of all the tracks they have collaborated on to tease the new album.
George, who died aged 58 on Christmas Day 2016, wouldn’t be the first music icon to have inspired the Shake It Off singer.
Taylor previously credited Right Said Fred on Look What You Made Me Do, which she described as an ‘interpolation’ of their song.
The track’s credits list three members of Right Said Fred – Richard Fairbrass, Fred Fairbrass and Rob Manzoli – as songwriters alongside Taylor and Jack Antonoff.
After the song was released, the I’m Too Sexy singers tweeted: ‘Thank you Taylor Swift, what a marvelous reinvention!’
With 1.3 billion streams globally, the song has resulted in the duo receiving a fortune in royalties for the song.
George Michael’s estate is also likely to be in for a windfall from the collaboration with Taylor Swift experts predict the new album will be her most lucrative to date, following her record-breaking Eras Tour which ended in December last year.
R&B ballad Father Figure featured on George’s debut studio album Faith in 1987.
It’s been revealed that Taylor has recorded a song called Father Figure, which shares the same name as George’s 1987 track, for her new album, which will be released on Friday
It alluded to his life as a gay man who had not yet declared his sexuality and was operating during a homophobic time in the music industry and wider society.
Journalist Barry Walters said it ‘established Michael both as a nuanced grown-up and as a skilled singer-songwriter, able to intertwine racy innuendo and romantic steadfastness’.
Amid her record-breaking Eras Tour last year, the Daily Mail previously reported that Swift was already writing new material barely two months after the release of her most recent album, The Tortured Poets Department.
Earlier this month, a source noted that ‘Taylor is in such a good space right now but there was an awareness that she couldn’t ignore all the drama.’
‘There are Easter eggs [in the new album] about how she overcame the drama with Blake [Lively],’ they revealed. ‘And she does in her own way address people who believed her relationship with Travis was a PR stunt.’
The source teased that the record is ‘absolutely inspired by Travis’ and ‘being loved by him has really helped her overcome some dark chapters in her life.’
The Life of a Showgirl will be available on streaming platforms at 12am on October 3.
Last month, Swift announced she was having a theatrical release party to celebrate her new album, with sources saying it’s ‘absolutely inspired’ by her relationship with Travis Kelce
Last month, Swift announced she was having a theatrical release party to celebrate her record, which will play across 540 AMC theaters this weekend.
Swift’s theatrical release party is expected to rake in around $30-$50million, per Deadline – and presale tickets reached $15 million over the span of 24 hours since the event’s announcement.
Ticket prices sit at $12 – which was decided by the award-winning performer herself.
The special theatrical release is slated to be 89 minutes long and will include the music video premiere of the track The Fate Of Ophelia.
Swift also sat down to open up about the songs on the album which will be shown as well as lyric videos.
‘I hereby invite you to a *dazzling* soirée, The Official Release Party of a Showgirl: Oct 3 – Oct 5 only in cinemas!’ Swift wrote on Instagram last month.
Taylor Swift ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’ tracklist
1. The Future Of Ophelia (3:46) 7. Actually Romantic (2:43)
2. Elizabeth Taylor (3:28) 8. Wish List (3:27)
3. Opalite (3:55) 9. Wood (2:30)
4. Father Figure (3:32) 10. Cancelled! (3:31)
5. Eldest Daughter (4:06) 11. Honey (3:01)
6. Ruin The Friendship (3:40) 12. The Life Of A Showgirl (4:01)