Taylor Swift isn’t through with her show girl era just yet. The pop star just released the music video for her next The Life of a Showgirl single, “Opalite” — and it’s full of lightning strike twists.
In the funny, unexpected visual, Taylor jumps back in time to the Nineties — you know, the era of the mall before the internet, full of infomercials and at-home workout videos. She plays a lonesome cat lady, who is hilariously dating a rock, but falls for “the revolutionary fix for your problems” that is Opalite. In an infomercial, the product promises that it “magically transforms your problems into your paradise using our state of the art chemical potion. It works on friendships, couples, pets and co-workers.”
What follows is a silly, but sweet story that features a star-studded cast. It seems Swift called up everyone she appeared on The Graham Norton Show back in October (including Norton himself, who stars as a Nope-alite salesman) to make an appearance. Domnhall Gleeson plays her formerly sad love interest, Lewis Capaldi is a mall photographer, while Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith make small appearances in television ads. Even Cillian Murphy has a cameo.
On the Amazon Music “Track by Track” version of the LP, Swift explained the song is about “choosing happiness and getting through rough times” and the title comes from “a man-made gemstone.” In the New Heights episode where Taylor announced her 12th studio album, Travis admitted that “Opalite” was his favorite track off the project. In an appearance on Capital FM in October, Swift affirmed the track continued to be his favorite off the album. “He loves that one,” she said.
Notably, the pop superstar did not initially share the glittery visual on YouTube, instead she chose to premiere the “Opalite” video on two of the largest streaming platforms exclusively: Spotify and Apple Music. The move coincides with YouTube’s decision to withdraw its data from Billboard charts following changes to the charts’ methodology. Of course, neither music video for The Life of a Showgirl has had a traditional release. She premiered “The Fate of Ophelia” in theaters across the country as part of the her album release parties in October. Just like that video, “Opalite” will be on YouTube in the coming days.
Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” just came off a record-breaking run as her biggest hit, charting at Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 for 10 weeks and marking the star’s longest-running feat. “Opalite” could very well be the singer’s next hit song; it debuted at Number Two on the Hot 100 and is comfortably sitting at Number 10. If the song tops the chart, it would become the first time Swift had two songs from the same project reach that achievement since 1989.
Nirvana on Nov. 12, 1991Paul Bergen/Redferns/Getty Images
