How to watch all the big films nominated for Oscars and BAFTAs
More Videos
Published
1 year agoon
By
adminWhile the Top Gun, Avatar and Black Panther sequels drew millions to cinemas, there are plenty of this year’s Oscar-nominated films you might not have seen yet – or even have heard of before all the awards season buzz.
Want to know your Everything Everywhere All At Once (Oscars frontrunner, with 11 nominations), from your All Quiet On The Western Front (BAFTAs frontrunner, with 14 nods)? And more importantly, how to watch them?
Here’s our guide to this year’s Oscar and BAFTA nominees – and where you can see them ahead of the ceremonies. Note, some films may be included with streaming packages, others you might have to pay extra to rent, depending on your subscription.
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
A word-of-mouth and critically acclaimed hit, Everything Everywhere All At Once leads the Oscars race and is the bookies’ favourite to win best picture; stars Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu are also up for acting gongs, too.
Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as Daniels, the film is billed as “a hilarious and big-hearted sci-fi action adventure about an exhausted Chinese-American woman (Yeoh) who can’t seem to finish her taxes”. Oh, and she also discovers parallel universes and has to prevent a powerful being from destroying the multiverse.
Following its release in cinemas Everything Everywhere All At Once is now available to stream on Paramount+, Apple TV, Google Play and Amazon Prime Video.
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
A German-language film based on the renowned 1929 novel by Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet On The Western Front leads the BAFTA nominations – equalling Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon’s record as the most nominated foreign film in the history of the awards – and gained nine nods at the Oscars, too.
It’s a hard watch, telling the story of a young German soldier on the Western Front of the First World War; how the initial euphoria of war turns into desperation and fear as he and his comrades fight for their lives, and each other, in the trenches.
You can watch All Quiet On The Western Front on Netflix.
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Set on a remote imaginary island off the Irish Coast in the 1920s, The Banshees Of Inisherin reunites In Bruges stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson and tells a darkly comic story of a friendship gone wrong; Gleeson’s character decides he’s sick to the teeth of his needy friend and doesn’t want to waste any more time chatting to him – and raises the stakes by threatening to chop off a finger every time his dull pal tries to strike up a conversation.
The film has led to huge Irish success so far this awards season, with Farrell, Gleeson and their co-stars Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan all nominated for Oscars in the acting categories, and Martin McDonagh (also the man behind In Bruges) up for best director.
Following its cinema release in October 2022, The Banshees of Inisherin is now available to stream on Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu.
Read more: Farrell and Gleeson on their reunion
TOP GUN: MAVERICK
A box office smash that fans had been waiting for for more than 35 years, the Top Gun sequel was one of a host of blockbusters (more below) that saw the big-hitters returning to the Academy Awards. Nominated for best picture, while it’s unlikely to take the top prize, it’s nice to see a bit more fun injected into awards season.
Of course, the sequel sees Tom Cruise return as Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, back to train newbies to be as brilliant in the skies as he is. Treading a delicate balance between old and new, there are plenty of throwbacks to please fans of the original.
No doubt the big Top Gun fans will have seen it already at the cinema, but for those who haven’t, you can catch it on Sky from 5 February, as well as on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.
Read our review: Aviators, love interests and oiled-up bodies – get ready for a walk down memory lane
ELVIS
Following Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman, it was only a matter of time before we got a new Elvis biopic. The 2022 film stars Austin Butler in the titular role, and tells the music icon’s story from childhood to music and movie star in the 1950s, and his complex relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker (played by Tom Hanks).
Written and directed by Baz Luhrmann, it’s in the running for eight Oscars, including best actor and best picture, while Mandy Walker is the only woman nominated for cinematography.
Elvis is available on Sky, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play and Hulu.
TAR
Cate Blanchett stars as the fictional renowned conductor Lydia Tar, who is days away from recording the symphony that will elevate her career.
She’s favourite to win best actress – and if Oscars are given out based on hard work, after learning to play piano on screen, speak fluent German and how to lead a live orchestra, she probably deserves it. If she wins, she can add it to the two Oscars she has already – for Blue Jasmine and The Aviator.
Tar is available to rent on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
Read more: Blanchett on her ‘once in a career moment’
THE FABELMANS
As arguably the most famous director in the world, Steven Spielberg’s cultural impact is unmatched – from Jaws and ET to war epics Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan, his films have imprinted on generation after generation for decades.
However, his latest film, The Fabelmans, is something a little different; a semi-autobiographical story loosely based on his childhood. As well as being a family drama, it portrays the anti-semitic abuse the young Spielberg faced.
The Fabelmans is available to rent or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
Read more: Spielberg says anti-semitism is on the rise
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
James Cameron’s mega-budget Avatar sequel opened in cinemas in December, 13 years after the original had us all reaching for our 3D glasses.
The film sees Sam Worthington returning to the role of Na’vi leader Jake Sully and is rooted around the family he now has with warrior Neytiri, played by Zoe Saldana, and the battles they face to keep each other safe. Sigourney Weaver and Kate Winslet also star.
No date has been given yet, but Avatar: The Way of Water will be available to stream on Disney+ following its cinema release.
Read more: Will the sequel live up to the original?
TRIANGLE OF SADNESS
A Cannes Palme d’Or-winning satire from Swedish director Ruben Ostlund, Triangle Of Sadness scored three big Oscar nominations, for best picture, best director and best original screenplay.
Targeting the filthy rich, it follows a set of luxury cruise passengers with not a redeeming feature between them. However, they soon find their status undermined by unexpected events.
You can watch Triangle Of Sadness on Amazon Prime Video and Google Play.
WOMEN TALKING
Based on the novel by Miriam Toews, Women Talking tells the story of a group of women in an isolated religious community as they grapple with reconciling their reality with their faith.
Starring Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley and Judith Ivey, with Ben Whishaw and Frances McDormand, it has a strong cast but was an outsider for the Oscars this year.
Nominated for best picture, it is the only film in the category directed by a woman, Sarah Polley – and even she didn’t expect to hear its title called out, tweeting from an unusual location as she found out the good news: “Expectations were low for today. Here I am at a routine doctor’s appointment. I really didn’t plan this day right.”
Women Talking is released in cinemas on 17 February, with previews from 10 February.
AFTERSUN
A coming-of-age drama, Aftersun is set in the 1990s and centres on a father-daughter duo, played by Paul Mescal and newcomer Frankie Corio, as they spend a summer holiday away at an all-inclusive resort in Turkey. Although Mescal’s character Calum is seen laughing with his daughter when swimming in the sea or singing karaoke, in private moments we see his struggles with his mental health.
The film is a directorial debut from Charlotte Wells and is based on her own childhood experiences. While it isn’t up for best picture, Mescal’s heavily praised performance has earned him a nomination for best actor; not bad considering his Normal People breakthrough role came less than three years ago.
Following a cinema release in November, you can now watch Aftersun on the streaming service MUBI, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV.
Read more: Paul Mescal on the ‘potentially toxic’ issue of men not looking after their mental health
THE WHALE
Enjoying a so-called “Brenaissance”, Brendan Fraser – known for leading action films including The Mummy trilogy – is firmly back in the spotlight after a pause in his career, with his performance in The Whale earning him standing ovations at film festivals.
Fraser plays an extremely obese man trying to reconnect with his daughter and struggling with his mental health, and he is now the favourite to win best actor at the Oscars in March.
You can watch The Whale in cinemas from 3 February.
Read more: Brendan Fraser on the ‘Bren-aissance’
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER
Despite missing out on joining fellow sequels Avatar and Top Gun with an Oscars nod for best film, Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever did score a nomination for Angela Bassett, who is up for best supporting actress.
The film is a moving tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, who played T’Challa, the Black Panther in the original film; a story of loss, grief and dealing with bereavement, with lots of action and some surprises along the way.
Not only does Bassett’s nomination mark the cinematic universe’s first acting nod, but she is also favourite to win.
You can watch Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on Disney+ from 1 February.
Read more: Black Panther stars on doing Boseman proud
LIVING
Starring British veteran Bill Nighy and Sex Education star Aimee Lou Wood, Living is written by Kazuo Ishiguro and based on a remake of the 1952 Japanese film Ikiru. It tells the story of Mr Williams, an elderly bureaucrat who is diagnosed with an incurable illness, so decides he must start living his life to the fullest.
Nighy, perhaps destined to always be known for his fabulous turn as a washed-up rocker making a comeback in Love Actually, has been praised for his understated performance, which earns him his first Oscar nomination.
Living is available on Sky, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and Google Play.
CAUSEWAY
Jennifer Lawrence stars as a soldier struggling to adjust back home in New Orleans after suffering a traumatic injury while fighting in Afghanistan. The film follows her character Lynsey as she adapts once again to civilian life, and forges an unexpected bond with local mechanic James, played by Brian Tyree Henry.
It’s one that could have slipped under the radar but has been brought into the limelight thanks to a nod for Henry in the Oscars’ best supporting actor category.
You can watch Causeway on Apple TV+.
BLONDE
Ana de Armas has received nominations for several prizes for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in Blonde, including best actress at the Oscars and BAFTAs.
The film itself, however, hasn’t been so well received; it leads the nominations at this year’s Razzies, or Golden Raspberry Awards, which celebrate cinematic under-achievements and are billed as the “ugly cousin” of the Academy Awards. And despite praise for her performance, the film has polarised critics.
Watch Blonde on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
TO LESLIE
British actress Andrea Riseborough caused a bit of a stir with her first Academy Award nomination; she is in the running for best actress thanks to her performance in To Leslie, an independent drama inspired by true events. The film sees the Made In Dagenham actress playing a single mother who turns to alcoholism after winning the lottery, before turning her life around when a motel owner offers her a job.
In the run-up to the Oscar nominations, the film had received no nods at the Golden Globes, the Critics’ Choice awards or the BAFTAs – but broke through with the Academy seemingly in no small part thanks to a campaign by some of the most prominent names in Hollywood.
Indeed, fellow nominee Blanchett used the opening minute of her Critics’ Choice speech to single out Riseborough, describing her performance as overlooked, while fellow Hollywood stars including (deep breath) Kate Winslet, Amy Adams, Gwyneth Paltrow, Edward Norton, Charlize Theron, Jennifer Aniston, Zooey Deschanel and Helen Hunt have also raved about it.
To Leslie is available on Amazon Prime Video and Google Play.
EMPIRE OF LIGHT
Set around a cinema in the 1980s, Sam Mendes’s Empire Of Light is a celebration of the big screen and also one of the most personal films the director has ever made. The film sees former Oscar winner Olivia Colman playing a woman struggling with mental health issues, a character based on the celebrated filmmaker’s own mother.
The drama is a love letter to cinema itself, and a timely reminder of the beauty of the big screen experience following the COVID pandemic.
The film is nominated for best cinematography at the Oscars, while at the BAFTAs it is up for outstanding British film and best supporting actor for Micheal Ward, as well as cinematography.
Following its run in cinemas, Empire Of Light is expected to be available on Disney+ some time in February.
Read more: Olivia Colman, Colin Firth, Micheal Ward and Toby Jones on making Empire Of Light
BABYLON
Oscar-winning La La Land filmmaker Damien Chazelle takes both recollection and rumour as his inspiration for Babylon, and the outrageous excess and rampant debauchery that supposedly went on behind the scenes in Hollywood in the 1920s.
The film stars Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt and newcomer Diego Calva in a three-hour story about filmmaking. It earned three Oscar nominations – for costume, original score and production design – but hopes were perhaps a bit higher given it’s a lavish, big-budget affair (although it hasn’t done particularly well at the box office, either).
If you want to see it on the big screen, Babylon is in cinemas now.
Read more: Margot Robbie says ‘liberating’ Hollywood of the 1920s ‘had no rules’
GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY
Such was the success of the 2019 whodunnit hit Knives Out that Netflix picked up the franchise, reportedly paying £375m for Glass Onion and one more sequel. This time round, the ensemble cast is even more starry – featuring Kate Hudson, Edward Norton and Janelle Monae joining Daniel Craig for his return as Detective Benoit Blanc.
This time, it’s celebrities and influencers who are under suspicion, with the film taking a satirical look at the decadence of the very modern rich and famous.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is nominated for best adapted screenplay at the Oscars, and you can watch it – and the first film – on Netflix.
Read more: Daniel Craig on investigating influencers
THE BATMAN
Following a long wait for The Batman to launch in cinemas, its release date pushed back twice because of COVID production delays, it finally arrived in 2022; Robert Pattinson following in the footsteps of stars including Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton and George Clooney to play the Caped Crusader on the big screen.
Another box office hit drawing people back to cinemas, it is now Oscar-nominated for best sound, best make-up and hairstyling, and best visual effects.
You can watch The Batman on Sky, Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.
Read more: Robert Pattinson on the ‘split personality moment’ of playing the Caped Crusader
GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE
Not an Oscars contender but a hit with the BAFTA panel, Good Luck To You, Leo Grande is up for the awards for outstanding British film and outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer at the BAFTAs, as well as acting gongs for stars Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack.
McCormack, who plays a male sex worker hired by Thompson’s retired teacher, is also in the running for the rising star trophy.
Good Luck To You, Leo Grande is available on Sky and Amazon Prime Video in the UK.
Read more: BAFTA nomination is ‘best birthday gift’
THE WOMAN KING
Snubbed by the Oscars, The Woman King has at least been recognised at the BAFTAs, with star Viola Davis earning a best actress nomination, and Gina Prince-Bythewood in the running for best director.
The film tells the true story of a fierce group of female warriors who protected a West African Kingdom in the 1800s, with Davis starring. She has referred to The Woman King as her magnum opus, aiming to prove to the industry that films about black women can attract cinema audiences.
You can pre-order The Woman King on Sky and watch on Amazon Prime Video from 30 January.
Read more: Viola Davis on her ‘magnum opus’
TILL
Till is biographical film based on the true story of Mamie Till-Bradley, who pursued justice after the racist murder of her 14-year-old son Emmett Till in 1955 – for which star Danielle Deadwyler has been universally praised for her performance.
Despite this, it didn’t receive any Oscar nominations, but Deadwyler is recognised in the leading actress category at the BAFTAs.
You can watch Till in cinemas now.
Watch the Oscars exclusively on Sky Showcase on Sunday 12 March from midnight. Sky News will be live on the red carpet at the ceremony in Hollywood on Sunday 12 and live with the winners at the Vanity Fair party on Breakfast with Kay Burley, on Monday 13 March
You may like
Entertainment
Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department analysed: Marriage, babies, bad boyfriends and the price of fame
Published
13 hours agoon
April 19, 2024By
adminAs the title suggests, The Tortured Poets Department is a break-up album, and one that doesn’t disappoint in deconstructing Taylor Swift’s failed relationships and old boyfriends gone bad.
We hear about a chain-smoking man who tells jokes that are “revolting and far too loud” in I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can); a “coward” who pretends to be a “lion” in loml; and we learn about a ghosted Swift in I Can Do It With A Broken Heart, as she sings “I’m so obsessed with him but he avoids me like the plague”.
We’ve all been there, and that’s the trick to Swift‘s wide appeal.
The not-so-subtly titled The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived paints a picture of a drug-taking partner who: “In public, showed me off, then sank in stoned oblivion,” tried to “buy some pills from a friend of friends” and “didn’t measure up in any measure of a man”.
Amid dealing with these waste-of-space men, we learn about a Swift – who contrary to her sparkling and strong public persona – is “depressed,” “crying at the gym,” eating “kid’s cereal,” “unstable… on my knees” and very much the owner of a “broken heart”.
Of course, not all of her songs are purely confessional – she also adopts different personas (for example in But Daddy I Love Him which shares the basic storyline of Madonna’s Papa Don’t Preach), but in each track, we firmly return to Swift and parallels in her much-publicly dissected ‘private’ life.
With a history of writing about her exes (past examples include Joe Jonas, Harry Styles, Jake Gyllenhaal and John Mayer), Swift hasn’t disappointed with seeming allusions to former British boyfriends Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy, plus throws forward to current beau NFL star Travis Kelce.
More on Taylor Swift
Related Topics:
So Long, London – positioned fifth in the tracklist, a spot Swift reserves for her most meaningful songs – is a choral ballad and seems to be about the end of her six-year relationship with The Favourite star Alwyn.
Her lyric – “I left all I knew, you left me at the house by the Heath” – references Hampstead Heath in north London where she lived with the star in the early 2020s.
Advertisement
As much a break-up song with the city as the man, she tells us “I’m just mad as hell cause I loved this place”.
In this song, we also get one of many references to marriage across the album – a theme which might be at the forefront of Swift’s mind?
Wedding bells and babies
So Long, London’s emotional lyric – “You swore that you loved me but where were the clues, I died on the altar waiting for the proof” – rings out loud and clear.
The song that gave the album its title – The Tortured Poets Department – describes a moment that paints a vivid picture: “At dinner you take my ring off my middle finger and put it on the one people put wedding rings on, and that’s the closest I’ve come to my heart exploding.”
In loml (an acronym which stands for Love Of My Life) she sings: “You and I go from one kiss to gettin married… you told me I’m the love of your life.”
In But Daddy I Love Him – a ballad with country tones – she sings: “No, you can’t come to the wedding.”
And in imgonnagetyouback she says: “Whether I’m gonna be your wife or gonna smash up your bike, I haven’t decided yet.”
There’s even a reference to future family in The Manuscript – the final song on the album – with the lyric: “He said that if the sex was half as good as the conversation was, soon they’d be pushing strollers. But soon it was over.”
In Florida!!! (featuring Florence + The Machine) the topic of children comes up again, with Swift escaping to the Everglades, running from friends who “all smell like weed or little babies”.
Loves old and new
The 1975 singer Healy, who Swift is rumoured to have briefly dated following her split from Alwyn, appears to be alluded to in Fortnight – a song featuring Post Malone which will be the first single from the album.
She sings: “I touched you for only a fortnight… I love you, it’s ruining my life.”
In Guilty As Sin, a slow, drum-backed track, Swift describes “fatal fantasies,” “recalling things we never did” and looking back on a past relationship – “how I long for our trysts… How can I be guilty as sin?”
And in But Daddy I Love Him, it’s possible Swift’s hitting back at criticism of her never-officially-confirmed relationship with Healy, telling naysayers: “I’ll tell you something about my good name, it’s mine alone to disgrace.”
The penultimate track on the initial album, The Alchemy, pulls in a wealth of American Football terms – seeming to mark the introduction of her latest relationship with NFL star Travis Kelce.
A swirl of “chemicals” – including “white wine” and “heroin” – are used as metaphors to describe the rush of first attraction amid a slew of sporting analogies.
Read more:
‘Secret’ double album announced in ‘2am surprise’
The hidden meanings in the album’s lyrics
‘Self-harm’ and ‘wounds’
Swift told her social media followers the album was a reflection of “events, opinions and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time,” calling them “both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure”.
And for Swift, the album itself appears to be a form of closure – in her words: “This period of the author’s life is now over, the chapter closed and boarded up. There is nothing to avenge, no scores to settle once wounds have healed”.
She also refers to personal wounding in the cover slip for the album, calling the period of her life one of “self-harm” and “cardiac arrest”. And on her love battle wounds she told fans: “A good number of them turned out to be self-inflicted”.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
It’s a self-reflection she shares in Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me, calling herself “fearsome,” “wretched” and “wrong,” singing in the chorus “I was tame, I was gentle, til the circus life made me mean”.
After over two decades in the music industry – a notoriously tough one to survive in let alone thrive in – we perhaps see a glimpse into Swift’s psyche in I Can Do It With A Broken Heart. She sings: “They said, ‘Babe, you gotta fake it til you make it’. And I did. Lights, camera, bitch smile. Even when you want to die.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:44
The original It Girl
And in Clara Bow (the name of a 1920s American actress for whom the term ‘It Girl’ was coined), the final track of the original album, she gives us a self-referring dig which touches on both the fickleness of the music industry and pokes fun at her own ever-inflating success.
We hear a young wannabe praised by “suits in LA,” telling her: “You look like Taylor Swift in this light, we’re loving it. You’ve got edge she never did.”
Always looking ahead, to her next era, perhaps when her “girlish glow flickers”, a now 30-something Swift is always one step ahead of the industry she’s currently dominating.
As she tells us: “The future’s bright… Dazzling.”
The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, featuring 31 tracks, is out now.
Entertainment
Taylor Swift: How a country girl took over the world – as new album The Tortured Poets Department released
Published
15 hours agoon
April 19, 2024By
adminTaylor Swift is one of the world’s best-selling artists, a billionaire, and a record breaker. And she’s just 34.
With her 11th studio album – The Tortured Poets Department – out today (her follow up to 2022’s Grammy winning Midnights) the buzz around the singer is at fever pitch.
Update:
Swift reveals ‘secret double album’
Fans can expect 16 new tracks (addressing the five stages of heartbreak) and collaborations from the likes of Florence + The Machine and Post Malone.
With a history of writing about her exes (you know who you are, Joe Jonas, Harry Styles, Jake Gyllenhaal and John Mayer), there’s much interest over whether any songs will refer to her English ex-boyfriend, actor Joe Alwyn who she dated for six years until their split last year.
There’s a strong suggestion track number five (the slot she always gives to her most meaningful songs) – So Long London – may do just that.
And the very title of album may be referring to a WhatsApp group Alwyn previously set up with fellow actors Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal, called The Tortured Man Club.
More on Taylor Swift
Related Topics:
Speaking about it in 2022, the actors joked that they’d not been using it much since becoming less tortured. Four months later news of Swift and Alwyn’s split emerged.
Meanwhile, in current boyfriend news, Swift’s latest beau – Travis Kelce – says he’s had a listen to parts of the album and says it’s “unbelievable”.
Advertisement
The US star’s rise from teen country pop singer to all-round global phenomenon has been – well – swift.
We take a look at the unstoppable rise and rise of Taylor Swift.
Moving forward while reclaiming her past
She started out Taylor Alison Swift, born in Pennsylvania and named after singer-songwriter James Taylor.
Inspired to become a country singer after watching a documentary about Faith Hill (one of the genre’s best-selling stars), her parents upped sticks to move to Tennessee in 1993 to help her forge her music career, and Swift landed her first record deal aged just 13.
A musical chameleon, she’s switched up her genre a few times since then, moving from country to pop to alternative and folk.
And as well as moving forward artistically, she’s quite literally reclaimed her past too, re-recording her back catalogue since 2021 as a way to regain ownership of her music following a spat with talent manager Scooter Braun, who bought her former label Big Machine Records.
Earlier this year, Swift made Grammy history when she became the first person to win album of the year four times with Midnights.
She’s come a long way since Kanye West infamously stormed the stage at the 2009 VMAs as Swift accepted her award for best video by a female artist, a stunt he later claimed in a lyric “made that b**** famous“.
Her fame has been on the rise ever since – reaching peak Swift over the last few years.
Billionaire status
Swift is a billionaire, according to Forbes magazine, accumulating $1.1bn (£875m), based on earnings from her Eras Tour and the worth of her pop music catalogue.
It makes her the first musician to hit 10-figure status solely based on her songs and performances.
Following the start of her Eras Tour, kicking off in March 2023, she became the first artist to surpass $1bn (£800m) in revenue, breaking the Guinness World Record for the highest-grossing music tour.
Plus, she was the biggest-selling global recording artist of 2023, breaking another record by topping the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s (IFPI) global artist chart for a fourth time.
In 2023 Swift was ranked as Spotify’s most popular artist, and she became the first female artist to have four albums on Billboard’s top 10 list concurrently.
Her Eras Tour – which started out with 53 shows played across the US before expanding to include 78 international dates – has sold out stadiums around the world, with an estimated $900m in ticket sales last year, according to Billboard.
It’s projected to become the highest-grossing tour in history by the end of this year, forecast to push Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour into second place.
Plus, the Swift magic touch has boosted the local economies her tour has passed through.
Economic angel with the power to shake cities
Her seven sold-out concerts in Sydney and Melbourne in Australia in February were credited by the Australian Bureau of Statistics with increasing spending on clothing, merchandise, accessories and dining out across the month.
Six nights near Los Angeles added $320m (£257m) and 3,300 jobs to the area, according to the California Center for Jobs and the Economy.
And not content with ruling the music world or mending the economy, she has conquered the silver screen too, with a movie version of her concert tour taking over $250m (£200m) in ticket sales.
The movie generated the highest ticket sales at the UK and Ireland box office on its opening day, according to Vue International.
And did I mention, she can also cause minor natural disasters?
In July 2023, a Swift concert in Seattle was pointed to for setting off a nearby seismometer, registering the equivalent of a magnitude 2.3 earthquake.
She’s across politics and sport too – and fellow celebs love her
While never telling her fans who to vote for, Swift has encouraged voter registration, with Vote.org reporting 35,000 signups after Swift urged her 282 million followers on Instagram to vote in Super Tuesday primary contests across the US in March.
And putting the super into Super Bowl, her high-profile relationship with Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce has been credited with bringing more viewers to American Football. Indeed, sales of Kelce jerseys jumping 400% in one day, according to online seller Fanatics.
While she never went to college herself, numerous US colleges offer courses on her, including Harvard, Stanford and Bentley, while a university in Belgium offers a Swift-inspired literary class. Avoiding the hassle of years of study, in 2022 she received an honorary doctor of fine arts degree from New York University.
And earlier this year the Victoria And Albert Museum recruited for a Taylor Swift superfan adviser to help develop future Swift-themed programming.
It’s no surprise that Time magazine named her 2023’s person of the year.
Known for her dedication to her fans – inspiring friendship bracelets, handmade signs, and all sorts of memorabilia – she has a legion of celebrity fans too including Jennifer Lopez, Julia Roberts and Adam Sandler.
And in good news for UK fans – she’ll be coming soon to a city near you.
This summer she will play 15 UK shows as part of her Eras Tour, kicking off on 7 June in Edinburgh before coming to London on 21 June. Her extended London run will conclude at Wembley Stadium on 20 August.
Entertainment
Taylor Swift reveals ‘secret’ double album in ‘2am surprise’ – including track inspired by boyfriend Travis Kelce
Published
17 hours agoon
April 19, 2024By
adminTaylor Swift has revealed her latest release is a “secret double album” – with 15 more tracks than fans were expecting.
In a 2am surprise (around 7am UK time), the 34-year-old announced on social media that The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology includes a second instalment.
She wrote: “It’s a 2am surprise: The Tortured Poets Department is a secret DOUBLE album. I’d written so much tortured poetry in the past 2 years and wanted to share it all with you, so here’s the second instalment of TTPD: The Anthology. 15 extra songs. And now the story isn’t mine anymore… it’s all yours.”
It’s the superstar’s 11th studio album and features a bumper 31 songs spilling over two hours.
Swift announced details of the record in February this year when she won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights.
At the time, she revealed the new album includes collaborations with Post Malone and Florence + The Machine who feature respectively on the tracks Fortnight and Florida!!!.
Swift is believed to have included songs about her break-ups with British actor Joe Alwyn and The 1975 star Matty Healy in the album, while a song full of American football references is thought to be inspired by her latest romance with NFL star Travis Kelce.
Read more:
Boyfriend hails ‘unbelievable’ album
The 15th track, The Alchemy, appears to be a nod to her relationship with the Kansas City Chiefs star with references to American football terms including the team, warm benches, winning streak, and trophy, and also features the line: “So when I touch down, call the amateurs and cut ’em from the team.”
Advertisement
She began dating the athlete last year and her attendance at the Super Bowl made headlines around the world, including that kiss with Kelce after the Chiefs’ victory.
Kelce, who has recently landed a role as host of the game show Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity?, said he listened to parts of the album and said it’s “unbelievable”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:33
So Long, London is number five in the tracklist – the slot reserved for the most meaningful song on each of Swift’s albums – and is thought to offer new insight into her split with The Favourite actor Alwyn after six years together.
In the lyrics, Swift hints at wedding plans, singing: “You swore that you loved me but where were the clues, I died on the altar waiting for the proof” – as well as being upset at having to leave London which she said she “loved”.
The very title of the album may be referring to a WhatsApp group Alwyn previously set up with fellow actors Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal, called The Tortured Man Club.
On Healy – who Swift dated for a few weeks last year after her split with Alwyn – several songs seem to reference him, including on Guilty As Sin, where she sings about having “fatal fantasies” for someone from her past while in a relationship.
Writing songs about past old flames is nothing new for Swift including Joe Jonas (Mr Perfectly Fine), Harry Styles (Style), Jake Gyllenhaal (All Too Well) and John Mayer (Dear John).
The singer posted the significance of the album on X as a flurry of fans commented their love for it.
Swift wrote: “The Tortured Poets Department. An anthology of new works that reflect events, opinions and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time – one that was both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure.
“This period of the author’s life is now over, the chapter closed and boarded up. There is nothing to avenge, no scores to settle once wounds have healed. And upon further reflection, a good number of them turned out to be self-inflicted.
“This writer is of the firm belief that our tears become holy in the form of ink on a page. Once we have spoken our saddest story, we can be free of it. And then all that’s left behind is the tortured poetry.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Other songs on the compilation include The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, The Prophecy and Cassandra, while the bonus song is titled The Manuscript.
Swift’s sold-out Eras tour makes its way to the UK on 7 June, starting with three shows in Edinburgh.
The run of her London shows begins on 21 June.
Trending
-
Sports1 year ago
‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year ago
MLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Environment11 months ago
Japan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports6 months ago
Game 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year ago
Game-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Technology3 years ago
Game consoles were once banned in China. Now Chinese developers want a slice of the $49 billion pie
-
Politics2 years ago
Have the last few wobbly weeks seen a turning point for Johnson as PM?