3 h. ago Robbie Williams rants 'you can't compete' with Taylor Swift as he pushes back album release to avoid clash with The Life Of A Showgirl

The hitmaker, 51, has never been afraid to speak his mind and now the pop legend has confessed he pulled the plug on his album release after realising he'd be going up against Taylor Swift.

Politics

7 h. ago Travis Kelce's relative's unlikely reaction to raunchy Taylor Swift song

Travis Kelce's sister-in-law, Kylie, has praised Taylor Swift for Wood, a song on The Life of a Showgirl that likens the NFL star's anatomy to a "Redwood tree"

Politics

8 h. ago Taylor Swift breaks chart records with new album despite mixed reviews

Taylor Swift has broken several chart records in the UK with the release of her new 12th studio album The Life Of A Showgirl as she celebrates her most successful debut yet

Politics

10 h. ago Taylor Swift smashes chart records and closes in on The Beatles

The Life Of A Showgirl scores the biggest first week sales of the year in the UK and lands Taylor Swift her 14th chart topper. She is just one behind The Beatles in terms of No1 albums. She has also sold more vinyl than any other artist this century.

Politics

10 h. ago Taylor Swift breaks UK chart records with album The Life Of A Showgirl

Swift’s album debuts at number one, with her tracks in the top three of the singles chart.

Culture

11 h. ago The Guide #212: The Taylor Swift backlash has me asking: how much good music can one artist really produce?

In this week’s newsletter: The mixed response to The Life of a Showgirl is proof that even the biggest star isn’t immune to creative burnoutAmid the flood of discourse around Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl, one recurring sentiment jumped out: that the album – which many critics have declared a misstep in Swift’s otherwise consistently solid discography – felt hurried, hasty, rushed. “The Life of a Showgirl Is 40 Minutes of Elevator Music Rushed Out to Break a Beatles Record”, read the particularly savage headline of a piece on Collider. In the Guardian music desk’s excellent round table on the album, just about every panellist expressed a wish that Swift would take a break from the constant churn of releasing records, in order to recapture a lost spark.And it has been quite the churn. Since 2019 Swift has on average released an album a year, and that’s not counting the Taylor’s Version re-records of her older albums. All of this managed alongside a certain billion-dollar-gros...

Culture

16 h. ago Robbie Williams review – tiny Camden gig offers blinding star wattage – and a surprising new song about Morrissey

Dingwalls, LondonPreviewing new album Britpop to an audience of 600, the star promises ‘no stadium bravado’ and delivers droll new songs alongside stripped-back oldiesWhat do you do if you’re a superstar who has pulled well over a million people to a stadium tour? If you’re as contrary as Robbie Williams, you play a gig in a shoebox. This late-night show at the 600-capacity Dingwalls, the smallest venue of his career to date, is a rum event. It was originally a launch evening for a new album, Britpop, now postponed to February. Williams makes no bones about why. “It’s because of Taylor Swift,” he admits, in a week where her new album The Life of a Showgirl is outselling the rest of the UK Top 20 put together. “I could pretend it’s not, but it is. It’s selfish. I want a 16th No 1 album.”Bounding on stage just as the pubs are closing, a grinning Williams clearly relishes the intimate environment. “I’m not doing all that stadium bravado and pointing,” he vows, launching into a full, st...

Politics

27 h. ago Taylor Swift fans convinced they've spotted Easter Egg about feud with famous A

The American songstress, 35, was seen draped in a gold chainmail dress custom-made by New York-based designer Kelsey Randall in a behind the scenes look at her new album, Life Of A Showgirl.

Politics

57 h. ago Travis Kelce's shy reaction to Taylor Swift's 'generous' song about his 'manhood'

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was questioned by his brother about Taylor Swift's raunchy song about his 'manhood' from her new album, The Life of a Showgirl

Politics

58 h. ago Taylor Swift beats Adele’s first week in US sales record with Life of a Showgirl

The star has already sold 3.5m units of her critically divisive album, a new record in the modern era of music salesTaylor Swift’s divisive new album, The Life of a Showgirl, has beaten Adele’s record-breaking 25 in first week sales numbers.According to data tracking firm Luminate, the album has already sold 3.5m units in the US which equates to 3.2m physical copies and 300,000 attributed to streaming activity. Adele achieved 3.482m in 2015 with her opening week sales of 25 which was led by hit Hello. Continue reading...

Politics

60 h. ago Taylor Swift’s fiance gives verdict on her erotic song lyrics

Travis Kelce discussed his fiancée Taylor Swift's new album, "The Life of a Showgirl", on his podcast "New Heights".

Politics

60 h. ago Travis Kelce breaks silence on Taylor Swift’s steamy lyrics in new song ‘Wood’

Swift released her 12th album October 3

Politics

60 h. ago Hulk Hogan's estranged daughter sparks concern with bizarre post linking Taylor Swift and the 'devil'

Swift is still very much riding the wave of her new album release after 'The Life of a Showgirl' finally dropped last Friday. But not everyone is a fan of it, including Brooke Hogan.

Politics

61 h. ago The Life of a Showgirl is a massive hit – and massively divisive. What should Taylor Swift do next?

Swift’s 12th LP is set to dominate the charts – despite fans lampooning the lyrics and lamenting its quality. Guardian music writers discuss what it means for her careerLaura Snapes Taylor Swift’s 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl (TLOAS), has been a smash statistical success. She’s broken records that she previously set, and in the US is second only to Adele for the most sales in a single week. The cinematic release party this weekend grossed $34m in the US and an additional $13m worldwide. But it’s second only to her 20-year-old debut – written in her teens – as the worst reviewed album of her catalogue, with a 70% approval average on Metacritic. What are the successes and failures of this record?Alexis Petridis The success part is obvious. It’s set to become the biggest-selling album of the year by a preposterously long chalk. In terms of shortcomings, I think the biggest one is prosaic – a lack of really memorable melodies. I think you’d be hearing a lot less about the cringy l...

Events

61 h. ago Taylor Swift breaks Adele's streaming record as new album The Life Of A Showgirl racks up 3.5M copies sold

The modern-era single-week sales record was previously held by Adele's album, 25, with 3.378 million copies sold upon its release in 2015.

Culture

62 h. ago Taylor Swift fans urged not to play The Life of a Showgirl too loudly in car

Motoring Defence Solicitors have issued advice on Rule 148 of the Highway Code

Politics

66 h. ago Taylor Swift responds to fans who don’t like ‘The Life of a Showgirl’

‘I welcome the chaos,’ says popstar

Politics

67 h. ago Taylor Swift looks chic as she steps out for dinner in NYC with close pal Jerrod Carmichael amid blockbuster Life Of A Showgirl album release

She's been making the rounds on interview shows to promote her new hit album The Life Of A Showgirl in recent days.

Culture

3 d. ago Taylor Swift shuts down Super Bowl halftime show rumors about Travis Kelce

Pop superstar appeared Monday on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ to promote her new album, ‘The Life of a Showgirl’

Politics

3 d. ago Taylor Swift's ode to Travis Kelce is cringe – but is it worse than these other terrible lyrics?| Arwa Mahdawi

The singer-songwriter has proved herself a modern-day Shagspeare with Wood, a paean to the penis. When it comes to shocking lyrics, though, it faces strong competition ...Shall I compare thee to a redwood tree? Thou art more sappy and more decadent. Rough winds do shake OK, enough of that. I apologise for the cod Shakespeare but I just couldn’t help myself. Taylor Swift mania is at fever pitch and I have found myself swept up in the chatter about the lyrics from her new album, The Life of a Showgirl.Swift has routinely been described as a lyrical genius, and not just by 11-year-olds. Sir Jonathan Bate, a Shakespeare scholar, once called her a “literary giant” and used her work as a teaching aid. On her latest album the billionaire liberally sprinkles in plenty of Shakespeare references, but what’s really got people talking are the (supposed) allusions to fiance Travis Kelce’s “magic wand”. If you’re not interested in a blow-by-blow account of the magic, I’d advise you to do a vanish...

Events