Taylor Swift premiered this Friday, February 6, the long-awaited music video for Opalite, the second single from her album The Life of a Showgirl (2025).
True to her innovative spirit, the artist decided to make the video available only to Spotify and Apple Music premium users for the first few hours, leaving its arrival on YouTube for Sunday, February 8 at 14:00. This strategy reinforces her commitment to paid streaming services and confirms, once again, her ability to set trends in the music industry.
A music video written and directed by Taylor Swift herself.
Beyond the exclusive release, Opalite has generated conversation because of one key element: the impressive list of cameos that appear throughout the music video. Taylor Swift not only stars in the piece, but also writes and directs it, cementing her role as an all-around creator.
The idea was born during her participation in The Graham Norton Show, one of the most popular late-night programs on British television. On that show, Swift shared a sofa with the likes of Cillian Murphy, Domhnall Gleeson, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith and Lewis Capaldi, a group she described as people whose work she had admired “from afar”.
During the interview, Domhnall Gleeson made a joking comment about his desire to appear in one of Swift’s music videos. What seemed like a passing joke ignited an immediate creative spark in the singer. As she recounted, the idea for the Opalite video came to her right then and there.
Just a week later, Gleeson received in his mail the script Swift had written for the music video, in which he would assume the leading role. The artist decided to go further and invited the rest of the show’s guests to join the project, turning it into a kind of “group work”, but done by adults and on a voluntary basis. To her delight, they all agreed to participate.
The faces that bring Opalite to life
Domhnall Gleeson, Irish actor and screenwriter, is known for his versatility in titles such as Ex Machina, A Matter of Time, Brooklyn and the Star Wars saga. Lewis Capaldi, meanwhile, brings his charisma as one of the most successful singer-songwriters of his generation, with ballads like Someone You Loved and Before You Go.
Jodie Turner-Smith stands out for her powerful screen presence and for playing complex characters in projects such as Queen & Slim and Anne Boleyn. Greta Lee, American actress, achieved international recognition thanks to Past Lives, in addition to her work in series such as Russian Doll. Cillian Murphy, one of the most respected actors in contemporary cinema, adds prestige to the video clip after his acclaimed performances in Peaky Blinders and Oppenheimer.
Finally, Graham Norton, Irish presenter and comedian, becomes the invisible thread of this story. It was on his show where all these figures met and where Taylor Swift found the inspiration for one of the most talked-about music videos of this new stage.
With Opalite, Swift not only delivers a thoughtful visual piece full of cultural nods, but also celebrates creative collaboration between artists she admires, reaffirming her place as one of the most influential storytellers in pop today.
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