7:44
- culture
- Taylor Swift
- October 25, 2019
Taylor Swift, Andrew Lloyd Webber talk 'Cats' song
The pair collaborated for the original song, "Beautiful Ghosts."
Video by Brittany Berkowitz
Swift will not sing the song in the main feature, but her studio version will play during the end credits. Instead, Royal Ballet principal dancer Francesca Hayward, who plays Victoria the White Cat, will do the honors.
While Victoria is a predominant character in the musical, the part doesn't include any musical solos because it's primarily a dancing role.
Webber expressed his excitement over Victoria's expanded role in the movie, saying, \"When I first read the screenplay, the first thing I said was, 'We have to have a song for Victoria.'\"
He says \"Beautiful Ghosts\" is now \"an incredibly important and central part of the whole film.”
In a behind the scenes interview with Swift and Webber, the two opened up about their ambitious project.
\"T.S. Eliot is such a specific type of writer and uses such specific language and imagery, and so, reading through, like, his work and everything I just really wanted to reflect that with [our song],\" Swift explains.
\"You can't write a modern lyric for 'Cats.' So, like, if you can't get T.S. Eliot,\" she grins while indicating herself, \"Get T.S. -- I'm here for you.\"
\"Cats,\" starring Swift, James Corden, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Rebel Wilson and more premieres Dec. 20, 2019.
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