It’s almost like “Memory” has itself become a memory. Taylor Swift is here to try and snatch that Best Original Song Oscar from The Lion King’s Beyoncé Knowles-Carter with a new song she wrote with Andrew Lloyd Webber for Cats — otherwise known as that nightmare movie you know you’re going to see.
Universal Pictures has shared a featurette on Swift and Webber’s collaboration for “Beautiful Ghosts,” a new song written for the character of Victoria (played by Francesca Hayward, Swift is playing Bombalurina).
Swift said she was surprised that Victoria, who’s a central part of Cats, didn’t have a solo and wanted to help make that happen. Of course, Swift is also recording a version of “Beautiful Ghosts” for the movie soundtrack. Because you can’t have T. Swift write a song that T. Swift doesn’t get to sing.
During the video, Webber said he shared a new composition with Swift and she “more or less” wrote a good portion of the lyrics, apparently on the spot. Swift, meanwhile, added how they were largely inspired by Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot, the collection of poems that Webber based the story of Cats on, before dropping the most incredible line of this otherwise rather thin featurette:
“Reading through his work and everything, I just wanted to reflect that within — you can’t write a modern lyric for Cats,” she said. “So, if you can’t get T.S. Eliot, like, get T.S. I’m here for you.”
Cats jumps out of its box December 26. I hope you’re ready for the Jellicles.