Three months after the release of The Life Of A Showgirl, Taylor Swift has moved into a new single. But unlike “The Fate Of Ophelia,” which got a major rollout in movie theaters as part of The Official Release Party Of A Showgirl, you currently can’t even watch “Opalite” on YouTube, where the vast, vast majority of pop music videos have lived for the better part of 20 years. The clip, which features appearances from Domhnall Gleeson, Jodie Turner-Smith, Greta Lee, Lewis Capaldi, Cillian Murphy, and Graham Norton, can only be viewed on Apple Music and Spotify (which only started including music videos on its streamer about two months ago).
Though Swift herself didn’t say this, we can assume the move might have to do with the fact that YouTube views stopped counting for Billboard numbers about two weeks ago. Previously, a splashy music video on YouTube could help a song land a good spot on the Hot 100, but no longer. “Billboard uses an outdated formula that weights subscription-supported streams higher than ad-supported,” YouTube shared in a blog post in December. “Therefore, after January 16, 2026, our data will no longer be delivered to Billboard or factored into their charts.” And now Swift’s video will not be delivered to YouTube, at least not yet. (For what it’s worth, “Opalite” already hit number 2 on the Hot 100 when Life Of A Showgirl debuted.) We may see more of this tactic in the future, but this is the first high-profile instance since the rule change.
Anywho, the early 90s-themed clip, which Swift wrote and directed, opens with a commercial for a product called “Opalite,” some kind of spray that can magically turn “crappiness” into “happiness.” Swift has a pet rock and Gleeson has a pet cactus, but after using the product, they find each other and live happily ever after. The cast for the video appears to have all been pulled from the guest list on The Graham Norton Show when Swift was a guest last fall, which is a fun detail. You can find the video on Spotify via this link.
