Taylor Swift dropped a juicy little nugget about her new album, The Life of a Showgirl: a track called Father Figure that pays tribute to George Michael. Naturally, the internet lost its mind, Kenny Goss (George’s longtime partner) is misty-eyed, and every entertainment site from TMZ to TikTok is pumping the headline. As a pop culture junkie, I’m here for it. You probably reported it, but here’s the question that matters: Did you read the story, comment, and move on? Or did you own it? Did you hijack pop culture to breathe life into it?
Because let’s be honest—if your big angle is, “Taylor Swift has a new song, and it’s a tribute to George Michael,” congratulations, you just became Background Noise Radio. The stations that win don’t just report. They hijack.
