Shadowing Practice: Taylor Swift's Extended Interview | The Graham Norton Show - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Taylor and Bono, have you worked together?
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No. Not yet.
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We're gonna talk about it later.
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- Okay, okay.
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But no, but Bono, you did a very nice thing when Taylor got to Ireland.
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I mean, I'm a Swifty.
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- - Oh, yeah.
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Final script, please.
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- - You know, we're.. we're highly aerial birds, you know?
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And, uh, over the years, we've come...
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We bumped into each other and made friends.
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He doesn't want to take credit for the fact that he's so nice, he sent me roses when I played in Dublin.
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He doesn't want to take credit for doing a fake cake.
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He's a truly great person.
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You sent that picture, there you are.
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Our fans are far on the edge.
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Beautiful.
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He's just that great and thoughtful.
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Just the best there is.
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I better have a drink.
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Here's the thing.
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Bono and Taylor not work together.
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But weirdly, Taylor and Eddie, you have worked together.
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-We have.
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-Oh, wow, yeah.
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-It was a decade ago.
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-I once died in his arms in a screen test for "Les Mis." I did not know this.
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I did not know this.
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There's a lot that people don't know about this story.
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Um, basically I was I was auditioning for two roles in Les Mis
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and I'd done a few auditions and gone to New York and whatever.
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And I think it had been established that I I had more of a look of Cosette, but I had the range vocally of Eponine.
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So it was established that like I was there for a good time, not a long time.
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I wasn't going to get this role.
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But they were like, you know, just do you want to come to London for one last screen test?
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And you'll get to screen test with Eddie Redmayne.
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"This seems like an experience I want to have in my life.
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You're like one of my favorite actors.
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You're so ridiculously talented." And I was like, "So, yeah, I'll go to London." Like, I'm like-- um-- Yes, indeed. So far.
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I get there, and they're like, "Okay, so we really want to, like, make you look like Eponine.
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We're going to try to do-- it's the-- you know, she-- she-- she wasn't, like, loaded.
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She had brown teeth.
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You know, like, she didn't have a lot of money, so-- A 19th -century street -hurch.
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Yes, she-- exactly.
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She didn't floss.
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Exactly.
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They were like, we're actually going to paint your teeth brown for this.
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And I'm like, so you're going to do that after I meet Eddie Redmayne, right?
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That's not something you do before.
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I get to meet people, and then you do the brown teeth.
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You're like, no, no, it's...
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"Everybody's going to meet you with the brown teeth, and we're going to do big circles under your eyes like you're near death." I was like,
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"This has immediately become a nightmare for me." You were so nice.
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I think when I met you, I was like, "It's so nice for me." It was hilarious.
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You know, as you walked in as a 19th century French street urchin, and I was not expecting that,
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but my overwhelming memory of it, Taylor, was I had...
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I'd just been to pizza express beforehand and I had some garlic dough balls.
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I thought we were going to be singing off each other, you know, but they had us.
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Also, it was so weird because Taylor was dressed fully as Eponine and I was like in my tracksuit.
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And they had us on the floor like singing sweet nothings into each other.
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And all I knew is I just had garlic bread.
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And I had brown teeth.
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It was one of these.
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It was like trying to show emotion.
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But you're weeping.
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Not to punish you.
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I'm weeping and I just thought it was because of how I looked.
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I felt so bad, like I have to be close to her right now.
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This is...
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Yeah.
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This was not the method, no?
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No. That's nice that you were both struggling in that moment.
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It was a beautiful audition.
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Everyone starts somewhere.
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We've got a very early gig of Taylor.
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This is you.
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Now, you haven't sold out...
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Oh, yeah.
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Yeah.
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This was a big deal for me.
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I was 14.
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And it was an event called the Nashville Rubber Duck Race.
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And it is exactly as it sounds.
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They would put rubber ducks in the river and see who won.
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And I was the official entertainment.
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As you can see, the banner is incredibly high concept.
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It just says it like it is, you know, like this is her name.
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Did you play before the race or after the race?
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Oh, you know what, that's a really good question.
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I think I blocked a lot of this out.
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Okay, fair enough.
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I won't dwell.
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It might be triggering.
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That was the whole crowd.
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The whole crowd is in the shop.
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I can see three people there.
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They do look like fans of rubber duck racing.
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Alex, when they were kids dreaming of being singers, you were a kid.
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But am I right that when you got spotted, you didn't particularly want to be a footballer?
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No, I used to play in a football cage at the end of my road with the boys.
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And then there was a referee in the local area was like, there's a women's team, Arsenal.
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down
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and I was like no I'm totally fine my mum had
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packed me a cup for a sun for a packed lunch
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that day I was like I'm totally fine in this football cage
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and she was like no we are taking you and then I got signed to Arsenal when I was eight Yeah, really early on.
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APPLAUSE.
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What is a football cage?
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A football cage?
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Yeah.
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It was just literally like, there was concrete, it was just nothing in there.
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But for me, it was everything, it's where all the dreams started.
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Literally, you had cars either side of this football cage, and if the ball went out, the car would come along and pop it, and that would be the end of playtime.
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Like, "See you tomorrow." They should introduce that into professional football.
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I'd love that.
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Playing against a car.
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I'm getting to meet you
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because we just look at you as such an inspiration like
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breaking through in such a male -dominated industry You should be so proud
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We've talked about the Swifties and how much they love you and fans, Sometimes find unlikely things.
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I think in Canada, by accident, a track from 1989 was released.
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But it wasn't a real track.
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It was "Eight Seconds of Static." Yes, this happened maybe seven or eight years ago.
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Yeah.
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What happened to that track that was "Eight Seconds of Static"?
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It went number one.
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I don't know how, but maybe it's some metaphor, some symbolism about the sounds of silence.
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Having a moment of quiet.
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I love someone trying to present a chart show in Canada and going, and now it's number one.
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It was ridiculous.
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I don't know why I'm this lucky and have them doing stuff like that for me.
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Swifties, and I think there are some here.
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So, it's just a few things, because Taylor's new album, "Midnight," is out now.
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Yes, it is.
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I've got it here.
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Now, there are different ones, aren't there?
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Different ones.
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Yes.
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So, I've got...
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Which one have I got?
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I've got...
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You've got the main version of it.
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Uh, ooh, yeah, yeah, that's the-- that's the standard version.
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It's a concept album, and the main question is, what keeps you up at night?
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So it's-- you know, you could be up at night because you're reeling from just having met someone, and you're falling for them, or you could be plotting revenge.
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You could be, uh...
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-Garlic.
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Garlick.
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-Garlic.
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Yeah, you could be thinking about the time that they-- they painted your teeth brown to be that you were to paint.
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Um...
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If you think of that as a creative writing prompt, which is what I did, that's where the album came from.
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-And this album couldn't have only...
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I mean, amazing reviews.
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You broke streaming records.
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And a lot of the rave reviews have asked the question, and it is a question, that the great songwriting on this album is part of it due to the fact that you've been doing this...
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sort of strange work of re -recording your back catalogue.
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So it was like you were doing homework on songwriting.
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- I think so, I really do.
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I've been, so I've been re -recording
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uh my first six albums because there was a thing
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that happened where i i had wanted to own my work of my first six albums
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and when i changed record labels my first six albums were actually sold away from me.
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And so I decided to just I just figured if I made them the first time, I can make them again.
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I love it.
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I love it.
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It's an amazing moment.
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It's an amazing moment. But, yes, yes.
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But, is it working?
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Like, are radio stations playing the Taylor version?
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Yes, they've actually, there's actually, one of the things I was most thankful for was there's a, there's a I'M GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO IT.
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I'M GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO IT.
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I'M GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO IT.
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IT'S A COMPANY OF MANY STATIONS IN AMERICA CALLED I HEART.
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AND THEY HAVE SWORN TO ONLY PLAY MY NEW VERSIONS AND THEY SAID THEY 'LL SWITCH IT OUT FOR THE OLD
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VERSIONS EVERY TIME I PUT OUT A NEW VERSION OF A SONG
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WHICH IS JUST LIKE -- IT'S SO HEARTWARMING TO ME
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BECAUSE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I CARE ABOUT BUT I DON'T EXPECT OTHER PEOPLE TO CARE ABOUT IT.
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And doing this, you know, going back over your old work, has led to this wonderful thing, where.. so, all too well, uh, as now...
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I know.
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It's now.. it's now a short film.
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So it was a short song, then it was a longer song, and now it's a short film.
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OK, how do I shorten this?
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So basically, "All Too Well" was a song that came out originally on an album called "Red," which came out in 2012.
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I always loved this song.
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It was never a single, but the fans really loved this song.
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And I had made the mistake of saying in an interview the truth, which is that it had started out as a 10 -minute song with, like, six or seven extra verses,
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and we had had to cut it down.
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to the sort of four and a half, five minute length that it ended up.
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My fans would not let it go.
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They were like, I'd be doing an interview for something else, albums later, and they'd be like, where's the 10 -minute version?
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Where is it?
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So basically, for the re -record, I was like, I am going to put out the 10 minute version.
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I'm just gonna show them what it was.
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And you know what?
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I really want to make, I want to tell a story that goes along with it visually that's more than a music video.
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I want to, I'd been directing my music videos for a
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while at this point and writing and directing them was really fun for me.
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I just love it.
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It's a very natural extension of my storytelling.
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So I thought I'll make, I want to make a short film and,
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and really do this song justice and also create a short film that stands on its own.
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So I was very lucky to be able to cast Sadie Sink and Dylan O 'Brien to be these two young lovers.
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And I'm really, really, really proud of it.
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Real-Life Conversation Practice: Taylor Swift on The Graham Norton Show
This video features a lively chat between Taylor Swift, Bono, and Graham Norton, showcasing casual, conversational English. The dialogue includes storytelling, humor, and natural back-and-forth—perfect for english speaking practice as it mirrors real-world interactions.
Useful Chunks & Collocations to Memorize
- "We're gonna talk about it later" – A common way to delay a topic in friendly conversation.
- "I was there for a good time, not a long time" – A playful phrase to downplay commitment or expectations.
- "She wasn't loaded" – Informal for "she wasn't rich," great for casual speech.
- "You're going to do that after I meet... right?" – A natural structure to confirm plans with emphasis.
- "It's the... you know, she..." – A common filler pattern to pause and clarify, useful for fluency.
Your Shadowing Challenge
Shadowing is a proven technique for improving pronunciation and fluency—ideal for IELTS speaking practice or daily conversation. Here's your task: Watch the 2-minute segment where Taylor talks about her "Les Mis" screen test. Play a 5-second clip, then pause and repeat it aloud, mimicking her tone, speed, and intonation. Focus on phrases like "I was there for a good time, not a long time" and "You're going to do that after I meet Eddie Redmayne, right?". For extra practice, use a shadowing app to record yourself and compare it to the original. This "shadow speech" exercise trains your mouth to move like a native and builds confidence in real-time communication. Repeat daily to see quick improvements!
Pro tip: For consistent practice, try shadowspeaks techniques—pairing shadowing with active listening—to master natural rhythm. You’ll soon notice your English sounding more fluid and conversational.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | we've come · have worked · has immediately become |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | had been established · was established · was dressed |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | prompt, which is · truth, which is |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.