George Michael's former partner believes the late singer would have been proud of Taylor Swift's upcoming tribute

Kenny Goss - who was in a relationship with George from 1996 to 2009 - told TMZ the Careless Whisper singer would have totally approved of Taylor's song and while he never met the 35-year-old pop star before his death in 2016, the art dealer is pretty sure his former partner would have been a fan and appreciated someone of her standing taking an interest in his work.

Kenny himself is a big fan of Taylor's music and though he had no idea she planned to interpolate Father Figure on her new album, it was a welcome surprise.

Taylor announced The Life of a Showgirl earlier this week and has explained the prominent use of the colour orange in the artwork and promotional teasers for the record.

During an appearance on the New Heights podcast with her boyfriend Travis Kelce and his brother Jason Kelce, she said: "I've just always liked it ... It feels like energetically how my life has felt - and this album is about what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during [The Eras Tour], which was so exuberant and electric and vibrant."

The Karma singer also talked about the album's artwork, which shows her wearing a jewelled costume under the water in a bath and confessed the picture represents her at the end of a concert night because she always ends with a soak in the tub.

She explained: "This represents the end of my night ... My show days are the same every single day, I just have a different city. And my day ends with me in a bathtub - not usually in a bedazzled dress ... [The album represents] the life beyond the show ... I would say it's everything that was going on behind the curtain."

The Life of a Showgirl will be released on 3 October.