Taylor Swift, the self-identifying queen of snakes, has a major thing for the mother of dragons and all else Westeros.
The pop star revealed she counts herself among the legions of “Game of Thrones” fans in her first sit-down magazine interview in nearly three years.
Swift was a relatively late adopter of the HBO fantasy series, but became so enamored with the characters that major players like Arya Stark and Daenerys Targaryen served as inspirations for her last album, “Reputation.”
“I just feel so lucky to exist when ‘Game of Thrones’ is coming out,” Swift told Entertainment Weekly for a May cover story.
“These songs were half based on what I was going through, but seeing them through a ‘Game of Thrones’ filter. ... ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ is literally Arya Stark’s kill list,” Swift said, adding that the polarizing single also has Cersei and Daenerys vibes.
“‘King of My Heart’ was influenced by Khal Drogo and Daenerys,” she continued. “It’s even got this post-hook of drums — I wanted them to sound like Dothraki drums.”
The singer also revealed that she wrote the thumping “I Did Something Bad” after Arya and Sansa Stark conspired to kill Littlefinger back in Season 7.
And in case you don’t believe Swift takes her stanning seriously, she sports pins featuring the “Game of Thrones” women on the magazine’s cover, alongside pins highlighting some other pop culture inspirations.
“Game of Thrones” has shaped her “entire outlook on storytelling,” the singer said, and led her to model album releases after the show by dropping Easter eggs for her fans to discover. Ahead of the release of her currently untitled seventh studio album, the Grammy winner has left breadcrumbs for followers to pick up on social media and in music videos, encouraging fans to swap theories about the direction of her next project.
“I found ways to get more cryptic with information and still be able to share messages with the fans,” Swift told Entertainment Weekly. “I aspire to be one one-millionth of the kind of hint dropper the makers of ‘Game of Thrones’ have been.”
And just like the rest of us, Swift also has her suspicions on who will end up on the Iron Throne when the series wraps up in the coming weeks.
“Daenerys, Arya, or Sansa,” she said. “But if I’m being realistic, I think Sansa has the skill set and the ability to delegate and put on a brave face but a stoic demeanor ... “Arya [would] be Hand of the King.”
“Game of Thrones” has proven to be popular among celebrities as of late, with Drake, whom Swift also credits in the interview as another big influence, giving a shout-out to Arya Stark during an acceptance speech at this month’s Billboard Music Awards.
Entertainment Weekly’s latest issue with the full Taylor Swift interview hits the stands on Friday.