The George Michael Hit That Sounded a Little Too Like Prince—and Later Inspired Taylor Swift

George Michael had a golden run in the 80s. He earned many top-selling hits and solidified himself as a solo artist. But there was one solo song that remains one of his name-making tracks. This gospel-tinged song is very 80s, with earnestly over-the-top lyrics and a backing choir. While writing this song, Michael found it was starting to take on the shape of another artist’s music: Prince. The song had to be changed to avoid falling into copycat territory. The changes proved apt, earning Michael a generation-defining hit. Decades later, another top-selling artist decided to put her own spin on this song’s central theme. Revisit the Prince-inspired hit that Michael had to change, which went on to inspire Taylor Swift.

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“It Started off Sounding a Bit Like Prince”

“Father Figure” is one of Michael’s name-making songs. This hit was the perfect showcase of his passionate vocals and floor-filling musicality. While writing this song, Michael noticed it started to sound a little like another 80s superstar, Prince.

“Do you know what’s interesting about the making of that song,” Michael once said. “It started off with a rhythm track with a snare, and when you play it like that it sounds a bit like Prince. But I must have been listening to it without the snare and gone, ‘Oh my God, that totally changes the record!’ It suddenly becomes a gospel record.”

With this simple change, Michael earned one of the most distinctive songs of the 80s and the hit that still gets him talked about today.

Enter Taylor Swift

This hit is still so popular that one of the biggest names in modern music decided to put her spin on it. Swift interpolated this 80s masterpiece into her song of the same name. Despite borrowing elements of the song directly, it holds very little resemblance to Michael’s version.

Both songs touch on the same idea while having very different effects. This sentiment of protective love for someone you care about is expected of a man in society, while Swift’s version turns gender norms on their head. She stands in her power as arguably the biggest artist in the world, promising to take care of her protégé.

This song didn’t need to be redone, but the way that Swift tackled it is more than acceptable. She used Michael’s accidental hit as a jumping-off point for something new and fresh.

(Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)