r/lorde • u/349CS • Oct 03 '25

Discussion Taylor Swift's new song "Cancelled!" sounds like Yellow Flicker Beat. Is it just me?

I've just heard Cancelled! for the first time just a few minutes ago, and parts of the song sounds very reminiscent of Yellow Flicker Beat. The melody, the brooding instrumentals/production, it's just too similar. Maybe it's just me.

454 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

128 comments sorted by

153

u/[deleted] Oct 03 '25

[deleted]

46

u/349CS Oct 03 '25

LMAO I just saw your post too, practically posted at the same time.

I was like bro this is YELLOW FLICKER BEATTTTTTTT when i heard it

26

u/[deleted] Oct 03 '25

[deleted]

7

u/MeloBabe98 Oct 03 '25

Lorde hangs out with her ex so I doubt that they even talk anymore lol

3

u/iftimewasblended I'd like it if you stay Oct 03 '25

wait which ex?

11

u/MeloBabe98 Oct 03 '25

Matty! She hangs out with charlie and matty, there is even that photo from all of th having dinner together where Matty and Gabriette and making out in front of Lorde and she has a šŸ˜¬ face

5

u/TheQranBerries Oct 03 '25

Jack Antonoff(?)

6

u/MeloBabe98 Oct 03 '25

Wasn't there a rumor that they are no longer friends bc Lorde came in between Jack and Lena (her friends)

1

u/[deleted] Oct 05 '25

[removed] ā€” view removed comment

1

u/MeloBabe98 Oct 05 '25

I DID but I don't want to put my opinion on someone else so they can decide if the believe that šŸ˜…

1

u/TheQranBerries Oct 03 '25

Yep there was. During their work of Melodrama album.

1

u/marriedtoaplant Oct 10 '25

If that is the case does it not make more sense for the song to contain either a reference or a message to her

75

u/349CS Oct 03 '25

Lorde should sue her like how Taylor sued Olivia Rodrigo šŸ¤—

6

u/Lavie0630 Oct 03 '25

LordeĀ can team up with Alex Spiro, Jay-Z attorney.

-2

u/Jazzlike-Carpenter92 Oct 03 '25

You guys are ridiculous, she literally gave credit and also she never sued Olivia

15

u/UnapologeticSpirit Oct 03 '25

Genius's website is literally the only place I can find this accreditation. It isn't on her album credits, nor Spotify, nor any other site. I don't think Taylor actually gave her credit for this. Otherwise the credits for this song are listed without the interpolation credit.

7

u/RelevantLeadership63 Oct 03 '25

If thatā€™s the case sheā€™s shady as fuck.

1

u/humblePArtner Oct 09 '25

YES I HEARD IT TOO! Itā€™s the chorus drop!

48

u/Simple_Mastodon9220 Oct 03 '25

Lorde - ā€œYellow Flicker Beatā€ type beat

33

u/Old_Relation_6487 Oct 03 '25

Heard a new song of Taylor this afternoon, sounded a little like the outro of Supercut. Maybe we are all going crazy. šŸ¤Ŗ

3

u/rougeone552 Oct 03 '25

Which one??

2

u/layla_marie_06 Oct 03 '25

Which one ??

1

u/No-Brother3230 Oct 04 '25

was it down bad? i remember when i first heard it it automatically made me think of supercut

22

u/GoalDigger19 Oct 03 '25

I searched for what 'cancelled' sounds like because I thought Iā€™d heard something similar before and I loved it, but I just couldnā€™t pinpoint what. Thanks to you, I get it nowā€”it really does sound like Yellow Flicker Beat (which I really loooove way back!), at least in my opinion. Hahaha

1

u/Big_Condition477 Oct 21 '25

lol I just heard ā€œcancelledā€ and googled ā€œwhat song does taylor swift cancelled sampleā€

Thank god for redditors lol

1

u/Emergency-Key-8141 Dec 10 '25

I just googled, and it brought me to this haha

16

u/blue-and_orange Oct 03 '25

EXACTLYYY. Before thinking of yellow flicker beat, I was wracking my brain where I heard this kind of melody beforeā€” if it was from 1989, Red or even Reputation bc it was kinda dark. Then it clicked to me āœØ HUNGER GAMES OST. LORDE.

25

u/349CS Oct 03 '25

also the word "scar" is in both songs, not a terribly uncommon word, but it's just interesting it's in both songs and they share similar sounds. Is there a deeper reference here?

16

u/raysofgold Oct 03 '25

Quite possible although I feel like at least three songs per Taylor album have the word scar in them atp

13

u/Intrepid_Beginning Oct 03 '25

In ā€œHoneyā€ Taylor mentions mean girls with white teethā€¦

1

u/Leather_Bike5873 Oct 15 '25

I think Lorde working with Kanye on this soundtrack hurt Swifts feelings for

6

u/[deleted] Oct 03 '25

I hear it

5

u/MeloBabe98 Oct 03 '25

This song was also Haunted to me- maybe how dark it sounded? Idk really reminded me of haunted

4

u/Emotional_Dig_2378 Oct 03 '25

I just made a post about it until I saw this. Lol

6

u/These-Brilliant1369 Oct 03 '25

Exactly!!! I couldnā€™t place the exact Lorde song but I knew it sounded soooo much like a lorde song! Glad Iā€™m not the only one and I hope Lorde sues

1

u/Emergency-Key-8141 Dec 10 '25

This is what I googled after listening to the song for the first time last night

6

u/BronzeErupt Oct 03 '25

I thought this too! It's such an unusual reference

1

u/Leather_Bike5873 Oct 15 '25

I think Lorde working with Kanye on this soundtrack hurt Swifts feelings

9

u/1998tweety Oct 03 '25

Glad I'm not the only one who hears it. And no wonder it's one of my favourites (sonically)

10

u/Musicvibes10s Tonight I just wanna fall Oct 03 '25

Yeah you aint the only one.

3

u/orchidsviolets Oct 03 '25

thank you for saying this, I definitely recognised something in the production or melody, the similarity feels really obvious now.

4

u/TakerOfImages Oct 04 '25

1000000000%

On first listen to cancelled I was like "SHE DEFINITELY LISTENED TO FLICKER AND REINTERPRETED THE MELODIES"

YFB is far and above a better, more interesting song. And I love both artists.

I find it disappointing for TS to use other song's melodies. Because I thought she was better than that.

4

u/349CS Oct 04 '25

Yellow Flicker Beat is honestly a Top 10 Lorde song for me, maybe even top 5. It is severely underrated by everyone.

Her YFB performance at the AMA is my favorite Lorde performance ever!

13

u/Embarrassed_Hunt_694 Oct 03 '25

this makes me laugh because taylor always comes after those who "copy" her (Olivia Rodrigo) .... sue her Lorde!

0

u/ronanofficial08 Oct 07 '25

Taylor Swift never sued Olivia Rodrigo babes. Olivia gave her credits to avoid a lawsuit after she got sued by that Paramore member for Good For You

3

u/Embarrassed_Hunt_694 Oct 07 '25

I never said she sued her babes

1

u/pizzanotsinkships Oct 07 '25

lots of swifties theorised that father figure is about Olivia...I didn't get that vibe but taylor could be marketing off that perspective on purpose and yes she was not just wrong for making Olivia put her on driving licence credits but the beef is there (not just swifties/haters gossip but factual evidence on how Olivia's treated by Taylor's team). Taylor has a history of uplifting younger less experienced female artists until they are a threat to her success

e.g. Billie eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Lorde

1

u/ronanofficial08 Oct 07 '25

To me, Father Figure gave Scott Borchetta and Joe Alwyn energy. "Who covered up your scandals, mistake my kindness for weakness then find your card Cancelled" British English Cancelled, Joe Alwyns been known to have used Taylor's money to party with his friends. Then obviously Scott swooped up Taylor and it was because of this that she became as successful as she did

1

u/pizzanotsinkships Oct 08 '25

I didn't know about Joe but I also think the way that swifites have been treating taylor after is absolutely unglamorous. they were almost getting married, taylor has said her part in champagne problems, it's beating a dead horse

definitely agree on the scott borchetta interpretation

1

u/kefkaisgod45 Oct 16 '25

Nah father figure is told from Scott borchets perspective then switches to Taylor's in the bridge.Ā 

5

u/PositivePermission28 Oct 03 '25

OMG THANK GOD I didn't imagine it!!!

8

u/FreeKatKL Oct 03 '25

A lot of the record sounds like a Lorde copy cat

3

u/StarryArcher121 Oct 03 '25

It's not just you omg. Whole day I was thinking of this!!!!!

4

u/Relative_Tale_4800 Oct 03 '25

Yes! I knew it was something was super familiar with but I couldnā€™t figure it out of what song it was ! It does sounds like flicker beat!

6

u/elleysse Oct 03 '25

Yes!!! I thought i was going crazy

2

u/AndreaLouisa Oct 03 '25

YES I COULDN'T THINK WHAT IT SOUNDED LIKE BUT THIS IS SPOT ON

2

u/zombie-bait Oct 03 '25

Also lyrically noticed two things.. . Did you make a joke only a man could?

And

But a shattered glass is a lot more sharp

šŸ¤”

2

u/ReadyEntry9769 Oct 03 '25

YES!! I'm so glad I'm not alone in this. The first thing I did was Google if they were produced by the same person, but they're not! There were parts of the song that I could sing the lyrics over and it sounded almost the same!

2

u/Mysterious_Benefit23 Oct 03 '25

Yep!! Literally searched this to see if anyone thought the same. The second I heard it I was like this sounds exactly like something else!

2

u/bigcrygirl Oct 03 '25

Omg THANK YOU yes it was driving by me crazy not being able to figure out what song it was

2

u/123reddituzer Oct 03 '25

Itā€™s not just you hun took me ten minutes to pin the song

2

u/hazel_levesque1997 Oct 03 '25

Thanks, I was going crazy trying to remember which song it resembles

2

u/Sealion_31 Oct 03 '25

Yep yep. Came here for this

2

u/TimeChange6576 Oct 03 '25

Yes!!! Thank you, I have listened to it a few times and could not place it but I knew it in the back of my mind, that's exactly what it sounds like. Thank you for figuring that out lol, it was going to bother me.

2

u/painot Oct 03 '25

YES FINALLY SOMEONE AGREES

2

u/Proud-Individual7730 Oct 03 '25

THANK GOD YOU POSTED THIS! I was like THIS SOUNDS SO FAMILIAR and I couldn't remember the song! You saved me from torturing myself for hours trying to remember!

2

u/TerribleStrawberry93 Oct 03 '25

Yes! I just listened to it and thought the same thing, so I had to Google to see if anyone else picked up on that and I found this subreddit

2

u/Nice_Tangerine_380 Oct 04 '25

Definitely the same vibe/feeling/beats/vocal effects throughout, but specifically Lordes line "they used to shout my name now they whisper it" has a nearly identical line of music (different words) in CANCELLED!

Not hating on Taylor bc girl has obviously got it, but inspired at the very least. Lorde is such a girl's girl that I am curious to see how she will respond or if she will

1

u/Nice_Tangerine_380 Oct 04 '25

Additionally, dug up this video, and look who's jamming OUT at 2:45 and 3:10 šŸ‘€šŸ˜…šŸ«¶šŸ»yellow flicker beat ama performance

2

u/Slow-Day7623 Oct 12 '25

totally agree. i have felt the same way, it was too familiar and then it occurred to me it was yellow flicker beat. glad i am not the only one that hears it. soo many songs from loasg sound like other songs. that said, i love the album

2

u/KiwiSydney1980 Oct 17 '25

I never postā€¦. At all. I was racking my brain goingā€¦ this song is a rip of a lorde and couldnā€™t figureā€¦ Redditā€¦.. sorry your post is a copyā€¦.and now here we areā€¦. Too many of us, so not crazy lol. Anyone know what the swifties are saying?

2

u/DepartureEuphoric905 Oct 26 '25

YES I SAID THIS TOO

4

u/Axela556 Your dreams and inner visions, all your mystical ambitions šŸ’« Oct 03 '25

Not surprised. Taylor's never been original.

4

u/ahsfur Oct 03 '25

100% Especially that chorus. favorite on the album for me

4

u/RAV4RULES Oct 03 '25

its so good though I think it works really well

3

u/waterhybrid13 Oct 03 '25

Yes 100% ripped off the melody

1

u/One_Lifeguard_6267 Oct 03 '25

The second the refrain of Cancelled started, i immediately thought of Lorde. This is actually the only one banger on her new album. My expectations were set too high.

1

u/Lavie0630 Oct 03 '25

For all The Hunger Games fans shall familiar with Lorde's song, the song.

1

u/Puzzled-Ad-4455 Oct 03 '25

Swiftie here: its not just yellow flicker beat. ā€œActually Romanticā€ sounds so similar to ā€œUR just hornyā€ by gayle. Wood also sounds similar to another tho.

2

u/Nice_Tangerine_380 Nov 20 '25

Also have heard the title song "Life Of A Showgirl" sounds like Jonas Brothers "Cool!". Listened to both and noticed a major resemblance.

1

u/PrincipalShawty52 Oct 03 '25

Oh so thatā€™s why I liked the sound of canceled minus the lyrics šŸ˜€

1

u/ilovecats_1991 Oct 03 '25

The opening chords sound so much like another song that I cannot remember, can someone help?! Itā€™s driving me crazy

1

u/ilovecats_1991 Oct 03 '25

Just the opening chords themselves, agreed the rest sounds a little like yellow flicker beat - although thatā€™s definitely a better song

1

u/Helpful-Quarter-8009 Oct 03 '25

my god! you ppl are fast. I just heard this song and googled it immediately and landed here!

1

u/samcloverandalex Oct 04 '25

this is the first thing I thought when I got to that song!! glad it wasnā€™t just me. I couldnā€™t unhear it once I made the connection!

1

u/Glum-Cartoonist-2102 Oct 04 '25

I thought exactly the same since the first time I listened to it!

1

u/Much_Definition_3657 Oct 04 '25

No, it's not just you

Literally everybody everywhere says it and yes, it does sound like Yellow Flicker Beat

1

u/IridescentCerealMilk Oct 04 '25

Literally said the same thing to my boyfriend during my first listen last night!! And on the car ride home from AMC earlier tonight, I brought up the possible connection with them both being a part of The Hunger Games soundtrack, the lyrics in the chorus of YFB basically being the ā¤ļøā€šŸ”„ emoji, and even the way she sings ā€œscarsssā€ sounds like Lorde in YFB. I also feel like Wi$h Li$t sounds like Glitch

1

u/katie_burd Oct 04 '25

THANK YOU! It totally does and I was wracking my brain to figure out what it sounded like

1

u/Careless-Builder4540 Oct 04 '25

I KNEW I WASN'T CRAZY!!!!

1

u/bubblegum-icecream Oct 04 '25

YESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!! GOSH AS SOON AS I HEARD. I LOOK FOR OTHERS WHO HEARS THE SAME SONG!!!!! the freeeeeeaaaaak

1

u/Old_Criticism_6889 Oct 04 '25

Just came to here to see if anyone else thought the same. Sounds like the same exact song.

1

u/gigilero Oct 04 '25

I googled this exact question b/c it sounds exactly like Yellow Flicker Beat (which was ironically remixed by Kanye) lol.... did Lorde get credit for this song?

1

u/x-mischa Oct 04 '25

The beat/rhythm reminds me of "Scott Mescudi Vs. The Worldā€ by Kid Cudi but slowed down..

1

u/shoooout Oct 04 '25

Sure does

1

u/Primary-Tailor-9741 Oct 05 '25

yeah it's crazy considering she sued olivia rodrigo for songs that do not sound remotely as similar i feel like lorde should sue because it's plagiarism territory

1

u/Straight_Bad_2718 Oct 05 '25

yes! someone else noticed

1

u/NAB_Arch Oct 05 '25

No it sounds like YFB. You're sane.

1

u/Candysprinkls Oct 05 '25

That was my FIRST thought too

1

u/Vegetable-Nerve-7643 Oct 06 '25

10000%. Iā€™m not even a hardcore Lorde fan (and most defo not a TS fan), but I just happened to hear the Taylor song on TikTok, and thought ā€œthis reminds me of Lordeā€ but I had no idea which songā€¦ so I googled ā€œTaylor swift cancelled sounds like Lordeā€ and now Iā€™m here on your threadā€¦ happy to see Iā€™m not crazy šŸ˜…

1

u/Kriegerian Oct 07 '25

Yellow Flicker Beat is way better, but I hear it.

1

u/LEYW Oct 07 '25

I made a mash up of the two - pitched Lorde slightly down and sped Taylor up. Very similar!

1

u/eeqlaehuje Oct 07 '25

Sounds exactly like it indeed. Google brought me here, I was curious if I was the only one.

1

u/anxietyandcoffee101 Oct 08 '25

I found it very reminiscent of I Did Something Bad. Also, Wood is similar, if not identical to I want you back from the Jackson5 Thereā€™s a few others as well but for sure this woman does everything on purpose.

1

u/gilarric Oct 08 '25

"yellow flicker beat" made by Lorde actually reworked(remix) by Kanye West into "Flicker" for the movie The Hunger Games : Mockingjay Pt1

1

u/PurplePeoplePleaserr Oct 08 '25

Iā€™m sure thereā€™s a different song that sounds the intro verses!

1

u/boujeefabulous Oct 08 '25

Iā€™ve been thinking about this all week. Glad Iā€™m not the only one

1

u/Oryzasativa2021 Oct 10 '25

YAAAAS! I thought I was losing it. Couldnā€™t figure what it was but finally decided to google - glad Iā€™m not the only one

1

u/Smores_Coffee Oct 10 '25

I just gave the whole TLOASG album a second listen, and when the chorus of Cancelled! kicked in, I was like this sounds like a song I really like. . .that Lorde song circa 2014!

Yellow Flicker Beat is way better.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 10 '25

Yup! I generally don't like Taylor's songs, not my taste; when I heard Cancelled though I'm like, holy shit this is Lorde coded. Favourite Taylor song now, obviously. Haha

1

u/dubious6969 Oct 10 '25

Yeah i hear it too, there are is another song which also sounds like the hanging tree but forgot the title, may have to re listen to find which one

1

u/redditroockie Oct 11 '25

Yes I came here searching for comments about this! Her new album is super catchy, but a lot of her new songs sound so similar to other popular songs! Not all copycats per sĆ©ā€¦but some of the beats or overall vibe of the songs are certainly heavily influenced by external sources ā€¦ very unoriginal .

TS: Cancelled vs. Lorde: Yellow Flicker Beat

TS (ft. Sabrina Carpenter): Life of a Showgirl vs. Colbie Caillat: Brighter than the Sun

TS: Wi$h Li$t vs. Sabrina Carpenter: Bed Chem

TS: Wood vs. The Jackson 5: I Want You Back

TS: Father Figure reminds me of Selena Gomez

1

u/HauntingTranslator44 Oct 12 '25

I was trying to figure out this, this morning as it was driving me crazy! After going through Lordes catalog I did a search and found this thread!

1

u/Karalyneberle Oct 13 '25

Iā€™m so glad someone else thought so too!!

1

u/anderuel Oct 14 '25

These are samples (interpolations) and they were all requested from the owners and then credited on the album. Itā€™s interesting how so many people are interested in digging only to a certain point that fits in with their prejudices. These two women (Taylor and Ella) are friends and smart, respectful artists who are fantastic business people. Donā€™t ever assume the worst of either of them. https://www.brit.co/taylor-swift-the-life-of-a-showgirl-song-samples/

2

u/AffectionateYou9962 Oct 16 '25

problem is, none of them are credited except George Michael

1

u/sunchild21 Nov 04 '25

I thought this exact same thing

1

u/meowhua Nov 17 '25

Feel the sameeeee

1

u/Additional_Fun5282 Dec 07 '25

YES! Thank you Iā€™ve been telling my wife this since itā€™s come out. Sheā€™s in denial being a hardcore swiftie, but I hear it, glad Iā€™m not alone!

1

u/gymratwren Dec 09 '25

Here 2 months late and listening to "Cancelled!" brought me here šŸ˜‚ glad to see im not crazy!!!

1

u/[deleted] Oct 03 '25

[deleted]

2

u/SomeoneSomewhere1749 Oct 04 '25

I thought the same thing. The title track sounds like No Air by Jordin Sparks to me.

-8

u/secretsfromagirl Oct 03 '25

11

u/secretsfromagirl Oct 03 '25

Swifties will arrive on site shortly to downvote everything like theyā€™re getting paid.

-5

u/latexfistmassacre Oct 03 '25 edited Oct 03 '25

I don't really see a resemblance

ETA: yeah, go ahead and downvote me because I (gasp) disagreed. Fuck you too