On July 24th, 2020 American pop-star Taylor Swift dropped her 8th studio album Folklore. Hours before the midnight release, Swift took to Instagram to thank all the album contributors. This notably included an unknown man named William Bowery, credited as co-writer for two tracks.
Speculation swarmed that William Bowery was a pseudonym because on Swift’s Instagram he was the only name left untagged, Swift is also known for using fake names for song-writing credits. Fans suspected it might be another musician such as Harry Styles, however, today it was revealed on the Disney + Documentary Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions that William Bowery is actually actor and Swift’s long time boyfriend, Joe Alwyn.
The announcement did not come as a shock to die-hard fans considering there were hints that it could be Alwyn. William is the name of his grandfather who was a successful composer and Bowery Hotel was the place the couple first met, i.e. William Bowery. However, Alwyn’s musicianship was widely unknown.
Alwyn is a pianist and has been credited as writing the piano piece for the track Exile. The song is a duet that features Bon Iver, however it was revealed in the documentary that Alwyn was the original singer.
Alwyn is credited as co-writer on two Folklore tracks, Exile and Betty. Exile has been nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 2021 Grammy Awards. Folklore has been nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album as well. Exile will be Alwyn’s first co-written song to earn him a Grammy nomination.
On the topic of Alwyn’s musicianship, Swift noted in the documentary that ‘Joe plays piano beautifully and he’s always just playing and making things up and kind of creating things.’ Swift said she had the idea to collaborate with her boyfriend when she heard him singing her song Betty, saying that if it weren’t for quarantine she would never have had the idea.
Swift’s Alwyn reveal and new documentary Folklore: The Long Pond Sessions is available today on Disney + for streaming. Swift’s album Folklore is available on all streaming platforms today.
