Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant brands Taylor Swift's music 'disappointing'

Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys has taken a pop at Taylor Swift, saying her tunes don't match up to classic hits from superstar Michael Jackson.

Swift's recent album The Tortured Poets Department is already the highest selling album this year.

She's looking to add it to her existing 11 chart-topping albums come Friday, likely giving her the largest first-week sales she's seen yet.

Despite the buzz around the release, Tennant, aged 69, admits he finds Swift's music lacklustre, reports the Mirror.

He stated: "I was looking at the chart today and it is all Taylor Swift. She sorts of fascinates me as a phenomenon because she is so popular. But then I listen to the records and I think, 'Where are the famous songs? What is Taylor Swift's Billie Jean? ' Shake It Off? I listened to that the other day and it is not Billie Jean, is it? ".

The vocalist behind the hit single 'Its a Sin' attributes the success of 34-year-old Swift to a shared experience longing among listeners. He added: "I like the fact it brings people together but the one disappointing thing is the music, not the lyrics."

Swift's fans are left trying to guess which songs refer to her British exes actor Joe Alwyn and musician Matty Healy.

Synth-pop icon Tennant has voiced his concerns that the current pop scene's obsession with personal love lives is stifling musical diversity, a stark contrast to his 1980s contemporaries like Culture Club.

He remarked: "To have a successful pop career now you have to have a series of relationships, which are amazing and then break up tragically."

He added: "I don't think in the world of pop, people don't write songs like Karma Chameleon anymore."

The Pet Shop Boys shared their insights at a conversation event in Kings Cross, Central London, ahead of their new album release, Nonetheless, set for Friday.

Back in 2016, Tennant and Chris Lowe had dubbed Taylor Swift the "Margaret Thatcher of pop music", explaining: "She seems to be about economics. There's currently only one subject matter and that is the singer."

Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily Showbiz newsletter here.