George Michael is credited on Taylor Swift's album "The Life of a Showgirl."

Swifties have left George Michael hanging on like a yo-yo over his posthumous work on "The Life of a Showgirl."

The late singer and former "Wham!" frontman is credited as a songwriter on "Father Figure," one of 12 tracks on Taylor Swift's new album, which was released on Friday, Oct. 3.

The official Instagram account for George Michael Entertainment posted on Oct. 2: Thank you @taylorswift for including George in such a special moment Father Figure (Taylor’s Version) is out tomorrow #TSTheLifeofaShowgirl"When we heard the track, we had no hesitation in agreeing to this association between two great artists and we know George would've felt the same," added the post.

Despite Michael's legendary career, which included 10 number-one songs on the US Billboard Hot 100 list and two Grammy Awards, some Swifties said they were unfamiliar with the icon.

The majority of fans, though, were quick to criticize those who claimed to be unaware of the singer, who died in 2016. Others raised questions and shared memes about the nature of Michael's role in creating the song.

Why is George Michael credited on 'The Life of a Showgirl'?

Swift took inspiration from Michael's 1987 song "Father Figure" for her track of the same name.

Max Martin, who produced "The Life of a Showgirl" alongside Shellback, seemingly confirmed the inspiration in an Instagram story on Sept. 30. The post contained a link to a Billboard article detailing Swift's interpolation of Michael's song.

According to the US Copyright Office, an interpolation is when part of an existing musical work is incorporated into a new work. Unlike sampling, interpolating does not use any of the audio from the original work.

Swifties ask, 'Who is George Michael?'

Despite Michael's stardom and Swift's propensity to draw inspiration from legends like him — she even once covered Wham!'s "Last Christmas" — some fans said they weren't previously familiar with him.

Other Swifties, though, said they were outraged by those who were only learning about Michael's career for the first time.

'He contributed from the other side': Swifties react to Taylor Swift, George Michael collab

Meanwhile, other social media users mentioned the nature of Michael's involvement on the song, joking that he contributed despite being dead.

Regardless, most Swifties celebrated the iconic crossover.

Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'The Life of a Showgirl' songwriters revealed. Some Swifties ask 'Who is George Michael?'

Reporting by Melina Khan, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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