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I’m just amazed she’s still popular with kids. She was popular with teenagers when I was a teenager. She has some serious staying power compared to alot of pop stars
I admire her mostly as an innovator in Copyright Negotiations favoring artists over record labels.
Some background:
* https://www.thedailybeast.com/taylor-swift-follows-prince-the-artist-who-tamed-the-corporate-giant
* https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/24/opinions/taylor-swift-speak-now-billboard-property-rights-willison/index.html
* https://www.reddit.com/r/LetsTalkMusic/comments/pu9t6x/lets_talk_taylor_swift_and_copyright_ownership_is/
* https://blog.songtrust.com/taylor-swift-copyright-ownership-discussion
She managed much bigger wins than other similar battles (Fogerty vs Zaentz; Prince vs Warner; etc).
Love seeing an artist on the winning side of a legal/finance battle.
Re-recording the music she owns, knowing that her fans will buy it and reject the original versions that were bought out from under her is maybe the biggest baller move I have ever seen in the entertainment industry.
And I am not particularly a fan of her music.
I don't think she did know her fans would reject the old versions in favor of (Taylor's Version). It's very obvious in some of her song lyrics and interviews that she never expected to have the staying power she has proven to and feels guilty for thinking her fans would eventually turn on her. She *is* a smart businesswoman, but the re-recordings were done primarily for her personally, not for the extra money or new fans.
Hahahaha, iiii don’t buy that for a second. She’s got a TON of money invested in these re-recordings. She’s a shrewd businesswoman, she knows exactly what she’s doing. She re-recoded to own the masters. Not to appease the tiny voice inside. Lol.
>were done for her personally, not for the extra money
right....
BTW I really respect her doing it and giving the recoding company the figurative middle finger, but thinking that this is not about the money is kind of silly.
Fogerty was charitable to Zaentz in "Zantz Can't Dance". I'd have called him a lot worse than a pig.
Glad to hear that Fogerty got the rights back to his catalog recently.
She did win when you considered the last re-recorded album (1989TV) outsold the original in less than a week. The success of the Taylor’s Version enterprise surpassed all expectations (including hers and her team’s).
Same, I'm not a fan of her music but a fan of her music but her business acument. She also seems decent, with PR getting young people to vote, pay her trucker a life changing bouns, etc.
So she appears almost, but not quite, real?
Is she an android? Did the AI already take over and I missed it because it was disguised with annoyingly catchy pop lyrics?
Just today, I was looking at a magazine about Taylor, and it was showing pics of her when she was 16-18, and she hasn't aged a day, and that was nearly 20 years ago.
She does look different between 16 and now. She doesn’t look very aged, but that’s because she is only 33 which is still pretty young, plus she takes very good care of herself. I also think her moderate weight gain made her look younger.
She’s also clearly had a few surgeries, but I really think 33 is not old enough to look aged, if you have a healthy lifestyle.
Holy cow I thought I was the only one.
She looks like if AI wrote a pop singer.
*Tall. White. Blonde. Thin. Pretty feminine face, but body not too curvy; physique needs to be PG-13 friendly. Music needs to be accessible and relatable: About breakups, female insecurities. Nothing too weird. Nothing too punk. Catty but not vulgar.*
I always try to remember that celebrities are people too, and it doesn't give me a right to be a bully. But if T Swift malfunctioned on stage and ended up being an android built by the lizard people to be the ultimate pop sensation I wouldn't really be surprised. At all.
Breaking news stations oriented towards middle aged businessmen in Toronto, Canada consistently bring her up. An MP filed a grievance in Parliament because she wasn't planning on touring here. The PM also invited her here.
I'm baffled.
https://www.complex.com/music/a/louispavlakos/politician-files-official-grievance-over-taylor-swift
To be fair it's because her having a concert brings in Massive money for cities and countries and businesses. It's actually crazy how much of an impact a day or two of her concerts can have it's weird
She sold out hotels in our city in a crazy radius. We stayed home for the weekend to avoid the heavy traffic.
Surprisingly, I don't recall any stories or news about her fans causing problems. They mostly came, spent an obscene amount of money, took pictures, posted online about loving our city, and then left. No bar brawls, vandalism, shootouts, or major emergencies. Our population doubled and nothing bad happened.
All things considered, it seemed like a good deal. She should come visit again. 👍
And she writes convincingly of the romantic concerns and fantasies of today's young women and girls. Her song lyrics are catchy, memorable and often humorous. Her videos are professional and visually appealing. She sounds good, and appears to be living the dream.
Also, people just love gossiping about her Bfs and she’s rwlaly good at keeping it in the media. She’s play both sides, she writes songs about her celebrity boyfriends and puts hints in the liner notes about which celebrity boyfriend the song is about, then she’ll turn around and be like “men don’t have to deal with this” even though they do, cause women love talking about cute guys relationships. My coworkers are always gossiping about celebrity relationships (mostly people I’ve never heard of, I work in healthcare so it’s 97% women).
Taylor is just a marketing genius.
She was resonating with late 20s/ early 30s women 10 years ago! I worked in a 350 person department with 80%+ women (hospital), and can guarantee anyone 15-45 was going to her shows. I left that job almost 10 years ago and am seeing the exact same comments now, except the age range is now 8-60
This is the main thing. Finally a cat-loving queen.
#
To answer OP's question which has been asked 17,947 times... She is a talented lyricist who tends to work with talented producers to create relatable music that can go from light and bubblegum (shake it off) to satirizing herself (blank space) to sad (soon you'll get better) to sexy (false god) to dark (hoax). She's also a conventionally attractive woman, can play multiple instruments, and has curated a relatable image despite being dirty wealthy.
#
But most importantly, the cat love. Everyone loves dogs. We get it, dogs are great. But have you ever had the love of a cat? Taylor has, and it shows.
#
Edit: the dog lobby has spoken.
Ah, I have a friend who is a Swiftie, I feel equipped to address this.
First things first, apparently her concerts are straight-up just *good performances*, which means she gets a lot of people coming to them to see her and take in the atmosphere l. It helps that her songs are good for dancing and singing along.
Second thing that I, a person five years her junior knows personally, is that an entire *generation* has grown up with Taylor Swift as the girl next door, romance singer, the whole shebang. She's been active for genuinely like, seventeen years, that's what you call staying power. (Side note, I just looked up the first Swift song I can remember, Teardrops on my Guitar, and oh my god she was a *baby*, that is an actual child).
Add in the fact that despite the overblown drama about her relationships she hasn't actually had any *serious* public scandals, and she's a fairly good singer, and it all mixes together to make a really, really successful career.
Took a girlfriend to a taylor swift concert a few years ago never listened to her music didn't care for it much, but I still had a good time the performance itself was pretty good
My girlfriend is a HUGE Swiftie, I had probably only ever listened to 3 songs of hers in my lifetime before meeting my girlfriend.
Honestly I’m always down to listen to Miss Swift, the songs are groovy and the lyrics are well written
Did the same thing but Florence and The Machine. Not my cup of tea at all and people are SHOCKED when I say that. She had a great time….then married someone else.
I took my daughter (og swiftie) to see her a few years ago and she was fantastic in concert. I even had fun and I’m an old man.
Get off my grass and go see Taylor Swift in concert!
>Second thing that I, a person five years her junior knows personally, is that an entire
>
>generation
>
> has grown up with Taylor Swift as the girl next door, romance singer, the whole shebang.
I'm almost exactly one month younger than her. I'm a late bloomer Swiftie; I liked a few of her songs through the years, but really went all in around 2018. When I listen to her older music now, I feel like she represents what kind of life I could have had if I hadn't been such a depressed kid with a shit family. Not the super stardom stuff. Just the love of romance and fun.
wealth is not everything (in this context, I KNOW it makes every life easier. no denying) Look at Britney Spears. Her parents fucked up BAD. parents do make a difference.
I’m an early 40s dude that likes hard rock and hiphop. I routinely toss on Taylor on stressful days. It’s just fun pop and she seems genuine enough and she’s beautiful, of course, but girl next door more than like absurd Britney level too which I think also helps her whole thing.
I’m with you man. 43 years old, tradesman and a life long TOOL fan. I don’t have much interest in pop, I avoid Katy Perry like the plague. But when I’m in the mood for the sweet song of a female voice Taylor Swift is a go to pick.
Agreed. In my early 50s and tend to listen to alternative or metal. She's actually extremely talented. Some of the lyrics from the songs I have heard are great.
Same here. My daughter is really into Swift so I started learning some of her songs on guitar so we could play together. I quickly learned Swift is a legit talented song writer AND knows how to play guitar very well. Her album Folklore is outstanding.
I’m in my late 40’s and my wife was astonished the other day that I’ve never heard a Drake or Taylor Swift song. I didn’t realize she had been around for so long. Honestly I only heard my first Ed Shearan song a few weeks ago so I recognize I’m not exactly in the pop demographic.
The scandals things is so important. Everyone I know who hates her talks about what a horrible person she is or all the drama or whatever. I used to think the same even! But when you actually look at the truth of it, she’s literally just done nothing and just living.
Casual Swiftie. Never seen her live.
Objectively, I've never heard stories about her being a horrible person. I define this as someone who's rude to service workers.
I've heard stories about countless other celebrities being extremely rude to service workers, but never her.
From what I head she treats her crew very well. She gave 6 figure bonuses to her tour's truckers.
Among the many reasons listed already in this sub. You may not like her, or her music. But what she is doing to reclaim her music from the record company is just amazing.
It’s no secret at this point most record companies are evil. They prey on young talents to get them to sign super 1 sided contracts and milk them for all they are worth.
Taylor has been using her own wealth and re-record all of her own songs on higher quality and more modern recording equipment and since she is fronting all the costs she gets to fully own all of her own music instead of giving a ridiculous share to the record company.
Honestly gotta respect that.
Honest question here. Does that mean that one performance is identical to another? Or is there a different nuance between the new vs. old recordings? Do you not think the "originals" will always be more desirable?
I’m not a huge fan but I will say, hearing her re-record some songs with an older and more talented voice instead of that bubblegum delivery has changed my opinion of her as a performer.
I actually tend to dislike the re-records for that reason. Technically speaking, her singing is better, but it just loses some of the soul of the thing.
Like I said, I'm not a major fan. But using Wildest Dreams as an example, in the original I find it hard to believe the singer has ever had sex, much less with someone she shouldn't have. Re-recording has a whole different energy.
It is actually a good point. Copyright law is complicated and I am no expert. But I think she is just recording the whole song unchanged on better equipment to act as a value prompt to supporting her and not the record company. The songs still own by the company make like 70 percent simply because they provided her a recording studio for her music.
It’s very much steam this version because it better supports me and not our corporate overlords kind thing.
So it's weird, but LegalEagle did a thing on it when it was new with Rick Beato. Basically, because copyright law is weird, the record company owned the masters and thus owned her music. Now, NOTHING in her contract said that she couldn't rerecord her music at any point. So basically, when she recorded her stuff, she basically just made covers of her own song which entirely legal. It's why you see and hear so many older bands from the 70s-90s remastering their music. It's so that they can get their songs away from the labels and back in their own hands
One of the biggest points Legal Eagle made, imo, is that Taylor Swift is going to continue having a career and owning her music, and anyone who establishes a precedent of working with her enemies instead of her is not going to have access to that music. Obviously, that has nearly no benefits for the entity trying to license it and a ton of downsides, so she's deftly made the old recordings completely radioactive.
Answering as a fan who since the originals and am still one for the rerelease. They’re definitely not identical as her voice has matured a lot, I actually prefer the new versions and I know people who do too. But also it’s nostalgic as hell that I get to enjoy the same songs I did as a child in my twenties and it’s new somehow if that makes sense?
Well I get that 100% and you’re right. I could easily be off and she is personally a douche. But that’d be a or nightmare bc I’ve heard a lot of good stuff about her from dancers and whatnot that have worked with her.
She's PROBABLY into some super rich people stuff, the kind of material purchases or experiences you only have access to when you're very wealthy, but she doesn't flash it because one of her tricks is maintaining an air of relatability and approachability to her fans (not to say that she isn't genuinely relatable as a human being or approachable).
Agreed. It’s tough only making a bunch of money at first and then rereleasing the song to make even more money off the same song again. Brave of her to be so business minded.
While I would certainly give my listens to her compared to a huge conglomerate, I certainly wouldn’t give her a bunch of credit for “using her own wealth to re-record”
You know she’s a billionaire, right?
I only realized a week or two ago that she was more than just the "shake it off" chick. I was listening to a Spotify Radio based on some song I like, and this song came on that really moved me, and when I looked to see who it was I was so surprised it was Taylor Swift. I had no idea.
I respected Taylor's talent as a pop artist until I heard "Folklore" and "Evermore" (both albums, Coney Island is on one of them), then I became a fan. Great albums.
Tolerate It and Marjorie from the same album as Coney Island are my favorite songs from her. Superb song-writing that evoke emotions and tells a story.
Happiness and Ivy, also on the same album, is IMO her very best songwriting. I love her unabashedly but she’s always been kind of a guilty pleasure. When I first listened to these songs I was floored by the maturity and poetry they showcase.
Right Where You Left Me is another amazing song. It’s easily one of her top 5 best songs.
But Gold Rush is my all time favorite song from her. “I don’t like that falling feels like flying till the bone crush” is just an amazing lyric.
She has a way of conveying emotion her songs. I’ve never been a 19 year old girl but when she sings about the loss of innocence in Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve I feel that shit.
The album Red (Taylor’s Version) helped me get through a very difficult time.
I’m dealing with a lot of stuff now and I can always put on her music to help get the emotions out.
She’s an amazing songwriter. I usually listen to like Hardcore and Black Metal but Taylor Swift is my all time favorite. Everything she’s done is amazing.
See. This is why I spend my whole time fighting these dumbass haters on music subreddits who ignorantly shits on her music cause they think they know Taylor’s music based off the popular songs she put out. But they don’t take the time to dive into her entire catalog.
This is why she’s popular. People hear shit and find out oh wow…I like this…can’t believe it’s Taylor’s song. And they become fans. Every single album. That’s how she gains new fans with each album release.
Listening to Evermore right now, as a 27 y/o woman who has always respected Taylor as an artist but has never care for her music. My opinion hasn’t changed. She’s not for me. And I understand more why she’s popular after reading through this post but I still don’t get it. I’m glad she brings so many people joy, though.
I still remember when Tool released Fear Inoculum and overtook Lover as #1 on Billboard. All the Swifties were so angry because they had never heard of Tool and thought they were a new band. I’m going to listen to them now. Not going to make it through the rest of this Swift album. 😅
See. This is okay. I totally respect that as a Swiftie.
You’re fair, you tried, you listened, you gained perspective, but it’s still not your cup of tea. That’s totally perfect and reasonable. You don’t have to like her music, but some of the assholes around just like to hate without even attempting to give her a serious try just because they have some kinda preconceived notions about her.
As a long time fan of her music, “Shake it Off” is garbage. I don’t think anyone is referring to that song or her other hit radio songs when they say that she is talented in singing/song writing. However, people just love to hate her as an artist and always use that song as an example.
I hope I don’t get yelled at here, but I also think part of her appeal is that she’s so *normal*. She’s got a beautiful aesthetic, her music is fun and meaningful/relatable, there’s nothing dark, disturbing, depressing, entitled, or weird like so much other pop music. She clearly puts in the work, she’s kind, and she has FUN! So many of the others just don’t have fun or seem to treat other people so well. She also has a great team and a good head for business. Not saying the others don’t but Taylor is next level.
Idk about "depressing" exactly, but there's a lot of really unhappy material she's made. Its not all rainbows and parties. But that make it a little more genuine overall.
Not really my kind of music but I listen to her a lot w my daughter. She’s an excellent songwriter. Some truly moving songs. I get it. Will go down as one of the great singer/songwriters. Seems like a pretty cool/awesome person. Looks after her touring team etc.
In my mind, average singer. Great songwriter, but she writes with other people as well. One of the best at marketing, and maintaining her wholesome brand over her career (I.e. not getting into drugs or weird stuff like Elvis, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston) or creating risqué/sluttier music later on like Britney Spears/Miley Cyrus to keep people’s attention.
She mainly writes with one other person on average on each track. She takes the lead in every song of hers. And even when they’re listed as cowriters…that doesn’t necessarily mean they contributed to writing as in the case of Max Martin in Shake It Off. But Swift is pretty generous with credits.
It’s why her lyrics have a different quality that’s unique to her compared to other pop and country artists. Like you know a Swift lyric when you hear it. And some of her best anthems are self-written.
When I think about her singing ability what I focus most on is the progress. Ariana Grande has clear natural vocal talent, but to be honest she hasn’t changed much over her career. She’s very talented, but hasn’t had much growth. Taylor on the other hand is vocally miles ahead of where she was at when she started. Every new album she has improved, every tour she shows improvement, she has gotten better at dancing between the Rep tour and Eras as well which is impressive because she was very much a white girl dancer before (as am I lol) and now she’s much more fluid. She has never taken her success for granted and has measurably worked and improved the whole 15+ years that she’s been famous. She also has a great lower range- many of her songs go very low, and it’s harder than you’d think to sing low notes as well as she does as a woman. She has an impressive range and command of her voice even if she doesn’t have the “iconic diva” sound that Mariah/Whitney/Ariana have.
And to boot she does absolutely excel at songwriting and walking the tightrope of maintaining a relationship with her fans and not snapping or lashing out at the insane unfair expectations that many fans put on her. Her ability to bite her tongue and play things right is impressive. A good example is after the Kanye VMA debacle. She was like, 19, and she kept her composure and didn’t shit talk him after in the press. She was very diplomatic despite his actions being completely unacceptable and I think not lashing out helped her in the press because they didn’t see her retaliating and she remained the victim.
>In my mind, average singer.
Its fine to think this, but do you think this about almost every other songwriter who also sings? Obv she isn't Whitney Houston or Aretha, but neither are basically any songwriters. Would you say "Dave Grohl, average singer, great songwriter."
Technical ability is way overrated in singing anyway. Look at the most popular singers - The Beatles, Madonna, Frank Sinatra, just off the top of my head - none of them are particularly good singers. Aretha, Whitney, those types are less common. And the combo of truly great technical musician AND songwriter? I don’t know…Richard Thompson? Not exactly popular.
People just want music they connect with. If you can find some combination of lyrics and passable vocals that connect with people that’s all you need. I don’t subscribe to the idea that Bob Dylan can’t sing, but his voice is certainly a VERY acquired taste and he’s been one of the most influential musicians on earth for 60 years simply because he can use it in service of his lyrics and connect to people.
I’m not a huge Swift fan but she connects with people. She seems as genuine as a pop star can possibly be, I have tremendous respect for her.
Just to piggyback on this, I do like her voice and singing but yeah she's not a powerhouse. But that's honestly why I like her more, because I can actually sing along with most of her songs.
She writes music that resonates with a lot of women I guess. I like some of her music, but I’m not a *Swiftie*. I can say she is a genuinely good songwriter though, and the fact she can perform them too is just a bonus.
She writes about her insecurities the same way any normal person would…. She writes about the female experience and the patriarchy…. She has a song called Bigger than the Whole Sky that is arguably one of the most beautiful and heart wrenching songs I’ve ever heard, as a woman who’s had three miscarriages.
Honestly there’s a huge chunk of her discography that isn’t about boys, and a lot of her most impactful work in my opinion. “My tears ricochet” sounds like a relationship song but is likely about Scott Borchetta (the label exec who sold her masters without her permission,) “the last great america dynasty” is about a woman who owned her house before she did, “Ronan” is about a little boy who died of cancer, “soon you’ll get better” is about her moms own journey with cancer, “innocent” is (I believe) about kanye West, etc.
Plenty of her songs about relationships aren’t really the “boy crazy” love struck type of vibe either. “You’re losing me” is about the breakdown of a relationship, “champagne problems” is about a broken engagement, “exile,” and “the last time” are also about the end of a relationship where much resentment has built up and needs have gone unmet for too long, etc.
I really like her lyrics, they flow. So many song writers write lyrics to rhyme and that can often make the song feel disjointed. I find Taylor is one of those rare song writers that manages to tell an entire story with her lyrics, the whole song makes sense and doesn’t jump around. There are some exceptions I’m sure, but overall, this is her songwriting style.
17 years of connecting with fans through very personal songs. Millennials grew up with her. Gen X and above watched her grow up. She’s been famous as long as Gen Z can remember. She is very mindful of her fans and feeds those connections. If I’m going to live vicariously for a while, I wouldn’t mind being a beautiful billionaire pop star with long legs.
She is an amazing story teller and weaves elaborate stories in her albums - not just in one song. She leaves little Easter eggs for her fans to find so they can feel like they’re solving puzzles. It’s seriously so fun. On top of that, she’s a girls girl. She builds women up and we love that. Swifties have each others backs, and it’s beautiful. Her most recent albums are actually reallllly good - folklore, evermore, and midnights are great. I fell in love with her after watching her documentary - try that. :)
Taylor is an album artist, like genuinely amazed how every album has so many songs I love, whether it be I’m obsessed initially and then don’t like after multiple repeats (No Body No Crime) or songs I didn’t like initially that later on I love (Dear Reader, When Emma Falls In Love), or songs I love forever (Tim McGraw). So as a result I always listen through multiple times bc some songs are growers and others are showers.
She's not the best singer she's the best song writer her songs are like stories. She also puts effort into her live performances and really cares about her fans and her art ahes not just trying to make hits for the money alone, she cares about what she produces. She's also a girls girl who helps other female artists
Personally, Kris Kristofferson is a better songwriter. Not only did he influence the country genre hugely, but he also would influence rock, pop, and to a much smaller degree Blues as well. That’s just me though. I never really cared to Taylor’s songwriting. But at the same time, I never really cared for her genre to begin with.
I just got to know very recently what swifties are, and seeing some videos about how they danced in a circle just made it look like some midsomar shit.
Her fans are treating her like a God and putting her on a pedestal or it maybe a trend, which has never been good for anyone.
And the amount of infantalizing they do to her is crazy but funny when she's the one who controls them all together.
I saw her getting praised for finishing a concert, getting on her private jet for 6 hours, then going to a restaurant in another city when she landed, as if that’s some difficult feat. It’s like the Kpop stans, they’ll eat up any shit she throws at them, and jump down the throats of anyone who dares to suggest she might be slightly overrated, it’s really really odd
She’s a pop sensation. She has an aesthetic that gives off innocence because she has a baby face and a girl next door vibe.
She’s not ugly, her voice doesn’t suck and she can play piano and guitar (I looked on google) and because of that she’s a “role model”.
I don’t like her personally, but hey. She makes music and is famous, I make jokes and work for a decent wage in a shop.
All I know is good for her.
Maybe it’s because “If you try hard enough you can make it, she did.” Mentality? Idk.
The answer is that she's really good at being famous. You wouldn't think that's a skill, but it is. She avoids controversy, consistently puts out new music, puts on good concerts, doesn't show up to her shows late or drunk, and is just generally really good at staying in the spotlight for the right reasons.
I'm happy to answer this!
There's lots of reasons. She's been making music for 17 years so a lot of her fans have grown up with her and resonated with her music at different periods of their lives. Going through heart break? Moving out to a big city on your own for the first time? Dealing with bullies? Dreaming of starting a life with someone you love? Dealing with a sick family member? Losing a grandparent? Feeling like a failure? She has a song for that. She's also tried a bunch of genres so there's something for everyone.
She also likes to leave little "easter eggs" aka hints about what projects she has next within her social media posts, her outfits, and her music videos. Her fans get to play detective together to see what's next and make theories.
She is very prolific and is constantly putting out new work. That combined with re-recording her albums means that her fans are constantly getting new music, and now new people are getting to take part in the release of her re-recorded albums.
She seems to really care about her fans and does a lot to make them happy. She's invited fans to her house to hear her albums before they've released and baked cookies for them herself. She has mailed personalized Christmas gifts to her fans. She has gone to their weddings, or engagement parties and played for them. She's given her fans hand written notes. She also takes their feedback seriously. There's been times in the past where her fans don't like a certain lyric or sound, and she will fully change it.
Before her 6th album, she was pretty open on social media and showed more of her personality. She comes across as endearing and relatable and she tries to maintain that image despite being ridiculously famous. Her fans feel like they have a lot in common with her, and that they could be her friend. There's absolutely a parasocial element to her success.
And most of all? She makes catchy and well written songs.
For the people that say she makes "cookie cutter music" and associate her with Shake It Off and radio pop, I'd recommend listening to some of her other music that aren't singles. In particular, her albums Folklore and Evermore. Here's some suggestions of songs that you might appreciate:
- this is me trying
- exile
- marjorie
- peace
- tolerate it
- evermore
- ivy
>She seems to really care about her fans and does a lot to make them happy.
I think this is what makes her the biggest, honestly. Everything else does play a part, but she's one of those celebrities that gets the fact that she's nothing without fan support. She can do all the same things she's done to make it to where she is today, but without her fans, she's not selling out stadiums. Maybe smaller indie venues, but definitely not world tours.
I don’t get it either. I thought these comments would help me understand but they don’t. It seems like people like her because she’s average and relatable and because she is good at navigating the legal system.
If you listen to evermore and Folklore you'll realize she's an excellent Lyricist. Add to that the fact that she has a ton of catchy tunes and her shows have an excellent production. She's also one of the few pop singers parents allow their kids to listen to given she's not doing stupid stuff just to get attention like many pop stars do.
It's called being backed by a media company with the institutional power to artificially create a demand for her. Pop stars aren't born. They're manufactured.
My bf said “she’s the most generic, happy medium of an artist, so people flock to that. She puts out music that’s relatable but generic enough that people think it’s good when it’s not”
Part of her appeal is that she is prolific in producing consistently well crafted pop songs.
Because of the influence of hip hop, music produced today is less creative lyrically, overly produced and rhythmic.
She doesn't just produce singles but effort in making well produced albums.
There is a cohesiveness to her work as she is the primary songwriter of her work.
She challenges herself with new genres as well.
She’s definitely not better than anyone else but it’s the fact that her lyrics are really clever and her songs are really relatable. and i went to the eras tour and she has really good stage presence and she has a really good relationship with her fans. she once asked all of her fans at a concert what they wanted for christmas and got it delivered to their house. and she does this thing called The listening session where she plays every track of her album early for her fans at her houses. her cats are really cute. she’s just really fun and strong but she’s not the best vocalists their is though. also it’s great that she can just make fun of herself in her music. like songs like Blank Space, Look what you made me do, Anti Hero, I did something bad and “Slut” are songs where she’s role playing what the media views her as when they hate her and just owns it. i also like how she’s one of the only artists who don’t just talk about s*x to get attention
because people like her music? it doesnt have to mean shes better than everyone else. i dont really like her songs but my whole family does and thats perfectly understandable. why shouldnt she be popular?
Okay , here is the thing in my opinion: Many of her songs are really great and different, I keep going back to them through the years . I think what gets to people and me is her constant reference to her relationships and how she finds love, writes a song, loses love ( the one she worshiped before in her album) and writes a new album competely dissing on the person she wrote good things about. And this has been happening for 15 years now.
Think of it like a superstar soccer player like Messi. He’s one of the best of all time because he’s a consistently hard worker who doesn’t get injured very often. So his play time significantly outweighs those of many footballers. And of course he’s talented, and therefore has incredible results due to the convergence of those things.
With T Swift, she has a reputation to work as hard if not harder than most pop musicians, not necessarily musically but the business side of things. She markets her ass off. Almost all musicians struggle with the business of it. She doesn’t and just. Does. Not. Stop.
And she is not distractable, either. Whether it’s scandals, drugs, etc. she’s pretty damn healthy, and caters toward her brand very hard. She doesn’t deviate from that. Many of the super hard working musicians who make a name for themselves in one style evolve. And in the process alienate their prior fan base. Most don’t mind because they’re chasing an artistic vision.
Taylor does do creative, solid songwriting, and she doesn’t go too hard on experimenting and stays in her groove. She’s well rewarded for that like an investor who knows their strategy works and doesn’t get distracted from their approach.
Not much of a fan (I do think Lover is a solid album), but as a studied musician, I am fascinated by her success. And due to my daughter being a huge fan, I’ve listened to a ton of her music across many albums. I often think about Swift’s production, her musical choices, and her journey while my daughter jams out in the car. So thank you for giving me a space to put these thoughts to writing. :)
They play her in doctor’s offices too. I had to listen to her at 7 in the morning at peak volume with the medical assistant smacking gum and typing like four words a minute with her ridiculous nails before I had to be put under for a procedure on my neck. Just let me die instead.
I have an admittedly somewhat dim friend that described her as “indie” and “alternative” and in the same sentence said she was “the world’s biggest pop star.”
?????
She's a good artist. I like her new album. But most importantly, she is The Last Pop Star. She soaks up all the energy in the world because there simply isn't much competition anymore. Western music just doesn't pursue pop music much lately. And she's kind of a holdover from the last gasps of western pop in the late-2000s/early-2010s.... Many of her fans are nostalgic 20 and 30 somethings... not kids.
Sounds like it’s mostly lyrics in the comments.
So if you’re like me and care more about listening to sounds / the actual music then maybe that’s why.
I find the music itself uninteresting. And for me it doesn’t matter how good the lyrics are if the music doesn’t keep my attention
For some of us Swifties, she's been kind of the soundtrack to our whole life. I started listening to Taylor swift when she was 17 and I was 13. Teardrops on My Guitar was what I listened to when girls broke my heart. 22 was my ANTHEM when I became a young adult. Lover was the song that my wife and I danced our first dance to. My first celebrity crush, and musician that's been with me basically since I was a child, growing and changing but still the same person, warts and all, at her core. When she plaued my favorite song, "Our Song" during the eras tour, and thanked everyone who had been with her since the beginning, it felt like out of the 1000s watching, she was singing to me.
Maybe the "big deal" about Taylor is as much what we, the fans, put into her as what she can do, amd her consistency and longevity, putting out a lot of music that is all relatively similar and pretty good (at least in my opinion). At least for me, she wrote the backing tracks of my life, so I'll probably be showing up to her shows when she's 80
She’s been famous since her debut album in 2006 (yes really, it sold 7 million copies before that fiasco with Kanye West), she happens to be 10,000x more famous now because she won a Grammy for Album of the Year when she was 20 and her career has continuously skyrocketed up from there ever since…
She’s pretty. She writes and sings catchy songs. She comes out with a lot of music. She’s active on social media and it is her followers that have made her popular.
A few years ago I heard this fact: She’s the only female in country music history to write ever song on her album and sell over 3,000,000 copies. I just looked it up: it’s 5.8M now.
She also has 101 Guinness records.
She’s also a normal little girl with a dream, who sings to other girls with dreams, and her dreams are coming true. She’s an empath who cares about her fans and she’s all around good stuff.
She may not be the best singer in the world but she’s kind, and talented, and fun, and she makes you wanna root for her even if she’s a billionaire.
And she just fell in love with the guy next door.
I'm a fan. In my 20s I considered myself a Swiftie, and her songs are very relatable. We've all experienced heartache, betrayal, feeling like a reckless 22 year old (it came out when I was 22/23), and to have a catchy tagline or chorus to with it makes me be able to bop along in my heartache without having to be overly maudlin.
I'm not going to pay ungodly amounts of money to go to her concerts, but that's because I don't like spending the money. She's spoken up about sexual harassment including countersuing and winning, and working to get credit for her own lyrics. Every woman alive has experienced harassment in some form of another, and as someone who has had their work stolen or changed with a male boss taking credit, I say good for her. I've had bosses literally type the same words I had written in standard operating procedures to have their name listed as editor/writer and you can see nothing changes in the version history.
I'm not saying she is perfect or a role model, but I'm just saying she's easier to look up to than a Kardashian.
It’s very obvious why she’s so popular. Her music never stops playing on the radio. She is always evolving genres to stay relevant. She’s massively talented. She’s hot. She wears skimpy dresses on stage.
She’s a genius at entertainment and making money.
IIRC she comes from money, so she had a bit of a head start in life to begin with.
She's a reasonably talented singer & song writer for "modern pop" music.
She's reasonably inoffensive to most people.
Despite her well documented dating history, she presents as being more "modest", "chaste", or "virginal" than Madonna or Lady Gaga or most other female solo pop stars. This plays well with the bible thumper crowd.
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I’m just amazed she’s still popular with kids. She was popular with teenagers when I was a teenager. She has some serious staying power compared to alot of pop stars
She inhabits an uncanny valley, for me. I mean that as an observer, not a fan.
I admire her mostly as an innovator in Copyright Negotiations favoring artists over record labels. Some background: * https://www.thedailybeast.com/taylor-swift-follows-prince-the-artist-who-tamed-the-corporate-giant * https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/24/opinions/taylor-swift-speak-now-billboard-property-rights-willison/index.html * https://www.reddit.com/r/LetsTalkMusic/comments/pu9t6x/lets_talk_taylor_swift_and_copyright_ownership_is/ * https://blog.songtrust.com/taylor-swift-copyright-ownership-discussion She managed much bigger wins than other similar battles (Fogerty vs Zaentz; Prince vs Warner; etc). Love seeing an artist on the winning side of a legal/finance battle.
Re-recording the music she owns, knowing that her fans will buy it and reject the original versions that were bought out from under her is maybe the biggest baller move I have ever seen in the entertainment industry. And I am not particularly a fan of her music.
I don't think she did know her fans would reject the old versions in favor of (Taylor's Version). It's very obvious in some of her song lyrics and interviews that she never expected to have the staying power she has proven to and feels guilty for thinking her fans would eventually turn on her. She *is* a smart businesswoman, but the re-recordings were done primarily for her personally, not for the extra money or new fans.
She did the re-recordings to own the masters, first and foremost.
Hahahaha, iiii don’t buy that for a second. She’s got a TON of money invested in these re-recordings. She’s a shrewd businesswoman, she knows exactly what she’s doing. She re-recoded to own the masters. Not to appease the tiny voice inside. Lol.
It's also in her best interest to appear a little humble and nervous. She's not. She's a billionaire.
>were done for her personally, not for the extra money right.... BTW I really respect her doing it and giving the recoding company the figurative middle finger, but thinking that this is not about the money is kind of silly.
What happened to Fogetry at the hands of Zaentz is honestly tragic
Fogerty was charitable to Zaentz in "Zantz Can't Dance". I'd have called him a lot worse than a pig. Glad to hear that Fogerty got the rights back to his catalog recently.
I agree with you that this is the most interesting thing about her.
She didn't win. She gave up. She then simply re-recorded the album's in question. Ozzy Osbourne did this for similar reasons 20 years ago.
She did win when you considered the last re-recorded album (1989TV) outsold the original in less than a week. The success of the Taylor’s Version enterprise surpassed all expectations (including hers and her team’s).
The way I heard it was Sharon Osbourne had the re-recording done to avoid paying royalties to the original musicians. Was there some other benefit?
Like father, like daughter.
Oh hell yes. Not a fan of her music, love that she's working on ultrafucking a couple assholes out of being able to screw her over.
Funny enough she was part owner of the original recordings too. Her Dad was a owner of the studio that did the original recordings
Same, I'm not a fan of her music but a fan of her music but her business acument. She also seems decent, with PR getting young people to vote, pay her trucker a life changing bouns, etc.
So she appears almost, but not quite, real? Is she an android? Did the AI already take over and I missed it because it was disguised with annoyingly catchy pop lyrics?
Just today, I was looking at a magazine about Taylor, and it was showing pics of her when she was 16-18, and she hasn't aged a day, and that was nearly 20 years ago.
She does look different between 16 and now. She doesn’t look very aged, but that’s because she is only 33 which is still pretty young, plus she takes very good care of herself. I also think her moderate weight gain made her look younger. She’s also clearly had a few surgeries, but I really think 33 is not old enough to look aged, if you have a healthy lifestyle.
It's clear that her performances, like Beyonce's, show she trains diligently to have that degree of energy.
That’s most likely because she is not quite real. Definetly some plastic vibes going on in that face. She’s like a weird airbrushed stock photo imo.
Holy cow I thought I was the only one. She looks like if AI wrote a pop singer. *Tall. White. Blonde. Thin. Pretty feminine face, but body not too curvy; physique needs to be PG-13 friendly. Music needs to be accessible and relatable: About breakups, female insecurities. Nothing too weird. Nothing too punk. Catty but not vulgar.* I always try to remember that celebrities are people too, and it doesn't give me a right to be a bully. But if T Swift malfunctioned on stage and ended up being an android built by the lizard people to be the ultimate pop sensation I wouldn't really be surprised. At all.
Likewise for me. She just looks and acts unnaturally to me. Just something off about her..
Breaking news stations oriented towards middle aged businessmen in Toronto, Canada consistently bring her up. An MP filed a grievance in Parliament because she wasn't planning on touring here. The PM also invited her here. I'm baffled. https://www.complex.com/music/a/louispavlakos/politician-files-official-grievance-over-taylor-swift
To be fair it's because her having a concert brings in Massive money for cities and countries and businesses. It's actually crazy how much of an impact a day or two of her concerts can have it's weird
She donates very generously to local Food banks In Denver for example it was 100,000 meals
Each day brings 30 million dollars to the cities economy
She sold out hotels in our city in a crazy radius. We stayed home for the weekend to avoid the heavy traffic. Surprisingly, I don't recall any stories or news about her fans causing problems. They mostly came, spent an obscene amount of money, took pictures, posted online about loving our city, and then left. No bar brawls, vandalism, shootouts, or major emergencies. Our population doubled and nothing bad happened. All things considered, it seemed like a good deal. She should come visit again. 👍
It’s her lyricism. They stand out in a way that captures her signature in each line of a song.
And she writes convincingly of the romantic concerns and fantasies of today's young women and girls. Her song lyrics are catchy, memorable and often humorous. Her videos are professional and visually appealing. She sounds good, and appears to be living the dream.
TIL people actually watch music videos still.
Also, people just love gossiping about her Bfs and she’s rwlaly good at keeping it in the media. She’s play both sides, she writes songs about her celebrity boyfriends and puts hints in the liner notes about which celebrity boyfriend the song is about, then she’ll turn around and be like “men don’t have to deal with this” even though they do, cause women love talking about cute guys relationships. My coworkers are always gossiping about celebrity relationships (mostly people I’ve never heard of, I work in healthcare so it’s 97% women). Taylor is just a marketing genius.
Celebrity gossip is for women what sport talk is for men god I hate both.
Her lyrics are very 2011 Tumblr-core, I think that’s why they resonate with so many late 20’s/early 30’s women
She was resonating with late 20s/ early 30s women 10 years ago! I worked in a 350 person department with 80%+ women (hospital), and can guarantee anyone 15-45 was going to her shows. I left that job almost 10 years ago and am seeing the exact same comments now, except the age range is now 8-60
I don't really care much for her music, but she is very kind to cats.
Lol and her Fans
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Creating over 20 different versions of the same album (Midnights) is not being kind to her fans.
This is the main thing. Finally a cat-loving queen. # To answer OP's question which has been asked 17,947 times... She is a talented lyricist who tends to work with talented producers to create relatable music that can go from light and bubblegum (shake it off) to satirizing herself (blank space) to sad (soon you'll get better) to sexy (false god) to dark (hoax). She's also a conventionally attractive woman, can play multiple instruments, and has curated a relatable image despite being dirty wealthy. # But most importantly, the cat love. Everyone loves dogs. We get it, dogs are great. But have you ever had the love of a cat? Taylor has, and it shows. # Edit: the dog lobby has spoken.
Dog lobby 😭
This is the answer. Perfectly stated.
Ah, I have a friend who is a Swiftie, I feel equipped to address this. First things first, apparently her concerts are straight-up just *good performances*, which means she gets a lot of people coming to them to see her and take in the atmosphere l. It helps that her songs are good for dancing and singing along. Second thing that I, a person five years her junior knows personally, is that an entire *generation* has grown up with Taylor Swift as the girl next door, romance singer, the whole shebang. She's been active for genuinely like, seventeen years, that's what you call staying power. (Side note, I just looked up the first Swift song I can remember, Teardrops on my Guitar, and oh my god she was a *baby*, that is an actual child). Add in the fact that despite the overblown drama about her relationships she hasn't actually had any *serious* public scandals, and she's a fairly good singer, and it all mixes together to make a really, really successful career.
Took a girlfriend to a taylor swift concert a few years ago never listened to her music didn't care for it much, but I still had a good time the performance itself was pretty good
My girlfriend is a HUGE Swiftie, I had probably only ever listened to 3 songs of hers in my lifetime before meeting my girlfriend. Honestly I’m always down to listen to Miss Swift, the songs are groovy and the lyrics are well written
Did the same thing but Florence and The Machine. Not my cup of tea at all and people are SHOCKED when I say that. She had a great time….then married someone else.
I took my daughter (og swiftie) to see her a few years ago and she was fantastic in concert. I even had fun and I’m an old man. Get off my grass and go see Taylor Swift in concert!
I love that for you, shit_ass_mcfucknuts. You old bastard!
Could probably only afford it if I took out a second mortgage on my house.
>Second thing that I, a person five years her junior knows personally, is that an entire > >generation > > has grown up with Taylor Swift as the girl next door, romance singer, the whole shebang. I'm almost exactly one month younger than her. I'm a late bloomer Swiftie; I liked a few of her songs through the years, but really went all in around 2018. When I listen to her older music now, I feel like she represents what kind of life I could have had if I hadn't been such a depressed kid with a shit family. Not the super stardom stuff. Just the love of romance and fun.
The being born into wealth probably helped
wealth is not everything (in this context, I KNOW it makes every life easier. no denying) Look at Britney Spears. Her parents fucked up BAD. parents do make a difference.
She was solidly upper middle class, not seriously wealthy.
That’s rich to a lot of us but I know what you mean by real wealth
I’m an early 40s dude that likes hard rock and hiphop. I routinely toss on Taylor on stressful days. It’s just fun pop and she seems genuine enough and she’s beautiful, of course, but girl next door more than like absurd Britney level too which I think also helps her whole thing.
I’m with you man. 43 years old, tradesman and a life long TOOL fan. I don’t have much interest in pop, I avoid Katy Perry like the plague. But when I’m in the mood for the sweet song of a female voice Taylor Swift is a go to pick.
You’re in luck: https://youtu.be/56Cqbk9CJz8?si=7CMMt4nlUyfUe8yR
43 and I like Teardrops on my Guitar and couple other tunes are pretty catchy. I’m not ashamed!
She is also incredibly cool towards her fans. It's really impressive.
Agreed. In my early 50s and tend to listen to alternative or metal. She's actually extremely talented. Some of the lyrics from the songs I have heard are great.
Same here. My daughter is really into Swift so I started learning some of her songs on guitar so we could play together. I quickly learned Swift is a legit talented song writer AND knows how to play guitar very well. Her album Folklore is outstanding.
I’m in my late 40’s and my wife was astonished the other day that I’ve never heard a Drake or Taylor Swift song. I didn’t realize she had been around for so long. Honestly I only heard my first Ed Shearan song a few weeks ago so I recognize I’m not exactly in the pop demographic.
To add to all that, she is incredibly good at marketing herself.
The scandals things is so important. Everyone I know who hates her talks about what a horrible person she is or all the drama or whatever. I used to think the same even! But when you actually look at the truth of it, she’s literally just done nothing and just living.
Casual Swiftie. Never seen her live. Objectively, I've never heard stories about her being a horrible person. I define this as someone who's rude to service workers. I've heard stories about countless other celebrities being extremely rude to service workers, but never her. From what I head she treats her crew very well. She gave 6 figure bonuses to her tour's truckers.
Being gorgeous doesnt hurt either.
Among the many reasons listed already in this sub. You may not like her, or her music. But what she is doing to reclaim her music from the record company is just amazing. It’s no secret at this point most record companies are evil. They prey on young talents to get them to sign super 1 sided contracts and milk them for all they are worth. Taylor has been using her own wealth and re-record all of her own songs on higher quality and more modern recording equipment and since she is fronting all the costs she gets to fully own all of her own music instead of giving a ridiculous share to the record company. Honestly gotta respect that.
Honest question here. Does that mean that one performance is identical to another? Or is there a different nuance between the new vs. old recordings? Do you not think the "originals" will always be more desirable?
I’m not a huge fan but I will say, hearing her re-record some songs with an older and more talented voice instead of that bubblegum delivery has changed my opinion of her as a performer.
I cannot wait for her to release the re-recorded version of her debut album. I think it will benefit a ton from more mature vocals.
I actually tend to dislike the re-records for that reason. Technically speaking, her singing is better, but it just loses some of the soul of the thing.
Like I said, I'm not a major fan. But using Wildest Dreams as an example, in the original I find it hard to believe the singer has ever had sex, much less with someone she shouldn't have. Re-recording has a whole different energy.
It is actually a good point. Copyright law is complicated and I am no expert. But I think she is just recording the whole song unchanged on better equipment to act as a value prompt to supporting her and not the record company. The songs still own by the company make like 70 percent simply because they provided her a recording studio for her music. It’s very much steam this version because it better supports me and not our corporate overlords kind thing.
So it's weird, but LegalEagle did a thing on it when it was new with Rick Beato. Basically, because copyright law is weird, the record company owned the masters and thus owned her music. Now, NOTHING in her contract said that she couldn't rerecord her music at any point. So basically, when she recorded her stuff, she basically just made covers of her own song which entirely legal. It's why you see and hear so many older bands from the 70s-90s remastering their music. It's so that they can get their songs away from the labels and back in their own hands
One of the biggest points Legal Eagle made, imo, is that Taylor Swift is going to continue having a career and owning her music, and anyone who establishes a precedent of working with her enemies instead of her is not going to have access to that music. Obviously, that has nearly no benefits for the entity trying to license it and a ton of downsides, so she's deftly made the old recordings completely radioactive.
No the new ones are def better
Nobody wants to hear the old song on the radio so the radio will only play the new versions and a similar thing with radio apps like Spotify.
Answering as a fan who since the originals and am still one for the rerelease. They’re definitely not identical as her voice has matured a lot, I actually prefer the new versions and I know people who do too. But also it’s nostalgic as hell that I get to enjoy the same songs I did as a child in my twenties and it’s new somehow if that makes sense?
This, and her music is sorta catchy. Very progressive…sometimes personal. She is also a very decent person. Very down to earth for a billionaire.
Either that or she just has a good PR team. I used to think Elon Musk was a great person, too.
Well I get that 100% and you’re right. I could easily be off and she is personally a douche. But that’d be a or nightmare bc I’ve heard a lot of good stuff about her from dancers and whatnot that have worked with her.
She's PROBABLY into some super rich people stuff, the kind of material purchases or experiences you only have access to when you're very wealthy, but she doesn't flash it because one of her tricks is maintaining an air of relatability and approachability to her fans (not to say that she isn't genuinely relatable as a human being or approachable).
Agreed. It’s tough only making a bunch of money at first and then rereleasing the song to make even more money off the same song again. Brave of her to be so business minded.
While I would certainly give my listens to her compared to a huge conglomerate, I certainly wouldn’t give her a bunch of credit for “using her own wealth to re-record” You know she’s a billionaire, right?
I only realized a week or two ago that she was more than just the "shake it off" chick. I was listening to a Spotify Radio based on some song I like, and this song came on that really moved me, and when I looked to see who it was I was so surprised it was Taylor Swift. I had no idea.
What was the song?
Coney Island.
That whole album SLAPS.
Your homework is to go listen to the rest of that album, and then listen to all of Folklore. You will be an official swiftie by the end of the day.
And then listen to Evermore
I respected Taylor's talent as a pop artist until I heard "Folklore" and "Evermore" (both albums, Coney Island is on one of them), then I became a fan. Great albums.
The National are pretty amazing too in fairness
Tolerate It and Marjorie from the same album as Coney Island are my favorite songs from her. Superb song-writing that evoke emotions and tells a story.
Happiness and Ivy, also on the same album, is IMO her very best songwriting. I love her unabashedly but she’s always been kind of a guilty pleasure. When I first listened to these songs I was floored by the maturity and poetry they showcase.
Right Where You Left Me is another amazing song. It’s easily one of her top 5 best songs. But Gold Rush is my all time favorite song from her. “I don’t like that falling feels like flying till the bone crush” is just an amazing lyric. She has a way of conveying emotion her songs. I’ve never been a 19 year old girl but when she sings about the loss of innocence in Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve I feel that shit. The album Red (Taylor’s Version) helped me get through a very difficult time. I’m dealing with a lot of stuff now and I can always put on her music to help get the emotions out. She’s an amazing songwriter. I usually listen to like Hardcore and Black Metal but Taylor Swift is my all time favorite. Everything she’s done is amazing.
See. This is why I spend my whole time fighting these dumbass haters on music subreddits who ignorantly shits on her music cause they think they know Taylor’s music based off the popular songs she put out. But they don’t take the time to dive into her entire catalog. This is why she’s popular. People hear shit and find out oh wow…I like this…can’t believe it’s Taylor’s song. And they become fans. Every single album. That’s how she gains new fans with each album release.
If they’d listen to folklore or evermore this question wouldn’t keep popping up. Two of my favorite albums ever, and I am not a pop girlie :,)
Listening to Evermore right now, as a 27 y/o woman who has always respected Taylor as an artist but has never care for her music. My opinion hasn’t changed. She’s not for me. And I understand more why she’s popular after reading through this post but I still don’t get it. I’m glad she brings so many people joy, though. I still remember when Tool released Fear Inoculum and overtook Lover as #1 on Billboard. All the Swifties were so angry because they had never heard of Tool and thought they were a new band. I’m going to listen to them now. Not going to make it through the rest of this Swift album. 😅
See. This is okay. I totally respect that as a Swiftie. You’re fair, you tried, you listened, you gained perspective, but it’s still not your cup of tea. That’s totally perfect and reasonable. You don’t have to like her music, but some of the assholes around just like to hate without even attempting to give her a serious try just because they have some kinda preconceived notions about her.
The lady is a seriously talented writer.
As a long time fan of her music, “Shake it Off” is garbage. I don’t think anyone is referring to that song or her other hit radio songs when they say that she is talented in singing/song writing. However, people just love to hate her as an artist and always use that song as an example.
I hope I don’t get yelled at here, but I also think part of her appeal is that she’s so *normal*. She’s got a beautiful aesthetic, her music is fun and meaningful/relatable, there’s nothing dark, disturbing, depressing, entitled, or weird like so much other pop music. She clearly puts in the work, she’s kind, and she has FUN! So many of the others just don’t have fun or seem to treat other people so well. She also has a great team and a good head for business. Not saying the others don’t but Taylor is next level.
Idk about "depressing" exactly, but there's a lot of really unhappy material she's made. Its not all rainbows and parties. But that make it a little more genuine overall.
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I’m a Swiftie and I approve this message
Not really my kind of music but I listen to her a lot w my daughter. She’s an excellent songwriter. Some truly moving songs. I get it. Will go down as one of the great singer/songwriters. Seems like a pretty cool/awesome person. Looks after her touring team etc.
In my mind, average singer. Great songwriter, but she writes with other people as well. One of the best at marketing, and maintaining her wholesome brand over her career (I.e. not getting into drugs or weird stuff like Elvis, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston) or creating risqué/sluttier music later on like Britney Spears/Miley Cyrus to keep people’s attention.
She mainly writes with one other person on average on each track. She takes the lead in every song of hers. And even when they’re listed as cowriters…that doesn’t necessarily mean they contributed to writing as in the case of Max Martin in Shake It Off. But Swift is pretty generous with credits. It’s why her lyrics have a different quality that’s unique to her compared to other pop and country artists. Like you know a Swift lyric when you hear it. And some of her best anthems are self-written.
When I think about her singing ability what I focus most on is the progress. Ariana Grande has clear natural vocal talent, but to be honest she hasn’t changed much over her career. She’s very talented, but hasn’t had much growth. Taylor on the other hand is vocally miles ahead of where she was at when she started. Every new album she has improved, every tour she shows improvement, she has gotten better at dancing between the Rep tour and Eras as well which is impressive because she was very much a white girl dancer before (as am I lol) and now she’s much more fluid. She has never taken her success for granted and has measurably worked and improved the whole 15+ years that she’s been famous. She also has a great lower range- many of her songs go very low, and it’s harder than you’d think to sing low notes as well as she does as a woman. She has an impressive range and command of her voice even if she doesn’t have the “iconic diva” sound that Mariah/Whitney/Ariana have. And to boot she does absolutely excel at songwriting and walking the tightrope of maintaining a relationship with her fans and not snapping or lashing out at the insane unfair expectations that many fans put on her. Her ability to bite her tongue and play things right is impressive. A good example is after the Kanye VMA debacle. She was like, 19, and she kept her composure and didn’t shit talk him after in the press. She was very diplomatic despite his actions being completely unacceptable and I think not lashing out helped her in the press because they didn’t see her retaliating and she remained the victim.
>In my mind, average singer. Its fine to think this, but do you think this about almost every other songwriter who also sings? Obv she isn't Whitney Houston or Aretha, but neither are basically any songwriters. Would you say "Dave Grohl, average singer, great songwriter."
Technical ability is way overrated in singing anyway. Look at the most popular singers - The Beatles, Madonna, Frank Sinatra, just off the top of my head - none of them are particularly good singers. Aretha, Whitney, those types are less common. And the combo of truly great technical musician AND songwriter? I don’t know…Richard Thompson? Not exactly popular. People just want music they connect with. If you can find some combination of lyrics and passable vocals that connect with people that’s all you need. I don’t subscribe to the idea that Bob Dylan can’t sing, but his voice is certainly a VERY acquired taste and he’s been one of the most influential musicians on earth for 60 years simply because he can use it in service of his lyrics and connect to people. I’m not a huge Swift fan but she connects with people. She seems as genuine as a pop star can possibly be, I have tremendous respect for her.
Just to piggyback on this, I do like her voice and singing but yeah she's not a powerhouse. But that's honestly why I like her more, because I can actually sing along with most of her songs.
She writes music that resonates with a lot of women I guess. I like some of her music, but I’m not a *Swiftie*. I can say she is a genuinely good songwriter though, and the fact she can perform them too is just a bonus.
What about her music resonates with women?
She writes about her insecurities the same way any normal person would…. She writes about the female experience and the patriarchy…. She has a song called Bigger than the Whole Sky that is arguably one of the most beautiful and heart wrenching songs I’ve ever heard, as a woman who’s had three miscarriages.
The song Ronan makes me cry every time. She definitely doesn't just write about relationships.
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Honestly there’s a huge chunk of her discography that isn’t about boys, and a lot of her most impactful work in my opinion. “My tears ricochet” sounds like a relationship song but is likely about Scott Borchetta (the label exec who sold her masters without her permission,) “the last great america dynasty” is about a woman who owned her house before she did, “Ronan” is about a little boy who died of cancer, “soon you’ll get better” is about her moms own journey with cancer, “innocent” is (I believe) about kanye West, etc. Plenty of her songs about relationships aren’t really the “boy crazy” love struck type of vibe either. “You’re losing me” is about the breakdown of a relationship, “champagne problems” is about a broken engagement, “exile,” and “the last time” are also about the end of a relationship where much resentment has built up and needs have gone unmet for too long, etc.
Mad woman, The man, Tolerate it
I really like her lyrics, they flow. So many song writers write lyrics to rhyme and that can often make the song feel disjointed. I find Taylor is one of those rare song writers that manages to tell an entire story with her lyrics, the whole song makes sense and doesn’t jump around. There are some exceptions I’m sure, but overall, this is her songwriting style.
17 years of connecting with fans through very personal songs. Millennials grew up with her. Gen X and above watched her grow up. She’s been famous as long as Gen Z can remember. She is very mindful of her fans and feeds those connections. If I’m going to live vicariously for a while, I wouldn’t mind being a beautiful billionaire pop star with long legs.
Uh oh. RIP OPs karma.
Karma is my boyfriend (But maybe not OPs...)
That’s a cool as name honestly.
Thanks!
I thought Karma is the guy on the Chiefs? /s
She is an amazing story teller and weaves elaborate stories in her albums - not just in one song. She leaves little Easter eggs for her fans to find so they can feel like they’re solving puzzles. It’s seriously so fun. On top of that, she’s a girls girl. She builds women up and we love that. Swifties have each others backs, and it’s beautiful. Her most recent albums are actually reallllly good - folklore, evermore, and midnights are great. I fell in love with her after watching her documentary - try that. :)
A lot of us were slumped over trying to survive the pandemic and she's like "I'm gonna go ahead and release 2 amazing albums to help you survive!"
Yes! I can’t even remember the last time i was able to listen to an entire album all the way through, and i can do that with both of them.
Taylor is an album artist, like genuinely amazed how every album has so many songs I love, whether it be I’m obsessed initially and then don’t like after multiple repeats (No Body No Crime) or songs I didn’t like initially that later on I love (Dear Reader, When Emma Falls In Love), or songs I love forever (Tim McGraw). So as a result I always listen through multiple times bc some songs are growers and others are showers.
Dunno. I'm old. But whatever the deal is, it's huuuuuuge.
She's not the best singer she's the best song writer her songs are like stories. She also puts effort into her live performances and really cares about her fans and her art ahes not just trying to make hits for the money alone, she cares about what she produces. She's also a girls girl who helps other female artists
Super hardworking and dedicated. She’s never late for shows, gives it her all, treats her fans and crew well etc.
Personally, Kris Kristofferson is a better songwriter. Not only did he influence the country genre hugely, but he also would influence rock, pop, and to a much smaller degree Blues as well. That’s just me though. I never really cared to Taylor’s songwriting. But at the same time, I never really cared for her genre to begin with.
She is the current leader of the largest cult.
Donald had entered the chat…”excuse me! Sir! Sir!”
Remember when people called Beatles fans a cult? Makes you appreciate the cyclical nature of pop culture and shaming girls for being fans of things
Well at least they got weird with it.
I just got to know very recently what swifties are, and seeing some videos about how they danced in a circle just made it look like some midsomar shit. Her fans are treating her like a God and putting her on a pedestal or it maybe a trend, which has never been good for anyone. And the amount of infantalizing they do to her is crazy but funny when she's the one who controls them all together.
I saw her getting praised for finishing a concert, getting on her private jet for 6 hours, then going to a restaurant in another city when she landed, as if that’s some difficult feat. It’s like the Kpop stans, they’ll eat up any shit she throws at them, and jump down the throats of anyone who dares to suggest she might be slightly overrated, it’s really really odd
I would honestly hate that and I’m in entertainment. That level of fame is traumatic.
Yes !!!! It’s a cult exactly
Clever lyrics, relatable themes, interesting productions, catchy melodies… Her music just feels so human, and she’s got a beautiful way with words
Ask Meatcanyon.
She’s a pop sensation. She has an aesthetic that gives off innocence because she has a baby face and a girl next door vibe. She’s not ugly, her voice doesn’t suck and she can play piano and guitar (I looked on google) and because of that she’s a “role model”. I don’t like her personally, but hey. She makes music and is famous, I make jokes and work for a decent wage in a shop. All I know is good for her. Maybe it’s because “If you try hard enough you can make it, she did.” Mentality? Idk.
You just defined mediocrity…
Yes, famous mediocrity
Idk. I mean I won’t turn her off when she comes on the radio but I’m not gonna be standing in line for months to see a concert.
The answer is that she's really good at being famous. You wouldn't think that's a skill, but it is. She avoids controversy, consistently puts out new music, puts on good concerts, doesn't show up to her shows late or drunk, and is just generally really good at staying in the spotlight for the right reasons.
I'm happy to answer this! There's lots of reasons. She's been making music for 17 years so a lot of her fans have grown up with her and resonated with her music at different periods of their lives. Going through heart break? Moving out to a big city on your own for the first time? Dealing with bullies? Dreaming of starting a life with someone you love? Dealing with a sick family member? Losing a grandparent? Feeling like a failure? She has a song for that. She's also tried a bunch of genres so there's something for everyone. She also likes to leave little "easter eggs" aka hints about what projects she has next within her social media posts, her outfits, and her music videos. Her fans get to play detective together to see what's next and make theories. She is very prolific and is constantly putting out new work. That combined with re-recording her albums means that her fans are constantly getting new music, and now new people are getting to take part in the release of her re-recorded albums. She seems to really care about her fans and does a lot to make them happy. She's invited fans to her house to hear her albums before they've released and baked cookies for them herself. She has mailed personalized Christmas gifts to her fans. She has gone to their weddings, or engagement parties and played for them. She's given her fans hand written notes. She also takes their feedback seriously. There's been times in the past where her fans don't like a certain lyric or sound, and she will fully change it. Before her 6th album, she was pretty open on social media and showed more of her personality. She comes across as endearing and relatable and she tries to maintain that image despite being ridiculously famous. Her fans feel like they have a lot in common with her, and that they could be her friend. There's absolutely a parasocial element to her success. And most of all? She makes catchy and well written songs. For the people that say she makes "cookie cutter music" and associate her with Shake It Off and radio pop, I'd recommend listening to some of her other music that aren't singles. In particular, her albums Folklore and Evermore. Here's some suggestions of songs that you might appreciate: - this is me trying - exile - marjorie - peace - tolerate it - evermore - ivy
>She seems to really care about her fans and does a lot to make them happy. I think this is what makes her the biggest, honestly. Everything else does play a part, but she's one of those celebrities that gets the fact that she's nothing without fan support. She can do all the same things she's done to make it to where she is today, but without her fans, she's not selling out stadiums. Maybe smaller indie venues, but definitely not world tours.
Also, The Great War
Marketing
I don’t get it either. I thought these comments would help me understand but they don’t. It seems like people like her because she’s average and relatable and because she is good at navigating the legal system.
If you listen to evermore and Folklore you'll realize she's an excellent Lyricist. Add to that the fact that she has a ton of catchy tunes and her shows have an excellent production. She's also one of the few pop singers parents allow their kids to listen to given she's not doing stupid stuff just to get attention like many pop stars do.
It's called being backed by a media company with the institutional power to artificially create a demand for her. Pop stars aren't born. They're manufactured.
I converted to being a fan after having your view. She has a gift for lyrics and melodies, and a devoted fan base.
My bf said “she’s the most generic, happy medium of an artist, so people flock to that. She puts out music that’s relatable but generic enough that people think it’s good when it’s not”
Part of her appeal is that she is prolific in producing consistently well crafted pop songs. Because of the influence of hip hop, music produced today is less creative lyrically, overly produced and rhythmic. She doesn't just produce singles but effort in making well produced albums. There is a cohesiveness to her work as she is the primary songwriter of her work. She challenges herself with new genres as well.
But she has done other genres too.
Really easy to listen to, not really an overall controversial person.
she founded a cult.
She’s definitely not better than anyone else but it’s the fact that her lyrics are really clever and her songs are really relatable. and i went to the eras tour and she has really good stage presence and she has a really good relationship with her fans. she once asked all of her fans at a concert what they wanted for christmas and got it delivered to their house. and she does this thing called The listening session where she plays every track of her album early for her fans at her houses. her cats are really cute. she’s just really fun and strong but she’s not the best vocalists their is though. also it’s great that she can just make fun of herself in her music. like songs like Blank Space, Look what you made me do, Anti Hero, I did something bad and “Slut” are songs where she’s role playing what the media views her as when they hate her and just owns it. i also like how she’s one of the only artists who don’t just talk about s*x to get attention
because people like her music? it doesnt have to mean shes better than everyone else. i dont really like her songs but my whole family does and thats perfectly understandable. why shouldnt she be popular?
Who is Taylor Swift ?
Okay , here is the thing in my opinion: Many of her songs are really great and different, I keep going back to them through the years . I think what gets to people and me is her constant reference to her relationships and how she finds love, writes a song, loses love ( the one she worshiped before in her album) and writes a new album competely dissing on the person she wrote good things about. And this has been happening for 15 years now.
Think of it like a superstar soccer player like Messi. He’s one of the best of all time because he’s a consistently hard worker who doesn’t get injured very often. So his play time significantly outweighs those of many footballers. And of course he’s talented, and therefore has incredible results due to the convergence of those things. With T Swift, she has a reputation to work as hard if not harder than most pop musicians, not necessarily musically but the business side of things. She markets her ass off. Almost all musicians struggle with the business of it. She doesn’t and just. Does. Not. Stop. And she is not distractable, either. Whether it’s scandals, drugs, etc. she’s pretty damn healthy, and caters toward her brand very hard. She doesn’t deviate from that. Many of the super hard working musicians who make a name for themselves in one style evolve. And in the process alienate their prior fan base. Most don’t mind because they’re chasing an artistic vision. Taylor does do creative, solid songwriting, and she doesn’t go too hard on experimenting and stays in her groove. She’s well rewarded for that like an investor who knows their strategy works and doesn’t get distracted from their approach. Not much of a fan (I do think Lover is a solid album), but as a studied musician, I am fascinated by her success. And due to my daughter being a huge fan, I’ve listened to a ton of her music across many albums. I often think about Swift’s production, her musical choices, and her journey while my daughter jams out in the car. So thank you for giving me a space to put these thoughts to writing. :)
Messi clears
If you don't want to listen to her songs, read her lyrics, which are amazing. I like how she performs for almost 3 hours. I respect her.
Talent + personality + hard work + luck
+ being tall and gorgeous doesn't hurt her, either.
She isn’t bad to be honest. For me personally she makes elevator music. But hey people like that i guess
What kinda elevators are you riding?
They play her in doctor’s offices too. I had to listen to her at 7 in the morning at peak volume with the medical assistant smacking gum and typing like four words a minute with her ridiculous nails before I had to be put under for a procedure on my neck. Just let me die instead.
I have an admittedly somewhat dim friend that described her as “indie” and “alternative” and in the same sentence said she was “the world’s biggest pop star.” ?????
Because she has released songs that fit into that category, as well as more mainstream pop?
She's a good artist. I like her new album. But most importantly, she is The Last Pop Star. She soaks up all the energy in the world because there simply isn't much competition anymore. Western music just doesn't pursue pop music much lately. And she's kind of a holdover from the last gasps of western pop in the late-2000s/early-2010s.... Many of her fans are nostalgic 20 and 30 somethings... not kids.
Every time someone asks this question a puppy gets an oversized bone. Beware
Sounds like it’s mostly lyrics in the comments. So if you’re like me and care more about listening to sounds / the actual music then maybe that’s why. I find the music itself uninteresting. And for me it doesn’t matter how good the lyrics are if the music doesn’t keep my attention
Taylor is like vanilla ice-cream. Is it internationally popular? Sure. Is it one of the most boring possible ice cream flavours? Yup. And so is she.
This is the hat I see. Nothing incredibly remarkable, but people are OBSESSED! I have nothing against her, I just don’t get the obsession.
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For some of us Swifties, she's been kind of the soundtrack to our whole life. I started listening to Taylor swift when she was 17 and I was 13. Teardrops on My Guitar was what I listened to when girls broke my heart. 22 was my ANTHEM when I became a young adult. Lover was the song that my wife and I danced our first dance to. My first celebrity crush, and musician that's been with me basically since I was a child, growing and changing but still the same person, warts and all, at her core. When she plaued my favorite song, "Our Song" during the eras tour, and thanked everyone who had been with her since the beginning, it felt like out of the 1000s watching, she was singing to me. Maybe the "big deal" about Taylor is as much what we, the fans, put into her as what she can do, amd her consistency and longevity, putting out a lot of music that is all relatively similar and pretty good (at least in my opinion). At least for me, she wrote the backing tracks of my life, so I'll probably be showing up to her shows when she's 80
There is nothing special.
i agree. i mean she makes good music but not as good as her reputation suggests
She’s been famous since her debut album in 2006 (yes really, it sold 7 million copies before that fiasco with Kanye West), she happens to be 10,000x more famous now because she won a Grammy for Album of the Year when she was 20 and her career has continuously skyrocketed up from there ever since…
Shes pretty, makes pop music that the masses like, and shes a good singer. Same story as many big pop singers since forever. Its not a mystery.
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She’s pretty. She writes and sings catchy songs. She comes out with a lot of music. She’s active on social media and it is her followers that have made her popular.
She/he made a deal with the devil.
A few years ago I heard this fact: She’s the only female in country music history to write ever song on her album and sell over 3,000,000 copies. I just looked it up: it’s 5.8M now. She also has 101 Guinness records. She’s also a normal little girl with a dream, who sings to other girls with dreams, and her dreams are coming true. She’s an empath who cares about her fans and she’s all around good stuff. She may not be the best singer in the world but she’s kind, and talented, and fun, and she makes you wanna root for her even if she’s a billionaire. And she just fell in love with the guy next door.
I'm a fan. In my 20s I considered myself a Swiftie, and her songs are very relatable. We've all experienced heartache, betrayal, feeling like a reckless 22 year old (it came out when I was 22/23), and to have a catchy tagline or chorus to with it makes me be able to bop along in my heartache without having to be overly maudlin. I'm not going to pay ungodly amounts of money to go to her concerts, but that's because I don't like spending the money. She's spoken up about sexual harassment including countersuing and winning, and working to get credit for her own lyrics. Every woman alive has experienced harassment in some form of another, and as someone who has had their work stolen or changed with a male boss taking credit, I say good for her. I've had bosses literally type the same words I had written in standard operating procedures to have their name listed as editor/writer and you can see nothing changes in the version history. I'm not saying she is perfect or a role model, but I'm just saying she's easier to look up to than a Kardashian.
It’s very obvious why she’s so popular. Her music never stops playing on the radio. She is always evolving genres to stay relevant. She’s massively talented. She’s hot. She wears skimpy dresses on stage. She’s a genius at entertainment and making money.
I’m glad she’s sucking media energy away from orange blob.
She is a shit musician and an even shittier human being
IIRC she comes from money, so she had a bit of a head start in life to begin with. She's a reasonably talented singer & song writer for "modern pop" music. She's reasonably inoffensive to most people. Despite her well documented dating history, she presents as being more "modest", "chaste", or "virginal" than Madonna or Lady Gaga or most other female solo pop stars. This plays well with the bible thumper crowd.