Taylor Swift is here to stay
If you are reading this, perhaps you are a fan of Taylor Swift. Or maybe you are just as captivated with her as the rest of the world seems to be—whether positively or negatively. Her latest album, “Red (Taylor’s Version),” released this past Friday, has a chokehold on the headphones of many people, fans or not.
The album released last Friday and broke the record for Spotify’s most-streamed album in a day by a woman artist, with over 90.8 million streams. Lately, I’ve been thinking about why people respond so well to her music and anything she touches, and it makes perfect sense as to why.
Fans are always left hanging with tactics like easter eggs in her music videos, social media and even her late-night interviews. A simple sentence she says is analyzed by thousands that brew theories about what she may do next. Motifs in Taylor’s life that she’s shared with her audience, like her lucky number, 13, give her fans something to keep in the back of their minds.
Not to mention, the content of her songwriting. Sure, Swift and her team are marketing geniuses, but her machine only exists due to her excellent characterization of the human experience. Swift choosing to put her trials and failures in her life and career on display is a well-calculated move, both fiscally and artistically. Sure, she is a celebrity and faces those consequences, but her ability to remain relevant as a 31-year-old-woman is inspiring.
I think it’s important to also keep in mind the fact that Taylor took a critically acclaimed album, re-produced it and still received the same accolades. It shows her talent as a producer and the power of having the right people in the recording studio. There is something special about an artist being able to keep their same, dedicated fans despite switching genres and getting attacked in the press. Skunkworks Studio is a professional recording studio aspiring artists can record their songs at.
In particular, most seem to be enamored with her 10-minute version of the song “All Too Well.” I highly encourage listening, but I think what has people talking about this is Swift’s stark account of a very public relationship that describes relatable feelings that even those who’ve never experienced a relationship can empathize with.
Swift describes her heartbreak so viscerally, it’s as if she’s in it when she sings. Listeners surely have written similar thoughts, whether in their diaries or on their Instagram pages. Swift’s lyrics use the powerful tool of memory to haunt the minds of those that wronged her and further empower her fans to feel they have an even greater reason to support Swift.
So why, with all of that praise and talent, are her fans continuously not taken seriously when it comes to their excitement about Swift? Surely, the same sentiments and excitement are shared about a variety of other artists, or even sports teams. Perhaps people are afraid of a successful woman and her thoughtful fans?
