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 Unpopular Opinion: The slow deflation of Taylor Swift |
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  Tuesday, 07:26 AM
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#1
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 BuzzJack Enthusiast
Joined: 22 May 2013
Posts: 637 User: 18,962 
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I used to be a really big fan of Taylor. But I feel her work has been getting worse over time. Tracking the number of chart toppers she had with each album (on my chart) this is what I got:
1. Taylor Swift - 0 2. Fearless - 7 3. Speak Now - 8 4. Red - 3 5. 1989 - 3 6. Reputation - 2 7. Lover - 4 8. Folklore - 2 9. Evermore - 1 10. Midnights - 1 11. TTPD - 0 Why is she seemingly getting more popular all the time? |
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Tuesday, 07:56 AM
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#2
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 laugh 'til we cry
Pronouns: she/her
Joined: 29 August 2014 Posts: 13,712 User: 21,176
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I think she's the type of artist that does have something for everyone, you don't need to love every album she puts out to say you're a fan. She just makes good pop music but each album does have a different style so it's only natural some people will prefer some over others. I love her but I'm not a massive fan of Folklore, Evermore and The Tortured Poets Department, there's only a couple of songs from each that I actually like and go back to.
I think she's so popular because she's managed to strike the balance and stay relevant enough to maintain fans who will listen to her for nostalgia value but still have some kind of interest in what she's doing currently whilst also getting new/younger fans on board and lets face it, she's a good business woman as well, she's making the right kind of moves to amplify herself. |
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Tuesday, 08:06 AM
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#3
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 14 March 2006
Posts: 5,729 User: 214 
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I would say that critically her star is still shining extremely brightly (critics love her albums).
Yes they have less commercial appeal but she has shown maturity in her writing and the more recent albums have a vibe that people connect to. She is slightly subverting the trend of diminished returns for each album (the number of hits is not dropping off as massively as other artists) |
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Tuesday, 08:49 AM
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#4
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 BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 22 December 2009
Posts: 30,369 User: 10,275
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I have always liked her, not loved but liked, and seeing her live in May, but the older I get, the less her music speaks to me... I think her lyrics were more universal and relatable when she was 20-25 compared to now when she's 34.. like she has become more juvenile and bitter? I am not interested who she's dating because why would I? I just wish she's happy. Yet, she still writes about Kim Kardashian... like why?
Shout out to Folklore though, that's a great album right there because she doesn't refer to herself all the time. Also, I am a bit sad how she has used Lana to build her artistry - it might be unintentional and come with Jack Antonoff, but still.... Lana walked so she can run to the bank with her current aesthetics! This post has been edited by Sour Candy: Tuesday, 09:13 AM |
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Tuesday, 10:19 AM
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#5
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London Boy
Joined: 6 July 2014
Posts: 3,019 User: 21,053
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QUOTE(Linds. @ 23rd April 2024, 08:56 AM)  I think she's so popular because she's managed to strike the balance and stay relevant enough to maintain fans who will listen to her for nostalgia value but still have some kind of interest in what she's doing currently whilst also getting new/younger fans on board and lets face it, she's a good business woman as well, she's making the right kind of moves to amplify herself. I think this is a really great and accurate summary. I think her more recent albums (particularly Folklore and Evermore) scooped up even more fans while managing to hold on to many of the older ones too. |
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Tuesday, 10:50 AM
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#6
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rip in peace Dickston
Joined: 29 January 2017
Posts: 9,563 User: 25,045
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QUOTE(Sour Candy @ 23rd April 2024, 04:49 PM) I am not interested who she's dating because why would I? I just wish she's happy. Yet, she still writes about Kim Kardashian... like why? In fairness with this part, it’s more the media that’s hyper fixated on her relationships past and present rather than Taylor herself. News outlets use any Taylor “news” as an easy click bait and as we have all seen the NFL have tried to use her presence at games as a promotional tool. Granted there’s maybe things she could’ve done to stay more out of the spotlight but that’s a celebrity thing on its own not just Taylor |
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Tuesday, 11:13 AM
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#7
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BuzzJack Gold Member
Joined: 21 November 2015
Posts: 4,474 User: 22,687
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Fairly certain kim and Kanye reignited the fued after Taylor tried to end it so who's really the bitter one
 Also you can't blame Taylor for the media scrutinising her life, whether you like her music or not 
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Tuesday, 11:19 AM
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#8
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 22 December 2009
Posts: 30,369 User: 10,275
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Media of course play a part, but artists can decide how public they are with their life and Taylor has chosen to be very public. It's a two-way street. I really think it has affected her songwriting a bit too much starting from Reputation days and it's not going anywhere as long the albums sell BECAUSE of the chosen narrative, not in spite of it.
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Tuesday, 11:27 AM
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#9
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BuzzJack Gold Member
Joined: 21 November 2015
Posts: 4,474 User: 22,687
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QUOTE(Sour Candy @ 23rd April 2024, 12:19 PM) Media of course play a part, but artists can decide how public they are with their life and Taylor has chosen to be very public. It's a two-way street. I really think it has affected her songwriting a bit too much starting from Reputation days and it's not going anywhere as long the albums sell BECAUSE of the chosen narrative, not in spite of it. Her and Joe were private and she still got scrutinised
This post has been edited by 777666jason: Tuesday, 11:29 AM |
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Tuesday, 11:43 AM
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#10
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London Boy
Joined: 6 July 2014
Posts: 3,019 User: 21,053
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Exactly. I wonder if we'd be having these conversations if she was a man.
I also wonder if she's be constantly expected to reinvent herself if she was a man. |
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Tuesday, 11:56 AM
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#11
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Break the tension
Joined: 7 March 2006
Posts: 89,014 User: 51
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QUOTE(London @ 23rd April 2024, 12:43 PM) Exactly. I wonder if we'd be having these conversations if she was a man. I was about to say this, I really don't think there'd be the same level of discourse around her love life if she was a man. |
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Tuesday, 12:04 PM
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#12
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 14 March 2006
Posts: 5,729 User: 214
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QUOTE(Jessie Where @ 23rd April 2024, 12:56 PM) I was about to say this, I really don't think there'd be the same level of discourse around her love life if she was a man. 100% Slightly similar but I always remember Pink doing an interview where they sat her down and said something like, 'as you're now an over 30 female singer, people won't want your music anymore, so we have to figure out a strategy' The media loves to bring down female artists..... |
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Tuesday, 12:14 PM
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#13
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London Boy
Joined: 6 July 2014
Posts: 3,019 User: 21,053
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QUOTE(Herbs @ 23rd April 2024, 01:04 PM) 100% Slightly similar but I always remember Pink doing an interview where they sat her down and said something like, 'as you're now an over 30 female singer, people won't want your music anymore, so we have to figure out a strategy' The media loves to bring down female artists..... 100% - once women reach a certain age, how dare they continue to do the same music which was successful for them previously. Expected to completely re-invent themselves over and over in a way not expected of men. And how the fall of a female artist is celebrated ! Im glad she's sticking two fingers up to all and doing what she wants - with success. |
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Tuesday, 01:00 PM
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#14
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Break the tension
Joined: 7 March 2006
Posts: 89,014 User: 51
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QUOTE(London @ 23rd April 2024, 01:14 PM) 100% - once women reach a certain age, how dare they continue to do the same music which was successful for them previously. Expected to completely re-invent themselves over and over in a way not expected of men. And how the fall of a female artist is celebrated ! Im glad she's sticking two fingers up to all and doing what she wants - with success. Similarly, we have somebody in the Kylie forum who always says she should be making age-appropriate music and that one of her recent singles was "embarrassing" because it was a little bit racy. As if to say because she's a woman in her mid-50s she should be expected to wear dowdy boiler suits all the time and regimentally stick to making what can be deemed as "age appropriate" music without having any fun with it
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Tuesday, 01:04 PM
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#15
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With Kristina in heart
Joined: 28 March 2017
Posts: 3,815 User: 28,104
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I still love first four Taylor albums and some tracks from "Lover", but don't have any interest in listening her albums (including pointless re-recordings) from last 5 years.
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Tuesday, 02:22 PM
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#16
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London Boy
Joined: 6 July 2014
Posts: 3,019 User: 21,053
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QUOTE(Last Dreamer @ 23rd April 2024, 02:04 PM) I still love first four Taylor albums and some tracks from "Lover", but don't have any interest in listening her albums (including pointless re-recordings) from last 5 years. If you knew the point of them, you'd actually realise they are anything but pointless. |
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Tuesday, 02:37 PM
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#17
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 14 March 2006
Posts: 5,729 User: 214
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QUOTE(Jessie Where @ 23rd April 2024, 02:00 PM) Similarly, we have somebody in the Kylie forum who always says she should be making age-appropriate music and that one of her recent singles was "embarrassing" because it was a little bit racy. As if to say because she's a woman in her mid-50s she should be expected to wear dowdy boiler suits all the time and regimentally stick to making what can be deemed as "age appropriate" music without having any fun with it The level of shaming there is unreal |
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Tuesday, 06:05 PM
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#18
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Radical Pink Troll
Joined: 11 March 2006
Posts: 26,606 User: 177
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I’ve never been a fan of Taylor, she has some bops but nothing has ever enticed me to listen to an album. Same with Adele, Ed Sheeran and Rihanna in their imperial phases so I guess I just don’t like huge artists
But it’s not hard to see why she’s become so massive. She’s a shrewd business woman who has planned out her rise bit by bit. She doesn’t always succeed, Reputation and Lover set her back slightly as I think she went a bit too hard in those directions at the time but she pulled it back with Folklore and then kept going. She’s a full time celebrity and milks every opportunity. She knows how to capitalise on everything. I do find her a little clinical and planned out and I think that’s part of what I don’t like. Her voice also does nothing for me but it’s all working for others so good for her. |
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Tuesday, 06:23 PM
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#19
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Jord
Joined: 12 March 2017
Posts: 10,774 User: 27,116
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I personally have grown to like Taylor a lot more since folklore dropped and the reissues happened.
I was a lot more casual towards her until that point but now with the re-releases of earlier work I’ve discovered how great those albums actually were whilst appreciating the newer work. From listening to her albums I can see her appeal she’s capable of being a songwriting genius. I definitely prefer when she leans into the story / characters esque kind of writing and when she steps away from the pure pop sound but I can see why she has this appeal. In some ways I think she can quite underrated in the vocal stakes but it’s a different type of vocal. The reason people love acts like Celine and why Whitney had mass appeal for example were purely the voice but they didn’t write their material where as people feel connected to Taylor because she’s the master of her own work. I do think a lot of people would be surprised if they delved into her catalogue at just how versatile she actually is. She’s pretty much mastered Country, Pop and Alt / Folk with them all sounding like a real fit for her. At the point of streaming era I don’t know if overexposure is as bad as in the sales era but right now I’m sure we can safely there’ll not be another act pulling in these figures for at least say a decade. |
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Tuesday, 07:19 PM
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#20
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Say that hiss with your chest, and...
Joined: 24 May 2016
Posts: 18,472 User: 23,308
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I just find her modern stuff boring compared to RFI, LWYMMD and IKYWT.
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| Time is now: 26th April 2024, 08:14 PM |
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