Taylor Swift, the artist of our generation

by: Zoe Knott

One of the most recognizable faces in the world, Time magazine Person of the Year, the first person to win Best Album of the Year four times, and held all 10 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 in a single week, being the first and only person to do so. 

Taylor Swift is a household name, with videos of everyone from babies to 90-year-olds dancing to her songs on the internet. People have paid thousands of dollars to hear her sing at the Eras Tour, which has already brought in over $1 billion in revenue. 

Swift started her career in 2006 when she was just 16. She released her first eponymous album and is credited as a songwriter on all 11 of those tracks. To this day, Swift is listed as a songwriter on all of her tracks, making all of her music incredibly personal. Something that draws so many young girls to Swift’s music is that she writes lyrics that capture the essence of human emotions.

Like any other person, Swift has gone through heartbreak, love, trauma, and pain. Each of her songs tells a story that people can relate to and find something in common with. Swift allows herself to be vulnerable and opens up about her life to listeners. Having the ability to write lyrics that resonate with so many different people is truly remarkable. 

One reason that Swift has such a large and ever-growing fan base is because of her versatility in music. When Swift first started, she was solely a country singer. She gained her first fans with hits like “Our Song” and “Teardrops on My Guitar.” After three country albums, she started her transition into pop music with the album “Red.” This was a seamless transition, as “Red” was certainly a pop album with some country components still there. 

She continued her pop streak with another three albums, which include some of her most famous songs, including “Shake it Off,” “Style,” and “Lover.” Since the pandemic, Swift has explored even more genres, including folk-pop and electropop, with her albums “Folklore,” “Evermore,” and “Midnights,” respectively. Swift’s willingness to push boundaries and explore new musical territories allows her to stay relevant and captivate audiences across different genres. The risks and experiments that Swift makes when writing new music are one of the reasons that she is admirable as an artist. 

Swift has been a tremendous source of inspiration for many people, encouraging them to feel confident and empowered. Through her songwriting and performances, she has shared the message that it is okay to be yourself and to embrace your individuality. Her songs often include moments of personal vulnerability and triumph; she encourages listeners to embrace their emotions, stand up for themselves, and believe in their worth. 

Swift has also been an advocate for self-acceptance and body positivity. In her documentary “Miss Americana,” she describes her struggles with an eating disorder and body image. Swift strives to speak out against unrealistic standards for women. In addition to supporting women and young girls, Swift has made it a mission to be an advocate for the LGBTQ community.

In 2019, Swift released the song “You Need to Calm Down,” which includes lyrics like “Why are you mad? When you could be GLAAD” and “Shade never made anybody less gay.” (GLAAD stands for Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, which Swift has donated money to.)

With 10 current albums and another one on the way, Swift has something for everyone to listen to. Swift is not just a talented musician but also a true inspiration to many. Through her music, she has touched millions of hearts, empowering them to embrace their individuality and find strength in their vulnerabilities. 

Swift’s advocacy for self-acceptance, body positivity, and LGBTQ rights has made a significant impact, reminding fans about the importance of love, equality, and standing up for what we believe in. With unwavering authenticity and philanthropic efforts, Swift continues to be a force for good in the world. 

The dark side of Taylor Swift

by: Ray Klaczynski

Taylor Swift. Most people when they hear that name think of a talented, charismatic, and angelic musician. In fact, she is one of the most popular artists in the music industry today. But let me reveal Swift’s Kryptonite: the truth! 

The truth is, Swift isn’t an angel sent down from the heavens but rather a demon in disguise. Disclaimer: please don’t come up to me in the hallway and argue about Swift.

Let’s start with her “contributions to the environment.” Time and time again during interviews she  discussed how bad climate change is, and how it is one of our biggest problems. She just happens to leave out how she is one of our biggest individual contributors to this problem. Swift owns a Dassault 7X jet, estimated at around $40 million. A flight from Tokyo, Japan, to Las Vegas, Nevada, with this jet can burn fuel equivalent to about 40 metric tons of emissions. This is exactly what happened when Swift flew to see her new hunk of a boyfriend, Travis Kelce, play in Superbowl LVIII. 

Now, I know this argument can come across as hypocritical. Every single one of my favorite celebrities owns a disgustingly expensive jet; it’s just a part of being famous at this point. The problem with Swift is that she tries extremely hard to hide how often she uses her environment destroyer. She tries so hard, in fact, that she would be willing to bury someone in court just to stop them from exposing her (which is exactly what she’s doing). 

A Florida college student, Jack Sweeny, has received a cease-and-desist order from Swift’s legal team for exposing her private jet’s flight records on his social media. This is not against the law as it is public information. Unfortunately for Sweeny, Swift is very powerful, influential and wealthy, so she can pour as many resources into this legal battle as possible until she gets what she wants. On the other hand, this college student will more than likely lose because of funds that pale in comparison. Once again, another case of Swift using her power to get what she wants. 

She also is not self made. Although people talk about how Swift made her career solely from how amazing her music is, this is misinformed. Her father provided her with an immediate leg up in the competition via a $1 million investment into the beginnings of her career at the age of 16. Now granted, this was a great investment for the father because he made way more money than what he put in. Swift isn’t talentless, but for most artists, it takes years before even their best music starts to gain popularity. 

Swift got a huge advantage. She didn’t have to put the same amount of hard work and years into her music because she had $1 million from the very beginning. A lot of great music goes unnoticed in the music industry but this is another case of Swift’s money allowing her to get ahead of others. Idolizing her for being so great and powerful isn’t simply due to her brilliance at such a young age, it’s due to the $1 million she got when she was just 16. 

Lastly, it’s without a doubt that Swift has a huge following. And no, it is not because she is such an amazing musical talent. It’s because Swift has one of the most brilliant marketing teams that essentially made her tens of millions of dollars and almost quadrupled the amount of fans she has over the last 10 years. The main person responsible for these strategic marketing moves? Tree Paine. Paine, over the last 10 years, has built Swift’s public reputation to that of what other celebrities could only dream to achieve. She was rarely in the spotlight for something negative and most times managed to somehow please almost everyone who listened to her music. Paine has orchestrated this success by dictating Swift’s life in a way that would benefit her with money and fame. 

Every boyfriend, every break up, every major event in Taylor’s life in the last 10 years was either staged or happened and was changed into something that could make her even more popular. I generally think the Kelce relationship is a PR stunt. And I promise you, wonderful person reading my article, that within the next five months, Swift’s relationship with Travis will end, and it will ultimately be his fault. She will write a song about it, and it will blow up because her fans are so loyal to her that at this point, they don’t care what comes out about her. Whatever Taylor says is the truth. 

Celebrities like this don’t come often. Someone with as much influence as Swift could be just as powerful, nay, even more powerful than some members of Congress. The main point of this writing wasn’t to make fun of your favorite musician, because that isn’t cool. The fact that I don’t like her music and find it very repetitive is just my opinion and not the point of this piece. 

I am simply pointing out the facts so that maybe this message could reach a few of you Swifties. It’s vital that we watch who we idolize; I know people love her music but we also have to look at the decisions she is making in life beyond just what she says on camera. Someone with as much power and influence as Swift should be watched closely to ensure that she doesn’t exert that power in ways that could be defined as unjust or even unlawful.