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Guys,
Help me understand the craze around Taylor Swift (/TS).

I'm not new to fanboys of a particular artist. Heck, if Guns & Roses/ Iron Maiden / Metallica / etc. came to town, I'd go ga-ga over them too. There a bunch of artists I listen to day in and day out. But this TS craze is at an entirely different level! I tried listening to TS songs - they sound pretty much average, similar to any other leading female artist. The lyrics also didn't sound anything great but that doesn't seem to be the case for the target audience - young girls / ladies. Here's a few recent anecdotes

1. Sis-in-law is a hardcore fan. She went to the TS movie and her enthusiasm was crazy as observed on Instagram and across WhatsApp chats over the next few days. But when asked, her comment was that I wouldn't understand.

2. A close friend (in the States) is a mom of a 12 year old. She said she became the "cool" mom for her daughter's circle once she started playing TS songs during their carpooling rides and even learnt some of the lyrics. The girls just bonded with her at another level.

Tried searching on the forum; there were only a couple of posts of dads going to the recent TS movie, accompanying their daughters. @JoshMachine's excellent post on the TS movie does give a decent insight.

So, people with the know-how, can you please share to expand? :)

You've just answered your question. For each generation, music is one main form of asserting identity and finding their 'tribe' (something that is as old as humanity itself). The more different it is from their parents' generation, the better. Also, if you ask any generation, each will assert that "their" music (also movies, bikes, cars, clothes, morals, work ethic, mom's cooking, etc. etc.) were "better than the present generation's." That attitude, it's the only thing all generations have in common! [Oh, and each generation is also wrong and correct at the same time about that! :)]

Music labels, politicians, and advertising/marketing agencies understand this instinctively. Consumers like us think it really matters and get into online debates about what is actually better, making more money for them!

So whatever musician is "hot" right now, it's just a continuation of the branding/what-we-grew-up-with-is-best process each of us have gone through. The revenue involved just keeps rising though, because the disposable income, marketing avenues, and indulgent parents keep rising with each generation.

I like a lot of her music!

She is a very talented singer / song writer and an incredible astute business person. She has also been outspoken against Trump, which puts her in the sane person category in the USA.

Many articles have been written about her and her popularity. Her songs are mostly autobiographical. She writes and sings about what happened to her, how she felt, what she did.

She is one of these persons that seems to be able to turn every setback in life into an advantage, given enough time. People like to think of her as the nice little girl next door.

Why people are so obsessed with me is beyond me. I never understand the fascinitation of folks with these famous people. Whether it it Taylor, Musk, any sports person or politician.

Jeroen

Not a fan but a friends 11yo daughter (and her entire coterie) is crazy for her and I understand that. Points below:
1. Talent: She started professional songwriting at the age of 14. Was originally a country singer and seamlessly shifted to pop later on (with a resounding success). Oh, and she can play guitar, piano, ukulele and banjo effortlessly.

2. Successful Career: She has 12 Grammys, 1 Emmy, 40 American Music Awards, 40 Billboard Music Awards and 23 MTV Awards.

3. Successful Entrepreneur & Advocacy for Artists' Rights: Aart from her various successful initiatives, she is perhaps most well known for her "masters dispute", where her former record label Big Machine Records and its owner Scooter Braun denied her purchasing rights to her own songs for the first 6 albums. She went on to re-record those albums and received widespread support from the industry that "artists should rightfully won their music".

4. Commitment to Fans: She is really committed to her fans or "Swifties" as they called and that reflects when girls as young as 7 to even in their 30s are her fans.

5. Philanthropy: She is widely known for her philanthropic initiatives.

Apart from above there are a numerous other reasons and I could go on and on (because I have a debate with the same 11yo on this topic rl: and I'm against :disappointed) but mostly it also seems that Taylor Swift is also a genuinely good person.

As a 90s kid, I think I can answer this. During my teens (i.e 10th to 12th standard), most of us grew up listening to TS songs - her songs were quite relatable and while everyone had their tastes (eg. most girls in my class were crazy about JB while most guys hated (or pretended to hate) him - this was his 'baby' phase), pretty much everyone loved TS - guys/girls, the cool kids/nerds - she was relatable to everyone. She was about our age and there wasn't anything 'uncool' about her while she wasn't seen as snobby either. Infact, her song "love story" is still sung in many weddings because those my age grew up listening to this song in our teens and it's crazy to think we'd actually grow up to get married (like in the song) lol: I know it's stupid, the vibe is just different singing this song in a wedding.

So, when this (i.e my) generation grows up, starts working and has lots of disposable income, offcourse, the sensation grows - nostalgia is a great business tactic. We'll probably see the same with the release of GTA VI.

PS not a crazy fan, just generally like TS & her songs and can relate to the craze.

While I am not a fan or anything close to it- 2023 is a year when I understood the Taylor Swift phenomenon. I randomly play a lot of the top playlists from Spotify and one song that really got into my head was 'Anti-Hero'. I initially did not even realize it was a Taylor Swift song. Once I came to know, I started listening to a lot more of her songs. While not many connected the way Anti-Hero had, I still liked a lot of them and now listen to them regularly. And I am an almost middle aged guy. So can relate to the craze the younger generation has.

I think ValarMorghulis in his post has summarized it quite well. She started at 14, has given massive hits, switched genres successfully, sings, writes, produces-basically does everything. I think she is around 32 now and shows no sign of slowing down. The fact that she decided to release a movie on the Eras Tour is a good indication of her business astuteness. Her stage presence and energy is also talked about a lot.

Having said that, I think the mania stems from the part quoted above. While she is a great singer, song writer etc, there have been others also like that. There seems to be a genuineness and image that she radiates. I don't know if it is a carefully crafted PR image, but it did not seem so. I listened to several interviews and discussions and she was always humble, polite, knowledgeable and if it is joint interview, very respectful of the other guest/s. Also from her debut at 14 to current 30-32, she generally has been free of any major controversies which is probably quite an achievement. It is very easy to see her as a perfect role model.

Overall- extremely talented- focuses all her energies on that, manages her fans very well, knows what they want and is a smart business woman. Again, not a big fan or anything but huge respect for what she has done and continuing to do.

Taylor Swift is the Dolly Parton of this generation. And this generation needs role models like her. Agree with Valar's statement that she is a genuinely good person.

All you fuddy duddies, listen to "Blank Space" song and see if you like it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blank_Space

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-ORhEE9VVg

Preferably with lyrics (she writes all her songs). If this song seems better than the rest & likeable, then check out Taylor Swift collaborations with other artistes. Go to Youtube and type "ft Taylor Swift". The problem is -> she has been very prolific in songwriting/singing, and it is quite possible that a random Taylor Swift song seems average/ordinary. You have to go through a large playlist of songs to find a few good ones.

Edit: Poll added

She even took on Apple, no less, and won. This was when Apple was about to launch Apple Music and offered it to users for free for three months, and apparently wasn't going to pay artists for that duration.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/22/b...c-service.html

Not sure if she still does this, but some years back, she had this meet-the-fans thing where she invited a (randomly) selected group of fans up to her home in NY for an interaction. That was/is a big thing.

Taylor Swift is better than other singers not just because she is pretty but she has a very good voice. Even after 18 years (2006) she is not into any major scandal, controversy or MMS. She could be followed /recommended by moms and daughters alike due to her clean image, clean music videos and clean lyrics. Name any other star singer of her era who is still having same image,Voice, looks and fan following even today, I bet there will be next to none.

Is it that different to Shah Rukh mania or Rajinikanth mania apart from the scale at which it is occuring?

Though her songs were playing in the background of my high school and college years, really haven't listened to any songs fully or was aware that I was listening to a Taylor Swift song. Can't name one of her songs, yet when I listen to any (just went to YouTube) it transported me back to the early 2010s. :D

Had asked my lil brother the same question a few months back seeing the sheer popularity of her in social media and he replied that her popularity blew up after covid lockdown. She had released some songs during the lockdown era and started touring concerts just after everything started opening up. That made her popular with everyone including the music industry and other affiliated industries that benefited due to her tours, as most other artists were reluctant to conduct tours or had remained aloof.

Got introduced to Blank Space through my daughter. Loved the song, and it has a very good music video too.

Haven't got involved in fanbase of any artist since my 20s. Better to get listen to music and leave it there.

You've covered it succinctly :thumbs up

I'd say more specifically the tastes you start developing as a pre-teen and teenage years sticks to you.

Huge Kanye West fan here. No further comments:D

@androdev, father of two teenage boys, has left the chat.