Taylor Swift has been a household name for many years now. We all know who she is; we can put a face to the name. Her songs can be heard on the radio, on streaming platforms, in stores, at dances…everywhere. She and her music have been idolized by many fans since childhood. She has revolutionized the music industry and is still soaring to new heights. I believe that she will continue to grow, so much so that no one will be able to beat her records in the future.
However, there is one problem that can be found with regard to all of her achievements. Is she actually a competent musician and lyricist, or has she been an idol to so many people for so long that fans can recognize whether she is indeed good or bad? Well, I believe that she is a one-of-a-kind artist, and after her death or retirement, it will be ages until there is someone like her again in the music industry.
Why do I think this, though? I started listening to her back in November 2021, after I caved into my friends’ attempts to get me to listen to her. The first album to which I listened was Reputation; I instantly fell in love with the album, which completely differs from her normal music. For this reason, Swift’s fans saw the album as her breakthrough in terms of the type of music that she could make; prior to Reputation, she mostly made pop songs, and this was an electropop R&B trap. After this album, she then released Lover in 2019, Folklore in 2020, Evermore later that same year, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) in 2021, Red (Taylor’s Version) in 2021, and then finally Midnights only 2 weeks ago, which prompts a whole other discussion. Personally, I think that Swift’s music after Reputation has only gotten better, and each album is uniquely different both in genre and songs. Lover is alternative/indie/pop, whereas Folklore is R&B/soul/country/indie/Christian. Her transcendence of musical boundaries shown through her variety of genres clearly demonstrates that Swift has no limits in what she can make and that she is not afraid to stick with one genre. The messages behind her albums are very profound, with each collection of work talking about different, relatable issues. Within the last five years, Swift has grown exponentially in listeners due to each album being a different genre, which draws in new listeners, but that is also bad because one album could be for a certain group but a different album wouldn’t. Currently, she has 74.7 million monthly listeners and I strongly predict that she will continue to grow.
Finally, to the question. Is Taylor Swift good or bad? She is extraordinary. She has done things that no one ever thought were possible. With the newest release of her album Midnights, she has claimed the top 10 spots on the top 100 billboard which no one has ever done except her. However, this victory also comes with a downside; now everyone expects her to break her previous records with her next releases, and if her later albums don’t meet these expectations then people will be disappointed.
Swift’s one-of-a-kind albums have helped countless people through tough times in their lives, and there is a Taylor Swift song that every single person has a personal connection to; for these reasons, I believe that Taylor Swift is a positive and influential artist, and one of a kind.