To not get the Taylor swift hype?

I've not understood the Taylor Swift hype since her "Reputation" album.

I was a diehard Taylor Swift fan since she released her first song, still love all her early music and sob my heart out singing along to "All Too Well", but I tried listening to some of her newer songs and they all just sound...the same. They don't have the same feel anymore. I know this is normal and she has grown up (we're the same age, I wouldn't write songs about the same things I would have at 16) but I just hate her new style of music.

I've seen her twice live and she was good, but I wouldn't pay ridiculous money to see her live now.

I'm not sure how many other mediocre pop stars were signed by a label at 14 and are still selling out arenas after 10+ albums. She has been writing successful songs since she was a young teenager. Dislike her music all you want, but some people on this thread are being disingenuous.

Think I might listen to some of her back catalogue today. See what she’s about. You’ve inspired me OP! I only know Shake It Off and You Need to Calm Down. 🤔

Agree OP. She’s just another pop star in the conveyor belt of mediocrity in recent years.

You’re being very disingenuous OP.

Even so few other artists were writing really successful songs and albums by themselves in their teens and most just haven't written the quantity and variety of songs that she has across a different genres. Although many of her singles are mainstream pop she is also written a lot of country and folk music which is completely different.

I reckon people who think she's average are comparing her to other artists, not to the general population. That would be a ridiculous statement.

To the people who think she is "average" and not talented, how many 18 year olds do you think can write songs like 'love story" at 18? That was one of many successful songs she wrote single handedly as a teenager.

Yeah, I’m definitely not a fan and don’t see what the hype is about. But then again I’m a huge Coldplay fan, and I know they’re very marmite. Would be boring if we all liked the same thing.

Aw I am a big Taylor fan and listen to all albums. Her singles are more of a novelty to be honest and while I still like most of them her best stuff is on her more recent albums. My favourites are right where you left me, ivy, the lakes, Marjorie, false god, all to well. Beautiful work. Her singles are definitely put out there to fit in with pop culture but I wouldn’t say they are a good representation of her discography at all.

I think the hype with the tour is people always want what they can’t have. And ticketmaster accidentally sold ALL her US dates in a presale so there was no general sale. So when it came to the rest of the world getting tickets, it has seemed a bit hysteric.

Interesting comparisons, I agree though.

Ah Kirsty, gone too soon.

You could apply the same to any concert (bar perhaps the scramble for tickets), if you don't enjoy them you won't spend money on them which makes sense! Most people have to travel to them, spend £££s on them- I don't think that's unique to TS (plenty of the tickets are under £100 as well). I dunno I didn't have much growing up so can't really relate but I do remember things feeling like a huge deal at that age and can see why some parents want to try and get them for their children, I don't think it makes them spoilt anymore than any other children really wanting x, y or z.

I respect this statement.

Leonard Cohen knelt down a lot in his performances when he was about 78-79, I was in awe of that as it is probably not something I could manage and easily get up again. Bob Dylan hid behind his piano and popped out occasionally as expected 😀.

It is true though that females are expected to dance and be good at it but not males.

She’s written some fantastic songs and some cracking lyrics. I think there are quite a lot of bland songs on her albums which wash over but at her best she’s up there with Kirsty MacColl and Mary Margaret O’Hara.

Ok I just played After glow. It's boring. I mean it's nice enough but I wouldn't choose to listen to it again. I've listened to a few of her songs because of this thread. They are nothing special. I really don't get the hype.

I love Taylor Swift, she's one of my favourite artists.

I cannot, however, begin to fathom the utter desperation and ugly scramble and fight for tickets to go to an overcrowded concert (many hundreds of miles away in some cases) on packed roads and trains all to stand several hundred feet away from the stage, crammed in with a huge crowd who are all screaming and singing so loud you can't even hear her anyway, with all of them watching through their phones (so you'll be lucky to see the stage through the sea of screens), and to pay several hundred pounds for this privilege when you can actually listen properly to her songs on Spotify without any of the above malarky.

And people on here posting about how devastated their children will be if they don't have tickets reminds me of the spoilt daughter in Willy Wonka.

Love Taylor Swift, can't stand the madness.

Now there's an idea!

It’s never men being criticised for dancing ‘badly’ though...even when that’s what they’re there for.

Bez in happy Mondays for example.

Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen - they never got told to dance more

Even boy bands get to just sit on stools and sing.

Always women who have to look good while they’re doing something

And to be fair you did ask people to list reasons they like her!

To be fair, I don't think you are one of those people as obviously many just aren't into her which is absolutely fair enough, but for some reason Taylor has always been a target of that kind of snobbery. For years people sneered at her just writing about breakups (even though love is by a long way the most common theme for a vast majority of artists, and actually she does have as much variety as most of them), then it was that she and her fans were airheads, silly whiny teenage white girls etc etc. The amount of criticism she's received over the years even caused her to retreat, and became an active theme in her music.

Possibly she's just at a level of fame that draws the "too cool for that, I listen to "real music"" crowd, but there's always a lot of that, too.

So I think people can be a bit defensive because of the above. I've never seen that level of derision levelled at Pink, for example. I've started to see people comment that she's the artist all white middle aged mum's like, but it's not on anywhere near the same level.

You seem to mostly value qualities that you might find in circus acts, not actual musicians. “Say what you like about Pink - you never saw Beethoven, Bowie or the Beatles doing their own stunts.”

Yeah I agree with this - I'd be impressed by someone doing stunts but I actually don't think the emphasis on being a good dancer is a particularly good thing for musicians. Usually I find it comes at the cost of the actual vocal performance and I wish they'd find a better balance and stand a bit more still, there seems to be an expectation that female pop singers in particular basically be dancers.

People always used to criticise Dua Lipa for not being a good dancer, too, and now her performances are more about remembering choreography than anything else. I prefer it when they're free to focus on the actual song and just do a bit of simple movement, which is mainly what Taylor seems to do.

To me, this is a hilarious defence of/tribute to the “musician”, Pink.

Nothing about her voice or musicality (except, OMG!, she can play the piano! And the drums!) Being able to play a musical instrument is a pretty low bar for a musician, surely..?

You seem to mostly value qualities that you might find in circus acts, not actual musicians. “Say what you like about Pink - you never saw Beethoven, Bowie or the Beatles doing their own stunts.”