Taylor Swift

[ChiefEverythingOfficer]

Please can somebody explain the hype?

I have friends (I am 50) who were seriously sad when they didn't get concert tickets (not in UK) and others who did, who were practically celebrating.

I don't get it. Don't want to ask for fear of looking like a twit.

For context, I have a 16yo DD and she just rolls her eyes and says wouldn't be caught dead at a TS concert. So no help there.

I did a quick google of Taylor swift fans and there seems to be blokes in there.

My young adult ds is a fan. But is there a problem with her appealing mostly to women?

@BobnLen My DH likes her too. She is a brilliant songwriter, and which isn’t always reflected in the songs she chooses as singles. I love her song Cowboy Like Me and Right Where You Left Me - just a couple of examples. I think Right Where You Left Me is a modern take on Miss Havisham. She writes incredibly clever lyrics, e.g.:
”Can you hear my covert narcissism I disguise as altruism, like some kind of congressman”.
And in her song “The Lakes” she invokes poets and refers to the controversy about her music being sold from under her “Tell me what are my words worth”. Not my favourite song of hers but very clever.

I'm a fan. I'm also a fan of the other women that she has inspired, some of whom are probably better songwriters / singers in some ways. I'm also a fan of the women who have inspired her.

I like that she stood up to Kanye West and Scooter Braun. I like that she took that DJ to court for assaulting her.

I love country music, so I like her early stuff, and I like seeing her musical development. I work as a steward at Glastonbury, and she was on the line-up with Lana Del Rey for 2020, and I was so looking forward to it. I think she is too big for Glastonbury at the moment!

She released two tremendous albums during Covid, some of those songs mean a lot to me.

I have incurable cancer, and I can't listen to 'Soon you'll get better' written when her Mom was ill, without crying for my DS. I write Mom, because I'm a Brummie by the way!

I sing at an open mic night which is mainly to encourage local young people to perform. I got everybody up to play and sing All too Well together at the end of the last one. The youngest there was 10, the oldest 60ish. Most people knew the song, and it was a joyful moment.

She has a wide ranging appeal because she seems genuine - there aren't too many skeletons tumbling out of the closet because she tells everyone everything. I think she's terrifyingly famous now and it must be quite frightening. She's at her peak and maximising on that while she can. Good on her.

But pre Covid, she was huge. In fact it delayed what's happening now. Also, she was meant to headline/legend at Glastonbury in 2020.

she is an excellent planner so I imagine Eras was in her head a long time ago.

I think this will be last worldwide stadium tour too. I'm sad I never saw her live but couldn't manage the stress of any live show after a major injury. Another thing her music helped me get through!

Ah, there we go. It's something women like so it is therefore of no value and shit.

Is that what you're trying to say?

Thank you everyone that answered my question

@BobnLen she clearly is 'musically good' but would it really matter if she wasn't? Her concerts/ albums and appearances appear to make a lot of people happy.

Also, how do you define 'musically good?' Amount of records sold? Or just music that you like?

She's not my favourite singer but she's clearly very talented and puts on a very good show.

Me and my partner (male) are going to see her later this year with a group of friends, male and female, and some of our teens. We all like her.

Ridiculous statement. Men do attend her concerts but it is majority women - maybe as high as 80%? But that doesn’t mean she isn’t good. Football crowds are majority men, no one suggests that isn’t an entertaining sport using this as backup.

I feel like her music naturally appeals more to (some) females, but males may enjoy it too (and some females might not enjoy it at all). Different acts have different fanbases, and that's ok.

There's a strong theory that Taylor is neurodivergent and many of her lyrics resonate immensely with ND fans. The songs Mastermind and Mirrorball strongly hint at this. People who are ND tend to obsess or hyperfocus on things they love and TS had such a massive fanbase because she's created an entire universe that her fans can live inside. It's comparable to "fandoms" for pop culture books, movies, series or video games. Those are typical areas for autistic/ADHD hyperfocus.

Taylor is unique in the sense that her albums and her tendency to drop easter eggs and secrets is a substitute community for ND people who may not be into the more typical geekier fandoms. Virtually no other music artist has achieved this. There is zero fandom lore surrounding Olivia Rodrigo, Adele or Beyonce. They're all incredible artists but they don't generate the same type of frenzy when they drop a new music video or manage to get all their fans making friendship bracelets at their concerts.

The only comparable "fandom" music artist could be Melanie Martinez who inspires the same type of hyperobsession amongst her fans. However she's never been as fully mainstream or popular as TS.

Blimey, I seem to have hit a nerve here...

OP, in answer to your original question...I didn't get it either. I thought she had a couple of fun pop songs that weren't really my thing but mainly I took no interest. And then a mate of mine (who shares much of my music taste) started talking about how much she loved TS's music, and I was curious!

She is a brilliant, creative, affecting, chameleon-like songwriter. I genuinely have been blown away by albums like Folklore and Evermore. Her voice is beautiful - she's not a belter but she has a gorgeous alto and a great range. And she seems like a genuinely decent (not perfect!) person.

I'm 50. I listen to everything from Sonic Youth to northern soul to chamber music. TS is hugely talented and I'm a big fan - much to my surprise!

If you were seriously upset and crying like some of them do about not being able to get eurovison tickets then I wouldn't get you ether, nothing to do with TS

Blimey, I seem to have hit a nerve here...

I think it was a twatty comment and people rightly questioned you.

@BobnLen must be all the hysterical women around.

I totally appreciate that TS is a talented artist, I don't really get the hype but there you go I'm not necessarily into mainstream music anyway..BUT where I work there is a colleague, nearly middle aged man, who is OBSESSED with TS to the point where he sneaks her name into every other sentence with whoever he's talking to and he's always got her music playing in the background somewhere. Now I don't mind music playing at all but being forced to listen to it every time I work with him, as well as him bleating on about her non stop, has made me build up a seething resentment against TS which is probably undeserved (and yes, I've told him I don't like it!!)

My teen DD was desperate to go so I've bought tickets to the June and August concerts in London, and wasted a lot of my life obtaining those tickets. We saw her last time she toured the UK and it was incredibly easy to get tickets. She is great in concert, puts on a fantastic show (the Eras Tour has been about three hours long) and there is such a feel good element to her shows. I felt the same at Harry Styles, it was just thousands of people thoroughly enjoying themselves and singing along, and the atmosphere was incredible.

There was a thread on here last year about how hard it was to get Taylor Swift tickets, and one poster piped up that they didn't know why people struggled to get tickets, as her husband had just bought tickets to see Severed Hand with no issues at all 😂

@TheTimeIsNowMaybeNow were they people you know crying or did you watch it somewhere as I haven't personally seen that.

I'm with you OP, I don't get the hype. She comes across quite fake to me. There's plenty of great performers & songwriters out there

Hmm. None of them are as good as TS though. I have her albums on a loop fortunately WFH so no colleagues to enrage!

Yes, there are, lots!
And...?

Taylor Swift didn't start out famous. She was fortunate that her parents supported her. She works hard, at her job.

As does Miley Cyrus, Beyonce, etc etc

Loads of artists are better than TS, in my opinion. You prefer TS. Both options are valid. This thread is more about trying to understand the hype/cult like following around her than just why folk enjoy her music.

Bit of Sunday night saxophone with TS singing if anyone fancies it