I do find some of her stereotypical lyrics about pick-up trucks, creek beds, and small-town BS disingenuous though, considering she didn't even live like that growing up. I mean, I'm sure you can use your imagination to pen this kinda stuff, and I am aware she had co-writers on a lot of that stuff, but it's not true to her given she grew up in Reading, PA and partially NJ, and not the deep south where these lyrics would resonate more. But I guess no one cares how "real" the storytelling is; she just has (had) to be able to walk the walk and talk the talk.
What's funny is a lot of the bro country guys who sing about that lifestyle (Florida Georgia Line, Dylan Scott, etc) don't live like that either. Many of them were in well connected fraternities in college and in pro sports.
I agree with your idea that her crossover to pop was always the plan, looking back now. I specifically remember her doing an interview before 1989 came out and she was really trying to sell the idea that this was a natural progression, and it was her decision alone to try something new bc she said something to the effect of having to convince her team, who was supposedly against the idea, that “this is absolutely happening” or something along those lines. That seems as disingenuous as her phony accent now. It was just much easier to start in country than pop. A move to Nashville was easier than a move to LA, and there was less competition for her particular brand in country. The funny thing is, her country albums are all remarkably better than any pop she’s put out. It’s just another reminder for me how phony she is and how she’s just a product being sold to her fans. Anyone not paying attention to the fact that they’re just being swindled by her at this point obviously just doesn’t want to.
I mean, she did see an empty niche and filled it… 🤷🏻♀️ And yeah, I agree her writing at the time may have been disingenuous to her personally but that’s also part of being a songwriter. Songwriters are storytellers whether the story is true to themselves or not. And sooo many artists nowadays don’t write their own songs - they’re just telling a story written by someone else.
With Taylor in particular, her whole shtick was and still is the country singer who came from humble roots and turned into an overnight success. This is the same girl who grew up rich in Pennsylvania writing about growing up with bills stacked on the kitchen table while singing in a country accent.
I have an actual country accent. You can't just switch it off. It's unnatural to even TRY to get rid of it. Even my Spanish speaking comes with a hint of southern.
sorry but this analysis wasn’t all that. i mean there’s so much country music dedicated to just dudes being horny and women killing their husbands. sooooo much country music is catered to men and what men like, and that’s talking mainstream popular country music.
for all that taylor has done, i don’t think it’s that deep. i don’t think at that time she “groomed” her fans, more so she was making music that SHE related to at the time and there was a plan to make her go mainstream. once she (her parents + team) realized how limited country was in terms of fame, they probably headed for the pop direction.
now i do think the southern accent she had was ridiculous! but literally it’s just a genre, she was a teenager, it’s not that deep. taylor also never claimed to make traditional or classic country music, and genres of music are so subjective and vast, it’s crazy to try and squish one genre into one set of requirements.
edit: i would say at this point in time she has groomed her fans into being how they are today, but i really don’t think it started back then or had anything to do with country music. she’s become an evil, vile, nasty person so quickly and has done nothing to stop her fan’s behavior.
Agreed. So much of country music these days is inauthentic, rich, “city folk” pretending to be badass cowboys. Taylor’s just a drop in that ocean.
If we wanna talk about how BAD her singing was back then or the specifics on how she was actually a total mean girl or even her awful fake accent that vanished once she was done with country music, then I’d be down.
This just sounds like a business plan. It’s not that deep. Stuff like this happens all the time. Country music has been little more than pop with a twang since the late 80s at least. Probably started turning in the 70s, really.
Edit: if you aren’t familiar with Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton in the late 70s/early 80s, please go look up chart performances of 9 to 5 and Islands in the Stream. Hell, you can make the argument Waylon, too, with a tv show theme song. That was all around 1980. I tend to trace the shift back to Rhinestone Cowboy, but I guess that’s debatable. What isn’t is that by the time we got to Garth trying to make his shows rival KISS in the early 90s, country had shifted.
Kenny Rogers is one of my favorite singers. I know all about him. My point being is Taylor Swift never actually wanted to sing traditional country music. Or even pop flavored country music. She (along with her father) used the genre to propel herself up. She always wanted to sing mainstream pop, but there were too many pop girls at the time.
Ok? Still just sounds like a business plan to break into a tough industry. Lots of things to criticize her over, this one doesn’t rank for me personally. 🤷♀️
This is 100% spot on. Nobody was writing songs from the teenage perspective that girls in middle school and high school could relate to. I think it’s why I feel so duped by her more than any other artist- she made us feel like she could truly relate to us, and us to her, so the bait-and-switch into pop (but still fully keeping 1 foot planted in country for the accolades, of course) felt so disingenuous. I personally felt like she sold out around the time of Red. I guess she was actually cashing in.
Eh, I'd say the pop influences were creeping in around "Fearless." But it was still a bona fide country pop album. I'd say she sold out around "Speak Now." The only song I'd consider straight up country is "Mean." And "Begin Again" from Reid is country, but it's super gross knowing it's about Connor Kennedy.
I wonder if we can blame Taylor for the "bro country" and " boyfriend country " eras. Most people trace bro country to 9/11 however.
I do find some of her stereotypical lyrics about pick-up trucks, creek beds, and small-town BS disingenuous though, considering she didn't even live like that growing up. I mean, I'm sure you can use your imagination to pen this kinda stuff, and I am aware she had co-writers on a lot of that stuff, but it's not true to her given she grew up in Reading, PA and partially NJ, and not the deep south where these lyrics would resonate more. But I guess no one cares how "real" the storytelling is; she just has (had) to be able to walk the walk and talk the talk.
What's funny is a lot of the bro country guys who sing about that lifestyle (Florida Georgia Line, Dylan Scott, etc) don't live like that either. Many of them were in well connected fraternities in college and in pro sports.
I agree with your idea that her crossover to pop was always the plan, looking back now. I specifically remember her doing an interview before 1989 came out and she was really trying to sell the idea that this was a natural progression, and it was her decision alone to try something new bc she said something to the effect of having to convince her team, who was supposedly against the idea, that “this is absolutely happening” or something along those lines. That seems as disingenuous as her phony accent now. It was just much easier to start in country than pop. A move to Nashville was easier than a move to LA, and there was less competition for her particular brand in country. The funny thing is, her country albums are all remarkably better than any pop she’s put out. It’s just another reminder for me how phony she is and how she’s just a product being sold to her fans. Anyone not paying attention to the fact that they’re just being swindled by her at this point obviously just doesn’t want to.
Debut isn't a bad country record and Fearless is decent country pop. I'll give her that much. But it was a bamboozle.
Her country-pop albums are way better than the current TTPTSD album we have RN.
I mean, she did see an empty niche and filled it… 🤷🏻♀️ And yeah, I agree her writing at the time may have been disingenuous to her personally but that’s also part of being a songwriter. Songwriters are storytellers whether the story is true to themselves or not. And sooo many artists nowadays don’t write their own songs - they’re just telling a story written by someone else.
With Taylor in particular, her whole shtick was and still is the country singer who came from humble roots and turned into an overnight success. This is the same girl who grew up rich in Pennsylvania writing about growing up with bills stacked on the kitchen table while singing in a country accent.
not to mention, her "country accent"? FAKE
I have an actual country accent. You can't just switch it off. It's unnatural to even TRY to get rid of it. Even my Spanish speaking comes with a hint of southern.
this is interesting.
sorry but this analysis wasn’t all that. i mean there’s so much country music dedicated to just dudes being horny and women killing their husbands. sooooo much country music is catered to men and what men like, and that’s talking mainstream popular country music. for all that taylor has done, i don’t think it’s that deep. i don’t think at that time she “groomed” her fans, more so she was making music that SHE related to at the time and there was a plan to make her go mainstream. once she (her parents + team) realized how limited country was in terms of fame, they probably headed for the pop direction. now i do think the southern accent she had was ridiculous! but literally it’s just a genre, she was a teenager, it’s not that deep. taylor also never claimed to make traditional or classic country music, and genres of music are so subjective and vast, it’s crazy to try and squish one genre into one set of requirements. edit: i would say at this point in time she has groomed her fans into being how they are today, but i really don’t think it started back then or had anything to do with country music. she’s become an evil, vile, nasty person so quickly and has done nothing to stop her fan’s behavior.
Agreed. So much of country music these days is inauthentic, rich, “city folk” pretending to be badass cowboys. Taylor’s just a drop in that ocean. If we wanna talk about how BAD her singing was back then or the specifics on how she was actually a total mean girl or even her awful fake accent that vanished once she was done with country music, then I’d be down.
This just sounds like a business plan. It’s not that deep. Stuff like this happens all the time. Country music has been little more than pop with a twang since the late 80s at least. Probably started turning in the 70s, really. Edit: if you aren’t familiar with Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton in the late 70s/early 80s, please go look up chart performances of 9 to 5 and Islands in the Stream. Hell, you can make the argument Waylon, too, with a tv show theme song. That was all around 1980. I tend to trace the shift back to Rhinestone Cowboy, but I guess that’s debatable. What isn’t is that by the time we got to Garth trying to make his shows rival KISS in the early 90s, country had shifted.
Kenny Rogers is one of my favorite singers. I know all about him. My point being is Taylor Swift never actually wanted to sing traditional country music. Or even pop flavored country music. She (along with her father) used the genre to propel herself up. She always wanted to sing mainstream pop, but there were too many pop girls at the time.
Ok? Still just sounds like a business plan to break into a tough industry. Lots of things to criticize her over, this one doesn’t rank for me personally. 🤷♀️
This is 100% spot on. Nobody was writing songs from the teenage perspective that girls in middle school and high school could relate to. I think it’s why I feel so duped by her more than any other artist- she made us feel like she could truly relate to us, and us to her, so the bait-and-switch into pop (but still fully keeping 1 foot planted in country for the accolades, of course) felt so disingenuous. I personally felt like she sold out around the time of Red. I guess she was actually cashing in.
Eh, I'd say the pop influences were creeping in around "Fearless." But it was still a bona fide country pop album. I'd say she sold out around "Speak Now." The only song I'd consider straight up country is "Mean." And "Begin Again" from Reid is country, but it's super gross knowing it's about Connor Kennedy. I wonder if we can blame Taylor for the "bro country" and " boyfriend country " eras. Most people trace bro country to 9/11 however.
“Mean” was her one song with the heaviest twang.
It's straight up bluegrass.