Is A Second
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- Опубликовано: 6 июн 2024
- Spoiler alert the answer is no.....in TODAY'S video we are discussing the recent 'hate train' that has popped up against Taylor Swift on social media. It's an inevitable mini and contained backlash that will do nothing to derail the current astronomical success of the world's biggest pop star. In this video I analyse and break down the rise of Taylor Swift as a cultural avatar, and why this current mini backlash is NOTHING like the events of 2016 and will have no lasting impact on her legacy.
SOURCES:
Taylor Swift & The Good Girl Trap, Anne Helen Peterson: annehelen.substack.com/p/tayl...
The meaning of the hysteria over Taylor Swift, The Economist: www.economist.com/culture/202...
2024 Power 100 List, Billboard: www.billboard.com/h/billboard...
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She’ll get backlash but I don’t think she’ll ever care again. Nothing can be as bad as 2016. Her sales are going up, she’s still breaking records a few viral tik toks and twitter threads aren’t going to change that.
The only reason 2016 debaccle happened is because Taylor let the hate get to her. All these online hate doesn't change the fact her fans listen to her 24/7. She just gotta shake of the hate and her success aint goin anywhere.
@@Flixtexexactly,she has been cancelled once already and does not seem like she will let that happen or get to her this time, otherwise we would have seen the matty healy thing be her undoing
I feel like the original Red era from 2012-2013 was even worse especially since the Gyllenhaal and 1D stans were loud and out in full force, people calling her (trigger warning) bulimic and anorexic, and the Facebook echo chamber where everyone's posts began to root back to a viral post bullying her for every decision she made did not help, especially ex-fans from her country music days who were neotraditional to the core. IMO, her collab with Zayn for the 50 Shades movie drowned out the 2016 bullying tirade for me.
@@Flixtexeasy for YOU to say you’ve never been a celebrity before. Plus she already wrote a song about shaking it off BUT she’s still allowed to struggle with it
@@Flixtexagreed, the general public really did not hate Taylor like she seems to believe based off what she’s said in articles. There were fs ppl commenting snake emojis and probably some extreme haters doing worse but the majority of people really did not have some vendetta against her, and were ready to stream her music as it continued to come out
As a life-long Lana fan who watched the Grammys live I was like "omg look at my girl Lana; she will never win a Grammy but Taylor just gave her her flowers in her acceptance speech you go gurl" aaaaand then i opened twitter and saw everyone saying Taylor was being a mean girl and i just couldn't wrap my head around it.
My sister told me that she thought Taylor was being mean because Lana looked uncomfortable but Lana looks like that 24/7
If taylor would have not brought lana with her on stage then people would have been calling her names for leaving Lana alone at the table when she was a part of the album. In situations like these I think that she can never win. It's just pure hatred without a reason and should be ignored
Lana replied saying there is no “bad blood”, and I wish people would focus on THAT.
Lana looked sad the whole night, she's not the kind of person to watch out for how she'd look on cameras. I think the thing to look at is if Lana was denouncing the whole "I looked sad vs. I was sad" thing
Omg people saying her announcing her album was selfish was the most annoying thing ever though. Some these people are snarky and disguise themselves as fans to be taken seriously
@@Spaceperson-xx8de lana looked how lana looks every day
@@summerchild_ exactly, people are being SO annoying right, I can't
Also, it was so blatantly CLEAR to me that she wanted to *_share_* the moment with Lana, for being an intrinsical part of Midnights, it bewilds me that someone would not see it! 🙄
I've been so mean to _Snow and the Beach_ and _Sweet Nothing_ , for being over sweet and out of touch, and escaping the album's proposal, but just because I'm seeing lots of people engage in this non sense, it's causing me to heel turn; out of pure despite I'm gonna *_C H A M P I O N_* "Snow on the Beach" as an unnegotiable part of _Midnights_ , because you know what? Sometimes people *do* spend their time late at night taken aback in awe of what just happened. It is an intrinsical part of life as well. Long live "Snow on the Beach" ✊🏻
now that the nfl season is over, i’m sure that the noise will quiet down
No next will be tons of exposure via: engagement rumors, fabricated fights, moving in/buying property together, baby talk, album noise, lyric analysis, joe alywn shade…. it’ll go on and on for a while 😂
No when the eras tour is over. It'll die over. Until she does a performance. Or go on a tv show.
Yeah showing up to a football game every couple weeks definitely increased her level of exposure and how present she was in the national conversation. Which I think she was conscious of and chose to do anyways, like she said in the TIME interview "I’m going to see him do what he loves, we’re showing up for each other, other people are there and we don’t care". Theoretically you'd think the attention would die down a bit post-football & awards season as she would be making less public appearances, especially with the tour going international she'd be outside the US and away from the traditional paparazzi hot spots. But with TTPD coming out if anything she'll likely be making more news so...
@@arianagrandefan934 there is like a year left on the tour
@RenSayLess true. You know the funny thing is. Elton john had the biggest grossing tour not long ago. He never got no attention. Swift got attention for it in USA. Here in UK. Never see her on the news. Unless its award shows.
I’m torn between “artist shouldn’t be expected to be activists” and “one word from her about current world events would help thousands”
Edit: I’m glad we’re having this discussion. You’re all really helping me figure out where I stand with this. Thank you. However, I’d like this to pivot away from just Taylor and Palestine and make it a broader discussion about what it means to have an audience, if that gives you a responsibility to protect, educate, and in extreme cases denounce them
But didn’t she cry and say she WANTED to be more vocal about political interests and issues in her miss Americana documentary ? What’s with the silence then?
I think people overestimate how much political influence she really has. Even during Lover she didn't really significantly accomplish anything politically. I think it's great when celebrities talk about these things but it's really not their job and many are very ignorant on current events. I think she should use her money and influence to open a charity foundation though.
No one has been able to tell me how her saying something about Palestine would change anything. It’s all hypothetical and illogical.
same… like in one sense why are we seeking political opinions from people who haven’t gone to college/are very unplugged from the everyday person’s life… but also, the power and potential impact she has is so huge that it’s almost wrong to not take a stance…. Idk
@@hibaabdulla6687No she didn't. That documentary was about her making herself clear which side she stands and getting rid of all the republican rumors
I think social media is not as powerful as some people think. Rational people could care less about unhinged babble on the internet. Has social media ever really canceled anybody?
Kanye went on a whole I love Hitler rant and he still has the no 1 album on Spotify.
Nobody ever truly gets cancelled on social media, especially if they already have a very strong existing fanbase, and everyone knows how strong the Swiftie fanbase is
You are right. Cancel culture doesn't work in general, not just in the case of Taylor. All the celebrities that were supposed to be 'canceled' on the internet are thriving well and good in their career even if social media hates them. Look at Kanye west (troublesome example I know but very fitting in this narrative)
Not really. Being cancelled can only happen if you want it. I mean look at JK Rowling, supposedly cancelled, she's doing perfectly fine.
DaBaby got canceled successfully for disgusting homophobic rants and tweets. The intense backlash made a lot of hip-hop festivals drop him from their rosters.
I would say the Dixie Chicks got cancelled. The fall out really did agent their career trajectory. However, you can always come back. I’m a Swiftie, but I cringe at some Swiftie comments. It reminds me of the blind following for Trump no matter what he does. I am in no way comparing TS to Trump, but I do want to point out the lack of critical thinking fans use on their behalf.
Swifties will be the ultimate downfall of Taylor. They’re 1000% the reason for most of the hate towards her. More people hate her fans than actually hate her.
Yup there are a few celebrities I have disliked that when I looked back objectively I was fairly neutral towards them but it was their fans that irritated me. Benedict cumberbatch/Sherlock fans for one.
@@minuishaq631true,I left kpop Fandom because of the fans, but I wanna be a swiftie forever:(
yes, i dont hate BTS but their fandom. well now i'm in the fandom that sometimes i hate too 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Yess!! And that is actually the reason why I don't call myself a swiftie, the fandom is so toxic and even disgusting sometimes with their behavior (don't even get me started on the parasocial part of it) I just don't want to be thrown in the same bag as those people
@@amayao601ugh u stole my words
the press is publishing articles about her every move, flooding our feeds daily.
the only way for her to avoid overexposure in this scenario is to not leave her house for a few months…. which isn’t very realistic
Well she did it before
Oh trust me she will in 2025
@@thomaszanesco9536 why 2025?
@@Joannachin but she shouldn't have to and she doesn't want to, as she said in her Time interview she'll "never get that time back"
@@edengallagher1044 I'm only saying we can't say it's unrealistic when she did it in reputation era/ pandemic/ midnights etc
Gosh, it's so refreshing to see people giving a more real version of Taylor and being critical of her. Sometimes I feel like I'm the odd one out who still loves Taylor, but wishes she did a lot of things differently. This video was super thoughtful and insightful and thank you for all your hard work with your videos!
You are not the only one. I enjoy her music; she overdo things when she already knows she has a solid fanbase
swifties calling joni mitchell a flop made me burst out laughing omg
Well she is to us non americans
@@kimkardashi-un2.051 Joni Mitchell is one of the most influential artists worldwide. Just because you're 12 and don't understand the history of popular music doesn't change that fact.
@@kimkardashi-un2.051 ??? I am non American, and Joni Mitchell is a LEGEND to me and to everyone I know, as she is to Taylor Swift. You should educate yourself.
JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE 12 IS SENDING ME LKSADFLJSDNLDFS@@annaphallactic
Omg whut. 😂 ugh.
In conclusion: 80% of the Taylor Swift problem comes from the brain dead Swifties
That's kind of mean, I would label them the Stan-Worshiping Swifties
True
Her sales too
absolutely
Even if 1 million swifties are actively causing drama on internet, its not even 0.5% of her fanbase.
No one hooks me into a video like Zack does:
“perhaps you’ve heard of un underground indie artist who’s been getting a lot of traction lately. Her name is Taylor Swift”
As a swiftie who wasn’t a fan in 2016, I find it absolutely fascinating and insightful to hear how fans who were true witnesses to Taylor’s “downfall” felt about it in comparison to how it’s looked back on by Taylor and swifties at large. The honesty is so appreciated and it feels like no one else wants to be this honest about the history of it all.
I’m in my 30s so I very much remember 2016, I agree with the large majority of this video, but the misogyny aspect was not really addressed fully. In 2016 there was a glee to some people’s “take down” of TS that was absolutely driven by misogyny.
@@jillsarah7356 1000%. Plus, on a personal level for her it seemed a lot of 'friends'/other celebrities who had been in her orbit in the 1989 era very much distanced themselves from her after the Kanye/Kim drama. And on a cultural level there were multiple opeds written about how Taylor Swift was manipulative/a liar, playing on a history of white women exploiting a victimhood narrative at the expense of black men. Obviously in retrospect, with the release of the full phone call recording she was vindicated. But at the time that was the predominant perception and she honestly made it worse by waiting so long to make her politics known.
Someone further down in the comments mentioned that they believed Dolly Parton has the right approach regarding politics and celebrity- and I agree. Dolly has never spoken of her political views, largely because she doesn’t believe she’s equipped to do so, but makes significant contributions to causes she believes in. Personally, I’m very much of the mindset that actions speak louder than words. People can make a much more substantive contribution by actually doing something as opposed to becoming just another of the millions of voices on social media- even if that voice is Taylor Swift. I think part of the problem is that we conflate activism with social media statements.
Taylor is good at many things, but social/political speech and analysis aren’t among them.
What she is good at is that, like Dolly, she can bring large groups of people together in the enjoyment of her music. From what I’ve heard, the atmosphere of these two artists concerts is very similar. People put aside what divides them and come together in a sense of friendship, community and joy. God knows we have far too little of that these days.
Let’s stop trying to make Taylor something she’s not and let her contribute by doing what she’s actually good at.
That being said, I think it’s a valid critique to say that Taylor should follow Dolly’s lead in making a difference through significant charitable contributions- whatever form those might take.
I will counter that that was very much Taylor’s approach earlier in her career. She made quite a few donations but rarely spoke up on politics. This was actually something she was heavily criticized for, especially when neonazis took advantage and began calling her their princess. That’s why Lover era became so political as she clarified her stances. Some well placed donations could help now but I highly doubt she’ll ever be able to not speak up without criticism again.
That’s her choice.
Taylor is free to make a different choice
An artist is a human being, entitled with opinions and thoughts just like everyone else. We are allowed to go online and talk about our political beliefs and be partisan in movements because they interfere on our everyday lives. An artist the size of Taylor Swift has a right, I’d argue even an obligation, to lead as an example for good, and in that, her political views are going to show. A person like her can influence positively and educate a full demographic of young people who, for lack of interest, wouldn’t even vote.
yeah, social media statements don’t have as much of an effect like putting your money where your mouth is or attending protests or something
She does tho. She could always do more and I'm a huge supporter of that, bc to me if you're rich/a celebrity donations and charity are the bare minimum expectation for the life they live.
The issue is that a lot of fans online not only want her to be really opinionated and activisty about specific causes and mirror their exact opinions, and she has never done that. Even lover era was very equality focused and vague.
Like people say they want her to be vocal, but they wouldnt if she didnt mirror their exact POV and word choice, which is impossible on a large scale. Especially with complicated world issues and a very defensive population on all sides.
I think one of the most discouraging aspects of Taylor is her merch and mass amount of different versions of her records.
Taylor’s merch is so expensive that if she were to source it ethically (she doesn’t) she would still make a profit… WHICH SHE DOESN’T EVEN NEED TO MAKE, she’s a billionaire.
She will never use up all her money by the time she dies so why can’t she just use it sensibly. The invisible hand theory does not work.
RIGHT!!!!! Idk how much control she has over the UMG merch store buuuut I find it hard to believe that Taylor can’t make some changes smh
The thing about this is that Taylor isn’t the only musician who does this. Look up artist who release multiple album variants. She’s actually lower on the list than you think. Olivia Rodrigo released a ton of variants of Sour and Guts. Big artist like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Paul McCartney and smaller indie bands release different pressings of their vinyl records all the time. It’s not a Taylor swift thing, it’s a record marketing thing.
@@dramaminedream22 and it’s also not even just a music industry thing either. Special and exclusive editions of books are becoming increasingly popular thanks to “BookTok,” so not only are there special companies like FairyLoot and Illumicrate pushing special editions with sprayed edges and exclusive covers, but mainstream publishers and retailers are cashing in too. Sarah J. Maas, one of the Queens of “Romantasy” (Fantasy Romance) had different bonus chapters available through different retailers, for a book that’s already $32 USD in hardcover. Promoting mass consumerism if they know a creator can move units is not uncommon across various industries.
The different versions is something many artists do so she needs to keep herself competitive. That's literally her job.
@@stelleldirhuh? What do you mean she needs to make herself competitive? Others have to stay competitive WITH Taylor. She doesn't need to release the multiple versions and variants. Because of this with the 1989TV release, it pushed back a lot of other artists pressings to the point stores were waiting 8-10 weeks past their initial delivery dates, and oversaturated the market with excess albums.
The 'overexposure' she experienced in 1989 era was completely different from what's happening right now. She was trying to control the narrative back then, performing on every show, doing thousands of interviews, and while it was hugely impactful, i guess that kinda led to her so-called downfall. The difference is she was overexposing herself back then, but now, she's so big that no matter what she does it becomes the next day's headline. She really doesn't post or even talk about anything besides her work, and she doesn't even promote her albums beyond that. So I think she's not 'overexposing' herself, she's just existing and gets attention because she's big. I'm not saying she doesn't enjoy it or seek it, but at this point it's inevitable.
I agree! Other than albums and her tour she is honestly not giving us much. She was attending a few football games, but jeeze, look what that did for her.
Well stated and I agree
Lets be real the 2016 hate train didn’t damage her career commercially i mean at the height of it she released idwlf which became a huge hit anticipation for her new music was wild and when she came back her comeback became one for the books
True, but I really think Taylor has always considered her success from a public and critical approval standpoint more than monetary success? Idk
I think that there can be similar amount of hate, criticism and backlash coming, but honestly I don’t think that Taylor is going to disappear like in 2016. I think that she had a lot of psychological and personal problems at the time that she doesn’t seem to have now (that problems led to her deciding to bend under back lash, imho)
What I find so fascinating is how little she does seem to care right now. She has written about the pain of her previous perceived cancellation extensively but she seems unconcerned about the possibility of overexposure. If she is embracing her mastermind persona, then own it. No more playing the victim. That would be disingenuous which is the real danger to her reputation.
Overexposure does not equates to cancellation. If she feels the need to continue creating her art and living her life, why should she feel concern when it's mostly the media and fandom compounding this level of overexposure. " If she is embracing her mastermind persona, then own it. No more playing the victim." Who labeled her a mastermind of all things? I don't see how this statement relates to the topic at hand. Just because she sings about being a mastermind regarding a relationship, who are we to assume she is calling herself a general mastermind. This is exactly what zach is talking about. People take her words and interactions out of context to form a narrative and therefore making Taylor bigger or more important than she actually is.
Bro I think. She carefully pre planned the victim card to get sympathy for her so that more people can listen to her.
She said that artists should own there music to get people on there side. Cool they should as they wrote and sang it. But she failed to acknowledge. That the label take most profits because the label gotta protect themselves just incase it doesn't work out as they do the promoting. And pay for studio. She never once thanked them for that. But went straight to the victim play . They wouldn't let me buy my music back. And scooter is a bully. She said his a bully. Yet gave no evidence when he bullied her. Not saying she's lying. I actually believe her. But girl back it up with something credible. Sure scooter is bad. He didn't let her sing the songs at awards. Which in all honesty just shows swift point. Also when she made that video on insta asking the fans for help and getting sympathy again. Low key marketing that was to get the streams up. This women is super smart.
She then gives that speech at billboards to maintain the sympathy. She said something like peoplw say i like her music but ermm. That judgment is reserved for women only. Disagree. How many times did MJ get hammered. People and media said his music genius is there. But his wierd etc etc.
Only swift knows. But I feel like she played the victim use it to maintain marketing to get more attraction on her. Thus more people listen to her.
I feel like she done all that to make as much money as possible. The owning your work and playing the victim I feel like is all about money for her. Remember she tried to get spotify to pay more for her music. Not knowing how spotify works behind the scenes. They pay a lot for licensing, for maintaining the servers at high quality. It's not cheap bro.
And now she's super rich. Which is ultimately what it's all about. She's calmed down on the victim marketing strategy.
Have a look at her face reaction when she said scooter has 300m reasons to forget about them. No coincidence she seems hurt right there. When bringing up the money. In reality. I hate to say it. But legally machine records and scooter did nothing wrong buying her music. I wish the music world wasn't like that. But it is.
Obviously i could be totally all wrong and misunderstood all of it. But only swift knows.
But saying all that. Her music has to be good. And she's getting a lot of streams constantly. Also has high views on yt for her music videos. And her sales are way ahead of number 2. Her chart success as well is super. So it's clear her music is top draw and lots of people enjoy it.
In no way do I mean what I said with any hate. So try not to take it the wrong way. Thank you and have a lovely day.
@@arianagrandefan934 "I think. She carefully pre planned the victim card to get sympathy for her so that more people can listen to her. " This says it all. I don't need to read the rest of your word vomit crap. You have proven Zach's point of this video which is people like you being a part of the problem and putting label on her and steer a certain narrative to make her seem to have more influence, power or authority than she actually does in reality.
@@Rebel-ct2pq no need tomuse harsh words bro. And to answer the two points you make. If you carried on reading. I did say that I could be wrong and that I've misunderstood it. And that only swift knows herself.
And the other point I made was. You gotta have good music. Her chart numbers, streams and yt views are high. So there is something good about her music. I did say I wasn't throwing no hate at all.
I get what you're saying. But I'm entitles to a opinion. And I spoke in a polite manner.
@@Rebel-ct2pq try reading it all what I said. I didn't wite any harsh or swear words. It won't hurt you to take a min to read it bro.
I think one of the reasons she doesn't speak up or address certain issues is that if she does it for one thing, people would expect her to do it for a million other things. She certainly can't do that, so I guess in hindsight, the backlash would be bigger than the positive outcome anyway.
I think this is why after her blatantly political stances on the songs "The Man" and "You Need To Calm Down" from _Lover_ (2019), Swift has been generally very low-profile politically. She clearly knew what happened to the (then) Dixie Chicks and Madonna in 2003, and she is mindful not to offend the people at iHeart Media (the former Clear Channel), a company who have supported her artistic efforts in recent years.
That was my thought when the Toby Keith discourse started popping up. She rarely posts about anybody or anything publicly. It's kind of sad actually but she can't. The second she opens that door she will be eviscerated the moment she misses acknowledging any single thing
When your nation's presidential candidate options are as terrible and embarrassing as Trump and Biden, I wouldn't want to speak out on politics either.
The interesting thing to me about the Celine Dion snub is even if Taylor knew about her diagnosis, she could have been instructed to not hug her on stage, apparently when a person with Stiff Person's disease is surprised, startled or moves suddenly it can cause muscle spasms or contractions. So they may have told her not to hug Celine for Celine's sake, and when it was quieter then she hugged her, if you look at the backstage photo, Taylor isn't tightly hugging her, just a more gentle hug
I think it was more than just not hugging her on stage. She sort of grabbed her award and rushed past. I think she was probably stressed and it wasn’t intentional but unfortunately perception plays a big role.
The thing for me about the Celine Dion “snub” was how obvious people were about feeling like they finally had something negative to say about Taylor as a person, they’ve been chomping at the bit to see her do something wrong so that they feel like they have a justification to hate her.
This. And it’s driven by misogyny
@@aleciahansen7859i will say if you look at it from other angles you can see that when she grabbed it she said thank you and grabbed her award i think that was what she should have done in that moment since she said thank you and took a picture with her later where there was less risk of injury
@@aleciahansen7859she took time to acknowledge, hug, and celebrate with every other person on stage. I don’t think she was trying to be purposely disrespectful, but the optics were bad. All she had to say was “thank you, Celine. It’s an honor to receive this award from you. I’m so glad you’re here tonight.” Anything along those lines.
I’m always here for the kiki and the delusions with album announcements and all, but this kind of video is precisely why you’re my favourite content creator ever and why I support you on Patreon. Thank you so much for all your hard work! ❤
There is a crazy over saturation of TSwift right now bc ppl know that anything Taylor is going to get a lot of attention which equals clicks without consideration that she’s a real person.
But yea, it appears that she’s in a healthier place and doesn’t care as much.
I feel like the multiple variants with different tracks on each vinyl, meaning you need to buy multiple copies to own the entire work, THAT is gonna be the thing that gets people to turn on Taylor - they can’t turn on her for being publicly in love or writing about her exes, we’re past that as a society - BUT her releasing multiple variants of an album with different tracks on each one, meaning in order to own the entire album you need to buy multiple copies - THAT is gonna be the thing that makes the public and fans turn on her. The whole “eat the rich” thing is gonna blow up in her face. She used to be relatable, and part of the whole 1989/Reputation backlash was that she was no longer relatable. She’s gone from that, overcome that, but she’s now a billionaire, and with marketing moves like this, I can see it backfiring.
You should see how many versions of albums kpop groups sell, now THAT is how you milk fans 😂
I also think it’s criminal that she is a billionaire without an official charity foundation. I agree you can’t be an ethical billionaire so at least give something back. I know I know she gives money to fans and bonuses to staff etc. NOT the same as a dedicated charity foundation. She should start a cancer charity foundation, her own mom has battled cancer for years. She needs to do more than just put music out there. It’s her responsibility to give some of that enormous wealth back to the world
@@KatelynDawnagreed
@@KatelynDawn Those billionaire foundations are often a scam. I personally think contributing to existing charities is much more efficient.
I think you are overastimating the percentage of people who buy physical copies of music. Not enough people care about CDs or Vinyls enough for it to really matter. I know so many swifties that do not own a single album of hers. I have a few CDs that i bought second hand and that is it.
Hmmm not sure if I agree with the “too big to fail” opinion. Sure, right now that is definitely true, however she will not be that big forever, just like Facebook once was the unquestioned number one in the world of social media.
And at that point I think she will be more vulnerable to critique again and maybe even get cancelled again.
I think it’s only a matter of time that her own fans will get off the “Taylor swift is the greatest human on earth” train and maybe even turn on her. I was a die hard panic at the disco fan, and I remember, how quickly the fandom that was quite big for an alternative band, especially after high hopes, dissolved. Fan accounts got spammed with hate or maybe just honest critique, until they eventually stopped posting or deleted their account. Patd still released an album and tour after this, but the hate train, that started relatively slowly, changed everything and they never got their popularity back until they disbanded.
Now I know Taylor is in entirely different spheres at that point but you can already see it in the comment sections, when Taylor nation posts about the different album variants. People are truly starting to be annnoyed by the cash grab and although I love Taylor, I do agree with them and can see how this critique might get louder kn the future if Taylor’s team does not change her strategies.
I didn’t even know about the Joni Mitchell discourse that is INSANEEEEEEE
There's very few singers AT ALL who could do justice to Joni's voice! She wasn't hating, she was stating a fact
@@juliagee8896 and if we’re all being serious Taylor, ESPECIALLY in 2012, was at the bottom of the list…!
People need to understand that Taylor can’t solve all your life problems neither the worlds problems
💯THIS💯
This !!!
and she doesn't owe anything to anyone
Other swifties make it so hard to be a swiftie
The "dissing" Celine thing really drove me nuts because the simplest explanation of Taylor's behavior is that she was surprised!! She just made history, and she forgot, in the moment, to acknowledge Celine. She's human.
100%
And the “bullying Lana” thing was so eyeroll-worthy, like REALLY?!? She was on the album too! If Taylor didn’t bring Lana to the stage, then people will still criticise and complain why she didn’t bring her 🙄😒😓
Right?! And seriously she acknowledged Celine immediately after when she turned away from the mic. SOOOO really what people were so up in arms about was literally the timing of whether she said something before or after her speech. Also, I kind of wonder how other presenters feel if like Mariah and Celine get a shout out in the winner's actual speech and others don't. Like what then if Lionel Richie presents an award and the person who gets it doesn't say "and thank you to Lionel Richie for handing this to me"? IDK... just seems to open up a can of worms. Like I thought that Miley's insistence that Mariah stand there was a little odd. I mean, not shading Miley. It didn't like bother me. I just was like... hm, seems a little awkward (shrug).
Midnight's being a subpar work, the olivia feud, Grammy's scandal, golden globes scandal, the Travis kelce - nfl drama, the billionaire issue, private jet discourse, album variants discourse, fan death at eras tour, mean girl speculation, Celine snub at Grammy's, taking Lana with her on Grammy stage discourse, politics issue, Palestine issue, the joe Alwyn drama + "she's using her fans to attack that poor guy"
All of these combined is severely affecting her public image.
But, I don't think she'll be cancelled. I mean yes she is getting a lot of backlash for a lot of things but I find it really hard to believe that she can be well and truly cancelled.
I'll even argue that the first "Taylor Swift is over party" didn't get her cancelled. Reputation was a complete commercial success.
However she's losing the critical acclaim she received during folklore era. Midnights was not up to the mark and many people who came for the folklore era are disappointed. Everything now truly depends on tortured poets album, if it's Midnights 2.0, she is going to completely lose her critical credibility, no matter whether it's commercially successful or not.
But i still have hope for it, hopefully she creates a really amazing album instead of chasing after commercial success only because at this point, their is not a single commercial milestone that she hasnt achieved.
Man idk I'm very skeptical of ttpd. Some things suggest that taylor is going in a new direction with that album but what if it's just another jack antonoff synth pop album. Also I hope that she delves into the lyrics and not make very sub par lyrics that some of midnights (standard edition) was filled with. I did not like the track list of ttpd, it seems so pretentious but I hope the songs are good
@@nupurmishra346 I like the track titles, they seem very tongue in cheek and fun (I can fix him (no really I can), my boy only breaks his favourite toys, but daddy I love him) and some also seem deep and heartbreaking (so long London being track 5, Clara bow is giving last great American dynasty type songwriting).
But jack's major involvement in the album and Midnight's commercial success and Grammy win makes me very sceptical that she isn't influenced by that sound. If the production is as bland as Midnights im gonna have a hard time going through the album.
But I still have hope. She mentioned that she's been focusing on songwriting a lot for this new album which gives me hope that she's going more singer songwriter route than whatever Midnights was.
Hopefully it's more would've,could've, should've and maroon rather than Bejeweled, vigilante shit, (truly the most awful songs on that album) question etc.
Bejeweled and Vigilante shit are great live so perfect for the Eras tour. @@Swiftiebooklover7
By Grammy scandal you mean not thanking Celine Dion? I think her move in selling multiple CDs / vinyls while being a billionaire is truly gonna backfire…
Midnights was "subpar" and "losing her critical acclaim"?? Yet it was one of her most critically acclaimed projects and won her the most prestigious award that an album can possibly get 😂 You guys really live in your own delusional bubble. Evermore tanked and got no grammys for a reason , NOBODY wants that sound again except you weirdos
At this point taylor isn't the problem the swifties are
Anti-Hero (Swifties' Version)
Couldn't agree more
Swifties are the reason Taylor Swift is getting hate
More so the Obsessive Stan Worshiping Swifties
Eh. I think both are in different ways.
Pop stars should stay in the pop star lane. They know about pop culture, and we shouldn't expect them to have Nobel Peace Prize quality thoughts.
I’m a swiftie but I’m currently on a break from her, it’s too much for me
Me too. Her billionaire status and lack of care for the environment are upsetting.
me too. i just can't defend someone i don't think even cares anymore
Me too 🥺
Me too, kind of having a love-hate relationship with her and glad that I never call myself a 😮swifty. I was just a fan and now I only a listener. I put so much effort defending her in 2016 but sorry not now
Same, mate. Ater reading her Person of the Year interview, i was like "cut the bullshit, girl, you're not a helpless victim and the whole 'poor me, no one understands me' is getting super tiring" and i decided to "detox" from her and her music. The million different variants of TTPD with half of the traclist scattered among different expensive "artifacts" just reinforced this idea. Her art is amazing, it literally saved my life, but she's not an amazing person and she wouldn't move a finger to save my life unless she can milk some cents from my dead body.
I think one of the main reasons why people are so against taylor being silent on political issues is the fact that she had previously voiced out her desire to speak up and “be on the right side of history” in miss americana. She went out of her way to make it known that she’s done being silent and I think her making it essentially the climax of the documentary is why people now hold her up to the standard of basically an activist. Had she just continued speaking up on social issues and not made it a huge focus of miss americana I think people wouldn’t expect her to use her voice and platform for politics as much.
That documentary was about her making it clear which side she is on, not an activist moment like yall think it is
@@GhostOfEvermore that's true but it makes sense why people expect her to continue being very vocal about her political views because of it being such a big moment in the documentary
Her little activism era was just a strategic move to make sure she won’t loose the most lucrative part of her fan base. She knows she needs to do the bare minimum to pacify her fans, a few lines about the lgbt community in one of her worst songs, an mv with a bunch of gay ppl in it and boom, they act like she threw the first brick at stonewall😂
The problem is no one really cared she "came out" as a democrat as much as she expected, it wasn't lucrative so she dropped the whole activist side. I'm telling you, if Democrat Taylor had made bigger headlines, she would be talking at the UN right now
Taylor’s fans are part of the reason she’s on top of the world and immune to cancellation. She is on the biggest tour of her life, seeing thousands of people who love her and her music scream and sing her lyrics back at her. That HAS to at least override some of the criticism she gets. And while she does deserve criticism for certain things, she doesn’t deserve outright hatred, and the hate towards her is extremely overblown, and it always has been.
I really appreciate this video right now, my entire tl and algorithm is chaos with people going to war about Taylor or non-stop coverage of every single thing she does while people project and exclaim all their thoughts and opinions about her and life.
However, she is currently in my country and I'm going to the show next week and I've NEVER seen my country act so excited and joyful to have an artist visit. Everyone here is elated and having fun, filling stadiums and sitting outside screaming the lyrics together. It's such a trip to realise what is real and tangible as opposed to what we experience living our lives online. Taylor is BELOVED and revered to a degree we can't even fully grasp, and when we look back at this peak in 20 years, we will be gagged at this legendary time. Enjoy it. It's truly once in a couple of lifetimes that you see something like this.
Taylor is definitely deciding not to consider overexposure because she has seen the reality. And the reality is, if she puts it out, we'll listen. We'll buy it. We will attend the shows. We will eat it all up, and she now knows that without a doubt. She's 34 and hitting her stride. What does she have to lose at this point? She's making music at a pace that most could never dream of replicating, and she's aware there is a massive appetite for it, so she's giving it to us. And while some of the Tayvis stans are freaking me out, I can't deny I don't love to see her dancing to her own legendary songs in the club with her Neanderthal.
Also I just have to say, there is literally NO way to be this relevant and talked about and not experience a backlash of some kind. She's the number 1 most famous person on Earth right now, and it's not even close. You don't be that without people also having unfavourable feelings towards you. That's what makes her bigger. If she was only ever loved by everyone at all times, she would be a step down on the fame ladder, which isn't a bad thing. Being at the top brings this kind of talk, and she is aware of this fact more than anyone.
Not sure about lost famous in the world rn. I'd give that to Cristiano ronaldo. The guy has the most insta followers. Way more then swift has. I thought swift would have a lot more followers then she has.
I'll disagree with swiftologist in one thing. He said swift level of fame we ain't seen ever. Or something like that. Bro as famous as swift is. MJ fame was super high. That man even the lowest parts of his career. Couldn't go anywhere in the world without getting mobbed. Even when he went out un announced. They guy would just make fromt page news for just going shopping. Shopping malls, theme parks and restaurants had to shut down for him to go there as he would just get mobbed. The guy couldn't go cinema so makes one in his ranch. The guy tries to disguise himself. Still gets noticed and causes a frenzy. Always had fans outside hotels even when he went somewhere unannounced. MJ would stand on stage for a minute and people would just faint at the site of him. Never seen that happen. Swift as famous as she is. And on this highest earning tour. That women can still go shopping and restaurants without getting mobbed or closing them down. Sure she'll get a crows on public events. Like awards and interviews in new York. But MJ level of fame. Was just something the world didn't see. Even in the amazon. No TV or radios there. Even they knew who MJ was.
@arianagrandefan934 you just wrote a novel to tell me 2 rapist men were more famous than taylor swift. seek help.
@@arianagrandefan934 Oh Dear, most of the people here are so very young. And Zack is also, for sure, very young. I was a kid when Elvis hit, a teenager when The Beatles hit, past 30 when MJ was at his peak and even published about him. MJ was not Beatles level although close. Taylor might be approaching The Beatles' level of fame, or she may have shot past it. But this is hard to know in the moment it is happening. We simply did not have the intense global level of electronic media we have today back then, and still The Beatles were the topic of every dinner table conversation with old and young at the same table. We have to realize that Lennon's "We are bigger than Jesus" was not an exaggeration at the time. He was self deprecating and satirical in that moment although many did not get it at all. Taylor may yet exceed The Beatles, Marilyn Monroe AND Princess Diana and perhaps she has, but to repeat, we just can't see it in the midst of this furor. I have a pretty clear idea of what it will look like being the ancient crone that I am. Relating insta followers to most famous in the world is myopic to the point of embarrassing. I don't even know who that person you mentioned above is. Is he a musician? Do you really think 8 billion people turn their heads at once on insta? Lord. I am not going to look up the stats. You do that and then sit down and contemplate what it took for the whole world to notice before the internets. The thing is us old crones studied history, science, literature and the other arts, so we knew what had come before to a degree. I can't really imagine what it was like to experience life during WWII, but I know darn near everyone, even in the deserts and jungles, knew who Hitler was and knew war was everywhere all at once and we didn't even have tv. We did have radio and film though. Recalibrate to that standard and we can talk again.
@anomardolphin MJ definitely reached and just passes beatles fame. Lennon could walk out in the street. Sure some people would approach him. But it wasn't like MJ level of fame. That guy mobbed where ever he went. Shopping malls had to be closed down. Cause they'll security wouldn't be able to handle. Even when his career was low. With no sales. No music releasing. Still where ever the guy went. Always got mobbed. I'll agree with ya. Its hard to see when someone gets to that level of fame. But when it happens it's clear to see MJ was one of the most famous people ever period. Even when MJ hit big with thriller. There was no internet then. I know back then radio and the papers were like the Internet of today. Still MJ become the worlds most famous and got mobbed where he went. The only other person who got MJ level of fame is Elvis. Then two got mobbed were ever they went. Taylor rn as good as she is. And on a roll with highest tour ever. Well done to her. But she's getting a lot of news US. Here in UK. She doesn't. She don't make the headlines like MJ would. MJ comes to London. It's on news, makes front page and bullet ins. Even after his peak in the 00s. MJ goes Shopping at Harrods or hemleys etc. He hits the news and crowds gather where ever he goes. The man had crowds at his hotel all day long as well. And most the time they had to shut the shops and malls down. Security had to be warned. MJ wants to come.
Taylor with all due respect. You can see just last year she was out in NYC with her girl mates. Casually just walking around. MJ could never do that. Taylor fame ain't MJ level of fame. Mark my words. When her tour is over. Watch her go chill casually around with no bodyguards and not get mobbed. Her extra bit of fame now. Is just generated by the biggest grossing tour ever. Like i said she can casually go and not get mobbed. MJ could never do that. MJ could make news headlines out of nothing. I rarely see swift on the news. Unless it's about awards. Sure zach and a good portion if her fans are young. But people still know who MJ is. You only have to se some yt videos of seeing MJ where ever he went he git mobbed. To see why his one of the most famous people ever period. Have a nice day bro.
@@arianagrandefan934
Of course, MJ was one of the most famous people at one point. But . . .Ever. Period. No way.
Okay, I am not going to deal with all of this, but being mobbed in the street is certainly NEITHER THE BEST NOR ONLY WAY to determine fame.
However, Lennon obviously could not walk on the street as he was assassinated in the entrance to his building many years after The Beatles were no more.
In the day, the Beatles were mobbed everywhere they went. The fans were just as, if not more than, out of control. The Beatles made at least two films about how they had to run from all the crazed people who tried to get to them.
Taylor is ALWAYS surrounded by security. You may not see it in pictures, but it is there and very close if you care to look. Travis has even mentioned that he is aware he is providing a last line of security which, in his opinion, she desperately needs.
Reporting in the UK is necessarily different from the USA.
I repeat: your observations are ahistorical and emphasize what you have seen in your time frame and from your viewpoint.
This is solipsistic thinking.
History is the antidote to this sort of thinking.
One can point to concrete measures of fame with historical data. For example, even in the 1980s, Marilyn Monroe's picture was the most circulated on the planet. I was amazed when I was taught this in, yes, a college classroom. USA soldiers carried a MM flag in the first Gulf War. You can still buy one on Amazon.
Sweet summer children, please look further than your backyard for information.
What an impressive young man you are! Your eloquence, ability to critique, timing and cadence is superb. It’s like being immersed in a delightful world of words. Your love for the English language is so apparent and I find you an absolute pleasure to listen to. ❤
Wow, thank you!
You’re very welcome and mean it most sincerely. Your analysis takes time and consideration and can spark many a debate, as it should. I just wanted to take a moment to recognize and celebrate your personal talent in creating the content and executing delivery. The world’s your oyster and wishing you much success in the journalistic field. You will go far ❤
I also really love his delicate make up!
Thank you for your content! This feels like another chapter in an audiobook about the cultural impact of Taylor Swift, I hope that one day you compile all of your commentary in book form!
thank you so much! I would LOVE to write a book
I hope someone on Taylor’s team is very aware of your thoughtful videos. I feel like you bring such a balance to all your analyses, and I feel like they might find it helpful. Anyway, agree with everything you said Zach!
My biggest beef with Taylor is that she is a billionaire without an official charity foundation. I agree you can’t be an ethical billionaire so at least give something back. I know I know she gives money to fans and bonuses to staff etc. NOT the same as a dedicated charity foundation. She should start a cancer charity foundation, her own mom has battled cancer for years. She needs to do more than just put music out there. It’s her responsibility to give some of that enormous wealth back to the world, as it is for anyone with enormous wealth. Just cuz she is Taylor Swift doesn’t mean she is immune.
I agree but I personally am waiting until she has finished the tour to pass judgment. Give her time to set the foundation up. These things,if done right, take time but yeah if this time next year she hasn't done anything I will judge.
@@minuishaq631she has had a career for almost 20 years, but suddenly this one year makes a difference? Eras Tour is wildly successful, but she still had a net worth of 350 million beforehand. Plenty to set up a foundation, IF SHE WANTED. Oh wait, but we would just do it because now people start to speak up about it 😂
Girl she's been donating?? She donated to every food bank in the city she has shows at?
She does a lot of donations every year and has been one of the celebrities who donate most for years. For example during eras tour she donated to food bank of each tour ereas .Why is it granted for her to make a foundation just because she is rich. She is already giving a lot of good things back than you do.I wonder how much donation you make before you forces to someone.
@@euginechang9745wondering if a normal, every day person donates vs if Taylor Swift donates are not the same. She has SO MUCH MONEY that she should donate a lot of it. Normal people can’t afford to donate a lot of money. It seems you’re putting the responsibility on normal people vs a billionaire.
Lol the worst thing for Taylor's reputation are actually the crazy cult fans. She'll get the backlash when people start noticing the amount of work put into nurturing that level of parasocial and how dangerous that could be for a person to experience. Pero bueno...
Yep
I remeber being ashamed of listening to TS specifically because I didn't want to be associated with that type of fan
Taylor Swift is the biggest water cooler convo currently. We all want to be part of it. We choose how our opinions will reflect on us
Ooh def been waiting for ur take on this. I’ve actually been wondering about it
I think an interesting part of this conversation is how much the swiftie has become a character in and of itself. Like, I interact with a lot of Taylor Swift haters on a day to day basis (I teach middle school boys) and when I ask them why they say things like “she’s makes white girl music,” to “she sings about boyfriends,” to “her fans are so intense.” Only the last one makes sense to me. That also seems to be the dads, chads, and brads problem with her. She of course is not putting the camera on herself, but swifties so 5 seconds of her and next thing we know, sport headlines the next day are about what Taylor wore to the game. Media knows they can get a garenteed click from swifties just by asking a celeb what their fav taylor swift song is or by disecting a meaningless interaction with her. And swifties are feeding into it. It’s not necessarily bad - it keeps the Taylor machine running with Taylor even lifting a finger, but it also pisses people off when an Emma Stone interview about her movie is being asked about Taylor Swift - hell, I’m annoyed at it too a bit. Anyway, TL;DR: swifties are a big but often neglected part of the conversation around Taylor fatigue.
Your point about social media algorithms is great. If you asked a random person at the grocery store what they think of Taylor Swift, they would either be neutral or say they like her. She's still having a lot of success despite a lot of people being tired of her. This is very similar to the 1989 era where I remember she was everywhere and some people in my life were annoyed by it but she was still at the top of her game.
Just realized how amazing it is that Reputation will again follow her biggest phase to date, a time of over exposure and then backlash. Damn, it’s kind of perfect.
What if I told you none of it was accidental
do those 14 year olds know that the music industry wasn’t dependent on streams back in the day, and that joni mitchell has had an influence on so many artists including taylor? to be fair i think this is a problem with most pop fandoms online nowadays. they care more about sales and popularity than the actual craft that goes into songwriting
i love how ur a swiftie but dont worship her every move
Really been looking forward to hear your take🥹❣️
Geez Zach, I want to listen to you but it's almost 1am here in Sydney and my eyes are slowly closing. Will have to listen to your wise and thoughtful content when I get up in the morning.
Your description of a “market correction” is very astute. Swifties tend to credit Taylor for so many things and the media just runs with this narrative, frankly it’s insulting to a lot of POC artists whose fandoms are usually ignored. I think this contributes to the current backlash too. For example, the current physical music resurgence isn’t because of Taylor it’s actually led by Kpop releases in the US. Just look at the physicals top ten for the end of the year on Billboard. All that started because BTS fans would call retailers to ask them to stock their albums until they did. First BTS albums got stocked at Target and Walmart leading them to top the charts and that opened the door to other groups. BTS fans have been complaining about Ticketmaster for YEARS and trying to get the attention of regulators but nothing gets done until Taylor goes on tour. The practice of fan made goods exchanged on tour or “freebies” is actually a Kpop thing and yet it gets written about as a cultural phenomenon unique to Swifties. There’s actually a lot of crossover between BTS fans and Taylor fans so I’m not surprised these ideas evolved to her shows. It’s just wild to suddenly see them being written about in the styles sections of newspapers next to Bushwick’s newest sensation “the taco”
"Media just runs with this narrative."
this is evident on social media platforms like Facebook where it's so easy to come across a Taylor‐related article saying something exaggerated. The keywords are usually "fans + believe, shocked, or think" which basically just fuels the "taylor fans are a cult" opinion formed by the general public that don't know much about Taylor. (So they tend to judge her based on their impression of the rowdy Twitter swifties, who doesn't even represent the whole fantom becuase we are literally separated into smaller groups that don't exactly agree with each other (ie. Gaylors, Haylors...)
@@GhostOfEvermore I’m talking about all the physical sales of Kpop groups in the US. I used BTS because they ushered in the wave. In 2023, of the top 10 most biggest selling physicals artists, half were Kpop groups, within the top 15, even more were Kpop artists. Yes, Taylor by herself is selling tons of albums but that doesn’t mean other US artists are doing the same. In fact, not many US artists sell physicals at all. By comparison when BTS did it, other Kpop groups followed suit. BTS is on military hiatus but still sold 250,000 units in the US in 2023 from their old catalog. I’m not talking about taking credit for “firsts” or anything like that, but rather what the video speaks to regarding how Taylor makes moves to benefit herself alone and yet is made to represent “the industry”. I never said anything about BTS’ sound or kpop’s musical influences. But I will stick to the freebie culture being something Swifties co-opted from Kpop fans. That’s been going for decades at Kpop shows. Bracelets specifically is something I received at BTS shows many years back. This is fine, things evolve and are adapted but like Kpop took American music and maximalized it. It would be cool if we could talk about it.
btw Im amazed at how kpop fell off suddenly, it's old news already... nobody is talking about it, all accounts I followed stopped updating... I was a kpopper in 2015 and now it's such a huge differance. kpop is just dead
One criticism i think is completely missing the mark is the palestine conflict criticism.
If people actually read the history of Israel Palestine issue, they'll realize how complex it actually is. Actual politicians have been assassinated on both sides just for trying to come up with a solution. It is extremely naive to think a post by Taylor Swift is going to do anything for this conflict. Only someone who considers the Israel Palestine conflict as a pop culture event rather than a world history event will say something as stupid as that. The only thing her posting about it can do is make more people side with palestine on social media- but that barely matters since the sentiment on social media is pro palestine anyways. And social media barely has any effect on real ground level issues. Look at the result of Ukraine Russia war. The whole world was pro ukraine. What did it accomplish? Russia still successfully attacked and destroyed ukraine and nobody cares anymore even though Ukrainian people are still suffering.
Taylor is also at fault. She rebranded herself as an activist during the lover era but barely speaks out on anything. Of course peoole will then be mad at her hypocrisy. I would've preferred if she'd stayed apolitical. Atleast you could've said that she stuck to her beliefs snd didnt give into public pressure. Now it just seems like she changes her opinion on the basis of what will get her more goodwill from the public. Hence the activist rebrand in lover era to sell more albums.
Yeah, the people who care about the genocide have already known and they don't need a ig post from Taylor lmao, and the people who still don't know about it clearly don't care enough or just actively avoiding it
I was at a hardware store the other day and was baffled when they played IION. The locals should not be hearing ‘blue dress on a boat’ but I guess that’s just how big her music is 😅 we really do live in the people’s republic of Taylor Swift
Thart song was released as a single. Radio stations are going to play it. Did you not realize this??
@@Karensmusic292 what I meant was a song like IION is so packed with lore it feels like a ‘hidden gem’ type of song that only swifties can appreciate, but because of her massive popularity, she can turn a VAULT song into a radio hit. Not every artist can do that, did you not realize this??
"Blue dress on a boat" can hold different imagery and meanings to different people though. I know when I first heard it, I imagined a boat deck full of people waving with a woman wearing a blue dress standing out the most to the "narrator". It's not a direct hit at something so specific in the lore though like Megan Thee Stallion's Hiss song with the "mad at Megan's Law" phrase.
Glad to finally catch a premiere!
I absolutely love your commentary. It's brilliant ❤
So excited for this! Love your videos you always have some great insight and this is something people keep talking about lately although the hate is nothing compared to the success imo. Can't wait to hear your thoughts
Just wanna say you’ve become one of my favorite creators ❤
I think her overexposure, greed and some swifties behavior (like harassing that poor girl Emma) are the reason so many other fans are taking a step back from her. Also not being able to say one not positive think without being bombarded by swifties make people wanna criticize her even more
UGH. Perfectly put as always. i was so torn to see the announcement of the new album! On one hand I'm excited and really hope that the folklore songwriting is back, on the other i felt like it was a poor choice to announce in that setting, and the explanation she gave in Tokyo didnt make me feel better about it. I am so tired of having the conversations with friends who hate her based on all the BS and feeling like we either have to defend her every move or hide that we love her.
Always love hearing your analysis and thoughts!!
Omg yesssss I’ve been needing a swiftologist take on this!
I was just thinking about the. Love your videos, would you ever do one on how AI music generation will impact the music industry?
Absolutely outstanding analysis Zach! I discovered your channel recently and have just been devouring it- thanks so much for being willing to provide the HILARITY and frivolity and ALSO intelligent critical analysis. We need more of this in cultural discourse. Love it please keep it up!
I don't engage in a lot of Taylor-related content: I listen to her music here and there, watch this channel for entertainment and sometimes use her as an avatar (wonderful explanation btw). The AI stuff has really gotten me into that topic, cyber security, etc.
What really rubbed me the wrong way was the presentation of the Superbowl in the most popular national news program here in Germany: of the 16 minute airtime, 2 minutes were spent on the event. All is fine. However, at least half of the time was spent talking about Tayvis. I'm talking about a program with high quality journalism and credibility turning into a gossip-site. That's scary af. None of this is on Taylor, but the lack of critique and unnecessary coverage when affordable, good journalism is hard to come by genuinely scares me.
Thanks for reading, I really just wanted to vent.
i agree not enough ppl are talking abt how that is contributing to the decline in quality journalism & news and honestly contributing to the collective brain rot
@@GhostOfEvermore I thought so too, but numbers state differently. In Germany over 2 million ppl watched the game live on TV in the middle of the night. That's not including the ones watching it somewhere illegally on the Internet or the ones who couldn't watch it live due to the time difference.
It made sense for the news channel to include the Superbowl in their program, but the Tayvis montage had absolutely no business being there.
I LOVE your videos and your perspective, it always gets me thinking about things from different angles.
I'm so glad!
This definitely helped the eras hangover here in Melbourne this morning!!! Love you Zach xxxxx
So glad! Hope you had the best time everrrrr
Oh I’ve been waiting for your take in this. As always, you articulate all my thoughts in the most eloquent way. Thanks as always, Zach!
The Kelce family is very philanthropic. I’m curious to see what impact they have on Taylor as time goes on.
If you don't mind could you explain what philanthropic means (English is not my first language and there is not a clear explanation on Google :c)
@@amayao601 it means that they are a family that helps and cares about the other without having something in exchange.
For example a philanthropist will give food to the homeless or toys to the orphans.
I hope it helps you to understand it better, English is not my first language either haha but we do have the same word in Spanish 😊 have a nice day ✨
Omg now I get it thank you so much!! ;)
Thing is Taylor has done that for years most of it not rapported and she doesn't really publish a lot of it. It turns up years afterwards.
taylor has always been extremely philanthropic… one of the celebrities that donates the most to a plethora of causes. to attribute any of her philanthropy to her boyfriend is… something
You’re so right about what you engage with changing what you see. I used to comment on things that upset me wayyy to much then I decided to just stop watching something as soon as I started to feel irritated and boom I haven’t seen anything irritating in months 🥳
I can’t lie, even as a long time swiftie I’m getting tired of the Taylor mania too, and I know at least 50% of that fatigue is because of the swiftie community. I’ve become very selective about the Taylor related communities I take part in because I find a lot of the fandom extremely annoying, lol. I definitely think she’s over exposed now. And truthfully, even though I was freaking out about the album announcement at the Grammy’s I can completely get why people are annoyed by it and even looking back at it now I don’t think it was the best time for her to announce it then. Her speech for best pop vocal was so odd, she said something about the Academy voting this way because of the fans but we all know the Grammy’s isn’t about that??
She always has to include something about the fans. 🙄 Even when they don’t affect the Grammys. It was weird.
@@LaurenLaass I solely think it was because of the album announcement because it makes no sense in the context of the Grammy’s
you hit the nail on the head again, Zach! I was just thinking about it in lately and you answered my prayers!! (or maybe the brains of swiftologists are just synced? who knows)
We all know that she won‘t be able to keep this level for too long. The buzz will be over after the Eras tour. That is why she is capitalising and making as much money as possible right now.
It’s her fans that really bother ppl and makes Taylor exhausting. The way they interact with her art and anything she creates is unhealthy and legit crazy.
It seems like the narrative Taylor Swift is currently trying to create is that she, billionaire and biggest pop star ever, was being silenced by her upstart boyfriend. Playing the victim when there is such a huge power imbalance in your relationship feels gross to me.
JOE ALWYN DEFENDERS OUTTTT OF MY COMMENT SECTION
Just commenting to say this video is so needed and so fantastic. So many swifties and non swifties need to watch this. Thank you for having such fair and thorough discussions!
Great video, Zack I always like every video before I even watch it because I know it’s going to be great! As a millennial, Swifty and Swifty since day one, I like hearing your nuances and actual critical evaluation of Taylor and her career. I love Taylor and her music, but I’m also getting Taylor fatigue and I think part of that Has to do with everyone profiting off of her like that NFL
We need a Guts tour review! Or your thoughts on the many different editions of TTPD?
I think that it is healthy to have discourse about Taylor, and for there to be more than just glowing positivity. But, I feel like all of the worthwhile conversations get lost in the pure brain dead hateration. Some of the things she gets blow back for are worthwhile, but then there are just so many other things that are stupid, like the NFL or Lana at the Grammys.
Yes! Ive been thinking about this for some time already fr
Announcing the new album should of been saved for Tokyo as they are her actual fans, have spent a ton of money and deserve to feel special that they got to attend a concert where a new album got announced. That's a way to thank the fans
The showing things to rile you up & entice you to engage, even in a negative way, really hit me, in how true that is & how it's easy to get sucked into that.
With swifties and critique I think a lot of the over sensitivity comes from how at the start of the career almost all the hate towards Taylor was so over the top for what she was being critiqued for.
Like she'd be criticised for being shocked when she won award or for writing songs about guy or for people assuming only white cishet girls like her music. A lot of us felt we had to be militant defenders because it was so OOT at times. We're seeing hints of it again like with the Celine thing or her being excited at football games or award shows. It's exhausting.
But the issue with this is that militant defending is still there when she has real critique. Like the jet usage (i understand she can't fly commercial but she can still cut how much she uses her plane) or how her feminism is not all that intersectional or the issues with merch and multiple variants.
And that has also been mixed with toxic stan culture where anyone who says anything bad should be torn to shreds and with swifties in particular it's turned into this absolutely horrendous ball of not being able to have reasoned criticisms of her/her music.
It's created this image where she cannot have a single bad word said against her and that creates resentment. And that is really going to be what will affect Taylor's image more than anything else.
I might have commented something similar on a different video but that's why I think cultural studies (including all of media and art and literature in this argument) are so interesting because media and the reception of media always mirrors so much about society. It's so fascinating
Very thought out and balanced take, really enjoyed this video. Would also love to see a video on artists fan base taking on their favs personalities.... very interesting conversation to have. ❤
I really love your analyses. Swifties, generally speaking, should really learn how to deal with criticism. When I, a feminist scholar, mildly criticized Taylor for the way her rerecording narrative kind of shifted, I was called a misogynist. I still think Taylor’s Version is iconic for her, but I don’t like how she seemed yo have stopped addressing the shadiness of the industry and contracts as the years have gone by, probably for personal profit.
I have been getting pretty annoyed with all the different versions of the CDs. But then I thought to myself, why are you mad? Because if I’m being completely honest, the additional tracks have not blown me away so far 💀 there’s hasn’t been a track that I listened to months after when it’s finally on streaming and thought to myself: I should have listened to this IMMEDIATELY. I haven’t spent a cent on any of the versions of anything because I would like to be a responsible adult that owns a house soon and in THIS ECONOMY??? I simply cannot afford to buy ten thousand versions of the same thing for a song that didn’t blow me away. I still stream and support once it’s available for everyone though 😂❤️
This has been me and what I'm saying! I only ever buy standard versions of albums and stream the bonuses and extras if I feel like it. Been this way ever since the debut editions where there was a like a pop mix of Teardrops for one album version, an extended version with A Perfectly Good Heart, and Beautiful Eyes EP tracks fillers from debut performances. If it's not part of the core album, then it just didn't make the cut for the album's universe. I'll only buy bonus tracks if I can see them as something I will listen to repeatedly (Would've Could've Should've, I Can See You, I Bet You Think About Me etc.)
I wish more people had this self-reflection. I think most people get mad because they can because they have a legitimate reason. The irony is that they have the control to buy these variants or not. They are mad that their FOMO is making them buy them or driving them crazy they can’t. If music can you feel this deranged, there are bigger problems than Taylor Swift .
@@Veronik_23 It's definitely overconsumption symptoms since covid. Everyone feels entitled to have their opinion heard or have their way now. I've noticed it's not just around FOMO in being part of musical concerts, but something as miniscule as traveling for vacation or new restaurants opening. People feel like they HAVE to be there.
i just love your analysis of things, it's just so good and well-thought!!! like you just blow my mind every time and even though i don't listen to taylor anymore, i come back to hear what you have to say
ahhh out of context but where can i find u at the show!! really wanna see u in person
I understand people being opposed to Taylor announcing her album at the Grammys, but I do think it's silly how there was no similar backlash for Kacey Musgraves announcing her album in a Grammy commercial, or Dua & SZA premiering new songs in performances. Like is it really that different?
It is when you’re Taylor swift… do you think anyone cares about Kacey Musgraves new album? Or anyone’s performance after she announced that? And the way she cheekily added that she was gonna go backstage and post it. Now everyone’s eyeballs are on her social media instead of the Grammys. I think she understands the kind of power she has over the media cycle. It was inconsiderate to everyone else there.
or beyonce's at the super bowl
@@byyouthgonewild it was right before a commercial break so what's the problem?
13:47
YES, THANK YOU!
during the grammys i was on a music forum discussing (mostly lana and some taylor fans), and i remember commenting about how that was a strange place to announce and was indirectly called a hater because of it. like, don't get my wrong, i am incredibly happy to hear this news, but it really felt like she was taking an event that was made to celebrate all music artists and made it about herself. i apologized after because i thought maybe i was in the wrong for thinking that, but now i realize that for most people it WAS weird.
Thank you! I said the same thing and got attacked online. It just felt tone deaf to me. The night wasn't just about her and she made it about her. She had to know all anyone was gonna talk about was her album and forget everyone else in the room. I just hate how everyone still treats her like a teenage girl who needs protecting. She's a grown woman. She'll be fine with a bit of criticism.
For me it wasn't just that, but her entire speech before it too. First she did a bit of a brag that it's her 13th Grammy, then acknowledged that she probably only won because of her fanbase, and then announced the album. Every single one of those had me like 🙄
Have you considering doing video essays on other societal issues in addition to Taylor? I would absolutely love it.
16:05 you should definitely make a video about this, its so interesting. I've been in a lot of fandoms for very different artists and it's always fascinated me how much fandoms will reflect the artist they follow.
I think it's simply the fact that everyone loves an underdog... The scooter braun situation painted her in a light of victimhood; and it resonated. Her current status is far too powerful and nonchalant to be likeable, especially in an increasingly harsh and serious geopolitical environment. I find her less and less graceful and more childlike
People are forgiving of extreme power if they, rightly or wrongly, perceive extreme talent (e.g. Elon Musk). Contrasting her power with the quality of her recent music leaves one perplexed. This level of stardom is belated, something she was deserving of during Red/1989 and is only now receiving due to the Eras Tour/re-recordings. Those who try to reconcile her stardom through the lense of Midnights will predictably feel a sense of injustice. This "you don't deserve it" quip is harder to shake the bigger she gets.
To me it seems like Taylor has decided she wants to live her life for herself and her happiness. She has spent her whole life worrying about how she is perceived. I’d say that’s been very stressful. I think she sees she’s 34 years old and wants to be happy and not worry so much about perception. I think she’s entitled. She’s a human. She ought to be able to be happy and enjoy her life.
I watched a lot of your videos but this has to be my favourite yet. If I had a hat I would bow it to you.Incredibly thoughtful, well written and presented. Bravo, Zach, Bravo
Thank you so much!
i love your videos in general but this one in particular was so refreshing. i really enjoyed how you explored the many different critiques of taylor and the popular defenses of swifties in an objective way. much love and appreciation to you always!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Her fans hating on every other artist are doing her no favors. They’re hating on SZA, Beyonce, Lana Del Rey and others and it makes Taylor look really bad.
I’m excited to hear your take on this issue. I do know that anything is possible, but Miss Swift controls her narrative these days.
Can I just say I really appreciate how articulate and passionate you are. This was an enjoyable and thought provoking video essay :)
This video is very comforting, thank you! I think a lot of us just remember how taylor feels about 2016 and her trauma and just immediately gets scared of the future. This video is such a breath of fresh air and reminds us how these times are unprecedented.