Taylor
Swift knows exactly what you think of her, and she’s capitalizing on it quite
remarkably. It’s all part of her genius.
I
don’t use the word genius lightly, but when it comes to Swift and music, it
fits. She’s an exceptional songwriter and storyteller, and she’s an energetic
and lively entertainer and performer.
There’s
the perception that is more than overplayed out in the public arena. Swift is a
boy crazed, play the victim whiner. It’s an opinion that is not based in fact,
and says more about the patriarchal society we live in than it says about her
as a person.
There’s
discomfort when a young woman displays confidence and speaks out telling her
own truths. There’s discomfort when a young woman achieves such a high level of
success. Society reacts by attempting to knock her down a peg—to put her in her
place so to speak.
Luckily,
those attempts are proving futile. With the release of her newest album, 1989, Swift became the only artist in
music history to sell more than one million copies of a single album in a
single week three separate times. Her two previous releases, Speak Now (2010) and Red (2012), were the other two albums
that helped her reach this feat.
Swift
is not just another pop star. Her music has a refreshing candor and depth than
many of her peers’ lack in their works. And, she’s not afraid to use the
negativity thrown at her in her favor.
Take
for instance the first single released from 1989,
“Shake It Off.” She speaks to the accusations that she cannot keep a man and
flippantly yet poignantly writes the naysayers off.
The
video for the album’s second single, “Blank Space,” furthers her new self-aware
attitude in the best way possible. It’s an absolute brilliant video where Swift
not only pokes fun at herself, but taunts those that choose to hurl insults her
way.
It’s
electrifying when art is so clever and spot on, and that is the genius of
Taylor Swift.
