The Taylor Swift Thread

[YRBB]

Well, LWYMMD and RFT? were good preparation for the different sound of a lot of the songs. I think, overall, the songs are better than the early samples suggest but it is very R&B-tinged and I am not here for that. "Getaway Car" is my fave following my first listen of the album, but that's no surprise since it's closer to her older sound.

 

Generally speaking, I don't see why she had to go this direction. It was very possible, once she went  pop, that her output wouldn't be as steady as when she was country (popular mainstream success is notoriously difficult) but I didn't expect it to happen so fast. It's like she's going through some PTSD following her character decimation and we're witnessing it in album form.

 

I will have to listen to it, of course, more times and see how I feel then. I can't believe a lot of these songs were co-written by Max Martin and Shellback. It doesn't feel like them at all. I'm sorta glad I've never listened to the 1989 bonus tracks. At least I can go back to those and they'll be brand new.

Edited November 10, 2017 by YRBB

[Toups]

I love the mixture of pop-R&B-hiphop on the album.  Taylor’s always said she’d do something different with every album.  She didn’t play it safe by making 1989-part-two. 

 

 

I’ll post more about the songs in a week or so after listening to them 50+ times. lol.  But the two songs I’m listening to the most are “End Game” and “Getaway Car” which should be singles.   I also really like "Dress."

 

 

Projections for album sales look phenomenal! Hope the one million+ numbers turn out to be true. 

[YRBB]

700,000 on the first day!

[Toups]

 

Awesome numbers! I believe 1989 had 600k.  It will be close to beating Oops....I Did It Again and 1989’s first week.  

[amybrickwallace]

For once, there will be excitement at the Browns' stadium - it was just announced that Taylor will be playing Cleveland on July 17th on her upcoming tour:

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/articles.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/11/taylor_swift_is_coming_to_clev.amp

[Toups]

https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8039676/taylor-swift-reputation-album-sells-12-million-copies-us

 

https://www.yahoo.com/music/chart-watch-taylor-swift-sells-1-million-copies-fourth-time-205945831.html

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brittanyhodak/2017/11/20/taylor-swifts-reputation-outsold-every-other-album-on-the-billboard-200-combined/#584d94d15fac

 

 

- 1.216 million copies in its first week

- 4th straight album with one million

- it took 4 days to become 2017's best selling album

- it outsold every other album on the Billboard 200 combined

 

 

So 'reputation' sold 71,000 less than '1989' which is really awesome considering sales have declined even more since 2014, and when you factor in that there was no media blitz like there was with '1989'.   I really believe if she promoted the album like '1989' (going on talks shows, performing more, doing a ton of radio/tv/print interviews), it would've easily been her best first week. 

[MissLlanviewPA]

I am honestly shocked she's doing this, especially after she made such a big point out of saying that none of 1989 was meant to be played on country radio. It was, ironically, a big thing more traditional country fans commended her for at the time: she was finally being honest about being a pop artist, rather than a country one. "New Year's Day" IS the most traditional sounding song on reputation in terms of using actual instruments, but country? Not so much. I am genuinely wondering if this song--by being the final song on the album--is a signal that she might return to a more country sound on her next album, or a last ditch attempt by Big Machine to get her some country airplay in a time when the genre could use some more star power. Judge for yourself.

 

http://www.savingcountrymusic.com/taylor-swifts-aggressive-country-move-with-new-years-day-poses-many-questions/

 

(BTW: This is a legitimate writer. He is active in the country music scene in and around Austin, Texas, and is THE guy to read in terms of finding out about the newest traditional-sounding/underground country musicians. I'm a huge fan.) 

[amybrickwallace]

This story just made me cry...along with many other people.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/ew.com/tv/2017/11/14/taylor-swift-jimmy-fallon-new-years-day/amp/

[YRBB]

THE NEON/PASTEL ERA HAS ARRIVED!!! Seems like a new song is gonna drop April 26.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 19, 2019 by YRBB

[Toups]

Can't wait!! I'm very surprised we're getting new music this early.  I'm just so used to the Big Machine Records schedule with a single in late summer and album release in the fall.   But now she's with a new record label, things are already different.    Promotional wise, I hope she's going to promote the album this time, unlike her last album.  LOL.  As a fan, of course I want to see more photoshoots, interviews (newspaper, magazines, tv shows) and performances.  She barely did any promo for reputation.    I don't think it'll be the massive promotional push that 1989 got though.  I just want maybe 80% of that!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

If the fan theory based on this photo is correct, the new album will be somewhere in between county-pop (first 4 albums on the left) and pop (last 2 albums on the right).   If it means she's going back to more guitars and drums, I might FINALLY get my pop-rock album that I've been waiting for. 

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With all the pastels/colours/softness of her Instagram pictures, and her Elle Magazine piece (What I've Learned before turning 30*), it might suggest that the new album will have a lot happy songs and love songs. 

 

* Lesson 25: I remember people asking me, “What are you gonna write about if you ever get happy?” There’s a common misconception that artists have to be miserable in order to make good art, that art and suffering go hand in hand. I’m really grateful to have learned this isn’t true. Finding happiness and inspiration at the same time has been really cool.

 

We'll find out in 5 days!

 

[YRBB]

A new song/video called ME! drops at 12am and will feature Brendon Urie. Sounds promising so far!

[YRBB]

Oh, wow. She did it again! It sounds like Shake It Off and Blank Space came together and had a baby. I adore the song (so catchy!) and LOVE the video!

 

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[Khan]

So, it appears America's Sweetheart has entered her Tropical Starburst period.  SMH.

[Faulkner]

It’s very Disney soundtrack. I just find her very “arrested development,” and that’s not a reference to the Fox sitcom.

[BetterForgotten]

Her forte really is as a singer/songwriter. I find her extremely awkward as a pop star.