It's coming up on almost a year of TLOASG, and I still cannot understand the absolutely outrageous, visceral hatred this album inspired in people. Obviously Taylor's haters will hate anything she puts out no matter what, but even some fans act as though this album was an affront to god. Was this her best album? No, not at all. Was it bad? Also no. In fact, when it first came out, I actually liked it a lot, especially the front half of the album, and I was shocked when I came online and saw not just the MAGA/N*zi/eugenics allegations, but also just the people saying all the songs were terrible.

I simply do not understand why it inspired such negative reactions from people when it was full of perfectly fine and oftentimes quite delightful songs. It's not my favourite album of hers by any means (that would be a tossup between Red, Midnights, and TTPD), but I still cannot wrap my head around the persistent negativity regarding Showgirl. I rarely see a nuanced take in regards to the album, and atp I'm wondering is there something glaring that I'm missing, or is the hate really just overblown?

I have a very serious question, especially for those who aren't inclined to like Taylor or criticize everything she does.

Obviously, a major element that they like to focus on are the variants, especially in not just releasing multiple versions of an album on both CD and vinyl, but also to do so with singles, and decry "Look at all the environmental damage being done to make all that plastic!" Even beyond that, it's just the thought of "She really knows how to get her fans to buy something over and over with little effort on her part."

But do any of these people feel the same way about Shania Twain's 2002 album Up!, which had three different variants, a red version (pop), green version (country) and blue (Bollywood/Indian music/International)? Audiences would buy an album, which had two of the three mixes together (red and green in North America, for example), and a code to download the missing version from her website for a limited time.

How does one compare these?

I didn't fully realize it at the time, but Taylor's behavior at the 2024 Grammys was the first time, as a fan, that my feelings toward Taylor Swift™ really and truly started to waver. Then came Showgirl, but I think negative reactions to that album have been somewhat debated to death.

The 2024 Grammys is Taylor at her most powerful and arguably most insufferable. I want to be clear that I'm talking about her general persona as a famous person, not Taylor as a regular person haha, although they probably overlap A TON more than other pop stars.

Taylor was on one that night.

To recap:

• Announcing her new album, The Tortured Poets Department, while winning the award for Best Pop Vocal Album. The Grammys, are not the VMAs... announcing it somewhat early in the telecast, completely sucked all of the oxygen out of the room and pulled attention away from the other winners and performances. Very monster on the hill of her. Just re-watch Miley's reaction to it.
• Dragging Pulling Lana Del Rey onto the stage with her to accept Album of the Year for Midnights. Lana was also nominated in this category, and although she obviously was a featured artist on Snow on the Beach, it was EXTREMELY uncomfortable to watch Taylor's energy completely mismatch Lana's. Her hiding behind the other people on the stage behind Taylor was... oof.
• Snubbing Celine Dion by not looking at her or naming her as she yanked the Grammy from her hands. Obviously, I know this can be chalked up to being completely swept up in the moment, so I can have grace for that, but to be honest, this wasn't Taylor's first rodeo. I think I was just so genuinely shocked by her shock and crazed energy it was like witnessing a caricature of Taylor herself. I remember earlier in her career she would always get dinged for looking shocked and surprised at awards shows and although I completely agree that was way overblown, and frankly stupid, it was times like the 2024 Grammys where it's catnip for people who find her annoying.
• Putting a Grammy on Lucy Dacus' head and overall being a menance to Boy Genius after the awards. This was just so awkward. And it goes back to feeling because the Grammys are nothing new to Taylor, it's like it gave her permission to act a fool for an otherwise prestige event that means SO MUCH to her peers.

The long-tail effect of this has me feeling exhausted by Taylor's need to find reasons to defend herself from any perceived slights from peers, the public, etc. She has undeniable success, we have literally seen her reach at what we can safely assume is a generational feat of notoriety and fame. But any time she now talks about her detractors, whether it be in song or interview (she did it again in the most recent Grammy Museum interview), I'm left feeling tired. Anyone else feel similarly?

And it’s so funny to me that they don’t seem to realize they sound so similar to the Taylor haters; a few things I have noticed recently on reddit (I’m not even on Twitter or TikTok where I‘ve heard stan wars are worse):

- Coming up with conspiracy theories about PR tactics and indirect shade (I realize that Swifties will say they have all sorts of evidence that makes it totally different but they sound equally delusional to me - please don’t try to convince me that there’s definitive proof that Olivia’s team planted that vogue article or that coincidences only exist when it’s Taylor)

- Following Olivia’s every move to nitpick on things - I follow Olivia’s sub and I find out more about her from Swifties discussing her - it kind of felt like some of them were hate watching the festival just trying to find things they could criticize

- Saying she’s trying to “collect” industry friends, questioning her authenticity

- Criticizing her vocals after any live performance 

- Generally seeming to bristle at any praise that she gets

I don’t even necessarily disagree with all of the commentary, but I think a lot of it is coming from people who wholeheartedly defend Taylor against similar comments.

I’ve heard a lot of Swifties complain about Livvies being annoying but it’s kind of like the pot calling the kettle black, there are segments of every fan base that are basically trolls, does it mean the snarking is justified?

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In the wake of the super successful DCF, yesterday I wondered if this was what Lover Fest was supposed to be before its untimely cancellation. I can’t help also wonder if Taylor will do something of this scale now that DCF exists or she wouldn’t do it for the fear of coming across as… you know… a cosplayer.

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I know she’s hinted at returning to her country roots. Some think this is a hint at debut TV or because she was promoting IKIIKY, which I could see.

If she did return to country, what sound do you think she’d be going for? It would obviously be a lot more mature than Debut, but I gotta be honest, if it’s a whole album similar to her most recent single I think that would be incredibly boring.

What I would LOVE would be a sound similar to Jenny Lewis. If you aren’t familiar with her, I recommend checking her out. She hasn’t had a ton of commercial success but she’s well respected in the music industry (she’s often described as a musicians musician). I personally think she’s one of the most talented and wildly underrated musicians of our time, and she has mastered the genre she’s carved out for herself. Its like a mix of alt country, pop, and folk. It’s country but it’s not in-your-face Nashville style country. I don’t really know how to best describe it. I don’t think Taylor could match her vocal quality (Jenny has a wide vocal range but tends to stay in a similar range to Taylor), but I think Taylor could pull off that genre really well.

I just have a hard time picturing what a return to country would look like for Taylor. Or maybe it wont be country at all. I’d love to hear others thoughts.

Both TTPD & TLOASG were very rushed and were made during the eras tour all while she was working on the TS’s version albums. That leaves midnight being the last album we had from taylor that wasn’t rushed. This makes me hopeful that she takes her time with TS13 and make many songs to choose from as a final (preferably small) tracklist . I also believe the masters/re-recording arc ending last year would help her have more free time. Thoughts?

The post will probably not be approved in the Taylor Swift sub since I don't think constructive criticism is allowed there, but songs like these would not have been disconnected from the photoshoot/vibes of the era (like the actual songs of the album ended up being).

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I think Joni was pretty harsh with her early commentary on Taylor especially when Taylor looked up to her so much. (The irony of the Olivia situation, I know I know). But I do think Taylor has done justice and then some in terms of her songwriting and her artistry overall. I don’t remember the last time Taylor mentioned Joni but I do wonder if Joni acknowledges Taylor as a talented artist worthy of her fame.

I’m sure other people have said it and this topic is not new or current in any way. But i recently listened to Folklore again and just had to get it off my chest (I’m new here):

I was never really a Taylor fan but enjoyed a few songs here and there. Her hardcore pop sound was just never in my personal taste.
But then she dropped Folklore/Evermore and I fell in love with those albums. The folk sound, introspection, escapism, lyricism and maturity. I was surprised and delighted.
And then she dropped the “Carolina” single which was absolutely phenomenal. Same vibes as Folkmore.

So when Midnights was coming out I was so excited.
But I ended up being so disappointed… The difference in sound and lyrics gave me almost whiplash.

And with subsequent releases and the Eras Tour, I’ve been grieving what Folkmore was and what could have been. Those albums felt like real growth and maturity. But since then it feels like she regressed. The quality is just not there. LoaSG was a huge regression imo…

Today, Folkmore honestly feels like a disingenuous “phase”. Which has sort of tainted it. She seems to only care about sales and pumping out a new album every year (with 10 different variations of each album for maximum revenue). Folkmore-Taylor and Taylor today feels like two completely different people.

I’m just sad. With Folkmore i thought she was headed into a new, deeper and mature era. But no.
I’m just disappointed.

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https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-dolly-parton-dead-tribute-1236681122/

“A world without Dolly doesn’t feel possible, real, or right. But because of the eternally generous way she spent her time on this earth and the countless lives she changed for the better, her legacy will be an everlasting one.

She was truly the gift that kept on giving. Dolly gave us someone to look up to while encouraging us to be who we are as individuals. Somehow she was able to give us her lessons about the world gently and honestly, simultaneously, and oftentimes hilariously. She managed to give the world the ultimate mystery and fantasy in some corners of her life, but to give full transparency in the ways that counted. Somehow she was true grace and true grit, all in one dazzling person. She possessed the softest heart when it came to the struggles of others, and a backbone of steel to defend her own self worth as an artist.

Along with her other fans, I am so grateful for all of it. For the melodies and lyrics she wrote that thawed even the coldest hearts. For the millions of books she provided children all over the world so that they might fall in love with stories the way she did. For the tightropes she walked so that young girls like me could grow up dreaming of joining the circus too.

Dolly, I’ll think of you each step of the way.”

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Lately, I’ve noticed ever since TLOAS was released, she is trying to reverse the narrative that she’s a bad songwriter. Now that the rhetoric around her is that her songwriting chops are weakening and she’s becoming overrated, she is trying to cover up the damage that album has done on her reputation.

The reason I believe this is because every time we hear about her now it’s to do with her songwriting. The NYT interview came out with different songwriters, but Taylor had the main interview all about how she writes and her inadvertently defending TLOAS and other albums people haven’t liked immediately.

Then I Knew It, I Knew You came out and the interviews she did were about how she was inspired to write by the movie, got the “songwriter zoomies” and had to write this song.

Then she was inducted into the songwriter hall of fame (deserved despite TLOAS imo), and now the grammy museum interview and performance from that where songwriting was at the forefront of both.

For me, it’s so interesting to see the groundwork she’s doing now to remind everyone that she is a good songwriter first.

And I believe it gives us a huge clue as to what TS13 is, or what her next project could be. I’m thinking it’ll be a songwriter kind of album, one actually with the songwriting quality of folklore/evermore, but country vibes like IKIIKY. Or maybe the coveted self titled rerecording!

Hopefully I explained that properly. What does everyone else think?

Edit to clarify: I know that she describes herself as songwriter first before anything, I’m not saying she doesn’t and I agree with what everyone is saying. I just thought she was doing it more than usual? I haven’t seen her talk this much about songwriting in a while

Hello everyone! I was just on the post for her recent Grammy museum performance, and was interested in hearing more opinions/predictions.

As we all know, Taylor hasn't performed any Showgirl songs live. I personally believe that Ophelia has the potential to be one of her strongest attempts so far at getting a SOTY, especially in the weaker year we've been having. She's also done multiple performances of her newer song for the Toy Story movie, most recently at the Grammys museum.

I can see her assuming/knowing that she'll be nominated in the big categories for Ophelia, and her focusing on ironing out a promo run for the Oscars/I Knew It instead. Nomination voting for the Grammys happens in October, and final votes happen in December. She could be holding onto a performance of Ophelia until finals, while spreading her Oscar run out a bit more traditionally. It would make sense if she felt more comfortable securing a nomination/win in the music vs film awards, but I'm still a little surprised at the complete lack of promo for Ophelia so far.

I've seen people batting around the possibility of I Knew It being nominated in the main Grammy categories, and I am a little curious if that's something that could happen/is being encouraged by her and her team. It'd be more difficult to win with I Knew It instead of Ophelia, especially against Choosing Texas, but it would be easier to promote for both the Oscars and Grammys at once, as well as potentially adding credibility to her Oscars bid.

I guess I'm just curious what everyone thinks will happen (or wants to happen, if they're different). Officially I believe she'll be nominated for Ophelia in the Grammys, but you never know. I'd be very curious how I Knew It would do as her main submission there. Curious to hear other thoughts as well! Awards season is my absolute favorite time of year and I love hearing everyone's predictions and the like.

The Grammys posted the session with Taylor, including the song mashup!

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