Taylor Swift's Fans Are Louder Than Her Critics
I've been relatively silent about Taylor Swift's Grammy wins and her performance on the broadcast back in January. I guess I figured all the music critics out there had said enough. (And after Scott Borchetta and Kelly Clarkson got in a fight, I really did not want in on that.) They spoke out loud and clear that Swift's vocals were not up to whatever benchmark it is they measure vocals against. But you know who is even louder than all those critics combined? Taylor Swift fans.
I can only vouch for about 16 of them, but I think they are a good representation of the "critics" that really matter right now. They were the teenagers and their mothers I carpooled with to and from a high school dance this weekend. (Go ahead and insert your little soccer mom jokes right here. I really don't care. I'm a suburban mother between the ages of 35-54, so I am the country music demographic and I'm very much OK with that.) These girls sang along with every word to every Taylor Swift song. They yelled at me to turn it up! Play it again! Go back to the beginning! And I also heard a lot of "Omigod I love this song!"
What I didn't hear, ever, was any analysis of her vocal nuances. Nor did any of these women even mention the Grammys or the aftermath that played out online and in major daily newspapers. Their love of Swift is purely because of her music and her personality. People tend to gravitate toward her lyrics, her infectious melodies and well, just her. She connects with her audience on so many levels, and her enthusiasm fuels their enthusiasm. That's, I think, the big picture that critics sometimes miss.
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CHERYL says:
I DO NOT BELIEVE SHE IS A TRUE COUNTRY MUSIC SINGER.SHE WILL NEVER BE A MARTINA MCBRIDE,REBA MCINTYRE,OR A CARRIE UNDERWOOD,THESE ARE CLASSIC COUNTRY MUSIC SINGERS.THE ONLY REASON SHE IS SO POPULAR IS BECAUSE SHE AS THE YOUNG KIDS,WHO DOESN,T KNOW MUCH ABOUT COUNTRY MUSIC.
janetgijoenurse says:
I will take Tim Mcgraw connecting with his audience that he has been doing for almost 20 years over Taylor preteen stuff. Least Tim sings country.
Robin says:
Yet, you fail to mention Allison, why Kelly and Borchetta got into “words”. Borchetta was the villan in that scene, but you don’t ellaborate, you just take up for Taylor’s critics who are legitimately unhappy that she won awards and doesn’t have the talent to meet the awards. They don’t care if she’s famous, sells records, sells concert seats. The critics were complaining that she won awards and can’t sing.
But, that’s not even my point. My point is you defend Taylor because she has fans? Duhhh - no kidding. Yet you just “note” Scotts arrogance.
Let’s just talk about one AI winner that’s not on the same radio stations that Taylor is on. David Cook is a MUCH better writer than Taylor is and singer for that matter. While his music has a smaller music purchasing demographic doesn’t mean he is “less of an artist”.
Robin says:
I meant you take up for Taylor “to her critics”.
AB says:
Thank you for effectively demonstrating all the reasons I listen to Taylor Swift. Whatever the critics say, I very much doubt that she’s going to lose any of her a teenage fans.
me says:
I figured we’d hear from you eventually on this topic Alison.
candy says:
Scott was not arrogant, he was stating the obvious. Most AI alums are just great vocals with the exception of a few. Kelly is a great supporter of swift and has done some covers of swift. People can say whatever they want about taylor but she is still on top of her game. What is the use of being a great writer/singer if you can’t connect with your audience?
ALJID says:
Oh, Allison…you forgot to tell us what a sonic atrocity her performance was on the Grammys..Poor thing…And to some fans, being able to sing in tune is very important in the profession of well, being a singer. If you keep on insisting how great her songs are then she should go back to just writing songs and letting real singers do their thing.
Katie says:
Well, it’s true. In the end, it’s the fans that matter. They don’t care what the critics say and they’ll keep buying Taylor’s music and singing along. Taylor will always be a better songwriter than singer, but I don’t think that’ll ever hurt her. She achieved success differently from those on American Idol, and you don’t always have to win AI to be successful (case in point, Clay Aiken, David Archuleta, Jennifer Hudson, even Kellie Pickler though she doesn’t have the strongest vocals herself), so I thought that whole spat was ridiculous anyway.
fantasia says:
Fans come and go, but talent lives on. Taylor will be gone soon, when her fans go
bkbs says:
allison you can say all the words you want to, but that is what it is nothing but words to try and explain swift’s talent, what about her actual singing, please wise up and quit giving swift all this adoration, it is sick.
Shayna says:
People just need to get over themselves honestly. I’d love to see alot of people here that criticize her vocals to get up there and live their dream like she does.
Also I get so sick of people saying she only has teen fans….that shows just how ingorant you are about her at all. I’m 23, and I love Taylor just as much as anyone else. So please stop using that excuse, you look kinda stupid.
Anyways, until her fans say its time to stop….everyone is gonna have to suck it up and deal with her, cause she’s gonna be around for a while.
hdo says:
I like all kinds of music and have tons of cds, but I’ve been to maybe 5 live concerts in my life. It’s the CDs that are important to me, and the Grammy’s were for recorded music. My mom says that in her day, singers rarely if ever did tours, or sang live on TV.
Once in a while I see someone live on TV. A couple of months ago, Adam Lambert performed live and he was criticized for being pitchy. Lady Gaga performed live at the Brit Awards today and was out of tune–she was criticized. Taylor Swift was out of tune on the Grammy’s. To all of this I say–SO WHAT?
I like Taylor Swift’s music. Some songs make me happy, some make me sad, some are downright lovely. I hear a Swift song, it sticks in my head all day. Her music touches me. Isn’t that what music is all about?
I respect people’s tastes in music even if I don’t like it myself. If it brings people enjoyment, that’s fine with me. So why all the fuss, folks? I guess I just don’t get it.
Dixie says:
I’m just sick of this topic - fair enough people don’t like her because she’s not the best singer but gosh it’s not just about a great voice. There are so many people out there that can sing better than Taylor but there are only a few artists that have that ability to connect with their audience. Taylor’s music speaks to people - I’m 23 years old and way past adolescence but when I hear her music and her lyrics it always takes me back. I only wish that there was someone like Taylor singing about what it’s like to be 15 when I was that age.
yoli says:
I did at one time enjoyed listening to ts music, until I heard her sing live too many times and thought “there is no way this person can win all those awards and not be able to sing” I change music channel every time her music is on because it’s not real!
The Bigger They Come_ The Harder They Fall says:
hdo, no offense but when the heck was your mother born- in 1725.Artists have always, always, always, done live tours.Since the beginning of I don’t know when, so I really don’t know why your mother would say that unless she’s like 300 or 400 years old.I’m honestly not trying to be rude, but that was just such wrong information. They may have not done it on the same large scope( arenas, stadiums) as artist today, but yes they toured and sang live(even if they weren’t constantly on t.v.).You actually paid your dues back then and even the great ones didn’t get their butts kissed because they act all goody-goody.
Robin says:
Candy - you are wrong. He was being arrogant. AI’s are good vocals and that’s where the art of singing starts. Being a songwriter is a different art. Most of these AI alums that are successful in their career also “have something to say”. They are artist and Taylor does not have the “in” on having something to say. Country music itself has had alot to say before Taylor was even born.
Kelly supports Taylor, not Scotts arrogant statement which is far from obvious. What is obvious is that Taylor can’t sing to save her life. Taylor can have all the fans in the world. The critics aren’t critisizing the fact that she has fans. They are critisizing the fact that she’s won awards that she is not talented enough to win and she has proved that in an overstated way on the last two award shows she was on. The CMA’s where she won FVOY she had a horrible off-key performance. On the Grammy’s where she won the best country female vocal performance she sang and terribly off-key song and drug an Icon down with her.
NO ONE CARES THAT SHE HAS FANS THAT BUY HER MUSIC! More power to her. But, she shouldn’t be handed awards just because she has 100 million teenage fans. She hasn’t even proven herself that great a writer. She needs to write about more than one topic to prove that.
Nancy Griffin says:
The Toronto Sun named Taylor Swift the worst singer of today, and she beat out some real stinkers, this is a well deserved honour for her no doubt.
hotelmotel says:
I think Alison is making a mistake to defend Swift against charges that her Grammy performance was off by mentioning the fact that Swift’s fans like hearing her on the radio and CD/MP3 et cetera.
The issue was Swift’s grammy performance. That performance cannot be justified by citing Swift’s performance on CD.
Netteo says:
And yet Alison - when my family went to Valentine’s Day this weekend Swift was booed and groaned at. No cheering, no sing alongs - just boos and groans.
BTW - none of my kids friends even know that Swift is suppose to be country. They don’t listen to country radio - they listen to pop stations and her remixed music.
hdo says:
Dear The Bigger They Come__the Harder They Fall
I have the feeling that your knowledge of the history of popular music is very, very limited. But that’s okay, nobody is perfect. Just let me know who you think paid their dues back whenever YOU are thinking of–and HOW they paid their dues (tours, venues)and I’ll get back to you on that, hmm? ’cause you’re wrong.
As far as the Grammy complaints go–well, I couldn’t tell you even 5 of the Grammy Best Album winners in the past 15 years if my life depended on it. I just don’t care, just like I don’t care who wins the Oscar. Are awards really that important to people?
A novel idea: American Idol winners win because they win the most votes. So how about if the Grammy winner wins because they sell the most albums? It’s the same thing. Maybe more important–people who sell the most albums, people actually spend MONEY to “cast their votes.” ha.
Last but not least–all you good folks who say Taylor Swift’s fans are “just” teenagers–well who the heck do you think spends the most money on albums in this country? How silly is that? Who do you think puts most of the stars on the map? From the Beatles to today (well actually, even before the Beatles)–it’s teenagers.
YGrove says:
Taylor’s Fans are not the issue,she has plenty,let them go to her concerts and sing louder than Taylor,crank up the back up vocals and music to cover up Taylors voice,let everyone enjoy being her fans,just don’t let her be awarded for something she doesn’t deserve.Taylor Swift has the same fans that Miley and the Jonas brothers are losing,throw in a bunch of moms that like her image and you have the World of Taylor Swift.I can’t imagine how it would feel to be a good singer and be rejected and have to watch someone like Taylor with her vocals make it so big.I would be willing to bet that 75 per cent of Taylor’s fans watch ICarly everyday..
D Trotter says:
hotelmotel, “the issue” of Alison’s blog is NOT the Grammy performance, it’s that Taylor’s popularity is rooted in her connection with her fans — a connection that is as strong as ever.
It isn’t any Grammy performance that connects them. It’s her music, her lyrics, her records … it’s the way she makes them feel positive and optimistic … it’s the way they get her … it’s the way she gets them (when nobody else did).
Which is pretty much what Mr Borchetta was saying, even though he might have been wise to follow his protege’s motto (”try not to be a complainer”).
Scott was defending Taylor, so I think he should get a little defense too. Yes, he lost his cool, sounded more like a protective parent than a professional businessman. I’d be amazed if he hadn’t. Not just because Taylor is so young, positive, energetic, creative, and NICE; but because these two started with very little, faced HUGE obstacles together, and triumphed. And because he’s always recognized what makes her special.
As for the A.I. remark, I cannot for one second believe he meant anything derogatory toward Carrie or Kelly, and certainly not to Kellie Pickler, Taylor’s BFF and tour mate. All he was saying is that the recording industry is not based upon being the best singer in a singing contest — that’s what Simon Cowell wants you to think.
hdo and his mom are right. It’s the “recording” industry. It’s about CD’s, downloads, “product”. It’s about lyrics, what they say, how they connect with people. That’s the music business.
ALJID says:
D Trotter has just said only Taylor’s lyrics connect with people. Cool…but I haven’t been singing a Taylor song since day one. I guess she’s really connected to me really well. Hehehehe…
Mezzagical says:
Hey people,
Straight out we all know her voice isn’t perfect.. but who’s voice is? I went to her concert.. and to be honest I wasn’t even a fan I was going as favor to my little sister… and let me tell you i’ve never left a concert in more shock and awe than i did after watching taylor swift! would you prefer to pay $190 to watch Britney spears get up their barely dance and lip sync or $90 to watch a teenager who has been dreaming about singing her whole life but hits a note off key in the beginning of her concert because of technicalities?? the rest of her concert was honestly fantastic, entertaining and you could feel the support in the arena. She even walked through the crowd and hugged the little girls in the audience giving them bracelets and handing out meet and greets. What other artist has done that??
Taylor Swift is literally singing her heart out to the world and everyone criticizes her… the singers who have the “typical, great voice” have the most meaningless lyrics. At least she is singing about something people experience and she is a great role model for children. I’d prefer my sister listen to her unique, “imperfect” voice and lyrics. Instead of the likes of Lady gaga or Rihanna who sing about suicide and what not.
Country music should be grateful for Taylor swift; she has increased its popularity. Yes her music cannot always be defined as country but after listening to Taylor Swift, fans start to branch out to the artist who inspired her such as Carrie Underwood, Tim Mcgraw and Kellie Pickler.
I think things have been blow up out of proportion; every artist experiences difficulties at one stage of their career. (obviously no one remembers Fergie’s performance a few years ago…) Taylor Swift is young and will learn from this experience. As for people saying she doesn’t deserve the awards and what not, read her lyrics… she has written them herself from her experiences and not from someone else’s. She is one of the FEW artists who are not fake… the “imperfect” performance at the Grammies is a key example of this.
I think all the best to Taylor Swift, she has the courage to chase after her dream even with all the criticism and negativity that follows her due to one or two performances that weren’t “good enough” for the critics..
trink says:
Taylor Swift set out on this journey of hers to bring a younger crowd to country music.I’d say she not only did that she grabbed all the Mothers,Grandmothers,Fathers,Grandfathers and the list goes on. I’m 54 and can’t wait to see her in March. Her fans are not going anywhere and neither is she.
Mr Nobody says:
dam straight trink… i am 18 and absolutely love taylor swifts music. My Sister hates it, My Mum loves it and My Dad doesn’t mind it. i went and saw her twice in Melbourne at Rod Laver Arena on the 10th and 11th of feb and she was awesome both times… though i was expecting more from her that didn’t bother me to much because i had listened to her songs so many times and i had never seen her live before.
i will see her next time she comes out, if she comes out.
P.S she was better at her 2nd concert.
hotelmotel says:
D Trotter, you are right that one issue is that Swift’s success is a product of her connection with her fans. But I am right that Alison made Swift’s grammy performance an issue in her blog. She brings up the issue - Critics (and not just them - a lot of people, though she ignores that) disliked the performance. Then she switches gears to discussing about how lots of teenagers like to listen to Swift when driving to dances. But these are unrelated matters because one deals with Swift’s vocals live, the other with her recorded vocals.
Anyway I wish Swift the best of luck.
megan says:
Taylor SUCKS at singing. End of Discussion.
ALJID says:
Singing your heart out is good but at least stay in tune especially if it’s your song. Does that mean that those who audition for American Idol but did not make it are as artistic as Swift since they can’t stay in tune but yeah, they sang their hearts out complete with stage theatrics?
Some fans have said that she had an off night and Borchetta talked aboout technical issues. Why is it that in all award shows Swift always had an off night or that there were technical issues? Some arists do have off nights. An example was Carrie Underwood’s Last Name at the ACMS or Martina McBride’s How Far, coincidentally at the ACMS, too. Both singers struggled through their songs or were running out of air perhaps through exhaustion or some throat infections but I can’t blame them because they are humans like us anyway. But the next time you saw them perform they came back strong, just like Kelly Clarkson said, they kicked some butt and recovered. Swift, from the first award show where I have seen her live performance has always been underwhelming. Her first stint on a televised award show was disappointing but I thought to myself she is still learning her craft so she should be forgiven. But then more award shows and live performances came and she still couldn’t find the right notes and key to her songs prompting her fans to think that she must have been nervous, or she was sick, or there was some technical issues or that her dress weighed her down(that was creative) or she just had an off night. Why does it always happen all the time?
And why does Allison open up a topic about her dreadful performance that even Borchetta can’t defend and steer away from the singing issue and only state about some connection and stuff that’s really getting old. All successful artists connect with their audience not only Swift as some of you wish to imply. She is just being criticized because she is supposed to be in the profession of singing but she apparently can’t properly sing her own songs as evidenced by her underwhelming live performances.
Robin says:
hdo - The Grammy’s are about quality. The Billboard Music Awards are about sales. The Grammy’s aren’t the counterpart to AI, it is supposed to be the most prestigeous award in the music business (at least in America). They sold their soul to go buy sales rather than quality.
D Trotter - Don’t color Borchetta’s comments. He said straight out that he was creating artists and AI wasn’t (therefor it’s alum aren’t artists - they are “high note hitters”). While I disagree with him, he should have defended Taylor, but without doing exactly what he was complaining about.
And, D Trotter, Allisons blog is about the Grammy performance. She says it doesn’t matter because her fans don’t care and they want to buy her music anyway. THAT is hardly any of the critics points. No one has suggested (of any of her critics) that she go away. They are saying that she DOES NOT deserve the AWARDS she has been handed. Her fans don’t care about awards anyway (Allisons blog and all her fans on this blog seem to support that notion), so why give her awards she doesn’t deserve if it doesn’t deserve?
I’m not saying that her “album” didn’t deserve to be “up for” album of the year. I think the fact that it is drawn together by one real story line (albeit juvenile) makes it better than any of the one’s she was vying against other than the Dave Matthews Band. But, I would say that “The Foundation” was better than any of the Album of the year nominations because it has A GREAT DEAL more depth than any of them.
Robin says:
Also D Trotter - Simon Cowell doesn’t pretend that it’s all about vocals. He says that often people had great vocals but were “boring”. He does believe (like most music enthusist) that it starts with the quality of the voice (quality being defined as “more than hitting the notes”, but the sound/authenticity/uniqueness) and then after that, what are you as an “artist” and does that work.
Carrie was always a country singer and he encouraged her to be what she was artistically. David Cook and Christ Daughtry and Bo Bice were always rockers and he encouraged them to make already “known” songs their own. They can’t sell their own selfwritten music one time on a show. A competition like this is the “beginning” of an “artists” break into the bigger music industry, not the end. Original music and who “new” words have to come with their first album, not during the show.
Is Kelly Picker about “Walking After Midnight” or about “I Wonder”? This show is about potential and is not intended to be the final product. Many of these people couldn’t find success outside of AI, the one’s that were relevant artist did.
shirley says:
What you said may be true but they are listen to a cd or record that has been fix to sound good. taylor swift can not sing and that has been proven on every live show she had to do.
Kalyn says:
First off, im not a swift hater.
In a world where there is vocalist awards, awards that should be based on the talent of someone’s vocal ability, Taylor isn’t at the level of her fellow nominees. She doesn’t have the vocal ability of a Martina McBride, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Reba, or Lee Ann Womack. Not yet at least. Just like an album of the year award is mostly based on album sales, a vocal award should be based on vocal ability. Everyone has their own opinion on what a great vocal performance is and every artists has had not so great vocal performances, but with taylor its been a consistent question mark on whether or not her performances are good, vocally. Sure martina, carrie, miranda, reba and lee ann have had times in which they maybe didn’t sound good, but they have more consistency in the vocal department than that of taylor. Taylor is a great role model, seems to be a great person, is a talented songwritter, and puts on a good show. But those traits, as great as they are, shouldn’t be the wining factor in a vocal award. Sure in other awards they will defiantly play into account, but for a vocal award winner the winner needs to be the best vocalist of the nominees, and i think thats where the criticism starts, because she’s not at that level yet.
timcun says:
Alison, you said that you’ve been relatively silent about Taylor’s Grammy performance. My guess would be that it’s hard to post a positive blog about a performance that was criticized by many, many people. And I’m not just talking about the people who post on the CMT web site.
Scott Borchetta said, “This is not American Idol. This is not a competition of getting up and seeing who can sing the highest note.” Thank goodness Kelly Clarkson had the guts to stand up to him and say, “We not only hit the high notes, you forgot to mention we generally hit the right notes as well.” Even though Kelly didn’t say anything bad about Taylor, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know what she meant by that comment.
*
ME says:
Hey, Kelly had a right to speak her mind. And she wasnt wrong on the subject. I love Kellys voice over taylor anyday. Taylor wouldnt get far on AI! Simon would have a field day.
Dustin says:
Taylor needs to LEAVE country music!!! I am on TEAM KELLY & TEAM CARRIE when it comes to this! Scott needs to GROW UP, he doesnt care that Taylor cant sing live, he only cares that she is bringing him in $$$!!
GO KELLY CLARKSON!
Kate says:
I guess my issue with A Taylor Swift type of artist is that I feel like I’m getting ripped off because now I know that the voice I hear on records is not really her voice, it’s studio fabricated. Reminds me of the Millie-Vanilli situation, kinda of. Yes, she connects with the very young because she rights lyrics that they can relate to…that’s good but for me, the lyrics coming out of the mouth of a 20 year old appear incongruent.
I think the Grammy incident acted like an ‘ah-ha’ moment for critics and audience alike.This is someone who has received awards for ‘vocals’!! And her vocals are the weakest part of her act. So what have voters been listening to? They haven’t! The thing that separates Taylor from the rest is sales. Money! Record sales! This has taken precedence over quality. But I think that is going to change. If only so the music industry can regain some integrity and legitimacy.
I can’t and never have denied TS’s popularity..I think the problem is that she is being given awards in areas in which she is blantanly and grossly inferior. That’s what I think incites alot of negativism. However this is not her fault..this is something the industry needs to deal with..and I think the Grammy’s may have sparked a light of recognition of this fact.
John13 says:
Wow
Taylor sucks
Allison- you should take 2 weeks off and quit-
D Trotter says:
Just because some of you refuse to let go of the Grammy topic doesn’t make it “the issue” of Alison’s blog. This bit was the OPPOSITE of being about the Grammy’s, almost an “anti-Grammy issue” blog, if you will. Obviously, to some folks, Taylor’s Grammy performance must be the most catastrophic event since the great flood, but Alison has moved on.
Why are we even debating this? Unless everyone has become inflicted with some mass reading impairment, the last lines of Alison’s blog, describing 16 carpooling teenagers and their moms discussing Ms Swift, are impossible to misunderstand:
“…I didn’t hear, ever, … analysis of her vocal nuances. Nor did any of these women EVEN MENTION THE GRAMMY’S …Their love of Swift is purely because of her music and her personality … She connects with her audience on so many levels.”
Which is almost exactly what Borchetta was trying to say.
Oh, Robin, it’s true that Billboard is about sales, while the Grammy’s, whose diverse assortment of voters are instructed to ignore sales, are about “quality” — but it’s about the quality of RECORDED MUSIC. Even the vocal awards are for RECORDED vocals.(Note: They use a little Gramophone for the logo, NOT a microphone!)
Of course, “FEARLESS” won BOTH Billboard and the Grammy’s — tops in sales and quality! And, in my opinion, Taylor (who could have picked up the Grammy without uttering a single warble on stage) absolutely deserved it. No other album this year came close in quality, consistency and emotional resonance with its audience.
Robin says:
Kate - while I agree with 99% of what you said, Taylor is 99% more authentic than Millie-Vanilli. While her voice is being altered to sound good on albums, it is her actual voice. And, when she sings live, she does actually sing live (much of the time at least), even to her own peril - while I do think she uses autotune for her live concerts.
Again, not a fan of hers and have a big problem with her awards, but it’s like comparing “the other political party or politician” to Hitler. Swift and the weird twins aren’t nearly the same thing.
bkbs says:
kate, well said and how true. simple facts that should have been spoken long ago before swift was getting all the awards she did not deserve.
Kate says:
I’m always intrigued by the comment; she/he is a great role model…How do you know? What are they modelling for you/children? Do you have the ‘in’ on their life style? What do you really know about them, other than what you see promoted by a PR system? Could it be that many celebrities talk the part but don’t walk it? How would you know? So the role model may just be a ‘fake’ like so many things in the ‘biz’. But in the end, as long as what is being modelled is ‘good’ by society’s standard, does it matter if it’s fake?
Note: I did not say ‘all’ celebrities.
Chris says:
Anyone who becomes famous might as well get used to being criticised. Criticism of this magnitude usually means you are doing something right. That said, I’m not a Taylor Swift fan. In addition, those girls you are carpooling will one day be tired of Taylor. Some of them will realize they can sing better and refuse to buy records of artists that are not as talented as them. Some of them will move on to the next big thing as we all do. Yes, Taylor is doing something right, she is connecting with an audience that uses their parents money to purchase her material. When that generation has to buy it themselves, they will be more careful with what they buy. Will Taylor all off the music scene - No, but she will end up right where Kelly Clarkson is, fighting to sell a million of one album.
Kate says:
Robin,
I did say ‘kinda of’, but your point is well received.
Chris says:
Oh, the role model thing. She was dancing her butt off to the song that CBS had to bleep out most of the lyrics to on the grammy’s. Taylor does not sing these lyrics once again because the parents are buying her material for their kids. She’s smart and rich, but not a good role model.
David Nisbet, Scotland says:
I feel sorry for the haters.
candy says:
Robin; The critics slammed her performance but most agreed that she deserved AOTY (compared to her nominees). AOTY is judged on content of the album and not vocals. I still maintain that Scott was simply stating what people/record labels have been saying, AI is yet to produce a phenomenal. Records have been broken in the music world yet AI alums are not part of this ground breaking achievement, look at Lady Gaga and tell me if she can vocally take down any AI alums? The answer is No, that should mean smth. Simon is all about making money, he is a huge Britney fan plus Britney is signed under Simon Fuller (the owner of AI). Should Taylor win vocals awards? Definitely not. I doubt she even needs it.
I don’t care if she is a good role model or not, study have showed that Taylor has a wide range of fans. Recent poll proved that the love lives of 30% women resembled that of taylor’s song.
p.s Get your facts straight before making an obnoxious claim.
fantasia says:
But S, Taylor’s fans say Canada loves her.
fantasia says:
And Role Models DON”T pole dance or throw furniture around
LC says:
There’s really no discussion here:
1. Taylor’s music sells.
2. But, Taylor isn’t a great vocalist.
Taylor is successful by way of people buying her music b/c she writes “catchy songs.” However, this does not make her a good singer, and she isn’t.
Taylor winning an award for anything “vocal” is like “Alan” from The Hangover winning an Oscar.
Just because people like Taylor and respond to her music, doesn’t mean she is a good vocalist. It also doesn’t mean she should win an award for being one.
Robin says:
Trotter - I disagree with your assessment about “Fearless”. Have you even listened to “The Foundation”? Yes, “Fearless” was better than any of the other album of the year nominees (except Dave Matthews who is an equal (not better or worse), but it is far from the best album (quality, consistency and emotional resonance with its audience) last year.
There were other completely un-nominated albums that were better in all those things, but “The Foundation” (country album nomination) was better for all the reasons you listed than any of the album of the year nominations including “Fearless”. And, it doesn’t just have things for grown ups, it even speaks of a boys relationship with his father with absolute depth and understanding. Not one of Swift’s singles compare to “Highway 20 Ride”, but even as a complete album “The Foundation” is clearly heads and tails above “Fearless” - it is not one dimensional to start with. But, its many dimensions are much clearer with more consistency and understanding of the world.
And, this blog of Allison’s was absolutely about the Grammy’s and why Taylor’s performance ability didn’t matter….
GalPal says:
Unfortunantely, nothing that anyone writes on this blog defending Taylor Swift will change the fact that the girl can’t sing. I have heard excuses that she wasn’t well, her mike wasn’t working, and she had an off night. Every performance she has done has been out of tune and flat. Her performance at the Grammy’s were terrible along with the CMA’s and VMA’s. Her blessing came in the form of Kanye West and everyone ran to the little girl’s defense. The tweens will discover that she is now 20 years old and no longer in high school and maybe can’t relate to their teenage angst any longer or perhaps…wait…realize she can’t sing. Stranger things have been known to happen.
Captain Booger says:
Seems like we’ve got a few sets of common themes here, which I’ll briefly touch on. Then Alison, there is something I’m curious about.
The subjects of Swift’s songs vary quite little from the ‘giddy’ puppy-love/bubble-gum dribble she ‘co-writes’ about. Plus, she sings them poorly and gets ‘rewarded’ for it.
The subjects of Alison’s articles, more often than not, are ‘googly write-ups’ about Swift. Which are just plain annoying and annoyingly biased (yes, maybe I should ignore them).
Between Alison and a large portion of Swift’s seemingly misguided fans, they apparently don’t mind being subjected to a serious lack of vocal skills on the part of Swift. Of course this has become common knowledge.
Ok, that’s fine if Swift’s fans like her and are buying her material despite the limited subject matter. And it’s alright if it doesn’t bother them that Swift’s vocals are vastly weak and inferior during all of her live performances, with props/stunts being used as a diversionary tactic to take the attention away from the bad vocals. It’s also alright if it doesn’t bother them that studio recordings have been significantly altered to give life to the ‘flat and off key’ notes or the ones she’s simply not capable of hitting. Maybe her followers will grow out of it eventually.
To the contrary.
What’s not so good or alright is the handing out of undeserved awards despite mediocrity, and Swift constantly being given the ‘free-pass’ with lame excuses being made for her. The ’sypathy card’ has been played too (re: Kanye West). This has shown serious signs of a lack of ‘musical integrity’, whether it be Swift’s label, industry professionals or even Swift herself. By now, she surely knows those ‘chops’ of hers don’t back up the hype.
One more thing that isn’t so good is ‘biased’ writing, including that which lacks ‘journalist integrity’.
Alison, is this a voluntary hobby you do here on the CMT site, or are you being ‘rewarded’ (paid) to be biased? Just curious.
Captain Booger says:
Also, thanks Alison for reawakening this topic.
Robin says:
candy - What exactly are you reading? I said “Fearless” was not a terrible choice for album of the year and said that Dave Mathews was the only other nominee in the actual category that put out as good a record as “Fearless”. I didn’t say she didn’t deserve that award because of her caterwalting.
I did say that there were better albums that were nominated that fit D Trotters criteria much better than “Fearless” and “The Foundation” was the best example of that. Miranda Lamberts “Revolution” is another great example of that. But, they weren’t nominated (although “The Foundation” should have taken country album. The best albums weren’t nominated. BUT… of the nominated one’s, hers and Dave’s were the most worth choices.
So, what more do you want from that statement? That has everything to do with the quality of the album and NOT the quality (or lack thereof) of the voice.
And, Candy, you should get your facts straight. The vast majority of Taylor Swifts record buy fans (and concert goers) are juveniles, 18 and under, children, etc. A “recent poll” saying that 30% of adult women’s love life is respresented Swifts songs are is not “proof” as it is not a scientific study. It is a poll of people who choose to participate in that particular poll (if they knew the poll existed). Maybe the poll really represents 30% of the 2% of of her total fandom that are adult women as they’d be the one’s to know about such silly poll.
And, it was an AI who had the biggest selling country album of the decade. So, AI alums are a part of the the phenominal things that have happened in music. Taylor’s music is hot “right now”, she is nothing musically more than Britney Spears (today’s fad). Now I will say that she is a much better human being that I’d prefer to live near than Britney. I AM NOT speaking about Taylor on a personal level. I think Taylor should make us proud when it comes to her personal behavior and I will not attack her on a personal level unless she does something deserving of that (like having an affair and running around obnoxiously with someone else’s husband and father - which she has not done and doubtful would do).
S says:
Well said Captain Booger!!
Anon says:
I went to Valentine’s Day and was embarrassed for her. I thought the critics were just jumping on dissing her to tie it in with the Grammys, but no, she was that terrible.
candy says:
Robin- Ok, you always give constructive criticism as oppossed to some haters. Yes DMB was worthy of the nomination. I don’t think lady gaga, BEP and Bee should even be nominated. But that’s what happens when your album sales are huge.
Yes the vast majority are teens just like Miley and Jonas but Taylor is selling more than them because she also has adult fans. Despite the teens behind miley and jonas, they have been unable to have massive sales like taylor. I have seen older Taylor fans, for instance am 22 and I buy her albums but have never been to her concert nor have I watched Valentine’s day. Study have showed that taylor’s success is due to the different age demographic she has navigated. As a lady I feel those words she writes about, though I don’t relate to all of them I still feel them.
Yes she has the biggest selling country album of the decade but her next album proved something. It proves that once the camera stopped rolling, people stopped buying because the gap btw the first and second is huge, how did you go from 7mil-3mil. I doubt if it’s the biggest selling country album I thought shania was.
I still don’t care about what she does with her personal life or not. I personally hate the good girl image (lol), thats the only critique I have against her but I guess it’s good for her younger fans.
Dolly says:
candy,
In reference to the gap between 7mil for the first album of the A.I. alum you are referring to and 3mil for second album is due to the song Before He Cheats crossing over to pop. By this song crossing over to pop that certaintly helped the first album to sell 7mil copies. Before He Cheats was a huge crossover hit and it did it in its original country format and no remixing to fit pop. The reason Taylor is selling so well is she is remixing her songs to fit the pop format and that is certaintly one of the reasons she is selling so well now.
As far as Taylor winning AOTY at the grammys I really don’t have a problem with that. The problem I have is when she wins vocalist awards when it is clear that she is not the best singer. The major award that I am really disappointed in is the CMA FVOTY award. In the past this award has gone to females who can actually sing and if the folks in Nashville want to start basing the vocalist awards on sales then they need to change the award to Female Artist of the Year.
Nashville says:
Katie says:
She achieved success differently from those on American Idol, and you don’t always have to win AI to be successful (case in point, Clay Aiken, David Archuleta, Jennifer Hudson, even Kellie Pickler though she doesn’t have the strongest vocals herself), so I thought that whole spat was ridiculous anyway.
That’s right, a few Idols are so talented they didn’t need to win Idol to succeed and Kellie’s vocals are better and stronger than some winners. It’s the same as Miranda not winning Nashville Star. Kellie might not have THE strongest (meaning #1 most powerful) voice but that doesn’t matter because singing is not just about power. Her vocals are very strong and she has a lot of range, style, technique and control. She’s a better singer than many who have power but lack range, style, technique and control. In concert reviews the critics praise all aspects of her singing including her “powerhouse vocals.” Last week in “Kellie Pickler’s Voice Shines in Studio 330 Sessions,” Alison talked about “her big powerful voice” she “sings her heart and soul out” and “She sounds phenomenal.” Many singers also lack that heart and soul.
fantasia says:
Nashville, while kellie has a “big ole voice”, she sings way too high. Her voice oftens comes across as screechy. That is why she has not been recognized by professionals in any award nominations. Listen to the very beginning of Best Days…It’s actually quite bad.
Kate says:
A lot of people like Kellie Pickler..but her behaviour gives me the impression of a lost soul looking for herself…
Sometimes I think her background story is what is endearing her to the public because personally her voice/vocals are very ordinary and there are plenty of B singers in Nashville who sing just as well if not better. Having said that, I do wish her alot of success.
YGrove says:
I think the real shame is that Taylor herself believes the hype that has been bestowed upon her or else how could she be so bold on a stage.Remixing every song shows where her real heart belongs, sad thing is those pop numbers sitting on Country charts and getting away with it.Name all those great hits she’s had on the country side of things,and all the Country acts that she out sold touring on the country side.Check Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts,and Kenny Cheseney numbers and see who got awarded.Selling out a concert in 10 min. or two days means nothing,both were sold out.Taylors Team plays with words and creates the hype and the little kids fall for it.
Robin says:
candy
You’re question is confusing: You say “Yes she has the biggest selling country album of the decade but…” and then “I doubt if it’s the biggest selling country album I thought shania was.”
You acknowledge Carrie has the biggest selling country album of the decade and then are either questioning that or think I said “of all time”.
But, let me answer both of my interpretations of what you said: I didn’t say “of all time”, but “of the decade”. Shania had the #1 country album of all time 40 million sold world wide. Although Garth Brooks has sold more total records not being the same album. But, Carrie has the biggest selling album of the decade.
Britney Spears albums have sold more than Taylor’s and her demographic was also teens in the beginning (although her fandom has dwindled, it is still basically a smaller number of the same group that has just gotten older). So, while Taylor does have some adult fans, the vast majority of her fans, the one’s racking up the album sales are teens. She just has more of them than the Jonas Brothers and Miley (currently).
I have heavy doubts in her “country” appeal (actual country fans that are listening to country radio), as her last single didn’t even crack the top 5. Her current single is slowing down although I still expect it to at least be a top 10. Her fans are listening primarily to re-mixed music on pop radio. That’s one reason why her video’s do better on CMT (an MTV affiliate) than other “more country focused” video countdowns.
No one sells the same level of each album. There is usually one or two much more successful albums. Especially as their album catalog grows. Just ask Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney and other big country album sellers. When you re-mix music for pop radio you are going to have a large audience to pull sales from. And, one or two cross over hits is not constant enough to generate alot of sales from that format. Carrie has managed 10 number 1 singles on the country format. That says (along with the fact that she has put out one crossover song per album), that her sales are being generated from one format vs. two.
She has “choosen” to primarily be a country aritst. If a song crosses over, then great, if it doesn’t, that’s fine too.
I care a great deal about their personal and professional ethics and find that part of Taylor very refreshing. I would never wish for her to “go away”. I think she’s a great asset to the pop music industry since it has a large impressionable youth audience (whether that be pop rock or pop country). I just think they need to ramp down the over praise and undeserved award (and not all of them are undeserved). Any fan voted award that she has won, she deserves (it’s fan voted, that’s how it works). Any sales award that she has won (Billboard), she deserves (that’s actual number driven). The album awards are arguable, but not undeserved. The vocalist or (vocal presentation) awards are not deserved and she proves that over and over and over again.
bcr says:
The real shame is that most of the people here mistakenly believe that the CMA FVOTY award is a singing award. Dolly is right, it should be called the Female Artist of the Year award, because that is what it really is. It is given to the Female Vocalist who had the best overall year in country music, considering record sales, hits, radio play, concerts, appearances, etc, etc. Not who had the best vocal performances. Taylor Swift undoubtedly had the best year, like her or not. In fact, the only vocal award she received was a Grammy for her RECORDING of “White Horse”, which was quite good. Yes she has had some terrible live TV performances, but she hasn’t received any “undeserved” awards for any of them. Looking at her overall achievement over the last year, the positives obviously outweigh her weak live vocal performances.
Robin says:
Candy - one more thing to note: Even though Carrie’s album sales numbers declined from her first album, she had the biggest selling country tour (other than Chesney) and was the only one other than Chesney to sell more than a million seats for her “Carnival Ride” tour (2008/2009 concert season).
She is the current biggest female impact in the pop country format (radio/concerts/total albums). Taylor does have a larger impact in pop country + pop rock with her greatest impact being in pop rock (or whatever you want to call the generic pop industry category).
Robin says:
bcr - sales cannot outweigh lack of talent. Her awards for female vocalist at the CMA’s and the vocal performance award at the Grammy’s were undeserved. It wasn’t a female that was “performing” it was autotune.
And, the CMA’s and the Grammy’s clearly in the past have not awarded this on popularity, they have consistently (even if I had another choice in a particular year) have awarded this based on QUALITY not popularity/sales/number of TV appearances. Taylor’s singles have not been as popular on pop country radio as they have been on pop (generic) radio. This was totally an undeserved “sales” award and the “quality” was sold out.
Granna says:
I vote Robin for President!! Just kidding! But will agree with everything you said! I don’t hate Taylor, I think she is a very pretty young lady, but they have built her up so much and like someone else said, making her believe all this hype about herself. So when she falls…and she will at some point..wow, will it hurt! I just wish that all these PR (money hungry managers, producers, etc) people would stop taking a new act and running them in the ground. What happened to an artist and a song doing good on its on merit and not shoving it down fans throats?? Taylor is not a good vocalist at all. She is cute and charismatic but not an award worthy entertainer or singer IMO. I’ve seen her live and it was not a country concert. It was an over produced musical production. At times she would just stand there and agg on all these youngsters cheering for her to just see how loud they could get! I think she has reached the top on little or no talent. However, the majority of country fans have spoken and she might want to rethink her genre. I can remember the first time I heard her sing on an awards show. She sang Tim McGraw and I thought how cute, but she can’t sing..bless her heart! Little do I know what was ahead!
S says:
I agree Granna. And with all the backlash from her performance on the Grammys (not to mention every other live performance) plus her bad reviews in the movie Valentine’s Day I wonder if her downfall is slowly starting?
Alison does have a point when she says “Taylor’s fans are louder than her critics.” I hear that when she performs in concert her fans sing her songs so loud that it drowns her out. Maybe that’s why they can’t hear her sing flat and off-key … because they can’t hear her sing.
countryiscool says:
s, I’m sure they are singing just as off-key as Taylor so loudness is relative.
Nashvile says:
Kate says:
A lot of people like Kellie Pickler..but her behaviour gives me the impression of a lost soul looking for herself…
Sometimes I think her background story is what is endearing her to the public because personally her voice/vocals are very ordinary and there are plenty of B singers in Nashville who sing just as well if not better. Having said that, I do wish her alot of success.
Her behavior gives the impression of an artist dedicated to her music. She listens to music, reads and writes a lot, stays busy performing concerts and working on her next album. She has turned down TV show offers for her music.
Her background is just one small part of what people like. They mostly like her voice and songs. There’s no doubt that people like her songwriting including writing about her own life and experiences. Her voice/vocals are well above ordinary because she has more power, range, style, technique and control than most singers. The public and critics that have been to her concerts compliment her vocals all the time. They don’t say her vocals are ordinary, in fact they say the opposite. If there are plenty of “B singers” in Nashville who sing as well or better, where are they hiding because I haven’t heard them? Maybe they should try out for Idol and we’ll see. After 3 seasons they still haven’t found anyone as good as Kellie even though they held auditions directly in Nashville.
Nashvile says:
fantasia says:
Nashville, while kellie has a “big ole voice”, she sings way too high. Her voice oftens comes across as screechy. That is why she has not been recognized by professionals in any award nominations. Listen to the very beginning of Best Days…It’s actually quite bad.
How can you say she sings way too high when she’s doesn’t sing high at all or shows range in many songs? She has a big range and sopranos often sing high like they were born to do. She sings high in Red High Heels and Best Days and they are her best-selling singles. The entire Best Days is quite good, so good it was her first top 10 hit. Kellie has been recognized by professionals and fans in many award nominations and she won a few. I predict more nominations and wins in her future once she makes #1 at radio. Contrary to popular belief, awards heavily depend not only on talent but also on promotion, sales, and radio. Often the Grammys are no exception and they award popular and obscure records. Taylor isn’t the first artist to win CMAs and Grammys based on talent and success and she won’t be last.
hotelmotel says:
I like Kellie Pickler and I am glad she has fired the dude who produced her second album. Lets face it, he sucked. Kellie does have potential but she needs a good producer.
S says:
I see the review I posted from the Toronto Sun was deleted. Obviously people don’t like hearing the truth. Well, you can hide negative reviews about Taylor all you want but it doesn’t hide the truth … she can’t sing……
Sugarland Express says:
All this bickering for what? Save your typing (fingers)everyone, Taylor isn’t going anywhere. Taylor is going to go down as one of the greats and will end up breaking just about every record imaginable that she hasn’t already. No she isn’t a screaming product from IA, thank God. The jest of this blog was Alison saying no matter what the critics or you people say, it’s not going to change Taylor’s multi-fanbases opinion about her and I for one am a great fan of Sugarland and Taylor Swift. I agree with you Alison great article.
D Trotter says:
Robin, the Grammy’s and its aftermath are just BACKGROUND to the blog’s CENTRAL ISSUE: Is Taylor’s popularity with her millions of her fans dependent upon how perfectly she sings?.
Well, is it? Quite a few of Swift’s critics are predicting the Grammy’s will be her Waterloo and she will lose her following. Do you think so? Or are Taylor’s fans attracted to her for reasons not at all dependent on how well she sings at award shows? THAT’S THE ISSUE OF THE BLOG!!
Me, I’m betting Alison’s observations are correct.
As for the best album, we’ve debated this before (although you seem to change your favorite from time to time). I do like “Foundation” — very solid Country album, vibrant playing, tight harmonies … but there’s no new ground here, nothing that hasn’t been done before … and nowhere near the amount of chart-topping tracks that “Fearless” can boast. In 20 years, more people are still going to REMEMBER and SING more of the songs on “FEARLESS” than ANY OTHER ALBUM THIS YEAR.
Swift also has the PERFECT voice for putting across HER songs. None of the American Idols could do herv songs better than she does them (e.g., take Kelly’s “White horse” — please!) Yes, it’s TAYLOR’S voice on those records winning all those vocalist awards. Anyone claiming Taylor’s autotuned any more than anyone else has to explain all the times she has performed live, with just her acoustic guitar, and sounded EXACTLY like her records.
D Trotter says:
hdo, kudos to you and your mom for your intelligent observations. You are absolutely correct. Over the years, there have been many bands which rarely performed live and still made great albums.
Some albums, ranked among the best of all time, were primarily “studio” records; they weren’t made to be performed live at all.Or if they were, so much pre-recorded music and tape loops were necessary that it was hard to tell what was live and what was Memorex (old joke).
One classic example were the Beatles, generally considered the most important group in the history of pop music. They did play live in their early days, but screaming at their shows was so intense you could barely hear the music (closest thing to that kind of screaming today are Taylor’s concerts), so they eventually quit touring altogether and became a pure studio band.
George Martin, production genius extraordinaire, layered on so many sound effects and orchestral colorings onto albums like “Sgt. Pepper” that the record couldn’t have been re-created live anyway. That didn’t stop it from being one of the most influential records ever made. Ditto “Abbey Road”, another album NEVER performed live.
It’s probably worth noting that not a single one of the Beatles had a voice polished enough to win American Idol. At the same time,has ANY AI product EVER produced anything close to “Abbey Road” or “Rubber Soul”?
When Borchetta said its “not all about AI”, I don’t think he was trying to insult the great singers on that show; he was saying that the artists who have REALLY MATTERED in the history of popular music have come from … different places.
Sometimes even Christmas Tree farms in Pennsylvania.
ALJID says:
The issue of the blog is that Allison can not admit to herself that the performance was terrible. So instead of listening to the critics that this time never missed the performance debacle on TV since it’s the Grammy Awards, she just turned her ears to screaming fans who wouldn’t care less if Swift was singing in tune or not. It’s like saying the lyrics are more important than the actual execution of the song on stage.
It’s like saying that Swift can’t really sing but who cares? Like Spice Girls, she connects with her audience so it doesn’t matter if her vocal talent lives up to the hype her PR is spreading. But are her lyrics really that special? I don’t know about that. “She wears high heels
I wear sneakers, She’s cheer captain and I’m on the bleachers” isn’t really that artistic to me. Perhaps to the teens…Hehehehehe…
Isn’t that it or we’re reading different articles? And Scott took a swipe directly at AI alums and most probably Carrie Underwood for being able to sing. Don’t try to deny that. Clarkson just fought back to defend her colleagues and herself. It’s a pity Swift can’t hold a candle against them..
Mezzagical says:
hey ppl, i agree with D Trotter…
but what is bothering me is that everyone is sooo worked up about taylor swifts performance that no one has even bothered to mention jamie fox’s performance.. he could barely say the words let alone sing them…
its funny though… because at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what any critic thinks of her… As long as taylor swift has the support of her fans.. and their parents.. she isn’t going anywhere..because they will continue to buy her songs and albums… and buy tickets to see her… Most of her fans are 10 and up..i don’t think they really care about a grammy performance, which they didn’t attend… i think they are more preoccupied about her concert and where they are sitting and if they get to meet her…
AND ALJID.. that line is significant… she is speaking about the stereotypes during highschool.. how the pretty girl seems to always get the guy.. but see this is why taylor swift is sooo loved by teenagers.. because in the end she gets the guy even though she isn’t “the cheerleader”.. just because its not “artistic” to you doesn’t mean it isn’t artistic to her fans.. why are you devaluing her lyrics…because you don’t like her or think she cannot sing? and if you took the time to read through her lyrics you may come to the conclusion that they can have deep meaning to teenagers.. more meaning than “i took the gun and counted to three.” as rihanna has used in her latest one… or “I want your vertical stick.. why you admiring it.. oh baby your sick.” by lady Gaga.. or “B*tches on my d*ck (oh no) they on my dildo” by the black eyed peas…so now i stop and think HMMMmmmmm which lyrics (from the albums which were ALSO in the running for album of the year) have more meaning.. or more “artistic” value??? anything is artistic.. as long as you let it be!!
and whoever has said her voice isn’t exactly the same as the album.. its a genuine voice.. i went to her concert i heard her voice its the same.. not exact but the same.. she was in tune, on key and great.. yes the first verse of her first song was a little high but then after that it was great… and as long as those who attend her concert had a great time.. who cares about the rest.. And im sure in the next award ceremony some else will either sing off key/ trip and fall/ get drunk and say a speech/ steal someone’s moment and that will just circuit the internet and the critics until something else happens..
But no matter what anyone does whether they are famous or not..there are always going to be people who are going to criticize or judge you and unfortunately that is what society is like.. that is life…
I’ll continue to defend Taylor swift’s performance… It wasn’t the best but it wasn’t the worst I’ve heard… And i’m sure she is her own biggest critic and isn’t exactly content with that performance… Or the unprofessional reaction of her music company…
YGrove says:
Defend her all you want,but in the end the debate will be the same,A girl with bad vocals ,winning awards that are undeserved.As far as being her own biggest critic,I truly have not seen that from her,what I have saw is a little girl living in a dream world,and all the people around her making money,Taylor Swift comes off to me as a Child that has been very Spoiled,never hearing the word NO and living in a world of Computerized relationships,which describes most of the youth of today.
Robin says:
Sugarland Express – No one thinks Taylor is going anywhere. But, people do have an opinion on the topic and are tired of one side of the spectrum heard “her screaming young fans obsessions”. Actual pop country listeners want their opinion of her and her representation of pop country heard as well. Loudly and clearly. This is about undeserved awards, not “going away”. Her critics WERE NOT saying she shouldn’t have fans or that they will go away, they were saying that she doesn’t deserve a number of the awards she has won and that performance proved it to them (although they should’ve already known)..
Robin says:
D Trotter – The Grammy’s were as much the central point as her tout of how her fans “don’t care” about the poor singing. The critics that predict that the Grammy’s will be her Waterloo are referencing her non-fan voted, non-sales associated (Billboard) award winning day being much slower. They are not predicting that 13 year olds will care. The issue of the blog is taking the critics critiques and trying to argue a separate point that the critics aren’t even talking about. THAT’S THE ISSUE OF THE BLOG!!
My “favorites” don’t change. “The Foundation” was an “example” as it was actually nominated at least in the country category. There are plenty of other examples. My favorites are a list rather than “one”. But, “The Foundation” does stand above all other (including Americana Red) country albums released in the eligible period.
Believe it or not, there’s nothing in “Fearless” at all ground breaking. If the topic of boys hasn’t been rehashed by most every teen female artist on the planet, I don’t what you’re listening to. Actually, it has not only been done by other artist, it was certainly done to the extreme in “Taylor Swift”. But, “The Foundation” does “rehash” actual life experiences to some degree just like every album that will ever be put out in the future. All of life has been done at some point. But “The Foundation” doesn’t rehash the same topic over and over again in the same album. And, it is much more consistent, yet each song is unique. While there are a million songs about boys, there are not a million songs about a boy and his non-custodial father. The songs on “Fearless” are being played on another format than the songs on “The Foundation”. “The Foundation” has more potential for chart topping singles on the format it’s played on. “Genie in a Bottle” may be more known in twenty years by the general public than “Whiskey Lullaby”, but that doesn’t, in the end mean anything about the quality.
Taylor does not sound exactly like she sounds on her records live. To defend that – well, it’s just not a defendable statement. And, she is auto tuned more than most. While Gaga isn’t much of an artist in my book (her music is garbage), she is a singer and while not a powerhouse, she’s still has a good voice.
Also, Borchetta’s comment was pointed and to clean it up now is impossible. The fact that AI has only been on for 8 years indicates that all the “artists” that it has brought to the public attention has barely had the opportunity to have much of “an affect”’ on “the history” of music. But, the little bit of history they have been a part of has not been insubstantial. Carrie had the biggest selling album of the decade. Chris Daughtry had the fastest selling rock album in the soundscan era. Kelly Clarkson had the highest jump to number 1 (on her formats chart) for a single in the charts history. Carrie has the biggest country female debut in soundscan history. There are not as many AI’s as there are “other” artist so they are only going to be “a part” of the stats, just like EVERYONE ELSE including Taylor. And, any artist’s affects on “music history” won’t be known until their career is much longer than any of these current artists. No one knew what Johnny Cash’s long-term historical influence on music would be when he was “becoming” Johnny Cash.
Everyone thought LeAnn Rimes was going to be the “forever” girl of pop country/pop rock crossover. How is she doing commercially now? 3 years does not a career or a history make.
Robin says:
Correction “Carrie had the biggest selling country album of the decade.”
Peacock Queen says:
LC - well said! You are absolutely right. But that is exactly why I am conflicted over Swift.
After watching the Grammys and seeing all the private body parts that were hanging out all over the place, I agree that Swift is a good role model. I can absolutely understand mothers, such as Allison, being greatful that their young children and teens admire and respect Taylor Swift. It is true we don’t really know Swift, but so far she hasn’t made an idiot out of herself by driving drunk, getting into fights, trashing other people, etc. She has been respectful, warm, loving and kind, and GOOD for her!!!! I can understand mothers, fathers, grandparents, etc. being appreciative of Swift and the fact that MOST of her fans are the young and impressionable and are watching a respectful and kind young woman instead of a foul-mouthed-dressed-like-a-freak-show performer.
However, at what point do we begin to teach children about the musical scale, pitch, tune, form, vocal range, etc.? Do we ignore the fact that this young woman really isn’t that good of a vocalist in favor of her personal conduct? Also, as a parent, I would hope that Alison would tell all those young “fans” in her van that what Scott Borchetta did was wrong. Defending Swift was fine, but attacking and offending others was WRONG and that is not the appropriate way to handle a problem. Accepting personal responsibility for a problem is the CORRECT way, not insulting others.
If Swift sells albums and puts on enjoyable, entertaining concerts, fine. But shouldn’t she also be able to sing? Should just anyone get a multi-million dollar recording contract if they are “nice” and can WRITE good songs? I understand her appeal, but I cannot always agree that she should be given awards. It’s a real conflicting issue, that is for certain.
Robin says:
Peacock Queen - I’ll answer one of your questions: “Should just anyone get a multi-million dollar recording contract if they are “nice” and can WRITE good songs?”
The answer is YES if they are able to sell those albums.
The real question is, “should they win awards that their talent doesn’t warrant”?
RAAF says:
Well…the issue isn’t really the merits of Taylor’s music, writing, or singing… the issue is how awards shows are judged. Music is strictly a subjective experience for every listener - some people are touched by Taylor Swift, some by Marilyn Manson…
“Competitive Music” really is a useless concept… how do you quantify who “wins”? Record sales? High notes? Concert attendance? Merchandising? It’s ALWAYS apples and oranges… totally meaningless. Awards shows are for television advertising dollars… and marketing campaigns by record companies.
Having said that, Taylor is NOT the strongest singer out there… but she has presence, conviction, belief in herself, puts out a wholesome message, and lives her life, at least so far, the way we all hope our daughters will.
I’m a 50-year old man who plays and writes music, and I appreciate Taylor for the craft of what she does at her young age, and know that her talent, writing, and musicianship will only develop with age and maturity.
As for her voice, I’d submit that Neil Young, Bob Dylan, and many others have stood the test of time on the strength of their creativity, writing, message, and connection with their fans…certainly not their singing prowess.
I wish her nothing but the best, and predict that so will Taylor.
Laura says:
Sugarland Express - “No she isn’t a screaming product from IA, thank God.”
Axl Rose is a famous screamer from Iowa so I see your point lol Seriously, what do you Taylor fans have against AI besides Taylor never being on it? Don’t you know that most singers who can belt were never on AI? No one is a “product” from AI. AI is just were they were discovered. Everyone isn’t so lucky as to have their parents agree to move them to Nashville at age 13 so they can shop for record deals. If I asked my parents to do that they would have just laughed and said no.
D Trotter says:
Sorry, Robin , I think my summation of Alison’s issue makes more sense than whatever it was you just said.
Your opinion of FEARLESS doesn’t seem to be shared the album-buying public, down-loaders, radio listeners or the nation’s most respected popular music critics.
Quick! Name some of these other young female artists who have done what Swift has. Which ones have even written every song on their first two albums?
And here’s what you either miss or dismiss: Taylor is writing songs that are 100% about HER OWN LIFE — HER DIARY set to music — with absolute candor and honesty.(Who else has done that again?)
HOW could she write about some non-custodial father? Why would she? As a critic, it’s important to respect what the artist is attempting to do. Taylor’s attempting to tell HER story (from AGE 12-to-20). She’s NOT attempting to make up imaginary traumas to appear more mature, just so she can appeal to the tastes of older, more world-weary fans. So no custodial father songs.
On the other hand, I don’t see Zac raising the issue of being ostracized by a peer group of “mean girls” at a very vulnerable, lonely time of life (”The Outside”); or having a girlfriend struggling with her self-worth and bulimia (”Tied Together with a Smile”); or going to work as a 14-year-old songwriter and having to prove yourself in a competitive environment of experienced adults(”A Place in This World”), or what its like to battle for attention when you are on a tiny label competing with huge powerful marketing machines (”Change”).
The only VALID question is: How well does Swift succeed at what SHE is trying to do? Answer: Brilliantly.
Her songwriting skills are those of a prodigy . Her love of words, use of metaphors, her eye for little details that bring a story to life, her sense of narrative/ conflict/resolution, her sense of humor and her unfettered romanticism and life-affirming optimism are all more fully developed than in most writers 20 or 30 years older. Ditto for her song construction and uncanny use of hook after hook.
Taylor can sound exactly like her albums when she sings on her acoustic, all by herself. No autotune required.
Mr. Borchetta’s points are essentially correct.
lifetime says:
taylor and her fans are NOT going anywhere no matter what anyone says….taylor is great and we love her if you don’t then don’t comment or listen to her and us!!
rosyz says:
Lifetime, nobody is saying she is going away anywhere. Of course she will still sell albums because of you and her young fans. The discussion is not really about her going anywhere. It`s about her vocal abilities and getting awards; but you dont care if she can sing because you`re a fan. So calm down . I am not a fan so I dont really care but wish her the best of luck.
rosyz says:
I mean if she cant`t sing.
YGrove says:
Just how old are you D Trotter??? If you can relate to the lyrics of Taylor Swift you might be one of her PR people or maybe someone that lives in the same Fairytale world with Taylor,I think the debate has gone far enough,and she still comes up short Vocally,Mr Borchetta is a man that is worried about money that it may cost if this backlash continues and as far as public perception,The Dixie Chicks were great artists and they fell,Greed will be the demise of Taylors Future in music,they want her to be all Disney,all Country and Queen of Pop at the same time..
D Trotter says:
I take back everything critical I ever said about Simon Cowell.
Simon was recently quoted that he is hoping the winner of his last season with American Idol would be somebody like … Taylor Swift!
“I would love to find a Taylor Swift”, said Cowell. “Somebody who’s RELEVANT rather than a contest winner.”
Say, isn’t that pretty much what Scott Borchetta just said? Simon has the seen the truth!.
I always said that Simon was A GENIUS!(LOL)
D Trotter says:
Ygrove, I CAN relate to her lyrics because they are extremely well written and sound absolutely honest for who she is. I feel a little sorry for you that you can’t even remember the thrill of young love.
Thing is, there are plenty of adults who can and do love her work — the CMT blogs are full of men and women aged 30, 40, 50, 60 and older who say so. They might not take part in those scream-a-thon concerts of Swift’s, but they listen to her music and GET IT!
On another current CMT blog, featuring Taylor’s new “Fearless” video, I just posted a bunch of comments by PARENTS who took their children to the Australia shows last week … and fell absolutely in love with her as an artist, person and role model.
Then there are the notoriously jaded critics of the New York Times, the New Yorker Magazine, the Rolling Stone and even the Village Voice’s Robert Christgau (who, geez, HATES Country Pop, kids and sweetness in general –everything Taylor!) and they have ALL been very impressed by Swift’s artistic vision and writing talent.
I’m sure you don’t, for one instant, believe it’s YOU who could be missing something. Hey, not that long ago I also might have turned my nose up at something that — at least after a perfunctory glance — didn’t measure up to my expectations of primal fury, or intellectual demand, or artistic innovation.
But, in the words of Bob Dylan:
I was so much older then … I’m younger than that now.
Peacock Queen says:
***
Robin,
The answer to that question is a resounding “no!” Handing vocal awards to someone who is clearly not a vocalist is wrong, but for more than one reason. Not only is a “deserving” vocalist cheated from something for which he/she should be recognized , but the “non-deserving” vocalist is cheated as well.
In my opinion, Swift actually believes she can sing with the best of them, and why shouldn’t she think that? After being handed prestigious vocal award after prestigious vocal award, she is going to get up on stage with a legend such as Stevie Nicks and “go all out” with her weaker-than-most vocals. The problem with that is exactly what we saw at the Grammys. Crash and burn, in front of millions of people and/or become a laughing stock. It is not entirely Swift’s fault that she is being criticized. It is the fault of the individuals who have led her to BELIEVE she is a great vocalist. So the answer is “no” but I don’t think many of Swift’s fans understand that it isn’t hate that causes some of us to be realistic, but sincere and true concern for another human being. This young woman is on her way to being tortured and fried in the press, and it is going to be brutal. I am not happy about it, and I am disgusted, but it is going to happen. The Grammy performance is simply the match that has ignited the soon-to-be raging fire against Taylor Swift. This is why you do not lead a young person to believe they have talent far beyond their actual abilities. You know that. I know that. Her fans do not.
hdo says:
D Trotter– I want to thank you for the many thoughtful posts that you’ve been making. I’ve sat down a couple of times to make some additional comments myself–and find that you’ve already made them! You explained so well the point I had tried to make previously–that many of the most memorable and significant albums in the past have been studio albums–never performed live. (The first album I thought of immediately was the Beatle’s Sgt. Pepper, and of course Rubber Soul.)
And I still think it bears repeating–the Grammy’s are NOT awards for live performance. They’re awards for best recorded music, and obviously many people in the music industry thought Taylor’s album was best. But should awards make that much difference to us? I liked the observation RAAF made–these awards shows are to make money for the networks or cable companies, and are P.R. for the record companies. I’d say awards within an industry are fine–but all the hoopla and contentiousness that surrounds the naming of “winners” on the televised shows–give me a break.
I thought something Kara DioGuardi said on Idol Wednesday night was interesting. She told a young woman contestant that she didn’t have a big voice–and then added that Idol IS about that in a lot of ways…about who can sing the best…hit the highest notes, the dynamics. But then she added that she didn’t think that was always the best singing. Of course Kara was speaking to the young contestant, not about Taylor Swift. But I still find her words significant. There are excellent, gifted Idol singers. But there are different kinds of singers, too.
I think some of the most significant singers and singer/songwriters in popular music–including some who are now legends–would never have made it into even an early round on Idol. But how bland the music world would be without them! The Beatles. Janis Joplin.Bob Dylan. Willie Nelson. Loretta Lynn. Each had such special qualities, and connected so much with their audiences.
I am one of those “no longer a teenager” folk. I don’t think there’d be so many of us sitting here writing about Taylor Swift if we didn’t know she was something special. And it seems like many of the “not teenager” people have a pretty good knowledge about music. “Fearless” was put together before Taylor Swift was even eighteen years old. She’s a remarkable talent. We’ll be waiting to hear more.
Kelly says:
Old people like DTrotter liking Taylor’s music creeps me out. Not only that Taylor doesn’t write all her songs. Liz Rose writes and co-writes many. No one ever talks about Liz’s contribution to Taylor’s success
hdo says:
Peacock Queen–I wrote my previous post last night but it didn’t get through–just got it through a bit ago–so didn’t see your comments. I wanted to address what you said.
I do think Taylor Swift recognizes that she doesn’t have the greatest voice, and is aware she screwed up at the Grammys. She’s very bright. I saw an interview with her that was done at least a month before the Grammys. (This was a video interview that I THINK was done by the New York Times–it’s available on Youtube.) She said she loves to perform in concert. But she said that performing on awards shows–she gets butterflies in her stomach, her legs wobble, and she keeps repeating to herself “don’t screw up, don’t screw up, don’t screw up.” So I do believe she knows–she screwed up on the Grammys.
I do agree with you as far as there being a backlash. That’s the main reason I’ve continued to make comments here. They may not seem much in themselves–but I think that those of us who see great talent and don’t think an imperfect voice in live performance is the sole way of judging talent feel compelled to speak up and defend this young woman. So people like me are using forums such as this to counterbalance the narrow view that the mark of a performer is a technically perfect voice in live performance.
Much of the negative online comments I’ve seen have been by disgruntled fans of people such as Lady Gaga, etc. (I DO NOT include this blog in that silly category, I’m writing here because I appreciate the intelligent and insightful entries made by contributors.) Some negative comments have been by critics who seem pretty clueless as to Swift’s accomplishments and career. Some have been by people who think the only measure of a good performer is their perfect vocals. But much worse are the nasty toxic online comments made by anonymous vipers, the worst example of how viral these anonymous “Comment” entries can be. (Again–this blog most definitely NOT included in that category!)
I am sure that Swift will continue to have enormous support by her fans, as well as people in the industry who recognize her talent, and people such as myself, the non-teenagers with a great appreciation of music who recognize and appreciate Taylor Swift’s considerable talents. It’s unfortunate that she will have to experience some backlash, but it will make her support even stronger and help clarify why so many people think so much of her as an artist.
And as you can see by the words of praise from the many posts on this blog–there are many people who believe she deserved the Grammy for Best Recorded Album of the year. People WILL be singing her songs 20 years from now, long after the other nominee’s songs have been pretty much forgotten, and they will listen to that music by the originator, Taylor Swift.
Peacock Queen says:
hdo,
Thanks for your comments. I enjoyed reading them. Very insightful. But I guess you are new here, because I was one of the people who blogged on here BEFORE the Grammys that I believed Taylor deserved the Grammy for Album of the Year and I was happy when she won. I have also said that I believe Taylor gets excited at the award shows and that is why she messes up so badly on stage. So I agree with you on that point. I have not been a fan of Taylor’s, but she absolutely did touch me with her Hope For Haiti Now performance. At times it seems she can sing and sing well, if and when she stays focused. As for me, I would have preferred that Scott Borchetta had said that they are working to keep her calm instead of slamming AI artists. That really made me angry, but I am not going to hold that against Swift. Taylor is young and still impressionable, so I can understand she gets excited. Also, if I were on stage with Stevie Nicks, I wouldn’t be able to breathe let along sing! I can give Taylor a break; that is not hard for an old lady like me to do for such a lovely young woman. But as some of us have pointed out, giving a “non-vocalist” vocal awards is simply wrong, for more than one reason.
Anyway, I enjoyed hearing from you and I look forward to reading more of your comments.
hdo says:
Peacock Queen–I’ve made a few early comments, but not followed everything, I probably should have. I’m glad we agree on so many aspects of the Taylor Swift discussion! I think we can agree to disagree on the vocal issue. I can understand your take on that. I do think Swift has a distinctive voice on her album that I like, and is memorable. There I get back to the old “recorded album” argument. However, I do understand the other side of that discussion. When I said earlier that I’m entering the conversation on this blog because I appreciate the intelligent and insightful comments by contributors–I don’t limit my appreciation to only those who agree with me, and I certainly appreciate yours.
hdo says:
Sorry for taking up so much space, but I have a question.
Scott Borchetta. It’s fine if he wanted to defend Swift. I don’t think the “non-vocalist” accusation is right. BUT– has he ever apologized for his comments about AI? If the answer is “no,” I don’t get it.
Can anyone clue me in on this? Sorry if this has already been discussed.
CountryFan says:
Just get Taylor out of the country music scene and I will be satisfied. I’ve heard her stories of how she “fell in love with country music.” But, no matter how hard she tries right now she will NEVER be country. There are artists like Kellie Pickler who loves the legends like Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton. And then Carrie Underwood who is a Grand Ole Opry member. Put Kellie and Carrie up against Taylor any day and they will both sing circles around Taylor.
Congratulations on connecting with your fans and somehow winning these awards, but I seriously think your time is coming to a close very soon, and it will be time for some real country girls to take your place.
D Trotter says:
Peacock Queen, I meant to tell you how much I have come to respect you, despite how different our values in music or our assessment of Taylor Swift may be.
In the midst of the Grammy/Borchetta fallout, when it was all the fashion to pile on the insults, I really appreciated your intelligent and balanced remarks, your praise of her song in the Haiti benefit, and your supportive comments about Taylor’s character (even defending her against some of the ruder and more absurd comments).
As a supporter of Taylor, it’s always great to have bright, well-spoken people like “Kayko” (and now “hdo”) on my side, but it’s also fun arguing with someone who is intelligent, fair-minded, and respectful of other points of view.
hdo says:
D Trotter and group, it’s been a pleasure participating in this discussion. I think I’ve about run out of things to say! And perhaps said enough? Silly of me to ask about Scott Borchetta, I’m sure that the subject has been well discussed, and I think in defending Taylor, he inadvertently hurt others.
My son starts college in the fall, and I’ve spent the day and evening toiling over so many forms and mid-year reports, even faxing stuff to colleges on a Friday night–the headaches! Participating in the discussion about the multi-talented Ms. Swift has been a welcome break, and a pleasure.
I live in a home that is full of music, from Beverly Sills to Gogol Bordello–and of course, Tina Turner! My husband and I “discovered” Taylor Swift a year or so ago and have been quite impressed by her talent, her spirit, and her humor (the wonderful Thug Story! How great!) There’s a great AOL video on Youtube, Taylor Swift singing White Horse. It illustrates so clearly her musical abilities and her talent as an interpretive singer–spot on. Quite a kid!
It was distressing to see the backlash just because of the (I think) silly Grammy’s, but I think the cloud is lifting already. Certainly ringing endorsements from Simon Cowell and Gary Marshall! I think this brouhaha will be nothing more than a footnote in the long career of Taylor Swift.
Again, I think I’ve “talked” myself out for now! I’ll be following this blog though, and just might jump in again to throw in my two cents worth! The internet can be such a toxic place. I was so ticked off, finding this blog with such smart and articulate contributors has been a blessing.
rickshaw says:
Simon Cowell’s comment about wanting to find a relevant person from AI like Taylor Swift just meant he wants to find somebody who sells records. It was hardly an endorsement of her singing. He could just as easily have said he’d like to find a Taylor Swift who can actually sing.
Kara’s point about the high notes is proof that AI is not now and has never been just about hitting the high notes. It’s about hitting the right notes as Kelly Clarkson said AND it is also about communicating your songs well. If AI were just about hitting the high notes then Kris Allen would never have won last year.
rickshaw says:
Sorry to double post but hdo, I have some bad news for you: the AOL Sessions video you’re referring to is pitch corrected. Most AOL Sessions videos are but obviously some like Taylor Swift need the pitch correction more than most.
Whether or not Taylor Swift’s fans care that she is such a bad singer (and sorry but I gave her Better Than Ezra cover for Haiti a chance but she didn’t sing it well either), Taylor’s got the responsibility to improve. The fact of the matter is the Grammy performance wasn’t just one bad performance but the latest in a whole string of bad singing performances that date back to her promotions of her 1st album.
Taylor can sound pretty some of the time: if she sticks to her middle register and doesn’t go too high or too low, and if she sticks to singing lightly in her head voice. But whenever she tries to sing over her band she doesn’t know how to use her voice and she sounds really tight and harsh, plus she goes off pitch. IMO she should stick to acoustic performances and she needs to write songs that don’t push her out of her range.
IMO one of the reason a lot of country fans are not happy with Taylor Swift is that it’s always been such a matter of pride that country acts can deliver live and sound as good if not better than their records. Taylor’s not the 1st exception because you’ve got people like Shania and Tim who use live pitch correction. But it’s really disappointing that somebody who calls herself country needs to lean on that stuff to make her records.
D Trotter says:
rickshaw, you present your information with such self-assurance, I’m assuming you have actual FACTS, printed documentation, or SOMETHING (please don’t say you “know some guy”) to back your statements that the AOL sessions are pitch-corrected? Other than just your opinion? (Because it’s pretty obvious you’re carrying some serious bias. Almost everyone agrees that “Breathless” was a nice performance).
My opinion is that shows like the AOL sessions, the 330 Sessions, and Unplugged are all about showing up, singing stripped-down, live acoustic versions, unadorned and unaltered. I’m not going to change that assumption without specific facts that can be verified. So please, enlighten us as to your source.
You say Country fans like someone who can “deliver live” and sound as good as the records. Gee, I’ve heard Taylor do exactly that! Including a lot of those promotions you mention for her first record, many of which were done on radio shows and are still on YouTube. She sounds great, live and solo on her acoustic. Just like her records.
It was those kinds of appearances that helped Swift get airplay. And it was her live opening act stints for people like Kenny and George — long before the screaming reached the volume of today’s Taylor-mania — that propelled her from a completely unknown singer on a completely unknown record label into today’s crossover Mega-star. Gee, if she screeched away every time she played live, like you suggest, do you REALLY think people would have asked for more?
Taylor’s fans, many of whom happen to be Country fans as well, think she is the best “live” performer around. (It was TAYLOR who was voted EOTY last year, right?).
And are you forgetting that this particular performer sold out the New England Stadium, with its nearly 70,000 seats, in something like 20 minutes? Sold out Madison Square Garden and the Staples center in a minute or two? Think any of your heroes who sing so purr-ty could do that?
Which brings us to Simon Cowell’s quote. Now Simon’s a fairly articulate guy, and pithy, too. Do you really think his simple one-line statement requires a 4-line paragraph from you to explain what he meant?
True, he never endorsed her singing, he wasn’t even talking about it. Neither was he talking about making money. He was talking about finding someone who was truly “RELEVANT” to today’s fans. Somebody who matters. Someone people actually RELATE to and care about. NOT just a wonderful singer (high notes, right notes, whatever!). NOT just another singing contest winner.
And you know what? If you read the last paragraph of THIS blog, and Simon’s statement, and Scott B.”s statement — it sure sounds like they ALL ARE SAYING THE SAME THING! You just aren’t listening.
rickshaw says:
D Trotter: My my, you seem angry.
If you know enough about music then your ears tell you what to listen for when it comes to pitch correction. It’s there on Sessions @ AOL - not exclusively for Taylor Swift’s performances of course, but on hers as well. There is a difference between a raw, untouched vocal and one that’s been polished up just a bit and the sound on Swift’s is polished up. It’s not an assumption. If you knew what to listen for (it’s a certain smoothness to the vocal), you would hear it. It’s not an assumption. It’s a fact. Sorry.
Taylor’s cover of Breathless was certainly not praised by “almost everyone”. Ann Powers of the LA Times for example commented on how out of tune Taylor Swift was yet again (she tweets at @annkpowers). If you are looking for a cross section of the vox populi then many tweets during Hope For Haiti were far from kind about her performance. But let me clear: I think it’s nice that she participated.
As for the rest of your rant, it seems to come down to you equating numbers with quality and artistry. I don’t. Twilight has found a large and enthusiastic audience, but that doesn’t meant it represents good art. The books are not well written. The way I see it Taylor Swift has also found her audience just like Twilight has, but I don’t see her music as good art and I don’t see her live performances as good art. It doesn’t matter how “relevant” they are because that tells me more about the lack of music knowledge and taste on the part of a large group of people than anything else.
I don’t think Taylor’s a bad person. She’s obviously a smart girl which makes it even more astounding that she hasn’t improved her live vocal performances when there is something so objectively off about them.
Lily White says:
Thanks rickshaw, for saying what many of us have already figured out long time ago. Music is subjective, and it’s your ears that let you know if you like something or not. It certainly isn’t numbers, quotes, promotion, or someone else’s opinion. Don’t know why some think they need to write a book, trying to convince others that what they hear is wrong.
Swift is having a great run at this. She’s not the first, nor will she be the last. But she’s also only one small part of the entire picture…
Dan says:
rickshaw, what a great take on this. Very thoughtful response to the defenders. I’m always amazed at how they will completely ignore the facts. Buy the albums if you want but don’t try to convince the world she can sing. This Empress has no clothes. The truth is out there. www taylorswiftcantsing com.
Kayleigh says:
DO NOT MAKE FUN OF MY GIRL! TAYLOR IS BETTER THAN ALL OF YOU! I WILL ALWAYS LOVE HER SO HA HA!
Kayleigh says:
TAYLOR IS A GREAT PERSON
Sandra says:
I suppose that sunods and smells just about right.