Taylor Swift’s new album 1989 is the singer’s first official venture into pop music. The 13-track release shows no hint of her country roots, with synthesizer melodies and a deeper sound to her normally high-pitched voice.
The first single to be released was “Shake it Off,” the most upbeat song on the album. The song strays from her typical love-themed tracks, but the album itself is full of the typical romance you’d expect from Swift. Save for “Bad Blood” and “Welcome to New York,” every song on 1989 is about love.
However, Swift approaches her favorite lyrical topic with more maturity than ever. This is seen almost immediately in “Blank Space,” where she sings, “I could make the bad guys good for a weekend,” and “Wildest Dreams,” a song about a romantic chance encounter that has a Lana Del Rey feel to it. Swift is certainly no Lana del Rey, but “Wildest Dreams” pulls from her darker side, a refreshing change from this pop album.
Another highlight is “Out of the Woods,” a song about the fragility and uncertainty that relationships carry and exemplifies the album’s 80s pop feel.
That being said, a number of songs on the album delve too far into the pop genre and come off as cheesy. Songs like “I Wish You Would” and “All You Had to Do Was Stay” would be interesting to hear as country songs instead of over-synthesized pop tracks.
Despite the mixed bag of tracks spread throughout the release, it ends strong with the song “Clean,” which is about her finding her sense of self through letting go of a bad relationship. It’s a great ending and shows a coming-of-age for Swift that we haven’t seen in the past.
For her pop debut, Swift’s 1989 is not bad. Some of it is cheesy, sure, but it’s Taylor Swift. We’re used to hearing her fairy tale versions of love, but what makes this album different is her refreshing view on how relationships can change without bitterness. “Clean,” explains it perfectly: “Rain came pouring down when I was drowning, that’s when I could finally breathe, and that morning, gone was any trace of you, I think I am finally clean.”
For more updates, follow us at www.mtsusidelines.com, on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines and on Twitter/Instagram at @Sidelines_Life.
To contact Lifestyles editor John Connor Coulston, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com
I was never a huge Taylor Swift fan because of all the cheesy country music love stuff that she always sang about, but I was definitely impressed with 1989. I agree that this is a new more mature Taylor than we have seen in the past and it is refreshing to see, and hear! It is one of the more refreshing pop albums to have come out in a while. I love the synth choices and the beats to some of the songs are impossible to get out of my head.
One of my favorite songs was Blank Space. I liked it because I think it stands out in the album and gives kind of a back-handed explanation to her past relationships, but does it in a humorous up beat way. I am glad that Taylor swift is able to poke fun at herself and how the world perceives her through the wonderful medium of pop music. I think Taylor made an excellent move from country to pop and believe that this decision will help her career skyrocket. I has definitely put her back on the map. I also agree that the end of this album shows that Taylor has grown as a person and as an artist. I heard that she had some very big names work with her on this album one of which being jack white. As far as the future is concerned I think that we will see Taylor become a pop super star, one because she was able to bring her very loyal country fan base with her, and two because this new Taylor fits the pop mold very well.
I agree that Taylor Swift’s album, 1989, was refreshing and impressive. Although, I have always been a huge fan of hers; ever since her “Teardrops on My Guitar” phase. Like mentioned in the article, I cannot find or hear a trace of her country roots, and to my surprise, I think I love her more for it! We are now almost 5 months past the release date and the record is still on repeat in my car at this very moment. This older, wiser, and cooler Taylor is what every girl strives to be like and that is also why she has always been so successfully. Her sappy, dramatic, and bipolar love songs are what girls her and my age are feeling all the time. So duh-no wonder the songs are crazy relatable and sells millions of records.
This album though, brought in everything good and bad about growing up. Her lyrics about break-ups, revenge, stereotypes, and of course, love, were paired with a frankness of women emotion and upbeat synthesized verses with bass-full melodies. Also, Taylor Swift is no doubt an amazing songwriter, but I think this transition from country sweetheart to pop femme fatale would not have gone so smooth without the help she got from a few superstar producers like Ryan Tedder, Max Martin, and Shellback. One of my favorite songs on this album was actually a bonus track called “New Romantics”. Her new-found maturity and smug outlook on love is best shown when she sings, “Heart break is the national anthem, we sing it proudly. We are too busy dancing to get knocked off our feet. Baby, we’re the new romantics” –and I’m loving every bit of it!
Taylor Swift has definitely delivered with this new album. Though Swift has always been a pop star, this is her first attempt at a full pop album. It is no surprise that she has taking the shift into that lane. I personally have always thought of Swift as having a pop type of reputation and with the growing popularity of the country singer it makes sense. Artists always go through growth spurts where they change up their style and image. Her new maturity is coming right on schedule. She still holds her regular fan base by singing about the same content on this new album for the first part but broadens her fan base by releasing hit pop singles like “Shake It Off.” Her different has not at all hindered her sells. Her first week sales were over one million copies. Swift pop stardom seems to only be growing. I personally am not a fan, finding her songs corny and non-relatable, but it is definitely admirable how she is maturing as an artist and expanding her fan base.
From becoming the rising star in Country music to being one of the biggest Pop singers in the world, Taylor Swift has revolutionized herself as an artist. She did the unthinkable. Taylor Swift went from “Teardrops On My Guitar” and “Tim McGraw” in 2006, to “Blank Space”, “Style” and (my personal favorite) “Wildest Dreams.” Looking at her career in a business aspect, she couldn’t have done a better job. She has always kept a clean reputation, which really is an important aspect in building yourself up in your career field and she made one of the boldest statements in music history- she took her music off of Spotify. I rely on Spotify for music more than the radio, so to me this was devastating that I couldn’t pull up her music whenever I pleased. By taking her music off of Spotify, her album sales topped the charts. She has always stayed in touch with her fans and has made sure that she was always setting a good example of what a role model should be. Even though her music has matured, she still manages to keep her little girl fan club, but she’s been able to create a new fan club of adults of all ages. She has broadened so much about herself and her career that she’s become more personable to a wider crowd. I’ve always been on the rocks with how I feel about Taylor Swift, but 1989 has made a very appreciative fan.