Taylor Swift

This discussion was inspired by Neil Tennant’s comment that he doesn’t think Taylor Swift has staying power because he doesn’t think she has any ‘famous songs’ associated with her – the exact quote from the article is “What is Taylor Swift’s Billie Jean?” And I know the quote has been discussed before on this sub, but what really got me thinking about it again is the next line in the article, where one of the reporters suggests Shake It Off as an option. The whole passage initially had me laughing because firstly, suggesting Shake It Off as Taylor Swift’s magnum opus feels ludicrous to me, and secondly, I personally wouldn’t say that Billie Jean is Michael Jackson’s most famous song anyway – I would choose Thriller. But then that thought made me realise that huh, even for an artist as universal as Michael Jackson, perception of their catalogue differs based on who you ask – for a person who remembers when Michael Jackson was actively producing music & is entrenched in the music industry, Billie Jean probably does feel more famous than Thriller, whereas for someone like me who barely remembers a time before his death, Thriller is more famous because it has the associated dance and has made its way into pop culture. So for someone like that reporter, who’s never been in Taylor’s target demographic but who is very entrenched in the music industry, Shake It Off may well feel like her most famous song because it was her first pure pop hit. But then that begs the question – if you were to ask other groups what Taylor’s most famous/iconic song is, what would they all say? How would the responses differ? That’s what I’m very curious to hear your thoughts about. Here are mine, but I’m always up for debate:

• If you were to ask Taylor’s overall fanbase, I think they would vote All Too Well. If you ask more niche sections of the fanbase you might get more niche responses – e.g. older fans might say Long Live for the emotional value, and more ‘musical’ fans might say Don’t Blame Me for her insane vocals – but I think All Too Well is an across-the-board solid choice.

• If you were to ask the part of the general population that was in Taylor’s target audience when she first became famous, I think they would vote Love Story. This was the song that had everyone at my high school and my university balls on the dance floor screaming every word, even if they weren’t specifically Taylor Swift fans.

• If you were to ask the part of the general population that only entered Taylor’s target audience later on – like, after she left Big Machine, let’s say – I think they would vote either Cruel Summer or Anti-Hero. This later part of Taylor’s career feels like it’s been massively defined by the Eras Tour because she’s used the tour as an opportunity to turn her entire self into a brand, and so I think the songs most associated with the Eras Tour are going to be the ones that stick around for her. Cruel Summer makes the cut because it’s the first full song on the setlist, she’s singing it on all the posters, and she released it as a super belated single during the tour. Anti-Hero makes the cut because it’s the lead single of the final pre-tour album and it’s deliberately been presented as a very personality-encompassing song, plus ‘It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me’ has charged into the pop culture lexicon like no other Taylor Swift lyric so far.

Those are my thoughts. Let me know what you think!!!