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Taylor Swift’s music is catchy. We’ve all heard it on the radio for the past two decades, and despite
the changes in genre from country to pop to alternative rock, her voice is clear and recognizable. It is not only the heartwarming guitar strumming
from Fearless and the head bopping ILH[ MYVT [OH[ THRL OLY T\ZPJ ZV beloved, but also her song lyrics. Every Swift song is a story with a resonating
message, which ranges from the sweet Romeo and Juliet style romance of “Love Story” to “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince”, which Swift stated is
“about disillusionment with our crazy world of politics and inequality, set in a metaphorical high school.” You TPNO[ IL ZRLW[PJHS VM [OL LќLJ[ VM S`YPJZ on a song’s popularity, but lyrics are instrumental in allowing the listener to connect with the world a song creates. For example, “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)”, is largely verse, with very few background instruments and only Swift’s voice for backing vocals. Despite the relatively simple musical outline, the song received high praise and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the longest song to ever do so, according [V [OL .\PULZZ )VVR VM >VYSK 9LJVYKZ Taylor Swift’s career has lasted for almost twenty years, and yet she has never faded from the public eye. One reason for this success is her consistent production of music, usually one album release every two years. However, each album marks a shift into a new genre, and Swift constantly reinvents
her image along with it. In her early country music albums Taylor Swift and Fearless, Swift sings with a Southern drawl and presents herself as an PUUVJLU[ Z\UKYLZZ ^LHYPUN [LLU ^OPJO PZ YLÅLJ[LK PU OLY ZVUNZ HIV\[ ÄYZ[ SV]L and heartbreak. However, as Swift made the transition into pop and rock with her HSI\TZ 9LK HUK ZOL KYVWWLK her accent and began dressing in ÅHTIV`HU[ V\[Ä[Z [OH[ LJOVLK [OL NSP[[LY VM [OL º Z JOHUULSPUN [OL SVVR VM H [Y\L pop star. Swift’s more recent albums, Folklore and Evermore, explore an PUKPL MVSR HUK HS[LYUH[P]L YVJR Z[`SL HUK her muted pastel aesthetic matches the quiet and thoughtful tone of the music. With each reinvention of her artistic style and presentation, Swift’s fanbase grows larger and more dedicated. Swift is able to draw attention to her music by creating new content, but more importantly she is able to keep the attention by making such radical shifts and consistently doing it fabulously. July 2023
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