# Can someone explain the Taylor Swift phenomenon to me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [March 19, 2023, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339 "2023-03-19T02:50:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![knavette57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knavette57/32/3871_2.png) [@knavette57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knavette57)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/81 "2023-03-19T17:50:01Z")
Wasn’t Elvis another phenomenon too? He also sounded very moody and dreamy, the style of his times. I think Taylor Swift sounds similar, and that appeals to the young or even the middle aged. She has social media to further along her magnificence among her fans, and this also gives her new fans (like yourself, in a totally different demographic). If Elvis or even the Beatles had all the influence she has, I wonder how much more they might have had (and certainly the Beatles were close to it.) I can think of few pop stars that were not considered kind of overrated by some people. The difference being, of course, that it was often old folk who didn’t get it. Now some of them get it, and like it. (I enjoyed Lady Gaga, I was 50 when she hit the scene and liked her alot). That kind of thing did not happen when I was a youth. Old people did not like our music. It was too different, too loud, too vulgar…and please would we cut our hair and lengthen our skirts while we were at it? (b. 1957 btw) I also think music has come full circle in lots of ways. Probably needs a diff thread though, and someone who is more intelligent than I am to intro it, and explain it (and without a doubt it has already been discussed, anyway). ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/82 "2023-03-19T21:44:30Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > “Style” was a great song, one that I always turned up when I played it. This song in particular is one that I would rate highly compared to every pop song of the last 60 years. ---
**Author:** ![Kelby2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ebca7d/32.png) [@Kelby2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelby2)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/83 "2023-03-19T21:48:27Z")
My daughter, a young professional, is throwing down $400 to attend a Swift concert in Denver this summer. That’s probably close to the sum total her father has spent on concert tickets his entire lifetime. She has some strong connection with young women through her music. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/84 "2023-03-19T22:35:08Z")
The below should be a gift link to a Washington Post article about Swift’s concert this past Friday in Arizona, the first of her new tour, which contains some notes about what her fans love about her and her music. > [@](#): > > She has no chill. After rising to fame with songs about her awkward, unpopular teen years, she now[embraces cringe](https://www.today.com/popculture/popculture/taylor-swift-gives-commencement-speech-cringe-unavoidable-lifetime-rcna29451)and earnestness. That’s part of the draw for her legion of fans, who see her as one of them. > [@](#): > > To be a Taylor Swift fan is to learn to master the [clues and secret messages that could be embedded](https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/10/20/taylor-swift-midnights-easter-eggs/?itid=lk_inline_manual_15) in every lyric, public comment and social media post, no matter how opaque. To be a Taylor Swift fan is to always come ready, which includes devising the perfect outfit to wear to a concert, with unlimited options bestowed by the singer herself, who chose a tour theme, “eras,” that celebrates her past and present. > > Being in the crowd was like being in a force field where all pretenses are gone; Swift’s music covers the spectrum of bubble-gum pop (which she refers to as “glitter gel pen lyrics”) to deep introspective poetry, and her concerts are a place where you can dance or cry to either. Swift has laid bare her own insecurities and emotions over 10 studio albums and more than 200 songs. Here, in her presence and among one another, fans become their truest selves. > [@](#): > > A group of 20-something women attached plastic Easter eggs to white T-shirts with photos of some of their favorite “Easter eggs” and hints that Swift has dropped over the years. > [@](#): > > Swift, who misses nothing, praised everyone for their effort from the stage. > > “You have really outdone yourselves, guys. The way that you decided to show up to this concert, you really, really decided to show up,” she said, noting that she saw people dressed as mirror balls (from the song “Mirrorball”); willow trees (from “Willow”); and “sexy babies” (from [“Anti-Hero”](https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/10/21/antihero-taylor-swift-midnights/?itid=lk_inline_manual_32)— and too complicated to explain). “I have seen, like, really amazing, specific visual representations of lyrics or weird online inside jokes that we have.” > > “I was thinking about tonight and how special this is,” she added. “You have led me to believe, by you being here, that it’s special for you, too, so it’s really nice that it’s mutual.” > **[Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour opening weekend: Tears, joy and ‘therapy’](https://www.washingtonpost.com/music/2023/03/19/taylor-swift-glendale-concert-scene/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWJpZCI6IjMxNzE0NTkiLCJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNjc5MTk4NDAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNjgwNDk0Mzk5LCJpYXQiOjE2NzkxOTg0MDAsImp0aSI6ImVjZTYxZWM4LTIwMTktNGExNC1hZTM1LTUwMzgwNmQ5MzYxZSIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9tdXNpYy8yMDIzLzAzLzE5L3RheWxvci1zd2lmdC1nbGVuZGFsZS1jb25jZXJ0LXNjZW5lLyJ9.N6asVCkgXQzCjbJgB1-1yfXicF66aygK1LwFigVfLMQ&itid=gfta)** > > Fans descend on Glendale, Ariz. (a.k.a. "Swift City") for a long-awaited chance to commune with their pop icon, revel in her lyrics and express their true selves. ---
**Author:** ![Ziberian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/919ad9/32.png) [@Ziberian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ziberian)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/85 "2023-03-19T23:00:38Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > She also seems like a “real person” in interviews I’m not a fan, (I don’t dislike her material, it’s just not my style of music), but I was very impressed when she broke her political silence a few years ago. That’s a tricky move & could have cost her fans, but she had the balls to do it & handled it well. > **[Taylor Swift breaks silence, endorses two Democrats in Tennessee](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/pop-star-taylor-swift-breaks-silence-endorses-two-democrats-tennessee-n917616)** > > "I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now,” Swift wrote. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/86 "2023-03-19T23:30:00Z")
Huh, that is the first song of her that I have listened to: it’s good! And so are the lyrics. Thanks for sharing. And she is pretty too. I’m not turning into a fan, I guess, but I understand other cohorts that do. Her cheeks and her smile remind me of Debbie Harry, when we were both much younger. So yeah, I understand. She is much cleaner, I would say, and another style too, but times change. I’m OK with that. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/87 "2023-03-20T00:04:26Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The below should be a gift link to a Washington Post article about Swift’s concert this past Friday in Arizona, the first of her new tour, which contains some notes about what her fans love about her and her music. This is definitely true for her hardcore fans. But for the majority of people who like her music, I think it’s simpler. She excels at crafting catchy pop hooks, and she is a master at melodies and rhythms that are easy to get into and seem simple and approachable on first listen, but often have more depth when you pay attention. I thought she was the antithesis of my preferred music genres, but despite my best intentions, I started liking some of her songs from _1989_, and it was definitely the melodies that first hooked me. I only started to appreciate her lyrics on _Folklore_ and when I went back in her catalog to _Red_. She first impressed me as a person in her defamation trial, where some sleazebag sued her for telling everyone he grabbed her ass during a photo shoot. She refused to get dragged into the muck and gave very powerful testimony on the stand. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/88 "2023-03-20T00:54:29Z")
Okay, I guess I’m gonna have to give her a second look. I’ve been firmly in the neutral camp for a while (though I love _Love Story_) but I never really looked too deeply. I appreciate the thoughtful responses here… probably more than the OP. ---
**Author:** ![hostility](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hostility](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hostility)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/89 "2023-03-20T01:09:43Z")
> I appreciate the thoughtful responses here… probably more than the OP. Not so. But nice try. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/90 "2023-03-20T01:24:37Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > She first impressed me as a person in her defamation trial, where some sleazebag sued her for telling everyone he grabbed her ass during a photo shoot. She refused to get dragged into the muck and gave very powerful testimony on the stand. I absolutely loved her for this. ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/91 "2023-03-20T08:51:52Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I suspect the lyrics are a big reason for her success and they resonate with her audience. I think that’s it. I find her music very formulaic and her voice, while good, isn’t particularly distinctive. But I found myself reminiscing about an ex listening to _All to Well_. I could partly relate to it and the lyrics are actually good, which is much more than I can say about 99% of pop music. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/92 "2023-03-20T10:49:11Z")
> [@hostility](#): > > can someone explain what exactly about Taylor Swift _resonates_ with her fans? Seems a very fair question to me, not only about TS but really about any artist. Not getting all the hostility to hostility here. We ought to be able to explain dispassionately anyone’s curiosity about an artist’s appeal to his or her fan base, though articulating it precisely can be tricky. Why? Because if you’re explaining it, you probably like it and have some trouble understanding why someone else might not like it. Example: the lyrics. It’s wholly insufficient to say her fans think her lyrics are super-fantastic. What about her lyrics is so good? Is her vocabulary unique? Does she come up with inventive rhymes? Does she use striking metaphors? Especially imaginative imagery? What are some examples of her lyrical brilliance that seem so amazing to you? Instead, I’m mostly hearing “Her lyrics are good.” That doesn’t really explain her lyrical appeal, does it? Or is it her image? She’s an attractive young woman, so maybe it’s a visual projection of confidence that many youngish women want to identify with? Assume that’s true (I don’t know that it is) how does she project that image? Is it the holding of the guitar at the head of her backing band that does it? The glamorous closeups? Her hair? Her outfits? Or is it her singing voice? Again, what ABOUT her singing voice? Does she have amazing range? Does she have a gritty edge that belies her feminine appearance? Does she do something difficult or surprising with her phrasing? I’m just throwing out examples of possible ways to explain any singer’s appeal to those who don’t get it. I don’t really follow contemporary music much, but I’ll occasionally watch someone who’s debuted since the 1970s, like TS, and it mostly leaves me cold. I like to think, however, I can explain what I like about the Kinks or Frank Zappa or Joni Mitchell that would satisfy a younger person who doesn’t understand their appeal, and not just tell them over and over “it’s so good!!” ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/93 "2023-03-20T11:16:57Z")
> [@slicedalone](#): > > Not getting all the hostility to hostility here. If somebody asked why so many people liked pizza even though it is bland, but on further inquiry you find that they have never tried it, only smelled it, and when offered a slice, absolutely refused to taste it and insisted that you only explain the appeal of pizza in words, would you take them seriously? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/94 "2023-03-20T11:45:18Z")
> [@slicedalone](#): > > Not getting all the hostility to hostility here. Because the OP is asking people to put forth the effort of a detailed explanation but refuses to reciprocate that effort by listening to a song to help facilitate understanding the answers or having common ground for a discussion. Looking at your own ideas of what a response could look like, why would anyone type up detailed descriptions of her voice or lyrics when the other party flatly refuses to do as much as hit play on a YouTube video? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/95 "2023-03-20T11:59:02Z")
Furthermore, isn’t the answer fairly obvious? She’s an attractive charismatic presence who sings well crafted pop songs with a lot of talent backing her. Throw in a bit of the randomness of fame, good marketing, and the question is answered. I’m not really a fan. I’d rather listen to Neko Case or Sharon van Etten when it comes to female singer songwriters. I wish they had Taylor’s sales. But I know why they don’t. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/96 "2023-03-20T14:05:16Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > If somebody asked why so many people liked pizza even though it is bland, but on further inquiry you find that they have never tried it, only smelled it, and when offered a slice, absolutely refused to taste it and insisted that you only explain the appeal of pizza in words, would you take them seriously? Sure I would. Why would I require ANY participation from the questioner beyond asking a cogent question? Maybe he’s sitting back, absorbing the first 100 responses, gauging which ones seem most likely to him, slowly sampling TS’s body of work, carefully considering it as further responses come pouring in, and rephrasing his response after thoughtful consideration. I don’t find pizza bland at all, but if you do, may I suggest that you try it with different toppings, such as anchovies which have a sharp salty tang to them? I’d recommend John’s on Bleecker street in NYC which serves a very tangy anchovy pizza, and let us know what you make of that. If you find that pizza still bland, I can make further recommendations to satisfy your lust for piquancy. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/97 "2023-03-20T14:37:10Z")
The heart wants what the heart wants. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/98 "2023-03-20T14:49:34Z")
I’m following this thread, because it really is a phenomenon beyond most “I ❤ 🎸” fandom. It’s much more than just a subjective “Well, some people like her music.” I was dismissive of the hyper-fans after I watched one of my college students break down because she didn’t have reception and heard Taylor’s new single ten minutes after the rest of the world. The poor girl was inconsolable. But y’all have gotten me to listen to some of her (excellent) music, and the later analyses here have been more insightful… of how genuine she is, and that fans “feel that they’ve grown up with her”. . > [@Jackmannii](#): > > I’m more impressed that the Bonzo Dog Band rhymed “way” with “auto-da-fé” and “tourniquet” _“Say, Diggerty, why do you spend so much time on that message board?”_ “Because I was in a discussion where someone compared Taylor Swift’s lyrics to the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/99 "2023-03-20T15:33:38Z")
Until I started watching some of thee videos in this thread, I had never in my life heard a Taylor Swift song. I like her. Decent musical chops, meaningful lyrics (She isn’t Kinky Friedman, but who is?) and what seems like a reasonably honest, up-front persona. If the OP can’t handle that, that is their problem to deal with. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2023, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339/100 "2023-03-20T15:48:19Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > > [@TroutMan](#): > > > > She first impressed me as a person in her defamation trial, where some sleazebag sued her for telling everyone he grabbed her ass during a photo shoot. She refused to get dragged into the muck and gave very powerful testimony on the stand. > > I absolutely loved her for this. It’s also a good example of the easter eggs people have mentioned that she adds to songs and videos. In the above-reference suit, she countersued the jerk for $1 (and won). Then in a video from her next album (_Reputation_), she’s in a bathtub full of jewels and a single dollar bill. Another fun example: in the video for “Lover”, each room in the house represents one of her past albums - the room she sits in playing piano alone as _Speak Now_ where she wrote all songs by herself, the red room as _Red_, the fishbowl as _1989_ from the era where she can’t escape from public view, etc. It’s not the kind of thing that necessarily attracts _new_ fans, but it’s a big part of why her fans stick with her once they find her music. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-BjZmE2gtdo/maxresdefault.jpg "Taylor Swift - Lover (Official Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BjZmE2gtdo) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-taylor-swift-phenomenon-to-me/981339.md?page=6)