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!!”