Taylor Swift defended after new song release sparks major criticism
The day Swifties have been waiting for has finally arrived - Taylor Swift has dropped not one, but four brand new songs.
The 36-year-old pop star, who tied the knot with her husband Travis Kelce in July, released a deluxe edition of her last studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, called The Encore, on Friday (25 September), just days after announcing it.
Consisting of four glossy pop tracks - ‘Patient Zero,’ which is the lead single, ‘Babylon,’ ‘Cleveland!’, and ‘Pink Clouding’ - the release has been met with seriously mixed reviews.
Some fans have taken issue with the fact that the album is more on the fun, happy, pop side, rather than full of gut-wrenching lyrics and break-up albums.
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One disappointed X user wrote: “Taylor Swift, I love you dearly, which is why I’m telling you this privately in front of all these people: These songs are not it for me. And ‘Cleveland’… we need to talk…”
While a second brutally quipped: “Taylor Swift, you’ve written some of the best bridges in lyrical history. I know you’re in there somewhere come back to us please.”
“When you see a Taylor Swift song ending with an exclamation mark just know that it will be the worst f***ing song you'll ever hear,” penned a third.
And a fourth savagely added: “Cleveland! Is probably one of the worst songs my girl Taylor Swift put out like wtf.”
Thankfully, though, Swift’s fans have come forward in the masses to defend the star and point out that pop music is her bread and butter.
One social media user wrote: “I’m convinced some people aren't Taylor Swift fans and are instead just folklore, evermore, and ttpd fans.”
While a second joked, “What people don’t realize is a Taylor Swift song can be fine to the average person but it really takes a phd in swiftieism to understand all the layers and connections and expansions at play here that make it truly excellent.”
And a third defended: “Taylor is so funny and cute and talented and I’m happy she found the love of her life and makes light of how cruel people are to her<333. I love these songs (babylon is my fav!!) aaaaand goodnight.”
Hitting out at all the backlash, a fourth pointed out: “No worries if you didn't like the encore songs. Luckily, you have an immense catalog of over 200 Taylor songs to choose from to listen to, or a never-ending array of different artists to hit play on.”
A fifth penned: “Am I the only one who is loving the new Taylor Swift song ? Cleveland! Swifties, what are your thoughts?”
And a sixth agreed: “Gosh, why so negative? Is she not allowed to explore different sounds? You don’t have to like everything she puts out. I happen to think the songs sound great. I prefer TTPD/folkmore, but she can’t make the same albums over and over.”
It comes as Swift is set to release her highly anticipated music video for ‘Patient Zero’ during the VMAs.
The star dropped a teaser on Thursday (24 September), revealing that it would be starring none other than Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell.
When announcing The Encore, she wrote on social media: “About a year ago, you guys did a truly unfathomable thing. Something that completely blew my mind… You gave The Life of a Showgirl the biggest first week for an album in history.
“I took a trip to Sweden to celebrate with Max [Martin] and Shellback, my two collaborators on this album. Really we just wanted to reflect and take in how grateful we were for the moment we were in, but there was a studio there and we did what we do when we feel anything at all: We wrote more songs.”
Topics: Taylor Swift, Celebrity, Music, Entertainment, Social Media
Madison Burgess