"I'm sorry, the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, ‘cause she's dead!"
Remember 3 years ago, when everything was right with the world? No?! Oh come on, you remember! Barack Obama was still president, there was still a page on climate change on the EPA website, and everyone loved Taylor Swift. Oh yeah, now you remember!
I forgive you, a lot has changed since then. I mean, unless you've been living in total radio silence the past 3 years, you know a lot has changed. Regrettably, politics are worse than ever today, but last night there was a little taste of 2014 in the air: people started liking Taylor Swift again.
To be honest, I was one of the many, many T Swift fans who turned against her post-1989 album release/world tour. I just couldn't seem to get past her blatant lying regarding that now infamous phone convo with Kanye. Her annoying "playing the victim" thing after Kim Kardashian released the recording of that phone conversation didn't help my opinion of Tay Tay either. For me, and many others, a deep, inescapable grave had been dug for Taylor Swift's reputation.
I'm a firm believer in people embracing who they are. I don't like liars. In fact, I get along better with the arrogant jerks that admit they're arrogant jerks rather than the ones who pretend to be humble sweethearts. You can see my problem with Taylor Swift, then. Here was this 20-something young woman who was still acting as innocent and naive as the 15-year-old high school princess she'd portrayed in hit songs/music videos such as You Belong With Me and Love Story. Sure, it was charming when she was the young, teenaged country star with the sweet smile and golden ringlets, but now? Especially after Kim Kardashian and Katy Perry had both trashed her? It was just plain ridiculous.
For a long time, nothing changed. I stopped listening to Taylor's music, as did many others. Her popularity plummeted, and after 3 years of no new music, it seemed as if Taylor Swift may have given up on herself. Here's the thing about Taylor Swift though: we're talking about the girl who had enough moxy to write and perform songs in front of the whole world about any guy who'd ever screwed her over. Did you really think she'd give up that easily? And right on time, Taylor made her comeback. After teasing fans (and haters alike) all week with blurry, VHS-quality snake videos on her social media accounts, Taylor Swift released her new single, Look What You Made Me Do, off her soon-to-be-released album, Reputation.
Ok, it's just a song. Why exactly did one song change my mind (and why should it change yours, too)? Well, because Taylor Swift finally did the only thing she ever really needed to do in order to make a comeback: she embraced who she is now instead of continuing to cling to who she was. Look at the career of any hit artist, and you'll start to notice that reinventing yourself is the key to a successful (and extended) musical career. Prince? He even changed his name from Prince to The Artist Formally Known As Prince. Madonna? She's reinvented herself so many times it's crazy. Even Miley Cyrus went for it, shedding her Hannah Montana image in favor of that whole short-haired, foam finger rubbing, twekring thing that happened (haha yeah, remember that?). Finally, Taylor Swift gets it, too: you have to change, to evolve, in order to stay relevant and well-liked. A teenager can sing songs about going to prom and getting her heart broken. A twenty-something has different, just as important, stories to tell through song.
So yes, as she says in her new single, "The Old Taylor is dead," but that's for the best. After all, the reason we all loved Taylor so much in the beginning was because she was so relatable, and with her new song, talking about how the world has hardened her and changed her as she's grown up, can't you relate to that, too? I say, give Taylor Swift another chance. Everyone messes up. All we can really do next is keep evolving and changing as we grow up, and she’s finally admitting that she has evolved from that fairytale princess girl into a harder, smarter, “actress starring in your bad dreams”. Like I said, all she ever had to do was admit she had changed and own it in order to gain my respect and support back. So here’s to a new era of relatable T Swift music, featuring songs about growing up and finding yourself as you enter the real world. So here’s to Taylor Swift on a job well done. I can’t wait to see what she does next!