Taylor Swift is incomparable. As the host of the highest-grossing concert tour of all time, the only artist to win the Grammy for Album of the Year four times, and the most-charted female artist in Billboard history, there is no doubt that Swift is stellar at her job. She’s been recognized time and time again for her outstanding work and influence on the music industry. But despite her fame, Swift is almost underrated.
It sounds crazy, I know. But hear me out. Taylor Swift has countless haters. People say she only writes about relationships, or dismiss her lyricism as vapid and immature. This kind of hate makes me upset. First of all, Swift’s songs explore complex topics like fame, womanhood, and more–not just men. And countless people express their feelings about a relationship through writing. Swift is just good enough at it that her work became famous.
Secondly, Swift’s lyrics are anything but simplistic. Sure, “The haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate/Baby, I’m just gonna shake” isn’t exactly a lyrical masterpiece, but that’s not the point of that song. Haters point to “Shake It Off” as an example of Swift’s basic lyrics while ignoring songs like “ivy” that are pure poetry. “I’d meet you where the spirit meets the bones/In a faith-forgotten land”—Swift is almost Shakespearean with lines like these.
Haters also claim that “all of her songs sound the same” or that Swift has no variety. This is objectively wrong. Try listening to “Blank Space” followed by “epiphany” followed by “Picture to Burn.” It’ll give you whiplash. Swift has succeeded in genres from country to pop to folk.
Finally, people claim that Swift is immature. Maybe, you know, that’s because she started her career at the age of fourteen. Swift was already a star before she even finished high school. She wrote petty songs about her ex-boyfriends, as any other teen would do. As Swift has grown and matured, her songs have matured too. For example, in the re-recording of her song “Better Than Revenge”, she updated a line that was previously criticized for disrespectful language towards women. Speaking of re-recordings, Swift has done what no other artist has dared: she’s taking back ownership of her music from her former record label by re-recording her old albums with the new tagline “Taylor’s Version.”
Taylor Swift doesn’t fit into the mold of what society expects a “good girl” to be. She’s petty. She’s proud. And she’s hated for both. The reality is, too much of the Taylor Swift hatred is ingrained in sexism. People shame her for all the men she’s dated while ignoring her musical accomplishments– ignoring that she’s gotten this point of fame because she’s pretty freaking good.
Swift has written ten-minute long epics, beautifully tragic piano ballads, and dark ruminations on the effects of fame. She’s the first artist to have made a billion dollars solely from music and performing. She’s been called “one of the greatest songwriters of all time” by collaborator Aaron Dessner.
Simply put, Taylor Swift is an incredible artist. This isn’t to say she’s perfect. As an environmentalist, I get annoyed with her countless vinyl variants that encourage overconsumption. I wish she would do more to reduce her carbon emissions, especially from private jet usage, and limit her impact on our already devastated planet.
Still, I can’t ignore the disrespect that Taylor Swift has been treated with all these years. You don’t have to like Taylor Swift’s music—but you should give her the respect she deserves for the musical powerhouse that she is.
