Taylor Swift is becoming a grown-ass woman. After her hipster haircut and Schwarzenegger controversy, there’s little left to be said of the pop princess’ most recent transformation. The once-country darling is arguably the biggest pop star in the world at the moment — she commands Bieber-esque affection, is a demographic-crossing wunderkind, and has mastered the border between pop and country in a fashion that Shania Twain only hinted at. When Taylor cuts her hair, we watch. When she’s gracing talk show stages, we listen. When she tweets pictures of her adorable cat, we follow her.
Despite all of the focus on her, Swift has also maintained a partial air of enigma, leaving a lot to the imagination in a time when Miley’s crotch shot didn’t. Whether Swift’s mystery is a carefully concocted marketing scheme or the product of a spotlight-raised child doing Hollywood right, we may not know until her legacy has taken on the aged pop star patina.
Regardless, the girl’s in the midst of a blossoming. Last Monday, Swift premiered her first single from her upcoming album, Red, the follow-up to the incredibly popular (and for good reason) Speak Now. The song, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” is the stuff of Swift’s previous work — high school notebook wordplay and an anthemic chorus that we can expect those same high schoolers to chant out of car windows on summer nights.
But there’s not a damn thing about it that’s country, and that might be a good thing.
Yeah, I know: Taylor’s writing about failed relationships with what seems to have been half of Hollywood. Take a listen to the song itself though, and we’re seeing the maturation of an artist that’s not attempting to pander to the same group of broken-hearted teens year after year. She’s not laying her bleeding heart on the table, she’s taking a forthright stance against being another romantic victim. Swift, however slow the transition might be, is changing with the same girls (and boys, come on now) that fell in love with her falling out of love. Admittedly, I’m going to miss the country girl in Taylor, and will always pine for that part of her. If she keeps a bit of her roots on Red, then good on her. If she goes the way of Carly Rae Jepsen, then let this be her “Call Me Maybe,” and let it ring gloriously from every sorority pre-game for the next year. And really, if you’re angry at the girl for changing, maybe you should be changing a little bit yourself.
