this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2024

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Can someone explain to me what makes Taylor Swift so popular? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by [email protected] to c/asklemmy

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I don't get it. Her music is sometimes catchy but otherwise unremarkable, from the songs I've heard. How does she break all these records and accumulate so much fame and wealth?

She's pretty, but a lot of singer songwriters are, especially those with makeup and costume people, a support staff.

Is there something else to her that people like?

I'm confused about what makes her so apparently unique or phenomenal.

Update: there are so many things that make swift unique or phenomenal.

I've received tons of great answers from people that have helped me understand, like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle, many factors that makes swift different and consequently more successful than her peers.

Clever lyrics, top-tier production, sharing autobiographical and emotional points in her life very directly, apparent honesty with few or no public blemishes, creating a community of fans through Easter eggs and house parties and unconventional, but always personal methods, an early start supported by wealthy parents, she keeps winning against abusers, and her music itself is popular and fun.

Those are just a few of the puzzle pieces contributed here, and a dive into this post is a pretty good explanation of many of the factors that must be contributing to her phenomenal success and recognition, that set her apart from other pop stars, even pop stars who were phenoms in their own right.

This is a very educational post, thank you to everyone who has contributed.

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[–] ook_the_librarian 18 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I'll sum up some answers that made things click for me

She writes songs spanning many emotions.
Her albums span multiple genres. (I've only heard pop and country, but I'm not a fan.)
She is hard working, prolific, and puts on a show.

So with that combination it seems she has something for everyone. Personally, I only know one TS song, but it's catchy as hell. So there's no song that I hate that happens to TS song either.

About point 2.: I'm a Paul Simon fan and he spans multiple genres, but I wouldn't expect non-fans to know that.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

I've also only heard her pop, although i keep hearing that she spans multiple genre.

I'll ask the next Swifty that responds that they would recommend in any other genre besides relationship pop, break up pop.

Thanks, and the Paul Simon note is interesting. What do I listen to if I'm curious about listening to unconventional Paul Simon?

The Paul Simon I'm definitely not familiar with.

[–] ook_the_librarian 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I'm not a music expert but here goes.

Paul Simon is most identified as folk. The act Simon and Garfunkel is basically pure folk if such a thing exists.

Listen to the opening of Late in the Evening. He's singing folk, but there is no guitar (to my ear). Instead it's a bass guitar playing funk. Later some horns come in. They sound like mambo to me.

There are two songs on Graceland that he recorded with a South African band. This was during apartheid. He heard a bootleg tape from this SA group, and had to travel to a part of South Africa that he was banned from doing business in.

Does he make it some powerful statement? No, that would be a stunt. He just wanted to make music with them. "I Know What I Know" is about the insipid-ness of show biz party-networking culture. It's wild.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Awesome, thanks. Yeah, I only know about him as folk so I'm interested to listen to these.

[–] ook_the_librarian 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Don't get me wrong, he is a folk singer. But listening to what he is singing over can catch you off-guard.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Appreciate it, cool

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

She started in country music and moved to mostly pop from there, a lot of her original country music is about breakups too but that's pretty typical for women in country music because they don't get much freedom of movement for topics there unless they're hyper famous.