Taylor Swift is a best-selling multi-platinum recording artists. She has sold over 40 million albums in the U.S., sold over 130 million singles worldwide and won numerous awards, including for being one the most influential people in the world. Now she is back to reclaim her throne with “Look What You Made Me Do,” the first single released off her new album called “Reputation,” making a comeback after taking a three-year hiatus from a successful tour.
“Reputation” may not be like the “1989” era, but it is liked by Swifties overall. Fans are giving Swift credit for switching it up every-time she puts out a new album, whether it is the lyrics, music videos, pictures or even the theme of the album. Swift constantly keeps her fans and the world eagerly guessing and awaiting the release of yet another album.
After being labeled as a snake by her arch-enemies Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, Calvin Harris and the person who started it all: the one and only Kanye West. Swift since decided to take the used term “snake” and make it into her own by letting her haters know that if she’s a snake, then she will be one in her own little way.
The sixth track, “Look What You Made Me Do,” from her forthcoming album “Reputation” can be described as an upbeat kind of electric pop-rock with a hint of sassiness and attitude to the song. If you’d take the moment to actually break down the lyrics and listen to the track, you can definitely tell this is a direct hit to the media and to certain people who are against Swift.
For instance, one of the lyrics from the song is, “I don’t like your little games, don’t like your tilted stage.” It is surmised that she is referring to West, who performed on an unconventional stage, tilted and suspended in air.
This all stems back to their ongoing feud from the 2009 VMAs when West had jumped up on stage, interrupting Swift to say, “Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time.” Ever since the VMAs incident, these two have been going back and forth.
Now Swift is retaliating after Kim Kardashian released several videos on her Snapchat, which revealed a phone call with between West and Swift. Swift had previously said she did not know about the lyrics in the West’s song “Famous,” yet Kardashian and West insisted that Swift did know about the lyrics and that she gave West the approval to go ahead and do whatever he wanted to do with the track. Although, is unclear if Swift gave him the permission to use the strong term “bitch” during their discussing over the phone call.
She is directing all of her frustration and all of the hate that she was getting into this whole album. This is a change because we are not used to seeing Swift like this; instead, we are used to the love songs and the fairy-tales, yet she is re-inventing herself, her image and her name.
This can be a little scary for Swifties but exciting at the same time because they are willing to be there for Swift even though the single and the cover art is a little different from the rest of her albums. The Swifties are also willing to support her no matter what because they want to see her succeed and also want to see what she is going to do in the reputation era.
“As a huge fan of Taylor Swift, I thought her first lead single off her upcoming album was different and new, which is not shocking because Swift is always coming up with something clever and creative with every musical piece she writes,” Brittney Vorhees, a junior communication major, said. ” I am not going to lie, I was a little hectic on the single of ‘Look What You Made Me Do,” but once I listened to it again and again, I started to like it and then I came to love it.”
Same with Monica Ditomassi, a sophomore English major. It took Ditomassi a while to get use to the track because it is not like the rest of the music she has put out.
“[It] threw me off too, but then the more I listened to it the more I liked it. It’s definitely herself with this song and album,” Ditomassi said.
“I have not heard of her new song,” Arianna Lozano, a senior at Cabrini University, said. “I kind of listen to her as she evolves as a music artist, so I guess she started as very country, very down to her roots. I think she has been more exposed to modern culture, so I think in sense that her modern culture has inspired her more now than before.”
