Is Taylor Swift a Genius?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She was smart enough to avoid getting sucked into a crypto scam, unlike other celebrities! https://fortune.com/crypto/2023/04/19/taylor-swift-avoided-100-million-ftx-debacle-by-questioning-whether-the-exchange-was-selling-unregistered-securities/

This. She’s smart and/or has wise advisors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Taylor Swift is the Paul McCartney of our time/her generation and I will stand by this claim. Does that make her a genius? Probably. Maybe not, because she's also very hardworking and hard work can compensate for lack of genius, but in her case I think that her hard work just propels her talent as is also the case for McCartney.

To be a young woman with such longevity is supremely challenging. She's written hundreds of songs, many of which have become instant classics. She's a musical chameleon, and has worked to improve her most glaring weakness (her vocals) over time.

Like McCartney, she is primarily a songwriter. But, unlike other songwriters, she (and he) are able to also play multiple instruments, sing, and perform. They are famously unproblematic (more so Swift than McCartney, but he's not exactly some scandal-ridden drug addict), both engaged participants with other musicians, and both are versatile stylistically. McCartney is a stronger instrumentalist, but he also has 50 years on her.

Absolute ROFL!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taylor Swift is a marketing genius and a good pop star

Lauryn Hill is a musical genius.

Lauryn Hill is not exactly prolific. She has some good songs, but she has one solo album from 1998 and two albums with the Fugees

True. But being prolific has nothing to do with being a musical genius.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taylor Swift is a marketing genius and a good pop star

Lauryn Hill is a musical genius.

Lauryn Hill is not exactly prolific. She has some good songs, but she has one solo album from 1998 and two albums with the Fugees

True. But being prolific has nothing to do with being a musical genius.

I’m not sure this is knowable on such a small pool of evidence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taylor Swift is a marketing genius and a good pop star

Lauryn Hill is a musical genius.

Lauryn Hill is not exactly prolific. She has some good songs, but she has one solo album from 1998 and two albums with the Fugees

Taylor Swift puts out the same mediocre catchy pop music over and over again with different packaging. Quality over quantity isn’t something Taylor Swift or her fans comprehend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Taylor doesn’t just write her own songs. She’s written hits for many other artists.

Plenty of artist do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I really respect what she's done but I don't think she's a genius. I think a significant part of her success is her skill in marketing herself. It's also really unclear to me how much of the actual music she writes. I understand she writes pretty much all her lyrics, and she's a very good lyricist. But it's never been clear to me if she is composing much of this music herself, especially for her bigger hits, which tend to be more heavily produced.

Has it really gotten to the point where a singer who writes her own songs is considered a genius?
And who cares if she writes them? Her song are all mid.

I agree with you. There are songwriters who were geniuses, but Taylor Swift is not among them. As much as her fans make a big deal about her lyrics, it's not what has made her famous and successful -- it's her brand, the production around her, combined with music that doesn't provoke or innovate really at all. She has a nice voice and she does play her own instruments sometimes. But is she hugely different than, say, Katy Perry? More talented or innovative than Janelle Monae? Not really. There's nothing ground breaking about her.

Agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think she is a once-in-a-generation singer-songwriter talent. She is underrated because she is a woman and her fan base is young women. If she was a man, well, she’d be the man.

I agree. My very astute daughter pointed out how initially everyone dismissed the Beatles because they were a “boy band” with teenage girl fans and now every man over 50 can’t shut up about how great they are. There is a basic assumption that anything young girls are into, do or support is inherently less than.

When the Beatles were a boy band, there music wasn't that great. The reason people (and not just men) today think they are the greatest is because of the way they evolved as musicians.

Young girls aren't inherently superior music critics. What Taylor does better than anyone is relate to her fanbase, in a way that most artists don't. She makes her fans think they are her friends, and she does that in a way that seems authentic -- or at least, more authentic than a corporate boy band. She also sings about experiences most young girls think they will have...and don't. How many girls in today's social media generation actually go through the amount of romantic drama that Taylor sings about? I'd guess very few...but they can "experience" it through her music, feel like they've gone through it themselves, and can learn the lessons she's learned. This makes it seem like Taylor is some kind of mentor, and young girls love that stuff.

I never said that girls were inherently superior music critics, but all the things they like aren't inherently bad. And the Beatles suck. They really do. George Harrison did some cool stuff after but they aren't great and neither is Paul. Also I can tell you don't really know anything about girls AT ALL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She was smart enough to avoid getting sucked into a crypto scam, unlike other celebrities! https://fortune.com/crypto/2023/04/19/taylor-swift-avoided-100-million-ftx-debacle-by-questioning-whether-the-exchange-was-selling-unregistered-securities/

Her dad worked for Merrill Lynch so…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think she is a once-in-a-generation singer-songwriter talent. She is underrated because she is a woman and her fan base is young women. If she was a man, well, she’d be the man.

no way. I truly don't get the crazed hype around her, except to say that she really is a marketing genius and is very hardworking and prolific, so maybe that creates her buzz. but I really don't like her songs, and all of her lyrics are about how to have self-respect when you are slighted -- that's fine, but, I'm sorry, it's not genius or inspiring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Taylor Swift is a marketing genius and a good pop star

Lauryn Hill is a musical genius.

Ha, no.

Lauryn Hill hasn’t been relevant since the late 90s. You do know that it was 20 years ago, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I really respect what she's done but I don't think she's a genius. I think a significant part of her success is her skill in marketing herself. It's also really unclear to me how much of the actual music she writes. I understand she writes pretty much all her lyrics, and she's a very good lyricist. But it's never been clear to me if she is composing much of this music herself, especially for her bigger hits, which tend to be more heavily produced.

Has it really gotten to the point where a singer who writes her own songs is considered a genius?
And who cares if she writes them? Her song are all mid.

I agree with you. There are songwriters who were geniuses, but Taylor Swift is not among them. As much as her fans make a big deal about her lyrics, it's not what has made her famous and successful -- it's her brand, the production around her, combined with music that doesn't provoke or innovate really at all. She has a nice voice and she does play her own instruments sometimes. But is she hugely different than, say, Katy Perry? More talented or innovative than Janelle Monae? Not really. There's nothing ground breaking about her.

Her lyrics are 100 percent why she is so successful. I would say she’s the best lyricist of our time. Her early songs were like diary entries and young women connected with her through those songs. Much different than a singer who sings someone else’s words. She also embraced her fans through social media and never went through a bad girl phase like many other young stars.

[Anonymous]

I think she is both very talented (especially as a song writer) and very savvy (and listens to the right advice).

She is at a point in her career now where she can make certain choices that other artists wouldn't be able to do.

For example, releasing two surprise albums during the pandemic and not teasing them or marketing them in advance.

In the summer of 2020, rather than a tour for Lover she was going to do Loverfest (in order to stay close to her sick mother).

Even with her current tour, she could do many many more shows and sell them out and make a lot more money - look how many shows Harry Styles did on his recent tour.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I really respect what she's done but I don't think she's a genius. I think a significant part of her success is her skill in marketing herself. It's also really unclear to me how much of the actual music she writes. I understand she writes pretty much all her lyrics, and she's a very good lyricist. But it's never been clear to me if she is composing much of this music herself, especially for her bigger hits, which tend to be more heavily produced.

Has it really gotten to the point where a singer who writes her own songs is considered a genius?
And who cares if she writes them? Her song are all mid.

I agree with you. There are songwriters who were geniuses, but Taylor Swift is not among them. As much as her fans make a big deal about her lyrics, it's not what has made her famous and successful -- it's her brand, the production around her, combined with music that doesn't provoke or innovate really at all. She has a nice voice and she does play her own instruments sometimes. But is she hugely different than, say, Katy Perry? More talented or innovative than Janelle Monae? Not really. There's nothing ground breaking about her.

Her lyrics are 100 percent why she is so successful. I would say she’s the best lyricist of our time. Her early songs were like diary entries and young women connected with her through those songs. Much different than a singer who sings someone else’s words. She also embraced her fans through social media and never went through a bad girl phase like many other young stars.

"Like diary entries" is not a compliment to me, especially not when her writing style has not really matured over time. She's still writing these songs that sound like a teenage girl longing for her summer love. Which is fine! Nothing wrong with her music. But she is NOT the best lyricist of our time. At all. I can think of a dozen bands/artists who are doing more interesting, complex, and innovative things with their lyrics than Swift is. She's cranking out the same stuff that has made her money for the last 15 years, and good for her.

Her social media presence and public image as a good girl are irrelevant to a conversation as to whether or not she's "a Genius" -- as others have pointed out, she's clearly very good at marketing and branding herself. But that's really independent of her value as an artist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think she is both very talented (especially as a song writer) and very savvy (and listens to the right advice).

She is at a point in her career now where she can make certain choices that other artists wouldn't be able to do.

For example, releasing two surprise albums during the pandemic and not teasing them or marketing them in advance.

In the summer of 2020, rather than a tour for Lover she was going to do Loverfest (in order to stay close to her sick mother).

Even with her current tour, she could do many many more shows and sell them out and make a lot more money - look how many shows Harry Styles did on his recent tour.

What does any of this have to do with her being an artistic genius?

It is so, so telling to me that in any conversation about Taylor Swift, the Swifts obsessively list these personal anecdotes and attributes that have nothing to do with her music. It's really true that she is a master of marketing -- she has truly convinced y'all that you are besties and wow does it pay of (like literally $$$) for her in a big way. Amazing.