Song Review – Raelynn’s “God Made Girls”
This song from former The Voice contestant and now Valory Music-signed 20-year-old country music starlet Raelynn has been lurking out there for a while now, garnering tacit approval from the country music listening public and sitting down in the 30-something range in chart performance, while driving other listeners crazy for a host of reasons. “God Made Girls” looked like it was destined to ride off into the sunset, and possibly, take Raelynn’s puttering country career with it. But a renewed push from Clear Channel’s well-meaning but controversial “On The Verge” program meant to give extra attention to up-and-coming artists may very well see a re-emergence of this song and a reset of its topside potential. On The Verge was the impetus behind the making of recent stars like Iggy Azalea and misappropriated EDM/country star Sam Hunt.
Requests have trickled into Saving Country Music headquarters to properly roast this offering for various offenses, including its potentially subservient representation of females as being made by God simply to be pretty objects and companions for men. But this is no “Girl In Your Truck Song.” It’s tough not to recognize there could be an acquiescence of the female perspective here, but that’s sort of a stretch, and I find it a little hard to get too exercised about it, while some female listeners may even find the song empowering. Plus if you’re evoking God in the conversation, there’s that whole rib and apple story to contend with.
What is more troubling, or at least annoying about “God Made Girls” is the immature/fairy tale aspect the whole song takes on to an almost unhealthy degree, especially when you consider this song is for grown ass adults and country music fans. Raelynn is all giggles and coos in this song, tilting her head and gazing into mirrors like a still emotionally-developing adolescent-aged cutesty wootsy star struck suburban American princess watching Frozen on continuous repeat. Not even a 15-year-old Taylor Swift evidenced such an abandonment of maturity as Raelynn does in this song. Though even with this criticism, “God Made Girls” yearns for depth by talking about girls being an emotional crutch for men, and being the ones to “drag his butt to church.”
The music of “God Made Girls” is generally unoffensive, though it’s also fairly unremarkable too. The one tough hurdle for this song to overcome is how it repeats the chorus line “He stood back and told the boys I’m ’bout to rock your world” twice per refrain instead of either evolving or resolving the line the second time through as would traditionally be done in more elaborate, or even average songcraft. But “God Made Girls” is catchy, and buoyed by Raelynn’s young, naturally cute voice and aspect. It’s probably also worth pointing out that this is a song for girls, by girls, and will resonate along sex lines disproportionately, which there’s nothing inherently wrong with. It was co-written by Nicolle Galyon, Lori McKenna, and famous early Taylor Swift co-writer Liz Rose. Joey Moi, the madman behind Nickelback and now Florida Georgia Line, is the producer of the track.
The video for “God Made Girls” works to reinforce the adolescent nature of the song, and even takes creative license to exacerbate it with endless staircases ascending into the sky and fairytale dress and scenarios—even images of young girls playing pretend. One strange aspect of the video is a woman on horseback that seems to be interjected for no apparent reason into the narrative, especially at the 2-minute mark of the video where she randomly appears shirtless.
“God Made Girls” is not terrible, and not even as bad as some country music fans with their dander up looking for songs to destroy would have you believe. But it does serve an an excellent example of country music’s current obsession with youth and unwillingness to mature beyond the 15-year-old perspective, along with conveying a questionable value of women in society, even if it does attempt to increase the sense of value in themselves.
1 1/2 of 2 Guns Down.
October 22, 2014 @ 11:58 am
Everything Joey Moi touches turns to shit.
October 22, 2014 @ 12:05 pm
I heard RaeLynn sing this song live and acoustic at a radio station event before I heard the single, and I had a hard time believing it was the same person. She sounds better without the helium.
October 22, 2014 @ 2:22 pm
I agree! If you look at youtube, you can find some accoustic versions by her, and they sound way better.
http://youtu.be/j5BkzOL7Mvg?t=1m08s
In this version, I really like the song. Of course, she won’t win a prize for the deepest and most meanigful text, but it is a nice simple song. Maybe we shouldn’ t kick her of our lists, i think she has potential.
October 22, 2014 @ 6:19 pm
That was much better; her accent still sounds a little exaggerated, but I still enjoyed the tune. (The studio version sounds like one of the Chipettes warbling over the sonic equivalent of Dream Whip. :p )
October 22, 2014 @ 12:18 pm
I am convinced at this point that Joey Moi is French for “I’m a freaking douchebag!”
October 22, 2014 @ 12:21 pm
I absolutely despise this song. It makes me want to puke.
October 22, 2014 @ 12:32 pm
Hey Trigger, this has nothing to do with this song, but just wanted to know your opinion. Do you think a well written country song can be blended tastefully with edm, or edm elements (for example drum machines)? Could you get behind someone who upholds the songwriting values of country but embraces some pop production? Obviously I know you prefer a more traditional approach, but I’m just curious.
October 22, 2014 @ 1:35 pm
There is nothing inherently wrong with blending the music of two genres as long as it is labeled properly and it is done well and with class and taste and respect for the original roots of the music. Not only do I think EDM and country could be blended tastefully, I think they have been blended tastefully before. Beck has done some cool things in that space. A lot of people like Gangstagrass. I’m sure there’s many more doing cool stuff that we’ve never heard of before. The problem is where we see it the most is with mainstream artists looking to try an appeal to the widest possible audience and the lowest common denominator, and it’s awful music regardless of how “evolved” they try to portray it. Drum machines have been around en masse since the 80’s, rap is 35 years old. Moog began producing synthesizers in mass production in 1967. The question still remains do you capture an authentic human sentiment? Do you say something or convey an expression never heard before, or conveyed in a different a manner? And do you respect the roots of the music, or trounce them to where you lose touch with what makes music special?
October 22, 2014 @ 2:12 pm
Great thoughts, I think the last question really hits the nail on the head. I’ve never been a huge fan of Beck but I’ll have to check him out again. Do you think you hold a pop country song to a higher standard? Meaning it’s easier for you to like a moderately well written traditional country song compared to a well written pop country song? Sorry I’m so inquizzitive today haha.
October 22, 2014 @ 9:05 pm
When reviewing music, I try to be impartial as possible and not show any favoritism towards or against something just because the artist is independent or mainstream, pop or traditional. I have given Florida Georgia Line a ‘Two Guns Up” grade before, and given Hank3, who was the artist who inspired this site, negative reviews. When reviewing country music, I do take into consideration how “country” it is because authenticity and ties to the roots of the music I think are one of the things that make good country. But that doesn’t mean a purely pop song, or pop country song is inherently bad, just like a purely traditional country song is inherently good.
October 23, 2014 @ 10:25 am
Cool Trigger, I know you generally stay impartial with your reviews, I was just being curious. I always enjoy getting your insight on everything country music.
October 22, 2014 @ 3:41 pm
I’d maybe add Phosphorescent to that list as well. But I agree. I’ve always felt like the blending of musical styles has been the secondary issue to the dearth of lyrical content, but it’s what mainstream artists like to turn the argument into.
October 22, 2014 @ 8:08 pm
Another off-topic question, Trigger.. you seem to be pretty keen on music in general (of course), but also instrumentation, composition, arrangement, production, and lyricism.. all of the fine details. I have met plenty of enthusiastic music fans who perceive these things but I was wondering if you play, write, or perform yourself. It strikes me that you do or did. For the record, this isn’t a question of credibility. just sheer curiosity. If this has been addressed on this site before or on a readily available source, I apologize for my ignorance.
October 22, 2014 @ 8:52 pm
When I started this website, and especially when it became a place that people were coming to as a source of music information, I made a vow that I would not mention any personal musical pursuits I may or may not be involved in directly unless for some reason it is unavoidable, especially if it involves criticism or opinion. As it says in the charter:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/charter
Be responsible with the public platform Saving Country Music has created, and never use it for self-promotion of you, or any of its other principals, including for personal music, creative, or business endeavors aside from specific ones related to the site, or the personal endeavors of friends or other close associates.
I will say that I do, and have always worked in music in both a part and full time capacity while running this site, and in multiple roles. But if I am involved in a project, and depending on my level of involvement, I either do not talk about it, or I recuse myself from offering opinion or criticism on it. There are some projects I did have some level of involvement in that I still reported on, but only from an informational capacity. I don’t mean to avoid the question, but I simply don’t want to be promoting, however inadvertently, and of my personal musical pursuits because in my opinion it would be a compromise of ethics.
Hope this helps.
October 22, 2014 @ 9:05 pm
That does help, thank you for the response. I was not asking for specifics on a public forum as this, of course, as you have a journalistic responsibility (as outlined by yourself). Again, just curiosity on my end as I have never picked up the answer along the way.
October 22, 2014 @ 12:38 pm
Wow! and to think she represents the next generation.
October 22, 2014 @ 12:52 pm
My first thought after hearing this, without knowing who sang it, was “why is Billy Gilman singing about this shit…and when is that kid gonna hit puberty?”
October 22, 2014 @ 12:54 pm
Nothing terrible offensive here, but I definitely did have to turn this song off the first time I heard it. It seems to just drone on and on.
October 22, 2014 @ 1:45 pm
I had to watch the Celtic Frost “A Dying God” documentary to cleanse my soul!!!
October 22, 2014 @ 2:28 pm
Her pronunciation of the word “girls” really annoys me. I just think it’s weird when a team of professional co-writers create a song that is less mature than Taylor Swift at age 16.
October 22, 2014 @ 2:36 pm
Don’t care for the song or her voice but my first impression was how much I think she resembles Mindy McCready.
October 22, 2014 @ 2:39 pm
Maybe its my age, but she looks 12, not 20. The song itself is insipid. Compare how soulful a 13 year old Leeanne Rimes sounded with “Blue” to the Mickey Mouse club squeakiness of this young lady.
October 22, 2014 @ 2:52 pm
I’m still having trouble figuring out why this shouldn’t be considered a sightly milder “Girl In Your Truck Song”. This whole song is basically saying that God made girls to be completely at the service of their men. Thus, indirectly saying that God himself approves of bro-country. That’s what I’m hearing, at least.
October 22, 2014 @ 9:08 pm
I don’t think this is a completely unfair assessment.
December 24, 2014 @ 11:50 pm
I think people are looking at this song the wrong way. Though those who are looking to be offended will still be offended.
One of the ways of looking at this song is the men are incapable buffoons that need help from girls in order to succeed while the girl are overflowing with competence.
Another way, and a way I believe this song was intended to come across as, has it’s roots firmly the bible, specifically fhe part about the help meet. That part to me implies that in the grand scheme of things that men cannot make it without the help of women, and women cannot make it without the help of men.
Kind of like gears have limited use without sprockets, and sprockets have limited use without gears.
January 8, 2015 @ 5:17 am
You mean rooted in the interpretation of the Bible of conservative Evangelicals. This song panders to their “theology”, and It was a successful strategy. Youth groups must he loving it.
Also: “Help meet” reminds me of Handmaids Tale, and who wants to be a sprocket.
October 22, 2014 @ 3:06 pm
Is this the girl who butchered the already crappy Pistol Annies song and somehow got praise from 4 supposedly “legitimate” artists with undeniable “talent”?
October 22, 2014 @ 3:14 pm
Little squeaky-voiced girls appeal to little squeaky -voiced girls . 99.9 % of all little girls have squeaky singing voices. When they hear someone that they can sing and sound like , that becomes a popular singer to them . Hence the success of T. S. and many many others. Young girls singing TS karaoke can do it very easily cuz TS has no range , suspect pitch and no vibrato , to speak of . Perfect attributes for amateur kids who THINK they sound good because they can sound like Taylor .
Stevie Nicks today is considered a terrific vocalist ….but it wasn’t always thus . A big reason for FLEETWOOD MAC’s success was the simplicity of their songs ( music AND lyrics ) and lead vocal melodies . Almost everyone young girl with an acoustic guitar could sing the Fleetwood hits because of the simplicity ..so you heard those songs at clubs , house parties , coffee houses and cafes etc. Granted …some kids are great mimics ( watch the Voice or Idol ) …they have good ears and can emulate what they hear so you may hear the exceptional kids singin Christina or Whitney . But the other 99.9 % will sing songs far less challenging musically and/or vocally . With all of those kids singing the less -challenging and often less musical stuff , that stuff and those artists get more exposure. You won’t hear too many Chaka Khan , Mariah Carey , Trisha Yearwood or Tina Turner songs at Karaoke night and if you do you can bet they’ll be butchered . But most of those singers can handle TS and Stevie NIcks with no problem .
October 22, 2014 @ 3:35 pm
The reason behind Fleetwood Mac’s success is the superior musicianship and creativity of Lindsey Buckingham. That man is one of the most criminally underrated popular musicians of the last 40 years!
Also, to elaborate on squeaky pitched girls singing. There lay the rub in why sadly this song will be immensely popular. This song was made for one demographic and one demographic only….Pre-teens and teens who sing into their shampoo bottles and hairbrushes every night dreaming they are the biggest pop star in creation. But it is the demographic that is the most profitable in the industry. So it will be pandered to at every turn, hence, this song.
October 23, 2014 @ 12:02 am
‘Also, to elaborate on squeaky pitched girls singing. There lay the rub in why sadly this song will be immensely popular. This song was made for one demographic and one demographic only”¦.Pre-teens and teens who sing into their shampoo bottles and hairbrushes every night dreaming they are the biggest pop star in creation. But it is the demographic that is the most profitable in the industry. So it will be pandered to at every turn, hence, this song.’
I think we are saying the same thing , Mike , re the market for this kind of a vocalist /song
And yes …Buckingham is an incredibly gifted and , perhaps , underrated musician . I was commenting on the Fleetwood Mac band as a whole and not LB . The songs were extremely simple ( DREAMS is , I believe , only two chords ) , the melodies had very manageable ranges for most people and were relatively easy to cover by local singers/bands in local clubs and pubs all over …hence mucho exposure and the tunes have survived the test of time because of that exposure .
October 22, 2014 @ 10:58 pm
Taylor Swift’s voice has never been squeaky since the beginning of her professional singing career. Contrast the Raelynn song to Taylor’s first single, for example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkD20ajVxnY
October 23, 2014 @ 12:07 am
My point was that TS has an unremarkable voice and consequently it is quite easy for kids to sing her music and feel as though they are as ” talented” . Yes , they may relate to her lyric s…but the range in her tunes, emotionally and melodically, is not particularly challenging or demanding…most kids easily approximate her performances.
October 22, 2014 @ 3:44 pm
As a woman, I honestly don’t mind this song. And I absolutely HATE Girl in Your Truck Song. What a waste of a nice voice and melody that dreck is.
The difference, I think, is in tone. Girl in Your Truck Song is crass pandering. God Made Girls is just too authentically sweet for me to hate. I actually think a message about OWNING the softer side of femininity can be healthy and empowering. A strong women doesn’t have to be tough all the time. What’s important is that she’s assigning this role to herself, it’s not being assigned to her. Another difference in the songs is RaeLynn is singing about a committed relationship, where Maggie Rose is essentially aspiring to be a hood ornament.
I totally get why anyone wouldn’t like this, but to me it’s harmless fun. And it sounds reasonably country, so there’s that. And yes, she sounds better live.
October 22, 2014 @ 6:26 pm
“I actually think a message about OWNING the softer side of femininity can be healthy and empowering. A strong women doesn”™t have to be tough all the time. What”™s important is that she”™s assigning this role to herself, it”™s not being assigned to her. Another difference in the songs is RaeLynn is singing about a committed relationship, where Maggie Rose is essentially aspiring to be a hood ornament.”
Well put. I still won’t listen to that Maggie Rose song, but RaeLynn’s — as far as the lyrics go — didn’t make me cringe as much as I thought it would.
October 22, 2014 @ 7:07 pm
Agreed. I wouldn’t listen to this by choice, but I don’t hate it. It’s made for a certain demographic, and most of the people reading here are simply not that demographic.
Acutaly, it really would be sort of nice if 10-15 year old girls started singing this instead of “Anaconda” or “All About that Bass” : )
October 23, 2014 @ 12:28 am
There is nothing creative about this song, it’s just a “me too” song from a wannabe Taylor Swift clone. I suppose some music execs see an opportunity to make some easy money by momentarily filling the commercial vacuum left in Nashville after Taylor Swift created a big following among teen girls then left the genre. Reminds me of the mindless, soulless Shania clones that Nashville labels put out in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
October 23, 2014 @ 12:34 am
Just curious, who would you consider to be “Shania clones” in that period. From what I have read, the Dixie Chicks, Lee Ann Womack, and Sara Evans were the most important new female artists of that period other than Shania.
October 23, 2014 @ 12:59 am
Eric, I’m struggling a bit to recall the names of the Shania clones because their music was so forgettable. Mindy McCready, Lila McCann, and Jessica Andrews fit the bill. And her pop influenced fellow Canadian, Carolyn Dawn Johnson. And Avril Lavigne’s handlers initially tried to push her down the Shania pop country path, though she ended up taking the faux-punk pop route.
October 23, 2014 @ 1:04 am
Avril Lavigne would have made a particularly poor Shania clone. Back when she started out, her personality featured a sense of darkness that contrasted strongly with Shania’s sunny and playful disposition.
October 23, 2014 @ 7:02 am
I was glad to read your take on this, Melissa. Well put.
To me, it speaks to the Dominant/Submissive relationship between a man and a woman. Which is something one learns to appreciate as one gets older and wiser–that young men really are young and dumb and full of cum, and young women have to learn to hold things together in spite of all that. This song speaks to the strength of a woman in a good way. And it is catchy enough that people will actually listen to it!
Maybe that jives with what you said–I don’t know. I am still aging and (hopefully) wise-ing (sic)!
October 22, 2014 @ 4:42 pm
This isn’t a bad song. She sounds like she’s sucking on helium (thanks to “producer” Joey Moi. Stay away from the boards man!! You already unleashed FGL and Nickelback on us!), yet she has potential. I think she can do better, especially since she’s 20 years old.
October 22, 2014 @ 5:51 pm
Hey Trigger, big fan here. Just wondering what you think of Eli Young Band? I don’t think they belong in the bro-country genre but they are not as rootsy as some of the artists I know you like. Just wondering if you had any thoughts either way, keep it up man!
October 22, 2014 @ 6:00 pm
This probably deserves a longer answer than a response to a comment, but Eli Young Band has always been one of those Texas country acts that figured out how to balance substance and commercial appeal better than most Nashville acts. They leave some to be desired, but you also applaud their success. I’m sure at some point a review will surface here and I can delve a little deeper into the subject.
October 22, 2014 @ 8:23 pm
I completely agree. Thanks for the response.
October 23, 2014 @ 7:18 am
I think that country radio should focus more on Ashley Monroe or Elizabeth Cook than “cute” little girls.
October 23, 2014 @ 11:52 am
I LOVE THIS SONG!!!!!!! 😀
October 23, 2014 @ 1:17 pm
I heard this crap on the radio today. Damn sad.
October 24, 2014 @ 8:03 am
This song does grow on you after 3 or 4 listens. I noticed with my daughter who is 4, that there is a renewed push of the “Princess” ideal. She loves this song!!! I also like the traditional way this song actually recognizes a God. As Cheesy as it is here and there, it’s pure country music tho.
October 24, 2014 @ 9:18 am
Perhaps I’m being biased because Lori McKenna is my absolute favorite songwriter (her new album Numbered Doors!! So good.) but I don’t mind this song. I think there is a place for lighthearted fare on the radio, and I would rather get it in this form then in the “party all night, drink till you can’t see, sit still and look pretty” bro-country offerings. It’s not going to change the world but I also don’t see the harm. If I had a little girl, I’d rather her listen to this then 90% of what is on top 40 radio.
The music video is awful though. I can’t defend that at all. 🙂
October 24, 2014 @ 4:41 pm
Somebody’s gotta climb that tree,
Somebody has to transmit rabies,
Somebody’s gotta run around this world,
So God made Squirrels.
October 24, 2014 @ 9:21 pm
I don’t think you should quit your day job. Neither should Raelynn, if she had one.
October 25, 2014 @ 5:48 am
I make a good amount of money so i wouldn’t do that.
It only took about 3 seconds to come up with something just as dumb as God Made Girls.
October 28, 2014 @ 3:32 pm
You said exactly what I’ve been thinking about this song. I may be biased, because I can’t stand her. But first off, her voice isn’t even close to great. The only reason she has any attention is because Blake Shelton made sure of it.
Like you said, this sounds like something a 7 year old girls would be singing while they’re playing house. This is some of the worst songwriting I have ever heard. And I’m no psycho feminist, but what the hell is the point of this song? It sounds like girls exist for the sole purpose of looking pretty so guys have something to look at. Taylor Swift might not have known how to write about anything other than boys and breakups, but some of her earlier stuff actually wasn’t terrible for how old she was. This is just shit
October 30, 2014 @ 6:09 am
Is it me or is her voice kind of grating? I don’t want to be mean but that is the first thing that I noticed. However, as opposed to the other music that is being played, it is a little better.
October 30, 2014 @ 6:15 pm
Hey, even Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert were beginners.
At least this song acknowledges that it can’t be to everyone’s tastes. All she has to do is play her cards correctly and RaeLynn should have no trouble going very, very far.
November 30, 2014 @ 5:59 pm
In this song God made Girls has inspired me so much that I tried to write a song called God made boys but it is a very hard task to accomplish and I would like to this the writer of the song God made girls Raelynn
January 8, 2015 @ 8:44 pm
I just like Trigger’s newly coined phrase: “Grown ass adult”. Never thought of myself like that before!
January 16, 2015 @ 11:52 am
The lyrics in this song are pretty retrograde. Why did God Make Girls? None of the reasons involve doing much other than pleasing her man (wearing cute clothes, flirting, et cetera: certainly not by having intelligent ideas or doing good deeds) or at times dragging him to church.
It seems like a bro-country song written from the perspective of a woman: Women exist to look pretty; when they speak, its only to remind the neanderthal men that they better seek forgiveness in church on Sunday after their night of idiotic parties on Saturday.
February 5, 2015 @ 10:50 pm
Not all girls wear skirts or flirt that much…i think this whole song only pertains to that of the girly girl type. It kinda sucks for the tomboy girls that listen to country. I feel it would make them think (just like most of society does) that your not a true girl or worth most boys’ time unless youre like that, a girly girl…
May 29, 2015 @ 7:49 pm
Some people have compared the song’s lyrics to that of a seven year old. True, but I’d rather hear seven year olds sing this compared to some of the other songs they’re playing these days.
June 6, 2015 @ 2:56 pm
This pile of crap is worse than Burnin It Down, Donkey, and the remix of Cruise combined.
June 24, 2015 @ 2:20 pm
I just listened to the 7 RaeLynn songs available on Spotify. No bad, not good either! I’m 18 and still pretty much figuring out how to be an adult, and yet I couldn’t truly relate to any of these songs! They’re all targeted at tweens and young teens, which is a shame, since RaeLynn is already 21. And if they want to attract teenagers, why the Hell didn’t they make some decent songs about friendship, breakup or making girls feel good about themselves? Seriously, those are very important things for the typical teenager. All I see is missed opportunities. If RaeLynn wants to be the next taylor Swift, her songs need to sound more honest, otherwise her new fans will get over her in one or two years.
June 24, 2015 @ 6:53 pm
Honestly, I’m very, very glad that you couldn’t relate to this song. It means you’re on the right track and have a strong self-conception beyond what others think of you.
My little brother is around your age, and I am deeply, deeply thankful that he isn’t targeted by stuff like this that tries to tell him that the only reason for his gender’s existence is to help the other gender actualize themselves.
June 25, 2015 @ 3:28 am
Thank you!
To be honest, I believe most people who are 16 or older immediately realize that there’s something wrong with “God Made Girls” when they hear it. After all, I think most young people (in almost all developed countries) believe that men and women are equal, even if they don’t qualify themselves as feminists. So, I don’t think this song is a huge threat, as Trigger previously said. It doesn’t have a good message, but it tries to.
My problem not just with this song but with RaeLynn’s music in general is that she’s trying to pretend to be someone that she’s not. She’s not 13, she’s 21! Add formulaic and repetitive lyrics to immaturity and unoriginality, and you have mediocre songs that are being given unfair publicity. After all, with the almost inexistence of female singers in mainstream Country, couldn’t they have picked someone better?
And listening to RaeLynn is a good reminder of why Taylor Swift was never a threat to Country, like Trigger and many others initially believed. The Country music industry is trying to find a replacement to Taylor Swift, but they’ve failed so far. I’m still a Taylor’s fan (even tough her last album is a huge disappointment), and I know how I felt when I listened to her songs. There is real soul in her first two albums, completely targeted at teens and released when she was 16 and 18. It’s not by accident that many Taylor’s fans in their 20s still listen to her old music. Her songs are usually well written, they have real emotion, they are honest and relatable and they are still catchy. Even better, Taylor has always been good with details (something that is unfortunately lacking in mainstream music), which makes her fans feel as if they’re reading someone else’s diary. And even tough Taylor isn’t a good singer, she’s a good songwriter and a good role model. She taught millions of girls that you can be average and still achieve great things!
More important, as Taylor grew up as a person and an artist, she managed to maintain her old fans and gain new ones. How? By making songs appropriate to people in their 20s or older and other songs appropriate to teens and tweens, in her third and fourth albums. Sure, good marketing and good publicity are always involved in her career, the “girl next door” image quickly became fake, etc. I’m perfectly aware that there are defects not just in her music, but in her career in general. But I think it’s safe to say that Taylor is an example of how to be a great Pop Country star aimed at teens. Because I genuinely believe these kind of stars are important for personal growth.
So, for me, it’s surprising how the Country industrie fails to see this! The reasons for her success are OBVIOUS and not impossible to imitate. So, I just hope that, in the future, a real new Taylor Swift arises. That new star probably won’t be RaeLynn (or Kelsey Ballerini, for that mather), but I’m still feeling optimistic.
June 25, 2015 @ 4:55 am
Hah, you pretty much nailed my feelings on Swift. She’s deeply underrated as a lyricist in terms of her ability to perfectly capture a single moment or feeling, and she knows here way around a hook as well as anyone in the entire music industry.
It’s just a shame she started moving away from all the stuff she does best on Red, and then drove away as fast as she could on 1989.
Speak Now is pretty much the pinnacle of sugary pop country goodness, as far as I’m concerned.
June 25, 2015 @ 1:52 pm
I think the same about “Speak Now”! For me, it’s her best Pop Country album. The fact that she wrote it by herself and co-produced it also proves how talented she is!
However, my favorite Taylor Swift’s album is “Red” (despite the AWFUL main singles), even if you have to look through a microscope to find any real Country in it. It’s just sad that she decided to focus on popularity now.
By the way, I’m starting to think Maddie and Tae have real chances of replacing Taylor. I might be wrong, since their album will only come out in August, but their songs have been impeccable so far, they attract different audiences and they actual have the possibility of being mainstream artists. I think there’s a light at the end of the tunnel!
June 25, 2015 @ 3:30 am
By the way, sorry for the HUGE answer, but I just felt great writing all that!