Taylor Swift Delivers Off-Key Performance on New Year’s Eve
On New Years Eve, Taylor Swift was one of the exclusive, marquee performers for ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin’ Eve hosted by Ryan Seacrest. And for a performer who has a history of off-key performances, Taylor delivered what might have been her worst live performance since her now notorious duet with Stevie Nicks at the 2010 Grammy Awards. Singing two of the most pop songs from her new album Red–“I Knew You Were Trouble” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”–the singer who is labeled country looked way more like a pop star, sporting black leather pants and a lipstick red microphone.
The performance was spotty throughout, but got slightly better from the beginning of “I Knew You Were Trouble” where Taylor was clearly struggling to stay in tune. The camera at one point found a Times Square reveler who looked like she has just swallowed a lemon in reaction to Taylor’s singing, while scores of watchers of the broadcast that boasts over 23 million viewers worldwide took to Facebook and Twitter to voice their displeasure–displeasure in Taylor’s singing, and confusion of why she is labeled country.
Meanwhile comedian Kathy Griffin on the CNN broadcast with Anderson Cooper went on an anti-Taylor Swift rant saying, “Can she stop complaining about her perfect life?” while throwing paper at Taylor performing on stage. She also called Taylor a “skinny whiner” who needed to “shut her mouth and count her money.” Griffin also accused Taylor of lip syncing and “using some sort of Auto-tune” but apparently Kathy wasn’t listening, because it would be hard to lip sync or use Auto-tune and be that out-of-tune at the same time. Similar misguided accusations of Taylor Swift using Auto-tune live have always been flatly denied by Swift.
Swift’s latest album Red released in October included 3 songs out of the 16 produced and co-written by the pop hitmaking duo of Max Martin and Shellback, but those songs constituted 100% of Taylor’s New Years Eve performance, and 50% of the singles released from the album so far. In November of 2011 I declared that I and other Taylor Swift critics had been wrong about the performer, but ever since the released of Red, Swift has done a complete 180, running away from the substance that made America fall in love with her as a sincere person and a good songwriter.
Swift has weathered these storms before. After her poor Grammy performance in 2010, she took inspiration from reading her critics and wrote the song “Mean” that became an anti-bullying anthem and won two Grammy awards. But this is starting to feel different. First off, Taylor says that she no longer reads her criticism or press. And second, if she continues only emphasize the more pop songs from her album, she will not have any substance to fall back on.
Kathy Griffin’s comments about Taylor Swift can be seen in the video below (mostly after the 13-minute mark).
December 31, 2012 @ 11:54 pm
And for all the whiners, save your breath! I know you’re tired of seeing Taylor’s name here, but there’s PLENTY of other articles here for you to read right now, and more coming. You don’t want to read it, DON’T READ IT. I feel this story and the overall Taylor Swift thread is relevant, if not vital to the Saving Country Music mission. As I said above, over a year ago I put my name behind this girl as an artist of substance, regardless if she was country or could sing. So if I was going to be honest about her then, I owe it to be honest about her now. Honestly, this whole thing makes me sick. I was wrong about Taylor Swift…again!
January 1, 2013 @ 12:14 am
“I was wrong about Taylor Swift”¦again!”
How?
January 3, 2013 @ 11:37 am
BLIII…Occupy Radio
January 1, 2015 @ 6:04 am
you don’t get it. i am a country music fan today because of Taylor swift and many others who are crossover. life is short, stop hating and be kind to others. you are embarrassing yourself with this crap you spew. do some good instead. this isn’t good for anyone, including country music.
January 1, 2015 @ 10:45 am
Phil,
This article was written two years ago. I don’t know how you got here, but it must have been the result of you looking for someone to offend you. I am not “hating” on Taylor Swift. I am a critic. She sang out-of-tune for this particular performance, two years ago. The point of criticism is to try and make art and artists better.
December 31, 2012 @ 11:56 pm
Singing out of tune is not the problem. The main problem here, as you mentioned, is that Taylor keeps performing these 2 songs over and over again at the exclusion of her other songs. It’s coming to the point now that she is creating a poor first impression among those who are just getting to know her. To the general public that does not know how good she can be, she is advertising herself as a generic pop artist.
Why not sing “Begin Again”? That would have been a perfect song for a New Year’s celebration!
January 1, 2013 @ 12:18 am
If you dont have nothing nice to say, dont say nothing at all!!! I bet all you haters cant sing either!! So quit being haters on the beginning of a new year and get a LIFE!!!!
January 1, 2013 @ 12:43 am
Look, I am one of the most fervent Taylor Swift supporters on this site, and I agree with the bulk of this article. This is musical criticism, not hatred. There was a time when Trigger used to write negatively about Taylor Swift, but ever since late 2011 he has been consistently positive and supportive.
As for your criticism about the people here not being able to sing: This site is full of singers, musicians, and songwriters. Trigger himself is a drummer in a country band, and he has also written songs and assisted in album production. It is true that the vast majority of the commenters you will find here are not Taylor Swift fans, but the best way to counter their arguments is by debating them logically rather than by attacking their musical talent.
January 1, 2013 @ 1:08 am
I bet we weren’t asked to sing in from of 23 million people either. There’s artists out there that have worked their whole lives to make sure they stay in tune living in the gutter right now. How about delivering an inspiring performance for the new year, something to live up to the memorable moment?
January 1, 2013 @ 1:25 am
I find this statement to be harsh and insulting. You seem to be implying that her slot at the New Year’s performance was somehow undeserved. This is somewhat analogous to a professor telling the following to a university student who just had a bad day on an exam:
“There were applicants out there that worked their whole lives to make sure they master the subject material can do well on exams. How about delivering an inspiring performance on your exam?”
January 1, 2013 @ 7:02 am
I don’t think the exam analogy holds up at all. For one thing, students aren’t paid millions to take exams. For another, an exam is meant to only be a practice exercise that simulates real life – for Taylor, giving a concert in that venue IS what she’s supposed to be competent at – it’s the real thing for her. And she blew it.
The fact is, Taylor was given a huge spot, and an opportunity to reach a mainstream audience with quality musicianship (of which she is capable). But she instead gave a truly horrendous performance that was pop-laden from start to finish, not remotely imbued with soul, style, quality, or craftsmanship (let alone country! that would apparently be way too much to ask!).
July 10, 2015 @ 10:50 am
She IS a generic pop artist!
January 1, 2013 @ 12:26 am
I wouldn’t worry too much about Kathy Griffin’s opinion: this is the woman that was repeatedly acting like she was trying to give Anderson Cooper a blowjob (no joke) on national television. But yeah, T-Swift was like fingernails on a chalkboard several minutes there.
January 1, 2013 @ 12:41 am
I have mixed feelings about Kathy Griffin’s comments. I understand she’s a comedian and what she said and did was funny, and I personally thought it was funny. But saying she was lip syncing was inaccurate, and her other comments are kind of a reduction of what Taylor Swift does.
But this is what galls me the most: We have a performer who can’t sing, and is labeled country performing pop songs, being mocked with inaccurate information by a comedian on what is supposed to be a trusted news network. This whole thing is idiocracy in action.
January 1, 2013 @ 12:48 am
“We have a performer who can”™t sing”
This statement goes too far. Singing off-key occasionally does not constitute a general inability to sing. Her on-key performances significantly outnumber her off-key ones.
January 1, 2013 @ 8:33 am
Actually, she’s off key most of the time.
August 26, 2013 @ 9:49 am
She was pretty in pitch for the first song, the real trouble started with the second one. Ouch.
January 8, 2013 @ 10:16 am
Griffin is from a segment of the population that feels it is OK to publicly mock and belittle people of country/southern heritage.
January 1, 2013 @ 12:28 am
yea she was pretty shot. cant stand her on a good day, let alone that performance.
January 1, 2013 @ 12:37 am
Great article! Finally people tell the truth about Tonedeaf Taylor! Kanye West was right all along, and he got lambasted for his honesty. He was rude, but he was right. The girl is about as “country” as Snoop Dog, and she cannot sing on key to save her life. She pretends to be so sweet and uses that annoying shock face when she wins fan voted awards that they tell you in advance you won. She is fake, phony, and arrogant. She remains the most over-rated, over-hyped, over-promoted phoney in the history of music, and cannot sing her way out of a paper bag. What the teens see in her I will never understand. I used to think she was a decent role model for young girls, but not anymore. She dates 13 boys a month, uses them for song material, and tosses them in the trash (or they dump her when they get to know the real Taylor). Either way, girl gets around. She needs to admit she is Pop and stop posing as country to rob all the awards from deserving country artists. she has no integrity, and all she cares about is being number 1, winning awards, and getting attention. She acts like a 12 year old girl writing every song about highschool romance, when she is 23 and needs to act her age.
January 1, 2013 @ 2:05 am
“She pretends to be so sweet…She is fake, phony, and arrogant.”
Do you somehow know her? If not, I find it sad that you are using such harsh personal attacks against someone you have no idea about. Your case is especially weak here considering that the artist you are targeting has the fiercest and most adoring fan base of any artist today and that she has just been named as the most charitable celebrity of 2012.
“she cannot sing on key to save her life”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aly41-rpd6M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0HMHQ3aX8A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFV6IkLx3Wc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89lEvyEEgEQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3lyBXrzR3s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKAImMlksts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql3ezKjDAvs
There are countless other examples of her singing on pitch that I have seen over the years. I suggest you do some research before making outlandish comments like this.
January 1, 2013 @ 10:24 am
You’re totally right Eric, Taylor Swift has delivered many on-key performances, has many songs of substance, and many songs that are not about breakups. But the problem is how she decides to present herself to the public, and the off-key performances in high profile situations. When you’re performing for 23 million people, you can’t expect every one of them to be up to speed on Taylor’s entire discography. In fact you have to assume they’re not, and represent your entire body of work to them as best you can, ESPECIALLY when they give you an unprecedented two songs to perform back to back. I can’t remember when I’ve last seen a two-song prime time performance. This was the perfect opportunity for Taylor to showcase what she’s all about. Instead she showed everyone she’s about pop anthems and breakups.
As I was sifting through Twitter traffic last night looking for Kathy Griffin’s comments, I swear the negative to positive comments were 20 to 1. And many of the comments I saw had to do with Taylor Swift’s breakups. This is her biggest threat in my opinion. People were saying things like “Taylor broke up with 3 guys just during that performance,” or “There’s 6 guys in the audience Taylor Swift broke up with.” Now she’s dating some dude from a boy band? She can control the songs she releases to the public and decides to perform. Do people really want to hear breakup songs back to back on New Year’s? Don’t they want to be happy? But what Taylor Swift can’t control is media coverage, and seeing her name and face plastered all over gossip magazines about her high-profile breakups is wearing people thin. Even though it may only be a percentage of her songs, she’s gone to the breakup well too many times, and it’s starting to backfire on her.
January 1, 2013 @ 1:06 pm
I agree with most of what you said. However, who she dates is absolutely none of anyone else’s business. Let’s stop blaming her for the incessant coverage of her love life and start blaming the tabloids instead.
January 1, 2013 @ 2:38 pm
Actually, we can blame Taylor because she insists on writing about every guy she’s broken up with.
January 1, 2013 @ 3:23 pm
Yes, she writes about her life. Is there anything wrong with that? How is this different from previous generations of country singer-songwriters? Does that mean that we have any business criticizing her personal life?
January 1, 2013 @ 4:50 pm
I bet the tabloids in the uk are having a field day with her dating Harry Styles from one direction. I agree her personal life should be private but unfortunately it does go with being in public eye.
January 18, 2013 @ 8:42 pm
I’m just so tired of hearing and seeing Taylor and she is always in my face. Come on people, let’s get some real country back and send her packing to the pop world. I am a musician of at least 40 to 45 yrs. I taught thousands of kids and I could get them to all sing in tune. If someone would work with her she could possibly do so, but it’s a wee bit late now.
People just NEED TO GET OVER HER AND MOVE ON!
There are so many others out there, especially Carrie Underwood. Now she is a REAL musician, always sings on key, good role model, not conceited, kept her love life quiet, She does not have to prove herself, EVER! She is an incredible singer and concert performer! I have been to two of Carrie’s and just to be fair I went to one of Taylor’s. What a HUMUNGOUS difference. I wasted my money. She really has nothing to offer anyone unless they just plain like her for some reason. So much for a short reply. Sorry.
August 18, 2013 @ 5:44 pm
@Trigger why let facts get in the way of an agenda. She has dated 2 guys since since 2010 and she doesnt promote herself in that light. Actually she promotes herself as still the same girl that has self esteem issues going back to her junior high days. Its not her fault that you concentrate on certain songs and disregard songs like Ronan , Tied Together with a Smile (about a friend with an eating disorder), Safe and Sound Eyes Open, The Best Day, Never Grow up. etc. She has written and sings many non break up songs, especially on her latest tour. She has never professed to having a great but having the ability to write songs that create a story. She has been writing songs since she was 12. If you watch storytellers she will say that she understands and respects “Constructive Criticism” But a lot of the criticism goes beyond that, way beyond.
January 2, 2013 @ 5:12 am
“She dates 13 boys a month” – Slut shaming is not cool. At all.
January 1, 2013 @ 12:51 am
I don’t even think she was singing Trouble. I think she was lip syncing to a “live” take that was pre-recorded (it happens a lot more than you might think)…probably in a studio – it was too compressed sounding, and actually pretty much on-pitch (not sure what the author was hearing on that one)
Now, Never Getting Back Together – definitely live, and definitely a train-wreck. Ouch. All over the place. If she was using an auto-corrector, it was broken.
January 1, 2013 @ 1:12 am
The video is posted on Youtube. Listen to it again. She was clearly singing off-key.
January 1, 2013 @ 4:01 pm
I agree with you, Frank. From the very first line of Trouble you can tell she’s not singing live — compare and contrast the sound with the opening line of WANEGBT and you’re right, she’s either singing over a pre-recorded live track or she’s being auto-tuned.
Trouble was not good but it wasn’t horrendous — thanks to the aforementioned auto-tune slash over-dub. WANEGBT, on the other hand, was live up until the chorus where she was both singing over a track and had her background singers for support. The result was an embarrassment. Utterly shameful. No professional musician calling themselves country should expose themselves in such a way on national television.
Atrocious songs, even worse singer = bad for the country music genre.
January 1, 2013 @ 4:09 pm
Listen to the “Trouble” performance again. It was full of key problems. It seems like a digital reverb effect was being used in the chorus, but Taylor’s singing was clearly live.
January 1, 2013 @ 4:40 pm
I heard it correctly the first time, Eric. Do you think you can’t sing out of tune and have it be evident just because you’re singing over a track or auto-tune is employed??
Clearly you do or else you wouldn’t have told me to “listen again”. So let me educate you. Neither technique is a cure-all for vocal ills. Singing live over a track will not guarantee a tuneful performance unless both components are… wait for it… in tune.
As for Auto-tune, it corrects pitch, yes, but that doesn’t mean that the sound of the notes — the tone coming out of a singer’s mouth will be pleasing. Even notes on the right pitch can and will sound sour to the ear.
While I threw up Auto-tune as a possibility I really don’t think it was used because the vocals didn’t have that mechanized, tell-tale sound of digital, live pitch correction.
What likely happened is what Frank said first, that she sang live over a backing lead vocal track that was also recorded live and she sucked so bad that even that was insufficient to prevent her from singing off-key and out of tune.
And Eric? Aren’t you exhausted? Running out contravening everyone’s opinions on Taylor Swift must take up a whooooole lot of your time.
January 1, 2013 @ 5:15 pm
If she were singing over a backing track, then her off-key notes would result in a dissonance effect. I do not hear any such dissonance in listening to her performance.
January 1, 2013 @ 7:47 am
Maybe she and Tim McGraw can have a contest to see who can sing off key the worst. Please switch gears from her, lets hear about Jamey Johnson, Dierks Bentley and Gary Allan. These are the guys doing it right in mainstream country these days. Sorry but I can’t get excited about some of the groups you review. Chris Knight was a good discovery from your review that I now enjoy.
January 4, 2013 @ 11:54 am
I agree Dierks Bentley is great. He mixes country, bluegrass and folk altogether. All those people are really well-known.
January 1, 2013 @ 8:15 am
Oh boy.. Aside from the bad singing, the whole vibe is pretty superficial. Just not a fan of pop I guess. Not much heart in it
January 1, 2013 @ 8:37 am
Didnt catch in live, but she does sound awful on that video. I’m not sure if the girl was embarrassed from how she sounded or just looked awkward cause she was caught on live, national tv, but i digress.
I dont really have anything left to say about Taylor Swift, I just find it funny that now the mainstream media seems to be jumping on the Taylor fatigue wagon a bit as well. I think a lot of Country fans were already there.
I’m sure in a couple years when her pop star starts to fade she will make a more country sounding pop album and proclaim how much she missed Country music and spew a bunch of B.S. about how the Country genre was always first in her heart. Yawn.
January 1, 2013 @ 8:43 am
Trust me, Taylor’s target market didn’t notice or care. My 5 year old daughter loved her performance last night. Ms. Swift might have oodles of talent and songwriting skill but I think her core demographic is really more concerned about her appearance and pop artist skills. I wonder if she doesn’t blow performances like that just to endear herself to her young fans.
January 1, 2013 @ 1:25 pm
Why does she have such a uniquely strong fan base to begin with? It’s because she used to distinguish herself from the generic pop artists and offer real heartfelt songwriting that her fans could relate too on a deep level. She still offers that in her album, but unfortunately she is not promoting that side of her in her performances. Turning into a pop artist is going to hurt, not help, Taylor among her core fan base. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been to videos of her old songs and seen comments in the mold of “I miss the old Taylor”. On the Taylor fan site (Taylor Connect), there was such a backlash over “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” that an entire journal entry was written calling out the “haters” on the website (and this is in what is regularly perhaps the most conflict-free and positive fan site you can find).
January 1, 2013 @ 9:59 am
As bad as the vocals are, her dramatic stage movements are what make me laugh the most…….what a drama queen…what happened to this girl???
Happy New Year Trigger….I enjoy the hell out of your blog…Keep it up in 2013
January 1, 2013 @ 10:39 am
I think the article is a bit of a stretch. Do we really need an article every time someone has a bad vocal night? Especially when it is someone that is known to have bad nights? Every time that someone walks off stage angry, has to restart a song, etc will it be posted on here now? This article doesnt add anything new to the subject matter ( which many of your past articles on her have done) it seems written for page hits only.
As for why she might have had the poor performance, I wonder how much of it is that she is not comfortable with the songs. The Shellback/Martin songs are by far the most poppiest/dance club songs she has ever recorded. She usually sings much slower songs with a total different delivery. Perhaps she is still trying to figure out how to do these songs live as she grew up doing country and pop country songs opposed to songs that sound like Rihanna and Skrillex. They obviously dont work well for her on the album and I imagine is even harder to pull off live.
January 1, 2013 @ 1:09 pm
Good point. Since these songs were written and produced primarily by Max Martin and Shellback, they didn’t take into consideration Taylor’s limitations. Songs she writes sitting on her bed with her acoustic guitar are naturally going to reside in her comfort zone, while Martin/Shellback are expecting her to perform these R&B diva vocal acrobatics she can barely pull off in the studio format, because that’s what’s called for in their hit formula.
I wrote this article for two primary reasons 1) Since it is a holiday, I knew this story would go under reported 2)Because I think this thread about Taylor Swift’s Martin / Shellback songs is the absolute front line right now in the fight for country music, and quality in all of American music right now. Taylor Swift was representing “country” music to 23 million people last night worldwide, and I want folks to know that this is not representative of the genre. And furthermore, unlike an awards show for example, these were not necessarily music people watching.
This accusation of posting articles to drive hits comes up often. Look, it is my job to get as many hits as I possibly can on this website every single day to help promulgate my subversive message about popular American music and offer a healthy alternative. As long as a topic or story falls within the mission statement of this site, then I have an obligation to cover it. I’m not some musician who thinks there’s soul in not promoting your tour dates, not promoting your albums or music, or not answering your phone when a journalist calls you because of some romantic notion that staying poor is what will keep my music real. My job is to promote those musicians because they won’t promote themselves, or they ineffectively promote themselves. My job is to try and get as many people within earshot of my bullhorn as possible. The point of this website is promotion, and promotion only–the promotion of ideas and music. And so I MUST pay attention to traffic and do everything I can to get as many people here as possible. That’s not selling out, that’s doing my job by definition.
At the same time, if traffic was the only thing I was concerned about, then I would never write album reviews except for Shooter, Hank3, and Jamey Johnson. I would never do live reviews or interviews, or articles on the music business. I could generate WAY more traffic to this site if that was my only concern. Trust me.
The real truth here is that for whatever reason, the legacy of Taylor Swift’s career has severely peaked my interest and evokes passion, and that is why I write about it. Honestly if it was up to me, I would probably write about Taylor Swift a lot more. But out of respect for many readers requests, I only bring it up when I feel it is vital and relevant. This was one of those cases in my opinion.
January 2, 2013 @ 2:59 pm
Good point Trig, naturally when some one sits down and writes a song for themselves it is written in a way that caters to their vocal abilities. Formula driven pop “songwriters” are turning out the pop diva drivel the focus groups say people want to hear. Given Taylors vocal range she’d be better off sticking to her own material she writes with her vocal limitations in mind. Or the people steering her ship better start taking that into account when choosing songs for her to cut. She just doesn’t have the chops to pull off the vocal acrobatics people expect from todays pop diva’s.
January 1, 2013 @ 11:47 am
“Similar misguided accusations of Taylor Swift using Auto-tune live have always been flatly denied by Swift.”
Lol I see what you did there…
January 1, 2013 @ 11:58 am
I saw her performance with my daughter who is a huge fan and it was great. She WAS NOT off key and gave the audience what they wanted. I have been a working musician (lead vox/lead guitar) for 35 years and can tell you this with MUCH MORE credibility than the hack “critics” that are trying to bash her… thing about critics is the don’t and have never created anything – just haters trying to destroy.
January 1, 2013 @ 12:37 pm
” thing about critics is the don”™t and have never created anything ”“ just haters trying to destroy.”
That’s an assumption.
January 1, 2013 @ 12:59 pm
That’s a fact.. you’re review is an assumption. I highly doubt if you have any musical talent what so ever… typical…probably just got your gig thru political means.
January 1, 2013 @ 1:52 pm
Nevermind. You’re probably right…
January 1, 2013 @ 3:46 pm
Bill Pratt,
Just because you’ve been a lead singer for 35 years, doesn’t mean you’re not tone deaf.
January 1, 2013 @ 12:42 pm
What you have said in this article is mainly untrue. In fact, I was enraged to hear it. To tell the truth, Taylor Swift did not have a good performance. Yet that is no reason to destroy her reputation. You may not think you are, but imagine what it would feel like if these words were spread around. It’s more difficult than you may think to sing on tune at midnight in the cold. And nearly all of her other performances have been good. I find your accusations that her ‘country’ is fading ridiculous. She has slightly more pop in her new album, but that does not mean she’s going to turn into a singer that uses auto-tune constantly.
January 1, 2013 @ 1:48 pm
I’m not trying to destroy Taylor Swift’s reputation, I’m fighting for it. I’m not the enemy here. The enemy is Max Martin, Shellback, and The Country Music Anti-Christ, Scott Borchetta who want Taylor Swift to be their little moneymaking pop puppet and perform songs she didn’t write and that are outside of her capabilities. They’re the ones that putting Taylor Swift up to this.
I don’t need anyone to tell me that Taylor Swift has good songs. I know it, and that’s what I wanted to hear last night, one of HER songs, songs that she wrote and produced, that speak from her heart and reside in her comfort zone because that’s where Taylor can be entertaining and inspiring.
As for her being country, I will have to respectfully disagree.
January 1, 2013 @ 2:07 pm
“perform songs she didn”™t write”
She co-wrote all 3 of the Max Martin songs.
January 2, 2013 @ 5:23 am
She co-wrote these songs. In fact, she said she approached Max Martin with the bones of I Knew You Were Trouble. It’s not fair to blame others for this musical direction. Taylor has always had an interest in genres outside of country – she loves electro pop artists like Ellie Goulding and Imogen Heap.
January 2, 2013 @ 10:46 am
Yes, yes I know she “co-wrote” the songs (wink, wink READ: https://savingcountrymusic.com/big-names-cash-in-on-third-for-a-word-songwriting-rule ) We all know these songs would have never come about if it wasn’t for Scott wanting to have some pop super hits on the record. https://savingcountrymusic.com/the-country-music-anti-christ-crosses-line-into-creative-control
January 2, 2013 @ 11:47 am
It’s unfair to lump Taylor in with singers who demand vanity songwriting credits. Liz Rose herself says she acts mainly as an editor for Taylor. There is a very clear voice running through all Taylor’s work. Anyway, ‘Our Song’ and ‘Fifteen’ were the best songs from Taylor’s debut and sophomore releases, and they’re all Swift. Also, Rose hasn’t written much of note outside of her work with Taylor. (I hope that doesn’t sound harsh – I think Rose adds a lot to Taylor’s music and I hope she and Nathan Chapman play a big part on Taylor’s fifth record).
I agree that the production on Taylor’s Max Martin songs is very different to anything she’s done before but, then again, Taylor has never been afraid of a pop hook. I see a lot of Taylor’s signature tricks in the lyrics (“You called me up again tonight…. / We called it off again last night”). It’s Martin’s most inspired work in a while and I honestly think that working with Taylor elevated his game.
Scott may have suggested Max Martin but I’ll bet Taylor thought it was a great idea. She’s in control of her career, for better or worse. She had previously spoken of her love for lots of Martin-related acts – The Veronicas, Bon Jovi, Robyn, Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Britney, Cyndi Lauper, Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry, the Backstreet Boys and NSync.
January 2, 2013 @ 12:16 pm
“Yes, yes I know she “co-wrote” the songs (wink, wink READ: https://savingcountrymusic.com/big-names-cash-in-on-third-for-a-word-songwriting-rule )”
This is borderline defamatory, and I’m pretty disappointed that you would sink to that level. Taylor has recounted the story of how “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” came to fruition over and over again, i.e. she was writing another song with Max Martin and Shellback when someone came in and told her something about an ex-boyfriend, which inspired her to write WANEBGT with Max Martin and Shellback.
January 2, 2013 @ 2:59 pm
Defamatory? Come on.
All I have to say is that let’s hope Taylor Swift had little to nothing to do with those songs. Because if she did, maybe the problem is much deeper than I thought.
If I were Nathan Chapman, I would have felt like George Stephanopoulos did when Bill Clinton brought in Dick Morris to write his State of the Union speech.
January 2, 2013 @ 3:18 pm
Do you enjoy pop music generally, Trigger? Because they’re great pop songs. I know it’s all subjective but ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ did well in the end-of-year critics polls (The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, The Guardian). Fair enough if you have a specific problem with these songs, but I get the feeling that pop just isn’t your thing.
January 2, 2013 @ 5:13 pm
I enjoy any music that is done well, with heart, and that is honest. Obviously with a site called “Saving Country Music” you can glean I’m much more of a country fan than a pop fan, but that doesn’t mean I hate all pop music or can’t appreciate it or see its value beyond my personal tastes. What I realized with Taylor Swift through her album “Speak Now” was the possibility of pop music, how discounting pop music out-of-pocket is foolish and may limit the fulfillment of one’s musical experience. That is why I became a Taylor Swift apologist, even though I don’t and have never considered myself a Taylor Swift fan.
The problem with these songs is not that they’re pop, it’s that they’re not Taylor Swift. They are songs that are designed on paper for maximum commercial appeal. If Taylor Swift wants to go down that road and cash out her career that she built on writing her own songs and bringing surprising substance to her music despite its pop nature, then that’s her prerogative. But she can’t do that and keep the critics, her detractors, and her fans that were hoping to grow and evolve with Taylor Swift happy. You may not want to be the last one in your high school with a copy of “Red”, but you probably don’t want to be caught dead in a college dorm room with one (with some exceptions, I know).
I don’t give a shit what Max Martin, Shellback, and the other dream team of producers can come up with and push under the Taylor Swift brand. I want to hear Taylor Swift’s songs. That’s what was great about Nathan Chapman, Liz Rose, and Scott Borchetta before his recent money hungry power trip. They were great at getting out of Taylor Swift’s way and complimenting what she does. These super-producers all want to put their stamp on songs and keep their stock value for their services up by writing super hits. They don’t care if it tanks the long-term viability of an artist because they’ll just move on.
I’m surprised the Taylor Swift fans aren’t more angry over the Shellback/Max Martin incursion into Taylor Swift’s career. I know some are, but others are simply defending her from a reactionary stance as fans, and I understand that. But if you were a true Taylor Swift fan, you would want to hear HER songs, ones she wrote and produced. In my opinion.
January 2, 2013 @ 4:45 pm
She has talked explicitly about co-writing those songs. She discussed how she wrote the lyrics for “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” based on a rant that she had made. Based on what she has said, there was no “third for a word” in any of these 3 songs; it was a very collaborative process.
My guess is that she wrote the bulk of the lyrics for the songs, while Max Martin and Shellback composed most of the melody.
January 2, 2013 @ 5:34 pm
thanks for the link to the songwriting article it was published months before i showed up so i never saw it. please do get that interview with caitlin rose id love to hear more about how co-songwriting really works in nashville.
unfortunately i have to agree with everything you said in your article but im still hoping shell get back on track and put out a real follow up to speak now. im confused by your “wink,wink” do you mean that the lyrics dont really count as a meaningfull contribution in a pop song or are you saying max also wrote the lyrics. i have no trouble beleiving he (& whoever) is responsible for the music on those songs but im sure taylor was involved with the lyrics. i only concede the music because shes never done stuff like that before and its what max is known for.
January 2, 2013 @ 5:58 pm
That Caitlin Rose interview (that was excellent, by the way) is on a voice recorder that some hipster stole from me at South by Southwest, 2010. I still can’t get over losing that interview. I’m hoping someday to do another.
January 2, 2013 @ 7:29 pm
“Liz Sloan”
You mean Liz Rose, right? I absolutely agree that Liz Rose was the ideal songwriting partner for Taylor Swift.
“You may not want to be the last one in your high school with a copy of “Red”, but you probably don”™t want to be caught dead in a college dorm room with one”
I disagree. VH1 storytellers recently held a “Taylor Swift on Campus” event where the venue was chosen based on votes from both high schools and universities. The votes were normalized based on the student body population of each school or university. Several universities ended up at the top of the list, and the winner was Harvey Mudd College. When she performed there, the auditorium was packed with a devoted group of fans.
During the “Fearless” era, it may have been the case that the overwhelming majority of Taylor Swift fans were high school students or younger. However, nowadays, a significant number of her fans are college students who proudly listen to her songs.
January 2, 2013 @ 7:35 pm
Yes, Liz Rose. Just corrected it. Liz Sloan is the fiddle player for Jayke Orvis and Filthy Still. Got my wires crossed.
I knew you or someone else would bring up that Storytellers episode, that’s why I put the disclaimer in parentheses.
January 1, 2013 @ 2:11 pm
Total backing track….lip sync with a few punch ins that are horrible. I think she is a good songwriter (White Horse, Begin Again) and I would take her money in a heartbeat but it is frustrating when there are so many great artists who can’t pay their bills that can pick up a guitar and sing on key at any time.
January 1, 2013 @ 3:12 pm
If she was lip-syncing, then why would she be so off-key?
January 2, 2013 @ 1:33 pm
To have a track to sing to she would have to have sung it in a studio before the performance. So if she was off-key in while recording, which isn’t unheard of, the pre-recorded track could easily sound that bad.
January 3, 2013 @ 11:49 am
it’s done all the time, it’s a backing track and they punch her in and out…clearly when they punched her in live, she was off key…not rocket science.
January 1, 2013 @ 3:18 pm
If Taylor can’t stand the criticism of singing off key she needs to get a new job
January 1, 2013 @ 3:28 pm
Who says Taylor cannot stand criticism of her singing? The problem is that too often, criticism of Taylor Swift is coupled with vicious and snide personal attacks, defamatory assertions, and insinuations that her career is “over” because of one bad performance. All of this reached a peak right after the 2010 Grammys, which is why Taylor stopped googling herself entirely.
January 1, 2013 @ 4:41 pm
I thought she wrote mean after the critics ripped her after the grammys.
January 1, 2013 @ 5:21 pm
She wrote “Mean” specifically about critics who were making blanket statements about how she “can’t sing” and predicting that her career was over just because of one bad performance.
January 2, 2013 @ 5:27 am
She wrote “Mean” about Bob Lefsetz. He said her career was over after the Grammys , mess, called her “dumb” and criticized her father for not fixing the situation.
January 1, 2013 @ 3:33 pm
Furthermore, Taylor Swift has always been aware of her vocal limitations. She has been taking voice lessons for years now, and as a result her performances have improved significantly over time. Take a listen to her performing “Love Story” at the 2008 CMA and “Begin Again” at the 2012 CMA. You can tell the difference.
January 1, 2013 @ 3:24 pm
She’s obviously off-tune but when the sound gets to the chorus it definitely sounds like auto-tune is being used somewhere.
January 1, 2013 @ 3:41 pm
Some type of reverb effect is used in the chorus for “I Knew You Were Trouble”, but that is part of the song. You can still hear her singing off-pitch in that chorus.
January 1, 2013 @ 6:33 pm
And … We’re off to an amazing start for 2013!!!
More bloody talk about T Swift.
She sucks donkey balls, end of story.
And Eric, isn’t there a Gap open somewhere… Anywhere??
January 1, 2013 @ 11:33 pm
Now I am anxious about Taylor. I cringed at her performance.
Solution? Release some substantial songs out of that Red album.
Yet “22” is slated to be released as the third mainstream single. Sigh
January 2, 2013 @ 5:45 am
It’s hardly a surprise that she sang those two songs. Both were big hits this year. NYE is a night for crowd-pleasers, not the time for acoustic ballads to re-eastablish yourself as a singer-songwriter. (Carly Rae Jepson also had a two-song slot, by the way). Her vocals were off but then they regularly are. It’s a shame but not breaking news. She’s never a vocal powerhouse but does evoke emotion on record. Kathy Griffin is the absolute worst so I’m not sure why we’re analyzing her opinions.
Trigger, I doubt Taylor really is oblivious to all of her press. It’s just a defense mechanism she uses in interviews. She has mentioned the critical reaction to Red and is often asked to clarify gossip rumors.
January 2, 2013 @ 10:49 am
I’m wasn’t looking for acoustic ballads, but how about something positive? It’s supposed to be a night when you kiss your lover when the ball drops. So we celebrate that will breakup songs? Sure, do one of them, but then do “Enchanted” or something like that, something that is rising, romantic, and inspirational.
Let’s hope Taylor still reads her criticism, because that may be the only way to get her out of the Max Martin / Shellback / Scott Borchetta spell she’s under.
January 2, 2013 @ 11:54 am
I would have preferred Enchanted, as a Swift fan, but the crowd in Time Square and at home want the big, recent radio hits, not an album cut from her last album. I agree with your general point that she needs to release a more guitar-based song soon to remind people what she can do, but NYE wasn’t the time.
(I don’t think it matters that the songs are about break-ups – both are upbeat songs and WANEGBT is pretty anthemic).
January 2, 2013 @ 8:23 am
Trigger, I wonder if you’ve read this article? It’s a Taylor Swift interview where she’s asked about her country ties:
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/10/22/is-taylor-swift-still-a-country-artist-lets-ask-taylor-swift/
Also, I’m no Taylor Swift fan, in fact I swing from tolerance to hatred and back again when it comes to this girl. However, I’ve read that she was sick, and that might have affected her performance. Yes, yes, I am aware that this will not explain the other spotty performances she has given in the past. lol
January 2, 2013 @ 8:36 am
She’s never the problem. Borchetta blamed the Grammys fiasco on the sound. Now they’re blaming the NYE’s performance on sickness.
Based on her tv performances and the numerous You Tube videos of her concerts, if either of those excuses were the case, they should’ve hired a new sound man or quarantined her a lonnnnng time ago.
January 2, 2013 @ 8:43 am
Let’s stick to criticizing her for things that have actually happened – no one in her camp has said she was sick. She has acknowledged herself that she struggles with pitch and tone and she still takes vocal lessons.
People don’t like Taylor because she’s a great singer – they are drawn to her songwriting. A poor voice never stopped anyone before – just ask Neil Young..
January 2, 2013 @ 8:51 am
To clarify, her PR team was not the one who said that she was sick during this performance. It’s mostly speculation from some people who noticed that she coughed once in between lines. I was talking about THIS performance, and in fact I acknowledged that this won’t explain her past pitchy performances.
January 2, 2013 @ 11:05 am
I read the WSJ article a little after “Red” came out. If she wants to leave the genre labeling to others, then this other will label her “not country.”
As for the sick thing, I saw the cough when it happened, and took that as either a sign that she knew she was struggling, or maybe that she was slightly sick and did take that into consideration. But at this point I haven’t seen anything officially from anyone with an explanation that Swift was sick. And even if she was, this doesn’t necessarily explain why she was off-key. It would regularly cause someone’s voice to may be be raspy.
But even if she was sick, then why not limit the performance to one song that fit better in her vocal range? We all know this performance was rehearsed at nausea, so if she felt she was struggling with singing issues, why not draw back some of the ridiculous hip-hop choreography and focus on the singing, or sing songs that better fit her capabilities?
This is the overall point: The reasons artists perform at these type of events is to promote themselves. And the way Taylor Swift performed, I feel confident in saying she did her career more harm than good. We can go back and forth about Auto-tune, backing tracks, lip syncing or singing out-of-tune, but the simple fact is the majority of the people that watched the performance walked away with a negative reaction. So what can Taylor Swift do to be better? She’ll do nothing if she thinks the performance was spot on, or blames others or the cold or a sickness on the performance. It wasn’t necessarily so bad that she owes her fans an apology, but she owes it to herself to be honest about her performance and the reasons why it went poorly or else it is bound to happen again.
And that is why critics are a necessary part of the creative process. The first thing I always ask myself when critiquing someone’s music is are they being authentic? Are they being themselves? Taylor’s biggest transgression on New Years was not the off-key singing or the song selection. It was that she wasn’t being who she is, she was being the person she thinks America wants her to be. Maybe she didn’t sing on tune because her heart wasn’t into the music. As soon as you quit being yourself, you will immediately find yourself beset with numerous issues.
January 2, 2013 @ 2:57 pm
Sick my arse.Her voice sounds the same as it always does when she sucks.Girl must be sick a lot.
I watched Zac Brown on that live Ram country all-star thing on yahoo over the weekend,and HE was sick.You could TELL he was sick,all nasally shitty sounding,coughing and white as a ghost.You could tell he was in misery.He also TOLD the crowd he was sick and caught it from his 4 kids at Christmas time and apoligized more than once for BEING sick.THAT’S how you do it..if you’re indeed sick.
January 2, 2013 @ 10:57 am
Her performance was awkward and her vocals were rough, but her fans will still love her. She is not going to destroy or save country music! Taylor has always liked pop, rap, rock, indie, and pop-country. She was never a traditional country artist. She just decided to make a much more bold pop album. Traditional country music doesn’t sell well don’t blame her for that. Taylor makes all of her creative decisions and she always has. She writes EVERY song on her albums, picks the producer to project the emotional tone of the song, she works in the production, and always has the last word in the final product. She turned down a record deal with a major label, because she insisted on having TOTAL creative freedom! For that alone I’ll always respect her as a artist.
She’s obviously doing something right because the two most “hated” pop songs on the RED album are also the most downloaded on itunes. Begin again is not selling well so she is promoting her best sellers. She wanted to break out of her shell and expand her fan base. She’s dressing a lot more sexy (OMG those cameltoe shorts!) and her lyrics are much more sexual “I’ll do anything you want if you say it with your hands”!!! WOW!! Those shorts were no accident, she wears them on the album art, and she showed off her lady parts again at the Letterman show this time in tight black pants and see trough shirt. Look guys she’s a big girl now and she wants everyone to know that. That’s why she’s leaving hotel rooms with a boy band singer and showing more T&A. This is the image that SHE want’s to project no one is pulling her strings! This may cost her some more conservative fans but she doesn’t care. She will still have the #1 album and huge concert sales.
I like her music, and her style. It’s not as good as her old music, but it’s better than 95% of the other music on the radio. She’s probably the only artist that can make such a bold move and not offend her fans. Because her fans actually LOVE her. She did the hard work to earn them, long meet and greet sessions, pictures, and autographs. She’s so sweet and polite to everyone that her vocal shortcomings are insignificant.
Bottom line is if you want people to like more traditional country music you have to earn the fans and make good music. Do the hard work like Taylor did and still does, and stop complaining!
January 2, 2013 @ 3:18 pm
“She writes EVERY song on her albums, picks the producer to project the emotional tone of the song, she works in the production, and always has the last word in the final product.”
She did…until “Red.” Read this:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/the-country-music-anti-christ-crosses-line-into-creative-control
“She”™s obviously doing something right because the two most “hated” pop songs on the RED album are also the most downloaded on itunes.”
Fools gold my friend. I could have told you the Max Martin/Shellback song would be the best-selling songs on the album by any metric before they were even released. But that’s not how Taylor Swift got here. She got here with substance. Where are Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, and Ricky Martin now? Where will Psy be in 6 months?
Nobody is saying anything Taylor Swift is doing now is killing country music. That ship sailed when she won her first CMA “Entertainer of the Year” in 2008. Now all she is killing is the long-term viability of her career. Then again, she has been here before, and how did she pull out of her post-2010 Grammy tailspin? By releasing an album of songs all written by herself. By substance.
Don’t just write me off as a reactionary pundit. I’m fighting for Taylor Swift’s music no different than her fans are. I’m just doing it from a different perspective.
January 2, 2013 @ 1:45 pm
I’m not surprised by anything she does at this point – she’s peaked at country and the format is not giving her the support that she once got because she doesn’t care about them anymore – going turbo-pop is only natural, and turbo-pop is the most popular genre. There is more money and international fame to achieve as a ‘pop’ singer anyway so the move makes even more sense. I would be surprised if they release another ‘country’ single from Red given how poorly the first two performed – listeners didn’t like or care for them and DJs didn’t want to play an artist who gave them a remix of a pop songs as her first country single.
My beef with her has always been that she is a (bad) pop singer posing as a country singer, and that she continued to claim the country label after she stopped making even country-pop. Once she moves to pop music (hopefully for good), she’ll just be another pop artist (although a particularly bad one that I would prefer to avoid hearing). Her musical tastes at this point seem to line up that way anyway. To me, this was coming her entire career, just like almost every other female ‘country-pop’ star like Faith Hill, Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes, etc.
January 4, 2013 @ 12:44 am
I can’t believe I am saying this but I agree with Kathy Griffin she needs to shut up and go away. I can’t believe she screwed that performance up. What shames me was all the fans singing along like they have not heard good music before. I guess humanity us doomed.
January 4, 2013 @ 10:28 pm
I have a lot less respect for Kathy Griffin than I do for Taylor Swift. And honestly, just reading her name makes me sick. She is famous for absolutely nothing, and has no reason to be commenting on Taylor Swift….but anyway. now that I got that out, back to Taylor.
It’s true, she sounded like shit, but still if you watch the video, it doesn’t even look like she’s singing I was thinking the same thing. Isn’t the point of lip synching to make yourself sound good? But it doesn’t even seem like she’s trying to sing. I use to be one of the biggest taylor supporters there were. Even though she’s never really been able to sing. She was a super nice person, she wrote her own songs, she didn’t let fame go to her head, etc. And now yuck! That’s honestly the only word to describe her. First of all, what happened to the Taylor Swift in sundresses and cowboy boots who never went on stage without her guitar? Now she doesn’t even sing songs that require a guitar. and what is with the red lipstick and straight hair? I agree, the leather pants and jacket, just looked dumb.
I honestly would not have that big of a problem with her if she would just say, no I’m not country, I’d rather just sing pop music. I am not a fan of pop music at all, but every once in a while I’ll flip through the stations and just stay on a catchy song. ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ would probably be one of those songs. Pop music never has any meaning and it’s all annoying, so I think that would fit in perfect. It’s a catchy song. But the fact that she keeps calling herself country is just disgusting. She is not country. She hasn’t been for a long time. She shouldn’t be allowed on country awards, she shouldn’t be on country radio, and she shouldn’t be on country concerts.
January 5, 2013 @ 5:21 am
Kathy Griffin is a snide, disgusting pig. She’s like the female version of Bill Maher. F-her.
January 5, 2013 @ 8:23 am
I agree 100% – she is not country but even contemporary standards at this point, and I don’t think she ever has been frankly. Her musical tone and style have all been pop, with only a mild amount of ‘country stuff’ thrown in to make it seem like country.
January 4, 2013 @ 10:30 pm
“We are Never Ever Ever Ever Ever Ever Ever Ever (deep breath) Ever Getting Back Together” is just like a set of bagpipes… how the hell would you know it’s out of tune?
The song sounds off-pitch even in the studio-recorded, radio-played version. How the hell do we know that’s not the bad one and the live one was the correct one?
January 7, 2013 @ 10:08 pm
Taylor swift is a tool of the jews…they own the music industry. They tell you to jump you gotta say how high. Think about all the girls that come out wholesome and then end up becoming more hip hop, and sexual. aguilera, katy perry, you gotta play by the rules. This way all the 15 year olds slowly start buying black music and race mixing as they are exposed to it slowly like a frog in hot water. Nothings sacred
January 7, 2013 @ 11:48 pm
Oh come off it man. Really? Folks who believe that the Jews or the Illuminati or whoever are completely in control of the system are only oppressing themselves by building false pretenses to their own failures and shortcomings. Keep that weak shit off my site, please.
January 8, 2013 @ 12:35 am
i think it would do u some good to research who runs the music industry
August 9, 2015 @ 8:15 am
I see you managed to kick her out of country music (not that she ever did country music), si now she can destroy mainstream pop instead! Smart move!
I think the only solution is to create a ‘Taylor Swift Garbage Bin’ category, or she will be haunting every music genre out there, till she gets kicked out and moves on to the next victim.