Photo courtesy of the Houston Press, photographer, Jack Gorman.

who’s taylor swift anyway?

Taylor Swift is one of the most popular musicians on the planet. You either love her, hate her, or abstain from discussing her in general, but no matter what your opinion is, you still know her.

Everything that Taylor Swift does draws the attention of the media. It’s difficult for someone like her to just go out in public without getting flash photographed. Why is she so popular, and why does everyone feel obligated to monitor every move she makes?

Taylor Swift grew up on a Christmas tree farm in Pennsylvania before she found her love for music. With the help of her supportive family, she moved to Nashville to pursue a career that she showed much potential in. At just 14, Swift made a record deal, enabling her to gain publicity for the songs she was writing at this young age. Her self-titled debut album was released just two years later, giving her a name in country music. Through more experience in the industry and admiration from fans, Swift felt comfortable enough to explore her songwriting skills. She has since released music in the pop, folk, alternative, rock, indie, and R&B genres – just to name a few. A household American name, Swift became the first female artist to have more than 91 million monthly listeners on the music streaming platform Spotify. According to the Washington Post, at only 33 years old, Taylor Swift is on her way to becoming America’s youngest self-made female billionaire.

eye-catching to the media

Swift is everywhere in the media. Just this year, the main topics regarding her include the beginning of the Eras Tour, her breakup with long-term boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, the announcement and release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version), her awards at the VMAs (notably winning Artist of the Year), the announcement and release of the Eras Tour Movie in theaters, and her newfound romance with Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end, Travis Kelce.

Photo courtesy of Hindustan Times.

Fans of the popstar (called “swifties”) have been in awe of the recent public exposure Swift has been offering them. They are somewhat convinced that Kelce may have something to do with this. With her attendance at his football games and date night outings, Swift appears to be more agreeable to her limelight than ever before. She seems proud, calm, and happy. After what may have been a dreadful split with former boyfriend, Joe Alwyn (whom many songs were written about, but especially “Lover”), we are glad to see that she has found peace in her current era of life.

Others, however, aren’t as excited to be exposed to Swift’s constant presence in the media. The coupling with Kelce has united two completely opposite fandoms: music lovers and football fanatics. Most of the music lovers are younger females while the football fanatics are mostly older males. Both are headstrong groups, proud of the people they support. However, many football fans are angry that their games are being interrupted by broadcasts of Swift. At the Jets vs Chiefs game on October 1st, Taylor made an appearance. According to the Daily Mail, NBC cut to the singer 17 different times in a move that became a constant source of frustration for those tuning in to watch Kansas City dominate against New York.

Obviously, if a world-renowned popstar makes an appearance at a packed stadium, she will draw attention to herself. As a news source, it was a good move for NBC to cover Swift’s presence at the game because they knew that her large fandom would be monitoring the cut scenes for glimpses of her. Even if this made some football fans angry, this move brought in a whole new audience to the game. Since Swift began to attend Chiefs games, they have generated more and more viewers than ever before, which is great for the business and profit aspects of football.

taylor swift’s impact

What are your thoughts on Taylor Swift’s impact on the media? Any move she makes will be loved by some and hated by others. In my opinion, she should be able to live her life as normally and openly as she pleases. If supporting Travis Kelce is what she wants to do, then so be it. Anybody without millions of fans would be able to do this without any criticism at all. As a swiftie myself, I’m glad to see Taylor happy and healthy. It shouldn’t be her that we are critiquing, anyway; she doesn’t choose to be put on the big screen, the media does. To quote the lady herself, “you need to calm down.”