“We come for her songs, we stay for her”: the keys to Taylor Swift’s success | Taylor Swift in Canada

What does Taylor Swift owe her success to? A question that has come up frequently in the media and daily discussions since the launch of the tour Eras. Each swiftie – the admirers of Taylor Swift – goes into his analysis and there seem to be as many experts as possible explanations to justify the collective enthusiasm. Here are some ingredients that make her such a popular artist today.

A creative community

According to those who participated in the concerts of the tour Eras until then, the energy of the audience is worth almost as much as the evening itself. The Torontonian Matthew Jordan was an assistant on the course taught at Harvard on the songs of Taylor Swift. He thinks that during her concerts, Taylor Swift could also be a hologram and the evening would be just as great .

This could be explained in particular by the creative involvement of swifties based on their idol’s songs. For example, fans make and give each other friendship bracelets. They meet before the concerts so that they can exchange notes and get to know each other.

The trend was born in 2022 with the song You’re On Your Own, Kidreleased on the album Midnight. In it, Taylor Swift sings: Make the friendship bracelets / Take the moment and taste it (Make friendship bracelets / Appreciate and savor the moment [traduction libre]).

Since then, the circulation of these objects manufactured by swifties are an integral part of the experience. The implication is all the more concrete because they cannot be bought or sold, but must be designed by hand. It’s one of the ways fans reinforce a sense of community, but it’s not the only way.

One morning my daughter asked me how I was going to dress for the concert remembers Xavier Yvon, head of the reporting department on France Inter and creator of the podcast Taylor Swiftthe world, my daughter and me.

Faced with a cautious father, the 13-year-old explains to him that he must choose his outfit according to his favorite period, in other words the album in which we recognize ourselves the mostas concert participants do. It was at this moment that the journalist became aware of the extent of the phenomenon.

As seen in the documentary Miss Americana, Taylor Swift has put a lot of energy into building a community and she speaks directly to it through social media. She takes the time to meet her fans during concerts and, before the launch of the tour Erasshe even hosted parties at her home with some of her most loyal admirers. Delaney Atkinswho teaches a course on his texts at the state university Austin Peaysums up the craze for the star in these terms: we come for her songs and we stay for her .

A universal writing

The gateway to understanding the phenomenon is first and foremost writing. For Matthew Jordanthe attraction does not come from the complexity of the Music, since according to him, you can learn to play all the songs from Taylor Swift in less than a month, even if we never learned the guitar . On the other hand, it is the prism through which she views her life which makes it exceptional.

Taylor Swift would have this ability to taking something of its own and making it universal according to Delaney Atkins. The teacher adds that her way of writing makes her capable of reaching millions of people .

Matthew Jordan adds that since she was 15, the singer manages to see his own life in a very cinematic way in other words, it’s as if she lives her existence through a camera . An example of this talent would be the song Fearlessabout the fear of falling in love.

During discussions with his daughter, Xavier Yvon realized that talk about Taylor Swiftit allowed us to talk about many other things in the life of a teenager of our time . The singer would also be a refuge for generations under construction. Matthew Jordan emphasizes that it invites to take life and emotions seriously, going against the grain of society which would like to tell us that what we are going through is not so serious .

All of this contributes to establishing a strong connection between the icon and those who admire him. A lot of swifties see in their idol the good friend, the girl next door remarks Xavier Yvon. With it we can make cookies and have fun. In his songs, Taylor Swift gives very personal details, even the first names of his boyfriends but at the same time, the journalist notices that the more intimate it is, the more universal it is .

The images of the songs manage to be transposed into real life. When they experience a love test in their life, Matthew Jordan and his friends compare them to songs of Taylor Swift. : One might ask, is this a situation All Too Well or The Way I Loved You : the language of Taylor Swift becomes ourshe explains.

Romantic, but not only

This is the album Folklorereleased in 2020, which made us want to Delaney Atkins to bring together his passion for romantic poetry and Taylor Swift. She has been teaching a course on the subject since fall 2022. According to her, Taylor Swift uses poetic technique in his lyrics from his first albums until today .

The young academic compares the singer to other artists of her generation, such as Hozier.

They have a process of description which is sometimes similar, particularly with regard to the nature and elements she thinks. Taylor Swiftfor example, regularly refers to rain. On the side of historical poets, Delaney Atkins draws a parallel between Taylor Swift et Emily Dickinsonas well as William Wordsworththe great symbol of American romantic poetry.

When asked about the fact that in the texts of Taylor Swiftlove is often a sad and painful experience, Delaney Atkins nuance by specifying that the singer speaks rather of relationships as requiring a lot of work . On the other hand, Taylor Swift is fully romantic if we accept that the definition of this literary movement recounts the sufferings of love and in this, Taylor Swift is the heiress of the poets of the 19th^e century .

More not every song is about breakups and the guys are all bastards defends Xavier Yvon. There are also songs about all aspects of life, from a little girl to adulthood and it speaks a lot to women who are growing up. particularly about friendship, continues the journalist. Delaney Atkins adds that those who have listened to her for a long time hear that she becomes more and more mature over the course of her albums .

The reflection of a generation

Despite the great diversity of swiftiestaste for Taylor Swift is generally a generational thing. Is it that Taylor Swift would be the expression of the need to listen to the youngest as many artists before her were? Without wanting to give a lesson, Xavier Yvon sees at least an invitation to chat with your children .

Especially since conversations can start on a rather reassuring basis. Unlike other artists of our time, Taylor Swift does not glorify drugs, violence or big money and she remains quite evasive when she talks about sex.

She is also distinguished by the fact that she does not have hypersexualized clips like other singers of her generation. notes the author of the podcast Taylor Swiftthe world, my daughter and me. He also sees it as one of the ingredients of its success with female audiences.

Finally, the singer would be the incarnation of many aspects of our time. While producing his podcast, Xavier Yvon noticed that Taylor Swift remained the embodiment of the American dream, she participated in the revolution in the music industry from CD to online streaming, she began on MySpace and today she is a queen of social networks . But perhaps the most important aspect of his being is the individual, because it is ultimately the most important social unit of our time and like it or not, Taylor Swift is a brilliant symbol of this.