If there's one emotion I'm savouring now, it would definitely be joy.



I was going through some news about Taylor Swift (yes I'm a power fan - further explained) and came across a Gossip website from Nashville which is where Taylor got signed and started her songwriting career at 14 years old.

For the first time in weeks, maybe months.. I felt so... small. Small in this world. I admit that I'm a growing fan of Taylor Swift which is perfectly what would raise an eyebrow of yours. I spend 2 hours every night, watching her Behind the Scenes videos, interview videos, hundreds of uploaded concert clips... Basically I admit that I now have a giant crush. I've replayed You Belong With Me about 40 - 50 times, I've been listening to the whole of her two albums for the past 3 nights. I wiki-ed her, watched every single video blog entry she has on Youtube, and I'm starting to read her Myspace blog.

I need help.

I seriously don't know what is wrong with me. You know sometimes when you know something's wrong but you panic, looking around for clues as to why you're feeling so emotional, your mind wanders in a logic-processing and analytical state, you're trying to figure out why 24 single songs from two albums could make you feel so alone, make you cry, make you reminisce about the days of heartbreak and bliss. I think two days ago was the worst day this year. I got up, got ready for work, and on the way to work I would usually chat with my dad, but the whole 25 minutes from Damanasara Kim to CapSquare, I had songs about solitude and letdown and belonging-with-me-ness playing over and over again in my head.

The whole day, I swear I talked to less than 3 people, literally said less than 20 words to each. I got home I didn't want to do anything but sleep and get out of this emotional environment. The peculiar thing is but one - why do I feel this way? how could I even come close to being so emotional? I'm not feeling demotivated from a recent break up, or a rejection on a date or something, am I? This whole week I've been asking myself what the hell is wrong with me?!






Background

Taylor Alison Swift is 20 years old this December. yes, she's a Sagittarius, like me =). At the age of 10, Taylor began writing songs and singing at karaoke contests, festivals and fairs around her hometown. She first learned to play the guitar from a computer repair man who showed her how to play 3 chords. Immediately, she wrote her first song entitled 'Lucky You'. She began writing songs regularly and used it as an outlet to help her with her pain from not fitting in at school. Other kids would react badly to her so she wrote songs about them.

Her first debut single, Tim McGraw (click to watch music video) was released in 2006 raced to number six on the Billboard country charts. In October later that year, she released her self-titled debut album which produced five hit single songs on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.

Taylor Swift was the biggest selling artist of 2008 in America with combined sales of more than 4 million albums. Her Fearless and her self-titled album was rated no. 3 and no. 6 respectively in 2008. She was the first artist in history to have two different albums in the Top 10 year end album chart.

Fearless has topped the Billboard 200 in 11 non-consecutive weeks. No album has spent more time at number one since 1999-2000. It also was the first album by a female artist in country music history to log eight weeks at #1 on The Billboard 200. In mid-January 2009, Swift became the first country artist to top the 2 million mark in paid downloads with three different songs. As of the week ending February 8, 2009, Swift's single Love Story became the country song with most paid downloads in history and the first country song to top the Mainstream Top 40 chart.According to the 2009 issue of Forbes, Swift is ranked as the 69th most powerful celebrity with over $18 million in earnings this year.

Now I don't really care about that bullock crap except one sentence in there that stated 'Love story, the first country song to top the Mainstream Top 40 Chart'. Now for some of us who don't yet really understand the importance of that, Here's a suggestion. It's just plain extraordinary to basically move a whole genre of music higher up on to the world stage. You're 19 and you can almost lead a genre. How do you lead a genre? How do you even lead a gig at Laundry Bar? I watched a talk show she attended in Canada, and the host along with all Taylor's Canadian fans would admit that after they listened to her albums, the awareness of country music grew, not only of Taylor Swift's songs, but also of veterans in country music like Keith Urban, Faith Hill, Dolly Parton. People are listening to more country music now because of you, Taylor. Can I say that you are not leading a genre?







Seriously, I honestly don't think she's super hot, appears on screen as eye candy and all that. Well, yea of course she IS attractive and she may be cute and adorable in all those On the Set with Taylor Swift videos, but frankly I can just fall for her down-to-earth-ness anytime. She can move a whole nation at an age of 19, yet she humbly looks up to icons like Dolly Parton, Shania Twain. She's a perfect celebrity herself, but freaks out at the sight of Rihanna and Justin Timberlake walking towards her at an event. Every girl can have a bubbly and courageous personality, but not everyone can have such a dry sense of humour, wit and honesty in front of a camera. She's insecure about her outrageously curly hair, she wears her heart of her sleeve everywhere she goes and she actually does want to talk normal mundane stuff and be friends with all her fans if she could ever possibly do in her entire life.

The best part (my favourite part) about this analogy is about the way she writes her songs. Her songs are typical guy-cheating-on-her and she's-interested-in-Drew-but-he's-into-another-chick kinda songs, but the way she expresses her real-life experiences in words is just marvelous. Carefully choosing words that don't repeat and get boring throughout a song but tell a story about her experience (she actually uses real names of Drew Hardwick and Abigail Anderson from high school, in her lyrics) and even more astoundingly, I've read articles of people who can literally break her songs down, decipher them, and infer how she actually went through those stages in her life. If others can analyze and write analogies of your movie/poem/song, you deserve to be in a Sejarah textbook lah. Come, if that doesn't sound compelling enough, I give you example.

Take Colbie Caillat - Fallin' For You, and... you pick a song by Taylor Swift lah. I'll take, say, You Belong With Me. Put the two lyrics together, put the two tunes together. Seriously, you be the judge. Which one sounds realistically better to relate to? Basically, Colbie Caillat has more typical lyrics like I'm going crazy about you but Taylor Swift writes more refined words like I'm smiling while dialing your number and I see you with me when I watch love stories.

From my point of view, Taylor Swift put words down into her songs in a way that explains enough of her real-life experience in a sequential story, yet includes a generic section (usually the chorus) that appears repetitive to make it sound like a mainstream song. Go listen to Fifteen and The Way I Loved. She sings about when you have your first kiss at Fifteen, your head feels like it's spinning around (Fifteen), and how she fakes a smile when she's with a perfect guy now, but screams and cries in the middle night, reminded of her past relationship by the one she's in now (The Way I Loved You).







Lemme ask you this. Do you think she sings well at all? Does she do alot of powerful vibratos? Is her range and strength so dominating like Beyonce's? In fact, I personally think some of her songs are too squeeky when she uses her head voice. But the magic happens when she has captured millions of hearts. The magic happens when she appeals to 16 year-olds literally going through what is portrayed in the lyrics, and also retirees, reminded of their youthful encounters. The magic happens when what she went through, was minute-by-minute relived by every single fan when they listen to her songs. Some of us may even ask "Well how about men? You people aren't real Taylor Swift material are you? You just think she's a young and hot blonde. Well lemme show something. I read an article. The writer is a middle-aged woman.




Extracted from www.nashvillegab.com



Underground Taylor-loving male movement? Gah, you gotta be kidding me! I'm starting mine as of this very minute, oh yes I will!

Heck, I'm gonna design and print a fan base t-shirt! Come on, who's with me? I think seriously if I get enough feedback and orders, I'll be on to it in a day.







(Sighs deeply) In conclusion, I really look up to Taylor Swift, in a way that she impacts some of her songwriter fans to actually get out of bed and say "I'm not gonna give up until I become like her. Taylor, you rock!". Take away the fact that she's only 19, she's still so down-to-earth and has a girl-next-door personality.

I think I'll agree with Sarah for now - I can and will never understand Taylor Swift. =)