8.15.12 - New Music - Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift gave us one of the poppiest country offerings in a long time yesterday, previewing her fourth full length LP with the single “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”

Right off the bat the song is a winner. Everything about it is simple, relatable, and fun. Though Swift is now 22, the song could have been written by any 13 year old girl in the country. There is a charm in its simplicity though. By saying it could have been written by a teenager, I didn’t mean to insult it. It immediately takes me back to the “relationships” I had when I was in high school, and I find myself smiling, laughing, and completely agreeing with Swift.

My complaint with the song is that Swift has all but given up her country roots to hold on to the pop world. It is very hard for an artist who finds huge success crossing over to let go of that and focus on the genre that got them there in the first place (isn’t that right, Nicki Minaj?). “We Are Never…” is produced by Max Martin and Shellback, two of the biggest names in pop music. This year alone, Martin has produced the following songs:

Katy Perry – “Part of Me” and “Wide Awake”

Nicki Minaj – “Va Va Voom”

Maroon 5 – “One More Night”

Usher – “Scream”

Justin Bieber – “Beauty and a Beat (ft. Nicki Minaj)”

Will.I.Am – “This Is Love (ft. Eva Simons)”

None of those really say “country” to me, and neither does Swift’s new single. The only bit in here that could even be reminiscent of her past songs is the guitar that is a part of the beat, not the anchor of the song (and even that sounds a bit too much like Madonna’s “Don’t Tell Me” for it to be real).

Don’t get me wrong, I like the song. I think it will be popular all around, and I really like when Top 40 has songs that teenagers and younger can enjoy as well. Carly Rae Jepsen has helped enter in a new era of age-appropriate pop, and Swift is following in fashion. Word has it that country radio has been serviced with a more country version of this song, so maybe we’ll get to hear some of that soon.

“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” is available now, and I would say you should buy it. The single is on its way to being the #1 song next week (it is going to sell somewhere around 500,000), which would give Swift her first #1 (though she has had ten top 10 songs).