Sunday, January 5th marked the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards! In attendance were some of our favorites, including Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn. While the private couple have been dating for over three years, they continue to keep things low key by opting to not walk the carpet together. They did however sit next to each other once inside, marking a first for the couple as they do not normally sit next to each other at award shows.
Swift was in the recent release of the movie Cats and was a Golden Globe nominee for Best Original Song – Motion Picture for her and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s original song “Beautiful Ghosts.”
Swift also presented on stage during the broadcast along with Amy Poehler. Once she returned to her seat, her and Alwyn exchanged warm smiles.
Alwyn has most recently been in the movie Harriot and the miniseries A Christmas Carol where he played Bob Cratchit. He was previously in The Favourite (Olivia Coleman), Boy Erased (Nicole Kidman) and Mary Queen of Scots.
Taylor Swift has finally released her much anticipated album Lover. It was less than two years ago when Swift dropped Reputation, which went on to break multiple records, sell more than a million copies in a week and earn Swift some pretty high accolades. It wasn’t an album she planned on making, it came after what Swift has described as the “summer of the apocalypse.” It was during that time that she decided there would be no explanation, there would just be reputation. It was much needed, not only for Swift, but also for the public. The public needed to see less of her gracing every cover of every magazine, on every TV show, doing interview after interview. The world didn’t need to see her because they didn’t want to.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. That’s not to say that everyone turned their back on Swift. No, her millions of fans still went out and bought her album which sold over 1 million copies the first week alone. They showed up in thousands to sell out her very first Stadium tour (who can even play in stadiums anymore?). However, with celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Kanye West skewing the truth, it was almost cool to hate Swift. Would you want to show up to a party knowing nobody wanted you there? Swift herself said in an interview with The Guardian: “when people are in a hate frenzy and they find something to mutually hate together, it bonds them. And anything you say is in an echo chamber of mockery.”
So Swift hid out, fell in love, got to know her lover for 6 months before the world even found out she had one. It was during that time that she realized how wonderful it is to live away from the public eye, to have privacy and to have something no one else knows about, and she wants to protect that. Now, almost 2.5 years later, Swift is still living privately. She hasn’t thrown a 4th of July bash in years (we’ll get to that). She has not been formally photographed with her actor boyfriend, Joe Alwyn of nearly 3 years and they do not post photos together on social media.
Although much of their relationship is private, they have showed up to support one another, whether that be Swift accompanying Alwyn to a movie premiere (minus the red carpet), or Alwyn showing up to many of her concerts.
Not everything has to be done in the public eye. Happy Birthdays don’t need to be displayed to show their is no beef or fall out with others. Swift herself discovered this and realized she had created the disillusion that if she did not post about something, it did not happen. That’s changed now, along with her throwing big 4th of July bashes. It’s not that she is no longer patriotic, but only recently that she discovered the true value of what that means. She ties these elements into her album, especially on a song called “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince” that Swift describes the “disillusionment with our crazy world of politics and inequality, set in a metaphorical high school.
Not only is Lover Swift’s first album that she owns, but her relationship is the first one she has also been able to keep to herself. What she wants the world to know, she has shared on this new collection of musical enjoyment.
Lover proves she can make a whole album filled with happy, break-up free songs, much to the haters dismay.
A huge part of Swift’s career has always been plagued with this notion that she dates people then breaks up a few months later so that she has material for her album. What every avid Swift fan will fight you on, is that is not the case. They will bring many examples to the table (although the naysayers won’t listen), as there are many songs that are not about romantic relationships at all (“The Outside,” “Change,” “Innocent,” “Long Live,” “Look What You Made Me Do,” “Never Grow Up,” “Ronan,” “Safe and Sound,” “Shake It Off,” “Mean,” etc), There are also many songs that are about relationships that aren’t sad or because of a break up, but instead filled with hope and optimism. Take for example “Mine,” “Love Story,” “Enchanted,” “New Romantics,” “Mary’s Song,” “Delicate,” “Stay Beautiful,” “Today Was a Fairytale.” It is safe to say that Swift has more songs that are not about breakups than are, Lover proves she can make a whole album filled with happy, break-up free songs, much to the haters dismay.
Some of the songs off Lover are deeply personal, take “Soon You’ll Get Better” ft the Dixie Chicks. This is a song Swift described as being a family decision to put on since it is about her mother’s current cancer battle. She says:
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“This song is one that was hard to write, because it’s something that I’m going through right now. My dad got cancer when I was 13 and he got better, and it wasn’t a very long process, but things with my mom have been very different. This song is special in a lot of ways because when I wrote this one, I recorded it with Jack [Antonoff], and he was working, at the time, with the Dixie Chicks, making their new album. That’s the band that made me wanna do this (music industry). There’s a handful of artists that made me wanna do this. The Dixie Chicks taught me that you can have a strong female voice, saying whatever she wants in music, and experimenting with having a very feminine aesthetic, but very tough resilience to them. And their musicianship, the way that they played their instruments made me wanna play an instrument. Basically, I said to Jack, ‘Can you please play this song for the Dixie Chicks? It’s a really special song for me and my family, and they were such a big part of my life, and I wonder if maybe they can sing background vocals on it, or maybe even play on it if they wanted to.’ And he played it for them, and they got really emotional hearing it, and wanted to sing on it and play fiddle and banjo on it too. So, the background vocals that you’re hearing in this song are the Dixie Chicks, who I’m obsessed with.”
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Other songs are more fun and carefree and also give an insight into how happy Swift is. Take the title track “Lover” for instance. Swift revealed the album was almost called ‘Daylight’ (also a track on the album) until she wrote this song. It gives a glimpse into her personal life and how special her relationship is as she sings “I’ve loved you three summers now, honey, but I want ’em all.” Swift explains the song writing process for the song, saying:
“Writing the song Lover was one of those magical experiences that you sometimes get to have as a songwriter. I wrote it really quick in the middle of the night. As soon as I wrote it, I knew I wanted it to be the album title. And I knew that writing it kind of would depict the tone of the entire records. So it was a real catalyst for what this album turned into.”
Earlier this year, Swift wrote an essay for ELLE UK Magazine in which she said “step into the daylight and let it go.”
Those became the lyrics to the song “Daylight” in which Swift sings about believing love once used to be burning red but now it is golden, like daylight. She even foreshadowed her future in the album forward for Red.
“There’s something to be proud of about moving on and realizing that real love shines golden like starlight, and doesn’t fade or spontaneously combust. Maybe I’ll write a whole album about that kind of love if I ever find it.”
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So now she sings on “Daylight”:
I once believed love would be (Burning red) But it’s golden Like daylight, like daylight Like daylight, daylight
Lover is that album! It’s her first entire album filled with love and the many faces of it. After being in a relationship for three years, Swift has found that there are still hardships to overcome, there are still times of jealousy as she sings on the title track “I’m highly suspicious that everyone who sees you wants you.”
In fact, Swift is so in love she sings about getting married with paper rings instead of the traditional diamonds (shiny things). The ability of this album to encompass so much love but also many other important aspects of life and relationships. Take “Cornelia Street” for example. A song where she reveals if the relationship were to ever end, she would be so heartbroken she would never be able to “walk Cornelia Street again.” Other songs like “The Man” showcase what life and careers would be like for a woman if they were in fact a man.” She sings:
I’d be a fearless leader I’d be an alpha type When everyone believes ya What’s that like? I’m so sick of running as fast as I can Wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man And I’m so sick of them coming at me again ‘Cause if I was a man, then I’d be the man
“The Man” is a favorite off the album and for all those who can’t stand a whole album of love songs, Swift has managed a break up song for you. That’s the amazing part about being a songwriter. Most of the time, artists write what they know, but they also write about things that inspire them. For instance, Swift wrote a song on 1989 called “This Love” that was inspired not by her personal relationship but a relationship of two friends. She has also written songs for movies like “The Hunger Games,” “One Chance” and “Fifty Shades Darker.”
The song “Death By a Thousand Cuts” was inspired by a Netflix movie Swift saw called “Someone Great.” The full circle moment is that the writer of “Someone Great” was going through a break up of her own and used Swift’s song “Clean” off 1989 as inspiration for the movie!
I cried watching [Someone Great] and so for about week, I started waking up from dreams that I’m living out that scenario. I woke up and was like oh my god I’m writing a breakup song.
There’s something for everyone off Lover and Swift has successfully shown that she can be madly in love and still write amazing songs. That she can draw from different experiences and once again put out an album that has songs unrelated to romances, songs with a bigger picture, with metaphors, and for wanting more for her family, her country, for women, for the LGBQT community and even herself.
Lover wasn’t written to prove anything. It is an album about healing, moving forward and using her voice to do more and say more. Swift even sampled music from The Regent Park School of Music in Toronto in the songs “It’s Nice to Have a Friend”. All of the royalties from that sample go to funding the school and it’s programs.
“Thrilled to announce that the first artist to officially support our Parkscapes music library is none other than Taylor Swift. Taylor’s song “It’s nice to have a friend” from her new album “Lover” uses “Summer in the South” and features voices and instrumentation from our own RPSM students. Every time you stream, download or purchase the song, a portion of the proceeds directly supports our school. Thank you Taylor and Frank Dukes for giving us this opportunity. We’re so proud of our kids and what they’ve accomplished by being a part of this project.”
Lover is finally out, it is available on streaming services (for the first time immediately following release) and it’s already broken records for the most albums sold in 2019, and that happened in only two days! It’s going to be another big week for Swift and we can’t wait to see what she does going forward.
It is an exciting day for Swifties with a week until Taylor Swift drops her new album Lover. Swift dropped the title track today and it has already proven to be a beautiful tribute to her boyfriend, Joe Alwyn of almost three years. She sings “I’ve Loved you three summers now, honey but I want them all.”
It’s not surprising the title track would be about her actual Lover, as it seems many of the songs are with titles like “I Think He Knows,” “London Boy” and maybe “Afterglow.” We definitely think more songs are about him and hold a special meaning for specific things like “Cornelia Street” “Paper Rings” “Daylight” and “It’s Nice To Have a Friend.”
There’s only a week until we find out for sure!! Swift has already released four songs off the album! The latest being “Lover.” Go ahead and watch the lyric video and try not to cry!
We haven’t seen much of Taylor Swift in 2019, but we have been blessed with two magazine covers thanks to Elle USA and Elle UK featuring her on their newest issues. 2019 is a lot of things, but it is also the year that Swift turns 30, a benchmark in anyone’s life. She has learned a lot since she started in the business at 14 and her views have changed dramatically.
Back in 2012, Swift said that any relationship where the guy isn’t proud to show her off, it isn’t the relationship for her. She didn’t want to be in hiding, she wanted to be able to live her life like a normal 22 year old. Her actions since 2017 have sung a very different tune.
After very public displays of affection with exes Calvin Harris and Tom Hiddleston, it was almost six months before anyone found out she was dating actor Joe Alwyn. The two of have never been officially photographed together, or shared photos of themselves together on social media. They have not spoken up about being a couple in a public setting, but they have been photographed on outings by paparazzi and other onlookers. Is that the secret to their 2.5 year romance? It’s certainly the longest for Swift and yet she still glows with happiness. No doubt there have been hardships over the romance, but none that have ever come to light. They have learned how to navigate a world tour for the singer, along with insane movie schedules for the budding actor. Swift has also tapped back into her acting skills, her movie adaption of the Broadway Musical Cats comes out later this year.
Ahead of turning 30, Swift offers advice of the things she’s learned since then, 30 things in fact. While reading, I found myself agreeing with how important these things are, lessons I’ve learned as someone who has also entered their 30’s. She’s learned the importance of blocking out the hate, focusing on what matters, stressing about the real struggles in life and learning which relationships are meant to last and which have had their time in the sun.
1. She had to turn off her Instagram comments to block out the hate she was receiving in order to leave a healthier life. Unfortunately that means that friends and family can’t also comment, but in the end sanity is worth it. (Years ago I had to turn off anonymous messages on my tumblr after receiving a lot of hateful comments. It’s amazing how quickly those comments disappear when suddenly people have to put their name to the comment). The takeaway? If something is causing you stress, step away from it. We’ve had to see many celebrities take a break from social media due to the constant negativity. Nobody needs that amount of stress in their life.
2. Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself, even if you are normally a nice person. Sometimes you have to speak up so you aren’t taken advantage of.
3. Life is about learning lessons, that means failing sometimes. Get back up and try again. We learn by making mistakes.
4. Every body is different, learn to love yours and stop trying to be so perfect.
5. Sometimes you have to press the block button, not only on social media but also in your personal life. (Sometimes that might even mean blocking a family member if they are causing you stress and anxiety in an unhealthy way).
6. Everyone gets older, embrace the changes that come with it, including physical signs of again. It’s never too early to start moisturizing!
7. Her biggest fear is for the physical safety of herself and her fans. She recently had another person break into her apartment after being arrested for previously breaking in and taking a shower and sleeping in her bed. She tries to not let this fear run her life so that she can still live.
8. Create your own values and stop valuing what others think so much. You don’t have to create the Instagram perfect picture or relationship. Your life is yours and no one else’s. Your happiness is what matters.
9. She learned how to make some easy cocktails because 2016 (think Calvin Harris/ KimYe/ Snake)
10. She learned some good recipes for dinner parties and puts her own flare on them.
12. Apologizing to someone you hurt sincerely can save your relationships and friendships.
13. Believe sexual assault victims.
14. It’s ok not to know how to respond to someone when they are going through a hard time, but it’s not ok to disappear from their life when they need you.
15. Vitamins make you feel so much better!
16. Get to know someone before starting a relationship, first impressions aren’t everything and they won’t make for a lasting relationship.
17. Don’t sleep in your makeup, take care of your face and moisturize!
18. We all have things that were hard in our childhood, whether it was being bullied or feeling alone, be aware of how you act when those things no longer affect you, for they might be happening to someone else.
19. Tell people how you feel and don’t play mind games. No one is a mind reader.
20. People are sometimes only in your life for a season. It’s hard to let them go, but you’ll always have the lessons learned and memoires.
21. It’s ok to experiment with your fashion choices and hair!
22. When you’re fighting with someone, focus less on winning and more on understanding. You don’t get prizes for winning, just a lost relationship.
23. There will always be people who want the best for you and don’t want to see you fail. Surround yourself with those people.
24. Be aware of the real problems in life, for Swift, it’s the return of her mother’s cancer. She focuses her stress and worry and prayers on that.
25. You can still make amazing music while being in love.
26. Make countdowns for things you are excited about. Sometimes we need things to look forward to.
27. When someone is bullying you, learn how to laugh it off. (Think giant inflatable snake after Kim K. called her one, along with the rest of the internet).
28. Get involved and informed about politics. There’s a big race next year.
29. Please pray for the safe return of her curls. Hair can change texture.
30. Forgive yourself, you’re your own worst critique. “Step into the daylight and let it go.”
If you’ve been a Taylor Swift fan through the last decade plus, no doubt you’ve experienced the highs and lows of what being a Swiftie entails. Ten years ago, Swift was winning awards left and right, it was to be expected, yet it was earned. Swift was the girl next door and everyone loved her (except for Kanye, who only loves himself and Beyoncé).
Then something changed, suddenly Swift was being blocked from all Country awards and accolades, despite putting out an album written entirely by herself (Speak Now). Her fourth album Red barely received any recognition at all and that’s when Swift made the bold decision to go full blown Pop with her fifth album 1989, named after the year she was born. She was embracing her sound and the direction her music and creativity was going. She was not going to play it safe and entered into a new genre, despite pushback from her label. That is what makes her different. She’s not afraid to take risks because she trusts her instincts and trusts that her fans will love her music because of its authenticity.
A lot has changed in ten years and yet Swift has always remained true to herself. She has always been confessional in her songs and continues to be real and honest with her fans, who have always been her favorite and longest relationship. She’s had to change how much she shares with the world because the world has been unkind. Why would someone continue to give of themselves when the recipient has shown their intolerance to anything other than what they want to perceive as truth?
So Swift has taken back the narrative, she has played into the public’s persona of her. She embraced the snake-like figure she was given during the Reputation era and now she is ready to embrace a new era. An era of love, cats and bright colors.
Speaking of cats, Swift is set to star in the movie adaption of the Broadway Musical Cats this November. She will be playing the cat Bombalurina, starring alongside Jennifer Hudson, Jason Derulo, Rebel Wilson, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Idris Elba and more!
Swift has previously had roles in movies like The Lorax, Valentine’s Day, The Giver and guest appearances in The Hannah Montana Movie and Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience. Along with roles on tv shows New Girl and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
Now on the dawn of a new era, Swift has released her first magazine cover for Elle, which distributes worldwide. The cover reads “Taylor Swift Takes Control” with Swift captioning a post on Instagram as ‘Me.’
Inside the magazine, Swift penned on an essay on songwriting and Pop music. She shared in Elle:
“My favorite kinds of books to read are the ones that do more than just tell you a story. They do more than just set the scene or paint the picture. The writing I love the most places you into that story, that room, that rain-soaked kiss. You can smell the air, hear the sounds, and feel your heart race as the character’s does. It’s something F. Scott Fitzgerald did so well, to describe a scene so gorgeously interwoven with rich emotional revelations, that you yourself have escaped from your own life for a moment.”
“I’m highly biased, but I think that the way music can transport you back to a long-forgotten memory is the closest sensation we have to traveling in time. To this day, when I hear ‘Cowboy Take Me Away’ by the Dixie Chicks, I instantly recall the feeling of being twelve years old, sitting in a little wood-paneled room in my family home in Pennsylvania.
I’m clutching a guitar and learning to play the chords and sing the words at the same time, rehearsing for a gig at a coffee house. When I hear ‘I Write Sins Not Tragedies’ by Panic! At The Disco, I’m transported back to being sixteen and driving down the streets of Hendersonville, Tennessee, with my best friend Abigail, euphorically screaming the lyrics.
When I hear ‘How to Save a Life’ by The Fray, ‘Breathe (2AM)’ by Anna Nalick, or ‘The Story’ by Brandi Carlile, I immediately flashback to being seventeen and on tour for months on end.
When I’d get a day at home in between long stretches on the road sharing a van with my band and crew, I would spend my rare nights off painting alone with candles lit in my room – just being alone with those songs (Those are all from the Grey’s Anatomy soundtrack. My commitment to that show truly knows no bounds).
I’m convinced that ‘You Learn’ by Alanis Morissette, ‘Put Your Records On’ by Corinne Bailey Rae and ‘Why’ by Annie Lennox have actually healed my heart after bad breakups or letdowns.
I love writing songs because I love preserving memories, like putting a picture frame around a feeling you once had. I like to use nostalgia as inspiration when I’m writing songs for the same reason I like to take photographs. I like to be able to remember the extremely good and extremely bad times.
I want to remember the color of the sweater, the temperature of the air, the creak of the floorboards, the time on the clock when your heart was stolen or shattered or healed or claimed forever.
The fun challenge of writing a pop song is squeezing those evocative details into the catchiest melodic cadence you can possibly think of. I thrive on the challenge of sprinkling personal mementos and shreds of reality into a genre of music that is universally known for being, well, universal.
You’d think that as pop writers, we’re supposed to be writing songs that everyone can sing along to, so you’d assume they would have to be pretty lyrically generic… AND YET the ones I think cut through the most are actually the most detailed, and I don’t mean in a Shakespearean sonnet type of way, although I love Shakespeare as much as the next girl. Obviously. (See ‘Love Story,’ 2009).
In modern pop, songs/bops/chunes including extremely personal details like ‘Kiki, do you love me’ and ‘Baby pull me closer in the backseat of your rover’ have been breaking through on the most global cultural level. This year on tour, I got to hear stadium crowds passionately sing along to a young woman from Cuba singing about ‘Havana.’
I think these days, people are reaching out for connection and comfort in the music they listen to. We like being confided in and hearing someone say, ‘this is what I went through’ as proof to us that we can get through our own struggles.
We actually do NOT want our pop music to be generic. I think a lot of music lovers want some biographical glimpse into the world of our narrator, a hole in the emotional walls people put up around themselves to survive.
This glimpse into the artist’s story invites us to connect it to our own, and in the best case scenario, allows us the ability to assign that song to our memories. It’s this alliance between a song and our memories of the times it helped us heal, or made us cry, dance, or escape that truly stands the test of time. Just like a great book.”
Swift describes so well what has made her music so relatable, yet personal. Fellow singer-songwriter Halsey sung Swift’s praises on Twitter, evoking a response from the Pop Queen herself. The tweet marks the first tweet of the year for Swift.
Grinning and blushing over here. Thank you so much for reading it!! 💗
Halsey, was of course referring to Swift’s best friend Abigail Anderson when she says “called a redhead by name” in her song Fifteen.
In comparing the Reputation era and the new era to come, contributer Bianca Szklarukshares:
Rep era: Taylor Remade. The media and cruel people made her this way. They made her out to be a snake so that’s what she gave them. She embraced it and became what they turned her into
Now: Taylor Takes Control. She’s in charge again. She’s soft and bright and everything she wants to be without everyone’s opinion getting in the way. She’s making the music for herself at her happiest. It’s beautiful
So what can fans expect this era? A lot of hearts! Swift has been using hearts in a lot of her social media posts lately, and it’s not wonder since she is living her best life right now. She is gearing up to realease a new album, her final album before she turns 30! She’s been in a relationship with actor Joe Alwyn for over two years, so it’s not wonder all she wants to post is heart emojis. She has also accompanied Alwyn to many of the recent after parties during the movie awards season.
Swift has been able to put out music, tour, make movies and be in a committed relationship despite both of their busy schedules. That takes a lot of growth, maturity and dedication. She’s in a happy place right now and her next album is sure to show that lighter, brighter side of Swift, healing from heartbreak and finding new love.
Swift will make an appearance at the iHeartAwards March 14. She recently presented at the Golden Globe Awards with fellow Cats co-star Idris Elba. Stay tuned to her social media for upcoming music news! TS7 is fast approaching.
