Taylor Swift told us on Friday: “There will be no further explanation. There will just be reputation.” It felt like the new Taylor – Taylor 5.0 – was going to be all about moody silences, letting her art speak for itself, and not playing the perma-victim in multiple magazine interviews. I wondered how long that would last. It lasted four days, if you’re not counting the actual video for “Look What You Made Me Do,” which is less an “explanation” and more like “consternation.” Anyway, Taylor 5.0 can’t help herself, because Tay 5.0 is just like her previous, now-discarded/killed brands: she has to explain herself, or else how are you going to understand that she’s the most innocent blonde child in the world? Didn’t you know that she’s also extremely talented and a master of reinvention? I know that because a source was nice enough to Taysplain it to us.
Taylor Swift is back in the driver’s seat. For most of 2017, Swifties wondered where the superstar was hiding and what she was up to, and now after dropping her first solo single in three years all their questions have been answered.
Between a messy breakup with ex-boyfriend Calvin Harris, a subsequent high-profile fling with Tom Hiddleston and a very public feud with the Wests, “she felt like her personal life was spinning out of control,” a source close to the star, 27, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “It was draining her and she needed to disappear to reinvent herself. It was time to change things up and take another approach.”
“Taylor is very excited about her new album. This has been her life for the past few months,” says the source. Swift is now “ready to come out of hiding” and is looking forward to sharing her album Reputation (out Nov. 10) with her loyal fans. The star smashed records with her dramatic music video for “Look,” racking up more than 40 million views in 24 hours on YouTube.
“Taylor is very talented and wants the focus to be on her music,” says the source of the entertainer, who’s been quietly dating actor Joe Alwyn, 26, since late last fall. “She is a master at reinventing herself.”
Can you imagine a world in which all of us got to talk about ourselves like this? “Kaiser is a master of gossip-blogging,” the source said of Kaiser. “K is mega-talented and she never, ever feels the need to panic-eat ice cream while watching All In with Chris Hayes,” the source continued, “She’s the most beautiful and innocent of all the brilliant gossip bloggers and if you don’t agree, she will send her snake minions out to get you.”
The whole deal with Taylor needing to “disappear” to “reinvent herself” is… well, obvious. The issue isn’t that we needed someone to explain that to us. The issues are: A) she’s still the same old Tay-Tay, the innocent child bully who is never at fault for anything; B) if she’s claiming agency on her reinvention, then why did she need “Look What You Made Me Do,” which as I said on Sunday was about Taylor destroying her old “brands” rather than someone else “killing” them (ie, this LWYMMD/reinvention narrative is already convoluted); C) Taylor is not the master of reinvention. She’s just not.
Photos courtesy of WENN/Taylor Swift.
😂😂😂
And she’s also a great dancer!:
http://static.celebuzz.com/uploads/2014/04/07/taylor-swift-dancing-cmt-1.gif
LOL!!
That is gold. To be fair, she’s not exactly surrounded by people with natural rhythm in this clip! LOL
Haaaaaa.
There’s loads more 😉
Josie god bless you for that, my horrible day at work just turned fantastic because of that gif
your the best:)
Aw thanks 😊
There’s plenty more where those came from;
Reminiscent of this: https://media.giphy.com/media/13Y6LAZJqRspI4/giphy.gif
@Josie Please give us more. I laughed out loud and I am going to send it to someone.
Here you go;)
http://images.thehollywoodgossip.com/iu/s–7DYq3x_R–/t_slideshow/f_auto,fl_lossy,q_75/v1423486743/taylor-swift-grammy-dancing.gif
To me “no further explanation” didn’t implied reports from People Magazine. But ok.
Changing your hairstyle or switching genres is not reinvention. Especially when everything else is the same.
Madonna changed her image with Like a Prayer, but she was still a Pop artist. The songs on that album were also classic songs.
Swift is not Madonna. And honestly what artist has to put out a release to People saying they’re “very talented”. Is there some suggestion she isn’t 😆
Amen to that. Madonna absolutely reinvented herself on a regular. To compare Swift to her is insulting. Rumor has it, it was Swift herself who leaked her “praises!” I was at Walmart yesterday and that damn song was playing and I thought who the crap is this, I thought Britney for a second and then realized oh no it’s her! Lol……………
I came here to say that. Madonna’s “Ray of Light” was a reinvention, for instance. And what about Cher, with her “Moonlight” Oscar or song “Believe” or playing a lesbian onscreen in “Silkwood” when it was not socially acceptable at all? Those were some surprising, fun and even inspiring cultural efforts. I’m not seeing anything in Taylor’s work except prep to be a Vegas headliner soon.
Madonna changed her image with each album, and she was consistent. Ray of Light was the the 1st and only Madonna album I ever bought. I remember considering buying LAP, I loved the cover, but that’s when my perception of her changed. She was always throw away pop to me before that, and I didn’t relate to her at all.
I think she’s a smart businesswoman like Madonna is. That’s where I can see a similarity between the two.
They both also have a lot of drive and a determination to be top dog.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Madonna was laughed at in the 80s though. But she knew how to adapt to the music video age where the voice became less important and imagery seemed paramount. Taylor Swift seems to know how to adapt to the social media age where branding is a thing.
@Perplexed I agree they both have a strong business sense, it’s just that Madonna’s reinventions were always clever and creative, and successful in a way that Taylor’s aren’t. The only successful change that Taylor has done is from country to pop, and that was musical direction not image.
From what I recall Madonna wasn’t laughed at, she had this slutty image, and wasn’t considered a great singer. Her rep as a serious artist didn’t happen until the late 80’s.
I think Madonna might be more knowledgeable in terms of art and film. She was able to reference films in some of her videos. Madonna might be more of an intellectual in her private life (not sure if that’s because of the age in which she grew up in though).
However, I also think Madonna came of age during a different era (i.e. “video killed the radio star”). Her techniques worked for the era she was in, and she knew how to make that era work for her. Madonna’s reliance on imagery wouldn’t have worked in the seventies when music videos weren’t a thing. By the same token, Taylor’s personas and allusions back to them work in the age of social media. What she does works for the era she’s in. Both Taylor and Madonna seem self-referential — the only thing is Madonna made allusions to previous films which people would have been more cognizant of at that time, and Taylor make allusions to previous brands. I’m not sure if that’s a generational difference though — Madonna’s generation would understand the references she was making (i.e the Gentlemen Prefer Blondes allusion in Material Girl and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis in Express Yourself) and maybe Taylor’s generation probably understands the way her self-referentiality/allusion to brands works.
Pop music has probably also changed a lot (i.e autotune) , and Taylor probably fits her music to that mold. A lot of them seem to repeat the same annoying lyric over and over. Must be an irritating trend of some sort.
I’m not really sure what reinvention really means though. There’s always some semblance of the previous self in the later incarnations that come later, even in the case of Madonna. Her overtly sexual image never really changed strongly throughout the years.
She reinvented herself from the victim of boyfriends to the victim of Kanye West/boyfriends/Katy Perry to now victim of Kim Kardashian/boyfriends.
Yep, but she just couldn’t resist humiliation of Tom. Those shirts were ridiculous and the only one that looks like a fool is her. I can’t wait for him to fall in love with someone famous and show that he is so far beyond a vindictive woman/child such as herself. I didn’t realize how creepy this woman was, almost scary, Alex Forrest..ish
Hey! She’s reinventing herself! From perfect blond innocent victim to dark-lipsticked goth victim!
Something mean: Taylor is just SO unfortunate looking
Something nice: Kaiser’s writing is brilliant, sharp, and hilarious!
I think she looks prettiest in this video compare to the previous ones. I don’t know whether she has some work done on her face or it’s just good make up.
I could be imagining things, but after watching the video I think she got her veneers redone. Her mouth looked different, especially in the close ups.
Her teeth are much to white
I really like the twiggy-esque look on the Apple site. This person looks interesting to me.
http://celebmix.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/taylor-swifts-look-what-you-made-me-do-set-to-dethrone-despacito-01.jpg
@Oh-Dear that’s a cute look for her, thanks for finding that. She could do with a 60s makeover, that makeup style and those clothes would probably suit her a lot better than whatever she’s doing now.
Even the title of the song shirks responsibility for her actions. It’s like she forgets that she was being just as conniving and snakey as everyone said she was and there was proof yet she’s still the victim?
It’s a deliberate sort of messy “reinvention”. She wants to both roll with the punches and say “okay, I’m snakey” while also saying “this is really someone’s else’s fault”, which lets her both acknowledge her actions while *not really* dealing with them. It’s almost like the Narcissist’s Prayer:
“I’m innocent but if I am not it was your fault”.
I get the feeling that whether we like it or not Taylor Swift is our pop music princess. She is the way she is but at the end of the day she is America’s pop princess and we have no choice than to put up with her. She is young beautiful and talented and it is unlikely she will disappear into oblivion anytime soon.
#NotMyPopPrincess
Same
If you have to tell people you are talented instead of showing your talent chances are you are not that talented.
She is best at getting attention and good PR. I thought she was at least genuinely popular amongst the tween/teens but was shocked to find out yesterday how she manipulates these young girls to spend ridiculous amounts to increase her album sales and video play counts. Popular for sure but also inflated popularity
You know what, I’m gonna go with Pink as my pop royalty right now.
Her new song is miles better than both Swift and Perry’s latests.
She doesn’t need to reinvent herself because she consistently kicks ass.
I saw her perform waaaay back in 2000 when I was in college. She was the opening act for NSYNC and she kicked ass even then.
This…. Can’t she stay in America then? Honestly I know tons of British singers who have a great voice AND can dance. But they will never have a breakthrough because of bubble gum American stars like Kate and Taylor. I cringe whenever this wannabe tries to be sexy or dance. Has anyone ever seen the performance of Taylor and JLo together? It was embarassing. You know I never understood the hype around Spears but at least she Was able to entertain and dance.
Did you see the newest clues picked out from the video.
Engagement ring in the bank vault scene.
Necklace on the floor of diamond bathtub scene spelling no.
Necklace also looks similar to locket Calvin have her for 1yr anniversary.
No wonder her videos topple Adele’s “Hello”. She put so many clues into her personal life fiasco. She’s a marketing genius, I give her that.
That giant diamond ring strategically placed in a scene where she is robbing something? LoL, no, that’s another twisted reference to KimYe.
Also Karlie (as in Karlie Kloss) is not one of the names written on her t-shirt… Selena, Gigi, Blake, the HAIM girls, all there. No Karlie.
Reinvention? All i see is a new perm. Same red lipstick, raccoon eyeliner, shitty music.
Thank you. Compared to classic songwriters like Springsteen, Dylan or heck even Madonna, Taylor’s music is lame and uninspiring and won’t be remembered in 20 years.
Swift’s music isn’t built to last. I get that by making things personal you can make them universal but that also requires a certain level of depth which is lacking.
Madonna’s lyrics are deceptively simple. Being older than her fans gave her a better viewpoint to write about things which mattered to them.
Right? I feel like inserting that “who said that” gif into this story because that was my exact reaction. Nothing is new about this Taylor.
Same lipstick? Before she was Classic Red and now she’s Dark Cherry. HUGE reinvention; it’s like when Dylan went electric.
BWAHAHAHA!!!
But she never actually does reinvent herself. New hairstyle, new makeup, slightly new sound, but it’s all still the same old same old petty drama. Who is she trying to kid??
I prefer to base my judgement on the actual quality of the music itself, and so far Taylor’s new music is unimpressive. Sure the VIDEO is fun I guess; stirs up some conversation I guess…but the SONG is lame and stupid. The focus should be on the music, not this ridiculous posturing. She’s better than this honestly
Loyal fans is right. Potential new fans may stay away if this is the tone of the whole album.
Yeah she’s moved into trying to be provocative and visual rather than trying to produce a catchy tune. Also she’s moving into the same category as the Kardashians for me now – they live their lives like an open wound (in the words of Ricky Gervais), selling every part of it. Throwing everything into the public arena and then crying victim when the paparazzi and the media won’t leave you alone is psychotic. Sia has got it right, balancing a successful career with having an anonymous private life.
now reinvention means staying exactly the same? Ok, yes, she is a master at that – not willing to evolve at least one bit.
I’m still waiting for her to release something better. LWYMMD wasn’t her best, but it might’ve been the most provocative, and that was the point – to cause controversy and steal the spotlight away from her rivals, and she was entirely successful. Taylor’s always been gimmicky, but she’s also very good at what she does and a marketing genius.
She stopped straightening her hair and let someone hit her with a bad make up job, that’s not reinvention. That’s a lazy Saturday.
Sounds like the same whiny victim she’s always portrayed herself as
Funny but artists no matter how good or bad have massive egos.
Taylor and Madonna have minimal talent so any reinvention is truly just marketing.
Except Madonna was much more intelligent in how she marketed herself, and who she worked with.
She has a massive ego, her main problem is she’s aging badly.
Madonna and her whole sex phase turned me off forever. Never came back to her after that.
IMO the comparison with Madonna is a good one as both have weak voices, but excel at everything else – from creating the drama to excellent PR/marketing.
If she’s the master of reinvention how come she hasn’t changed careers?
No one is asking for that.
Acting seems like something she wants.
My hatred for TS started when she was cast as Eponine in Les Mis. My skin crawled imagining her singing “On My Own”. Thank god they dropped her for the talented Ms. Barks.
She seems to be going for the “repeat something often enough and then people will believe you” routine.
‘Malibu Stacy has a new hat!!!’
There are only two kinds of people in the world: Malibu Stacies and Lisa Lionhearts. I have a feeling that both of us are Lisa Lionhearts, Neelyo.
Oh for heaven’s sake, that’s not true.
@ Meredith – Definitely a Lisa Lionheart!
@ Tippet – Malibu Stacy doesn’t have a new hat?
Tippet, it was a joke. No need for an “oh for heaven’s sake.”
Neelyo, LOL.
Watch her
Does anyone remember being allowed to stay up late for the Thriller global premiere? remember those days? now we have this petty sh**e and some stupid video that is oh so clever. Please.
Yes! Still holds up as one of the best music videos of all time. 🙂
I’m hungover so I’m going to guiltlessly and aggressively barf. Tay. Darling. If your reinventing turns you into an even bigger bully than you are, word of advice: don’t.
Lol hungover. Feel better!
She’s basically the same person, still playing victim without owning up to her part in her own victimhood.
Do I reinvent myself every time I get a different haircut? Nope.
So the summer of Hiddleswift was just a “fling”? Didn’t she meet his mum? And sister? And a young niece?
She’s trying to re-write the god awful narrative from last year, because it made her look bad.
Yeah it’s all his fault. He made her do it. (Look what you made . . . etc.)
And of course he forced her to get the plane out to fly all over the place, with paparazzi in tow. Like he always did with everyone else before and after.
And, of course, she never had any bodyguards to save her from the bullying did she?
Taymerica was his idea dammit 😜
@jammypants – Tom is famous for going all out for the Fourth of July!
She really thinks people will buy this bs? I know her fans will believe her, but it a case of brainwash. But does she really think GP don’t remember that last few years she made almost realisty show from her private life?
All this pap strolls, squad photos on SM etc. She is saing that she needed disapered after media backlash last summer? And what about that pathetic pap walks to the gim she made 100 times on autumn and winter?
Tay Tay honey few month without pap photos won’t make people forget that. Look how other celebs do that – haave normal private life. Maybe this OH so public Hiddles for example 🙂
And Tom knows where all the best rocks are on the beaches of Watch Hill in Westerly, RI, what with being from GB and all. Those Britishers know their RI rocks and the best places for choux swans
Well, he is a super villain, after all.
lol some here acting as if Taylor is on MJ level. She isn’t even on prime Britney level. I’m wishing on an artist who is new and literally shakes the world with their talents and save as well revolutionize the music industry with their creativity and innovation as well as their style and being a trendsetter and MORE!
You wouldn’t have to “reinvent” yourself if you knew who you were.
She has no sense of self outside the victim construct. And that’s boring.
#TaylorswiftisREALLYoverpartycontinues
If she’s suddenly in the business of letting just her music speak for itself, she’s in trouble. Her abusive motto jingle is no bueno.
No bueno at all.
Love your comments, DesertReal.
Abusive motto jingle. LOL.
Meh. Creative genius she is not. Same substance, different wardrobe, same pissed off look in her eyes.
I’m not an advocate for forcing women to smile all the time but Taylors constant petulance is a bit tiresome. Say something real instead, about the sexual assault trial, or things that truly matter to you, not this constant obsession with your own image and the evolution of your dresses. Who cares???
I’m just saying:
The day her new song was released, Breitbart tweeted all of their news stories with a lyric from LWYMMD instead of captioning the actual news stories. She was openly supported by white supremacists on the internet and never denounced them. There was that one casual time that she “accidentally” took a photo with a guy who had a swastika painted on his shirt. She has not said jaaaaaack sh!t about Donald Trump.
In times like these, neutrality is unaccepatble. TS is highly problematic in ways that go far beyond the fact that she’s petty, manipulative, and immature.
What shambles said.
👏
100% right. She can deny all stupid gossips about her in a suitcase, but all this years she can’t say anything about all-rights and Nazi KKK, who worship her as a Aryan Barbie and openly saying she is they’re favorite star. Even torch producer could cutt of from them, but she can’t? And you know why – all-rights, white supremacy, Trump suporters are a very big part of her fans. Thats why she is silent about Trump.
I don’t like K.Perry, but I have a respect for her that she openly supported Hilary, even if this cost her to lose a lot of fans.
But as last few days show – Tay Tay is all about the money. In this aspect she isn’t difrent that Kardashian clan.
I did NOT know any of this! Thanks for the information. I’ll go back and look to breitbart.
Her team are so quick to deny ridiculous suitcase stories and boob job rumors, yet they are conspicuously silent about Breitbart. All she would have had to do is retweet one their stories with another line from the song, namely “no I don’t like you” and she would have earned major points with me.
I just want to know why she has an old lady perm now.
this old lady finds that comment insulting, as no old lady I know has ever had such a perm. 🙂
I agree. And old ladies take no responsibility for this ridiculous girl!
And for the record blue rinses are out – not that I need one. 🙂
It’s late ’80s to early ’90s air dry look (referencing decades, not age). And many of us who had that every-three-months perm reinvented ourselves, too.
I don’t think it’s a perm. If I recall her early country days her hair is naturally curly. I think she has been straightening it. So you can’t blame old ladies for that.
I side eye the constant ‘Taylor is very talented’ and ‘she’s a master at reinvention’. If she was either of those things the work would speak for itself and it doesn’t. This is just a run of the mill pop album with lots of PR money behind it.
Man, someone is really trying to tap that Marianne Faithfull vibe with that album cover.
Not in a million years
Marianne would swallow her whole.
HAHAHAA. Thanks for the morning laugh Swifty. That’s all I have. Wake me up when she steals Eddie Cibiran from MeAnn Rimes.
My prediction is that she’s riding out a more wealthy version of MeAnn’s life story. Dealing with the eventual burnout of her stardom may not go over well.
I think she’s a smart businesswoman. I’m not even a fan. I was expecting the public to reject her latest single, but it looks like she’s still successful.
Yeah, she has “sources”, but I don’t expect pop artists to be Jessica Chastain.
I do think she’s good at reinvention in the sense of crossing over from country music to pop, and then besting everyone else with mediocre songs with the same lyric repeating over…and.. over…and over (is this how pop songs are written these days?). So, yeah, I think she’s a smart businesswoman. That’s how I view her — through the lens of effective business management — so I don’t view these People magazine articles with sources as necessarily contradictory to her “vision.” Do I think she’s extremely talented? At music, no. At business, oh heck yeah. I’m envious of her smarts in that department.
It’s not her music that’s genius, but her brand. People are buying a manicured, meticulously cultivated brand. The music is like getting dipping sauce on the side rather than being the actual entree. That’s what people are buying into, their idea of her. Quite clearly they don’t care if the song is subpar. It was never about the music.
Yes, I think her brand is genius or how she cultivates it. That’s what I was trying to get at, but wasn’t able to explain it as succinctly.
I don’t know anything about her mess of an album but what I do know is that BTS preorders have been outselling hers since about 3 hours after it announced for Amazon North American sales and it’s still holding up at top spot for over 24 hrs. No album art, no English and slaying!
Yaaaaaassssss!!!
Kpop rocks! This feud, that feud, american entertainment has become tiresome.
She’s released 1 song, you don’t know anything about it and yet you have already declared her entire album a mess?
At first I thought KPop was interesting but then I heard about the stories from former KPop members about the control, the abuse (including sexual), the non stop rehearsals & training they endure to be a part of these groups, the skin lightening, the eye surgeries… People who support K-Pop are supporting that abuse. They are literally state funded/record industry manufactured bands.
I mean, she brilliantly shifted from country to pop. This current “reinvention” is yet to show if it will actually be successful. The new narrative presented in her music video is indeed convoluted. She’s “killing” the “old Taylor,” but she WAS the old Taylor. Those old personas or phases or whatever you want to call them were her invention, not the media’s. I’m not clear on what she’s trying to say, other than she wants a blank slate while still holding on to every single criticism she received in the last 10 years.
If she really wanted to reinvent herself, she would’ve ignored the media drama and come out with a strong, confident, empowering tune inspired by the sexual assault case. You know she has one waiting to be released. Responding to random critiques from when you were 20 doesn’t make you strong, it makes you thin-skinned. What she did at her trial actually WAS strong — we need more of THAT Taylor. That Taylor was kind of a badass.
THIS! I don’t like her persona but she can be a gifted songwriter when she really commits to it. For some reason I thought that after the hiatus she would come back with a mature album full of introspection about her past mistakes but from the looks of the single…
I know I’m supposed to be all impressed with Taylor Swift and her “reinvention/not reinvention”, but instead I’m all bored and crap.
If she didn’t have that scrappy “hook chorus or whatever (look what you made me do x100) it would be ok. The video is messed up. Why did it take me this long to realize she’s mocking Kim’s kidnapping with the bath tub? She’s the worse. I think the release date was on purpose.
The only thing different about this version of Swift is that her music so far is terrible. She’s still a petty dick casting herself as a victim to justify her actions to her teenage fans. “Look what you made me do” is just the budget Taylor Swift version of the Dixie Chick’s far superior “Not Ready to Make Nice” .
DON’T tell that to any swifty fan! Non stop declarations of BEST ALBUM EVERRRR from her puppets. You know the ones, theyll never acknowledge the way Taylor falsely slut shamed ex boyfriend’s new girlfriend, or the faux feminism, or the radio silence during the election, or the non message to all white nationalist who hold her in high esteem, or never explaining WTF she was doing lying about the convo with Kanye, OR the fact she checked out her under age bf from high school so they could bang! Oh no TAYLOR IS A PERFECT PRINCESS GENIUS!!! Ugh so exhausting and sad. But I’m sure there’s plenty of moms on here stating “But i let my daughter(s) listen to her because she’s a great example compared to the other singers out there! You know those females who show their boobies and talk about SEX?! Not my little girl…” ummm ok!
She may not be those things she is saying she is…but she does hustle and use the media in a way to keep people talking. Just this morning on the radio a host was asking why doesn’t she just take the mature route and not talk about it? Why take revenge? Because. She doesn’t make money off of keeping quiet. She does something, we all talk about it and wait for the next song/video/interview/etc. She does nothing and we all scratch our heads and move along…she may get some talk for a little while…but maybe she knows she’s not talented enough to keep her music going without the drama.
Erica_V
Very good points! Those were the exact reasons I didn’t look into kpop for a long time. Be careful not to lump all k music industries into one stereotype though. There are people that came out of that abuse to start their own independent labels. They have to fight against the skeevy system each step of the way.
BigHit took large risks that Korean news is only just recognizing because they didn’t pay attention to them in the beginning. Under the former (now impeached) president, they risked banning for lyrics mocking and criticising state officials, they brought vocal awareness and financial support to a cause that she actively suppressed. They support the LGBT community which is still taboo especially in the kpop industry.
The CEO of BigHit literally put this group together in order for the members to become producers in their own right and from the start they have creative contributions and production credits. You can actually see their growth in music from their debut grew along with the members’ understandings of the world.
They have more ‘rights’ then even pop groups in the US have. That’s why the bar has been set very high for me since I discovered them. The worst injustices that these boys have had to endure is mistreatment from US promoters (horrid stories), and rabid anti-fans who truly go beyond just criticizing behind the keyboard.
I don’t see how this song is any different than Shake It Off or Mean. She is always the victim in her mind. She has acknowledged people say that about her, but her response is still the same- not my fault, you’ll get yours.
If she wanted this “reinvention” to be even remotely believable, she should have stayed away for two years minimum.
Or, to actually act like an adult and take her music into a completely different direction. She probably needs to just grow up and I think only then will people see her in a different light.
She didn’t even last 4 days. She was liking fan theories on Tumblr immediately after the single dropped.