Grammy award-winning Taylor Swift is perhaps one of the most valued singer-songwriters in the music industry today. From her beginning hits that she wrote during her preteens like 2006’s “Picture to Burn” to her most recent surprise Alternative album, “Folklore,” Taylor Swift has proven that her talents span beyond just her vocals. Not only this, but Swift is one of the few artists that have successfully transitioned from country to country-pop to pop to the alternative—proving both her personal and creative adaptability and flexibility.

Her more recent album, “Lover” was released through Republic Records and was executively produced by Swift. This album was her seventh studio album but the first album with this label—her previous six albums were released through Big Machine. In June 2019, these original six albums were sold to a company owned by Scooter Braun, a man whom Swift has accused of “bullying tactics,” (BIOGRAPHY). The change in the label has a direct correlation to Swift’s change in both her attitude and her music shown through the freeing and liberating energy conveyed in “Lover.”

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“Lover” approaches love and relationships in a refreshingly positive light—a drastic difference from her previous albums that were generally full of heartbreak songs and vulnerable soliloquy of her difficulties with boys. But, Swift does not just reference her recent and current emotional happiness with her serious boyfriend Joe Alwin, in “Lover,” she also expresses her dissent for the patriarchy, opens up about her mother’s heart-wrenching battle with Cancer, and even alludes to her sexual desires. Thus, “Lover” breaks through even Swift’s usual patterns of musical change and innovation into a more solidly innovative album—one that uses bold personal narration, Critical Theory, and a variety of other unique creative decisions.

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Swift not only successfully uses personal narration on a variety of experiences and feelings that offers a vulnerable look into her life but also expands her audience into a heterogeneous audience. According to the textbook “Mass Communication Living in a Media World 7th Edition,” a heterogenous audience is “made up of a mix of people who differ in age, sex, income, education, ethnicity, race, religion, and other characteristics,” (Hanson, 996). For years, Swift has appealed to young girls and women aching to move on from their breakup or wanting to indulge in catchy lyrical songs. In “Lover,” Swift provides a range of topics and instrumentals that appeal to more than just that one demographic.

 

Taylor Swift has kept her relationship with boyfriend Joe Alwin private since they began dating in 2016 (BIOGRAPHY). Despite these established norms, Swift surprised fans, and listeners by self-disclosing some of her intimate feelings and moments with Alwin. Self-disclosure can be defined as “the intentional process of revealing exclusive information about ourselves that the other individuals do not know,” (Toomey & Chung, 213). This is shown throughout several songs in the album that narrates her relationship, but more specifically “Paper Rings” where she discusses details of how they met to more private moments such as “how they painted [Alwin’s brother’s] wall.” The openness was captured in Swift’s storytelling of personal moments but was contrasted by the light tone of her vocals and the upbeat corresponding instrumentals. This contrast was shown in several other songs on the album that further discuss her relationship with Alwin, which not only evokes tones of happiness but also intrigues the audience to the complexities between the songwriting and the music itself. Her disclosing personal matters that she has kept private for years previously also displays more of Swift’s private self to the audiences and allows for the audiences to grow an emotional attachment to Swift’s life stories shown in her album.

 

Another song that stands out is “I Think He Knows” which approaches love through a more…intimate lens. Swift again excels at personal narration in this song, where she exclaims:

 

“I think her knows his footprints on the sidewalk

Lead to where I can’t stop

Go there every night

I think he knows his hands around a cold glass

Make me wanna know that

Body like it’s mine”

 

Her sexual desires are not only being addressed here—something that Swift has never done before—but is also celebrated by the accompanying chorus that radiates that same celebratory feel. Swift subtly includes a peek into her fantasies and sex life with her boyfriend, showing that the theme of the album “Lover” covers all grounds of what love encapsulates. Swift opens the song with a deep whisper that sets the tone for the sexual nature of the song. Between the fast-paced chorus and the raunchy tone of singing at the opening, this song is a metaphor for a musical rollercoaster—and one that you do not want to end.   

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Swift throws yet another curveball in her album by including a deeply melancholy song, “Soon You’ll Get Better,” which has clear country roots. Many have called this nostalgia-embedded decision a more “authentic, heart-wrenching tribute,” (Entertainment). Swift going back to the country, even for this one song, in a pop album, proves that she can make bold artistic decisions that do not conform to most standards. Moreover, this song contributed to Swift widening her audience, as many can listen to this song about (potential) loss and the love for sick family members. Those that are country fans can partake as well, and not just pop lovers. In a different way and through a tone that contrasts the general happiness of the album, Swift yet again provides an added layer of vulnerability by sharing her personal story, but this time as a daughter of a cancer patient.

           

Swift’s drama with Braun and Big Machine was also addressed in the feminist song “The Man” where Swift writes, “They’d say I hustled, put in the work/ They wouldn’t shake their heads and question how much of this I deserve.” Once again Swift proves that she has a large range and caliber for being able to address a variety of topics and personal experiences in her album. Though this song references a specific situation of Swift, including and especially as it relates to Braun, working women and girls can relate to the lyrics. This song exemplifies Max Horkheimer’s Critical Theory, a collection of theories “that are critical of capitalism and domination,” (GlossariumBITri).

           

Swift attempts to challenge men in power and the internalized misogyny enabled by the media who criticize her, thus showing her critique of a form of “domination” that is prevalent in American society. On an instrumental level, the unique deeper beat matches the frustration and self-determination evoked in the lyrics. Swift’s vocal tone is deeper as well, almost raspy in certain parts, allowing for audience members to feel her frustration. Despite the almost serious hues in the music of the song, it comes across as the most liberating and energizing of them all and shows that she is finally free from the toxic confinement she experienced with her former label.

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Swift is known for having a music career that is in constant change. We have seen this from album to album, however “Lover” entered uncharted territory for the artist, and the risk paid off. She expanded her singular audience into a heterogeneous audience that culminates more demographics than ever before: those who enjoy songs about sex, those who are grieving family, and those that are tired of men being held to a different standard than women, to name a few.

 

The unique vocal range and volume added to the elements of constant change throughout the album while simultaneously fitting the tone for each song. A usually very private Swift broke her comfort levels by continuously offering personal narration of vulnerable moments and relationships, allowing for fans and first-time listeners to gravitate to her storytelling. This gravitation is especially apparent through the song “If I Were a Man” where we see the Critical Theory at work in Swift’s attempt to criticize the men and media who have thought less of her because of her gender. It is clear that Swift’s change in record label and company allowed—and even encouraged—a freer Swift. That liberation is apparent throughout the album and is the leading reason why “Lover” is unique and groundbreaking—even by Swift’s standards.

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References

“A Track-by-Track Breakdown of Taylor Swift’s New Album ‘Lover.’” EW.Com, https://ew.com/music/2019/08/23/taylor-swift-lover-track-by-track-breakdown/. Accessed 10 Nov. 2020.

Critical Theory of Information, Communication, Media, Technology - GlossariumBITri. http://glossarium.bitrum.unileon.es/Home/teoria-critica-de-la-informacion/critical-theory-of-information. Accessed 25 Nov. 2020.

“Mass Communication.” SAGE Publications Inc, 7 Nov. 2020, https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/mass-communication/book259321.

“Taylor Swift.” Biography, https://www.biography.com/musician/taylor-swift. Accessed 10 Nov. 2020.

Understanding Intercultural Communication. Second Edition, New to this Edition:, Oxford University Press, 2011.