With her fifth studio album, 1989, hitting stores on Monday, Taylor Swift, 24, is attempting a total crossover from country music to pop. Shake It Off, the new album’s first single, shot to the top of the pop charts when it was released on August 18. The singer-songwriter recently talked about her experiences with love and how she deals with criticism.
Question: 1989 is your first official pop album. Not only has the music changed, but your perspective on love seems to be different too. What has happened since your last record?
Swift: “I think your idea of romance and love changes after you have actually experienced it. When I wrote Love Story I was 17. I hadn’t been in love, and I hadn’t been let down and disappointed over and over again. As you grow up, you change your idea of what love and romance is.
“You realise there isn’t necessarily this ‘happily ever after’. Every day is a struggle. Even if you find a happy relationship, you are going to struggle to make it work.”
Question: Is that the most important lesson you have learned in the past few years?
Swift: “That’s one lesson I have learned. The other is that I really like being alone. And, I have learned that you have to have a sense of humour about how you approach yourself and the criticism you receive.”
Question: The Shake It Off video is very ironic.
Swift: “I really loved that video because it showed this kind of metaphor for not fitting in. I think so many people go through life trying so hard to fit in, when, in fact, they’d find plenty of people they could relate to if they were themselves.”
Question: Is it hard dealing with criticism?
Swift: “It’s a daily struggle to have self-confidence and to let things go because when you are an ambitious person you try to control things. I control the music I write, the music videos I make and the photo shoots I do. But, I can’t control whether they say that I bought a house in a city I have never been to. So, I have to let that go.”
Question: You identify yourself as a feminist. What does that mean to you?
Swift: “I think it’s important for any girl or group of girlfriends to discuss what feminism means to them.
“For me, it’s a priority on making sure that people value and see women with the same importance as men and give them the same opportunities as men.
“As women, we need to stick together and be at each other’s side.
“If you don’t live your life from a feminist perspective, you could be threatened by them.”
Question: Isn’t it mutually exclusive to be a feminist and to dress very feminine or even sexy?
Swift: ”In my definition of being a feminist, the answer is: any women is allowed to own her sexuality as long as it is on her own terms. I believe that if you feel sexy and more womanly and beautiful in a certain outfit, wear it! But, I don’t believe that we should be catering to some male fantasy.” – Sapa-dpa