Has Taylor Swift peaked? - The musician is at the height of her commercial, but not her creative, power
Taylor Swift’s immense popularity has brought her as much scrutiny as acclaim. The recent release of her album The Tortured Poets Department left many feeling underwhelmed. She reigns in commercial success, but creatively?
Taylor swift has a strong claim to being the most popular entertainer of the 21st century—and perhaps of all time. Five of the ten most popular albums in America in 2023 were hers, according to Luminate, an analytics firm. Ms Swift’s albums have now cumulatively racked up 384 weeks in the top ten of the Billboard chart, beating a record previously held by the Beatles. She is halfway through the most lucrative concert tour ever. A film version of it grossed over $260m at the box office last year.
Yet, the more famous one gets, the more likely they are to trip over their own spotlight. Releasing a hefty 31-track album surely keeps her at the center of attention, albeit briefly.
On April 19th she released a double album entitled “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology”. Over the course of 31 songs, Ms Swift wields her scalpel and dissects every inch of her recent relationships.
However, the vast streaming numbers and enthusiastic sales have been marred by critics describing the album as surprisingly juvenile and crudely unpolished.
Is Ms Swift falling into the trap that ensnares those who reach the highest echelons of their fields, from auteurs to chief executives? Perhaps no one—including her songwriting collaborators—wants to tell music’s biggest star that her tunes are bland.
On “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart” she boasts that she is “so productive, it’s an art”. Indeed it is quite common for great artists at the height of their fame to release lengthy double albums: think of the Beatles’ 30 songs on the “White Album” or Bruce Springsteen’s 20 on “The River”. But both of those could have benefited from more selective editing and still have become the treasured classics that they are today. For Ms Swift, it is the quality of her output, not the quantity, that has set her apart from her peers.
Taylor Swift seems to lament the intense scrutiny, which, paradoxically, she doesn’t shy away from. There’s a poignant Chinese proverb: “The darkest place is under the light.” Even global superstars aren’t obligated to share their entire lives with the public. And the continuous cycle of breakdowns and comebacks, once a winning formula, now appears tired and worn as Taylor Swift navigates her fourth decade. Wake up, it’s almost a decade past your first Saturn return.