The Taylor Swift Show

Instagram: Taylor Swift

I like Taylor Swift. Her songs are catchy, sometimes relatable (even though it can feel like they’ve been written from a 13 year old’s perspective). She seems incredibly hard-working and ambitious, but still manages to have fun.

Style-wise, Taylor always looks chic and glam too and rarely gets it wrong on the red carpet, proving you can dress sexy without being vulgar or trashy.

However, do I feel she deserves the blatant industry favouritism she gets? No.

Music industry nepotism was more recently being displayed when the 2015 MTV VMA nominations were announced, with Taylor Swift being nominated for a total of NINE awards.

Frankly, I’m surprised they didn't find a way to nominate her in EVERY category… including "Best Male", "Best Rock" and "Best Hip-Hop".

Taylor’s success led to an outspoken Nicki Minaj publicly commenting about her own lack of acknowledgment in a specific category, despite breaking video-viewing records herself. She's put it down to white music artists being favoured in the media (an old argument, and incidentally, part of the reason why Kanye West stormed the stage at the 2009 VMAs when Taylor won an award over Beyonce).

To be fair, "Anaconda" is a horrible song with an even worse music video…it’s so crass, it’s almost like a parody. Given the choice, I would give the award nomination to Taylor Swift too. She’s like the lesser of two evils.

Are there artists who are far more talented and far more deserving of the awards?

Absolutely. But in terms of mainstream pop music, Taylor Swift seems like the obvious, safe choice.

The odd thing about this though is that Taylor actually believes her own hype. Sure, I guess it would be pretty hypocritical if she didn’t believe in her own work. But come on… every award she wins she acts like she’s won the Nobel Peace Prize. Catchy songs aside, there is very little depth in her musical lyrics and her songs aren't exactly ground-breaking stuff.

Also, any slight criticism or negative press directed at Taylor results in her constructing a perfectly crafted response, usually via social media. She’s either just PR savvy or has a need to over-explain or validate herself, which hints at insecurity.

I’m not sure I’m buying into her whole posse of famous "friends" either, something that seems to have been sparked off by her performing at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show two years in a row.

It’s like she’s deliberately latched onto popular/pretty girls, to boost her street-cred; being BFFs with supermodels not only makes you popular with the boys but also makes you look hotter too, by association. And who’s going to turn down the opportunity to be friends with an A-List celebrity with a tonne of connections, who will give you the additional exposure? Certainly not an airhead model whose career has a shelf-life.

It always seems to be her organising the parties and get-togethers, too. I mean look at her recent posts regarding her actress friend Jaime King’s baby shower:


Instagram: Taylor Swift

Erm it’s your friend’s baby shower, not a sorority party. Shouldn’t the guest-list be filled with more of the mother-to-be's friends and family, not the host’s?

When she’s congratulating these "friends" on their professional success too, whether intentional or not, she also seems to have a habit of somehow making it about her:

Twitter: Taylor Swift

A simple "congratulations" would have sufficed, I’m sure.

I dunno, the more you notice stuff like this, the more it seems like she’s becoming as over-exposed and narcissistic as Beyonce. Beyonce, at least, has undisputed vocal talent. Taylor? Her stuff is nothing amazing and her vocal ability? Well… just listen to live performance versions of her songs where her vocals are isolated.

Criticisms aside, it’s nice to see a star not going off the rails. It’s also nice to see a classy girl who is influential and a smart business woman, whilst still retaining some of her down-to-earth appeal. I guess growing up in the spotlight and becoming increasingly famous, it’s bound to make you a teeny bit insufferable or entitled.