Awww, wasn't Taylor Swift's performance of 22 at the Billboard Awards sweet as high-fructose corn syrup. In fact, I think she's simultaneously given me a cavity and diabetes at the same time! All joking aside, this was a great performance from the country-pop star that fitted the carefree and youthful spirit of the song absolutely perfectly.
Good on Taylor for consistently putting the effort into her live showings this year. From the Grammy's circus/ringleader theme, to the Brit Awards' masked ball, to this one (which is practically a glee fans wet dream), Taylor is still working hard for those coins despite her album already having sold stupid amounts. Her voice might not be the strongest, but T-Swift sure is getting the hang of compensating for that by feeding our eyes as well as our ears.
I should also mention she cleaned up at the awards, winning : Top Female Artist, Top Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist, Top Country Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album and Top Country Album! You go girl!
Are the masked dancers Jabbawockeez? D:
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I am quite impressed. I can actually hear her usually excusable and weak head voice. But I could hear it being quite solid here. Hmm. Interesting. Still bet she can't do the head voice parts on her We Are Never Getting Back Together, though. So... *shrugs*.
I'm not really a big Taylor fan, and I'm not all that keen on this song, but i thought that performance was really good! Great fun choreography and concept, and she sounded pretty good too! (the fact I'm a glee fan may also help to explain it... )
ReplyDelete....Though my eyes did keep drifting to the blonde guy in the blue shirt....
um do people really still consider her a country artist?
ReplyDeletei will say that shes becoming a decent performer
She's already done the head voice parts in We Are Never live at the Grammys. DD linked the performance in his post above, so you can check it out.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, yes the title of the song might not be 13, but she really does immature well. She's really THAT girl in school that you loved but felt bad for liking her. But I'm glad that her voice sounds like she's consistently improving, and her choreography, while not at Britney Spears pre-2007 level, is definitely getting somewhat better. I want to hate her so bad, but her sugary hipster-wannabe sweetness is too hard to resist.
ReplyDeleteTrust me, It's still with a loud-backing track.
ReplyDeleteShe sounds really nasal unlike in her studio recordings which is bright
ReplyDeleteI have too much joy singing this song by changing 22 to 82. LMFAO.
ReplyDelete"I don't want to sound like a hater....which I clearly am...." LOL
ReplyDeleteI know I'm not the only one noticing she's lipping to vocals that aren't even her's. At the beginning of the first chorus, you can clearly hear it's not her voice, the tone is completely different than her regular "live" voice.
ReplyDeletei dont think she is lipping but she is definitely dodging the head notes
ReplyDeleteand while i really like that shes moving - shes not really doing any choreography ... but she has come a long way i remember her really weak performances in the beginning of her career
Well Billboard clearly do, hence her winning "Top Country Artist". There are definitely elements of country in her music, but it seems to be getting more pop as she grows.
ReplyDeleteNobody who knows Country music does though.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite quote on the subject remains ''just because you stand in a garage, doesn't mean you are a car''
She's definitely not 100% country, but really who is? Look at all those mainstream country acts that are all over country radio and try to tell me what makes them call themselves/get called "country acts" and keep referencing how country they are in their music. Playing a banjo, having a twang/southern accent in your voice and singing about trucks/beer/blue jeans don't make you country. Swift plays a banjo, doesn't have a southern accent, has a slight twang, doesn't sing about beers/trucks/blue jeans and rarely mentions that she's a country artist, but still doesn't say no when somebody calls her country and admits to including other genres in her music (especially Red). So that's why I'd rather have her, an artist who has elements of country in her music and doesn't remind people that she's country every five seconds, get called "country" and be the face of country music instead of having all those non-country acts who call themselves country be that face.
ReplyDeleteBesides, Taylor Swift is pretty much genreless. This quote by Sasha Frere-Jones sums it all up:
"Her precociousness isn’t about her chart success, but lies in the
quality of her work, how fully she’s absorbed the lessons of her elders
and how little she seems to care which radio format will eventually
claim her. Change the beat and the instruments around the voice, and her
songs could work anywhere."
Lol that is such a failure of an argument. Just because other acts unjustly are called Country these days, doesn't make it less true of Taylor.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, most mainstream ''country'' acts are not really Country music. Swift is one of those mainstream acts which really are not country music.
I was just saying that she is recognized as a country artist just cuz she has elements of country in her music, not cuz she's 100% country, and was pointing out the fact that people are willing to call other act, who also mix other genres into their music, country, but dismiss her as a pop sellout, although she does the same thing too.
ReplyDeleteYou might be right, but I just wanted to tell you there was no backing track...but there were four 5 live back up singers singing along with her, so it's technically the same thing LOL.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm saying anybody who thinks Swift's music contains enough Country elements to call it Country music doesn't know what he is talking about.
ReplyDeleteWhat other acts do or are called doesn't change that.
What other people call other acts has nothing to do with my words either. You certainly did not hear me claim other main stream acts are Country. It is therefor a ridiculous argument to use in response to my words.
I also have never and would never call Swift a pop sell out. That would suggest there was something to sell out on in the first place. Imo Swift never was and isn't now Country. She didn't '' sell out'' to pop....she always was pop.