On Nov. 10, international pop singer and songwriter Taylor Swift debuted her sixth album entitled, "reputation."
The album was released following two years of Swift being caught in a media firestorm due to controversies with other celebrities such as Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry and Calvin Harris, and a lawsuit against a radio DJ who groped her in June 2013. When Swift debuted the lead single, “Look What You Made Me Do” and declared that the “Old Taylor” was now dead, many believed that "reputation"would be a hate album about all of the celebrities and media platforms who wronged her.
However, what Swift accomplished with "reputation" proved that the media and speculators were once again wrong about her. "reputation"'s genius lies in the fact that it is nothing that the media expected from Swift, but also the same artist that thousands of fans have loved for over a decade.
The album opens with an electro pop song entitled “…Ready for It?”, in which Swift asks the listeners if they are ready for it. The “it” in question seems to be the rest of the album, the truth about who she really is, what really went down between her and the people who caused unnecessary drama in her life and where she was since all of it happened.
For the second track, Swift employed her close friend and fellow musician, Ed Sheeran for “End Game.” The song also features rapper Future, who has always expressed interest in Swift’s music. In the opening lines of the song, Swift embraces her “big reputation”, and presents the motif of “reputation” and the idea of not letting your reputation define who you are.
That idea continues in the masterpiece that is “I Did Something Bad”, which Swift seems to call out all of the men who have wronged her recently and defend her actions in standing up for herself. It is a powerful anthem for anyone who as every felt like they were mistreated by someone else and received criticism for defending themselves.
“Don’t Blame Me” touches on Swift's reputation as a serial dater and her newfound romance with 26-year-old British actor Joe Alwyn. The song showcases some of Swift’s most powerful vocals as she belts out the final chorus, surrounded by background vocals of her own voice in harmony.
The fifth track on all of Swift's previous albums was known as the most emotional song and “Delicate” definitely did not disappoint. The song musically sounds like a track off of Lorde’s "Melodrama", but the writing is pure Swift.
The lyrics touch upon worrying about how your past experiences and your reputation could affect a new relationship. The song repeats the phrase, “This ain’t for the best / My reputation’s never been worse so you must like me for me.” That phrase is thought provoking and stunning for anyone who was in a new relationship after a particularly rough time in their life.
“Look What You Made Me Do” is the next track and it seems to make a lot more sense as a song amongst the rest of the album that Swift has curated. The song seems to act as a turning point in the album, the moment when Swift began to stop caring what the world thought of her and started living as her true self. Perhaps the "Old Taylor" who has died is just the Taylor who worried about everyone else’s criticisms and the "New Taylor" is just a stronger and more confident woman.
The next track is entitled “So It Goes…”, which details the beginnings of Swift’s relationship with Alwyn. The song seems to capture the feelings thtat you feel when you finally find a person you truly connect with after a bad relationship.
The eighth song, “Gorgeous” is a dreamy, electro-pop number that pretty much sums up the feelings that anyone feels when they’re crushing on someone. It also features an adorable cameo from Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ two-year-old daughter, James Reynolds.
“Getaway Car” is a true masterpiece on "reputation",as it details her whirlwind romance with actor Tom Hiddleston after escaping her relationship with Harris. In true Swift fashion, she used the lyrics to reveal what really went down during that time when the media was criticizing her so heavily for going from relationship to relationship. From the sound of the song, Harris was a terrible boyfriend and Hiddleston was simply her savior.
Alwyn receives yet another love song on the album with “King of My Heart.” The song features stunning harmonies and shows Swift pondering if the relationship will be the “end of all the endings.”
Despite “Dancing With Our Hands Tied” being a pop-dance track that seems to pulled off of Swift's last album "1989", the lyrics detailed her fears in the beginning of her relationship with Alwyn and why she felt the need to keep it a secret because of her bad reputation and the media constantly spying on her life.
“Dress” seems to detail the moment that Swift and Alwyn went from friends to a couple. The song is sexy and sultry, almost like a better version of “I Don’t Want to Live Forever” and the bridge gives the listeners more clues about when and how the couple met.
"reputation" would not be complete without on kiss-off to West, Kardashian and all of Swift's former friends. “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” is a title pulled straight from a Tumblr meme, but Swift definitely made it work. The highlight of the song is the bridge in which Swift hilariously declares that she will never forgive any of these people.
It’s the perfect song for anyone who has had a friendship with just the worst person.
Swift stated that the final two songs of the album really show how she is feeling right now and the rest of the album captures all of the emotions that she has experienced in the past two years. “Call It What You Want” is a slow drum and bass driven ballad that talks about how her relationship with Alwyn has helped her come to terms with all of the scurrility and drama.
Meanwhile, the final track, “New Years Day” is a love song that could apply to any relationship. It’s a simple, piano and guitar ballad that details the kind of love where someone wants you during your good times and your bad. It is lyrically some of Swift's best work and is definitely a stand out on the album. If you want to cry, check out her performance of the song on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."
Overall, "reputation"is a stunning album that deserves all of the praise that it is receiving. It is truly Swift’s best work since 2014’s "Red", both lyrically and musically. It proves that Swift is a musical powerhouse who does not deserve to be underestimated.
It centers around the central theme about what happens when you stop worrying about what everyone else thinks about you and start living your life on your own terms.
