Why We Fell Out of Love with Taylor Swift

In case you've been living under a rock somewhere, let me tell you about Taylor Swift. She is a talented young woman in her 20s - she writes songs, plays instruments, and sings. Taylor started performing when she was a child and became a celebrity in her late teens. She started out as a country singer. Even though her roots are still in country, she has branched out into the world of pop music. Taylor Swift is forever winning awards. She constantly performs at sold out shows. So why is it so many people dislike her?

It did not start out this way. Recently, America's love of Taylor Swift went from sweet to sour. I remember about 5 years ago, if you said anything bad about Taylor Swift, you may as well ask for people to throw sharp objects at you. If you don't believe me, ask Kanye West. An entire nation (maybe even the world) turned against him when he interrupted Taylor's acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2009. Sometime between 2009 to today, things started to go wrong in the land of Taylor Swift fans, but what?

Taylor Swift has always had a "girl next door" appeal to her. Her image is sweet. She comes off as a super nice girl. So why on earth would we hold that against her? Oh, that is right. Taylor has gone out with a long list of guys.

There is nothing wrong with dating plenty of guys, of course, except that she likes to write songs about each one. So that means, if a guy breaks Taylor's heart, you'd better believe there is going to be a song about it. Sometimes you can spend your day just listening to Taylor's break up songs and trying to guess which guy it is about. There is something not so sweet and innocent about a girl that makes all her many relationship woes that public.

In case you are wondering, here is a list of just some of the many guys Taylor Swift has dated:

• Taylor Lautner
• Joe Jonas
• John Mayer
• Cory Monteith
• Jake Gyllenhaal
• Zac Efron
• Harry Styles

Honestly, I did not even know about some these guys until I stalked Ms. Swift a bit online. I left out any boyfriends that were only online rumors. Oh, Taylor... John Mayer? No, Taylor, no! How could you have thought that would ever work out?

Nonetheless, the sweet country girl image she portrays does not necessarily match the guys she dates. Don't get me wrong... I am not judging her. I would certainly go after these dudes if I were in her situation (yes, even John Mayer... especially John Mayer), but maybe her image needs to match her activities. Don't pretend to be so innocent. Just own it, girl. You like to hook up with hot, famous guys. You are living the dream!

OK, this sounds so catty doesn't it? Taylor can't dance. There... I said it! Trust me when I assure you, I can't dance either. That is why I minimize how often the public is subjected to my painfully awkward white girl moves... moves that look just like Taylor's moves. If I did not know any better, I'd swear she has been spying on me from a distance for years and put together an assortment of my best (worst) moves.

Sure, there is no reason to dislike Taylor Swift because she can't dance. However, when she boogies down at a ceremony, all eyes usually fall on her because she is often positioned in a front row somewhere. She basically steals the spotlight from the actual performer. This may not be her intention, but some folks believe she does this on purpose to seek attention.

Although all of this seems silly to me, I understand why some people find her spotlight-stealing dance moves inappropriate. Some of her moves might be better appreciated if they were not in the middle of awards ceremonies. This is especially the case when she and only a couple of other people in her row are dancing. Calm down, Taylor... save it for your living room, the after party, or your cousin's wedding. At least then you can blame it on the alcohol.

Oh snap, I said it. If I were to pick on Taylor Swift for anything, it would be for some of her recent songs. When Taylor was a teenager, her song, "Fifteen" struck a cord with many people. Even adults liked the song because it accurately captured a time in everyone's life. Who can't relate to a song about being 15 years old and feeling awkward? So naturally, that song worked well for a teenager and everyone thought Taylor's song writing skills were amazing for someone her age.

Fast forward to seven years later and Taylor is trying the same thing with the song, "22." OK, Taylor, we get it. You had a hit when you sang about being 15 years old, so why not try the same gimmick when you are 22 years old? No thanks. Maybe it is wrong to say being 22 years old is not that eventful, but hey, it's true. It was cute the first time, but please, no more songs about being a particular age. Maybe when you are 50 years old, you can have a song about the awkwardness of menopause, because honestly, someone needs to sing about it. But for now, we don't need more songs like that.

Now, let's talk about "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." It is a cute song... if Taylor Swift was still only 15 years old. However, we are talking about a grown woman now that is chanting about never, ever, ever getting back together. She says this repeatedly throughout the song. Once again, OK, Taylor. Enough is enough. I have not chanted like that since I was a kid whining about never, ever, ever eating peas and carrots again.

I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression. I like Taylor Swift... I even download her songs and own a CD or two. I still think she is talented. I am just trying to investigate reasons why people turned against her, and I think I hit a few "catty girl fight moments" myself during this... ummm... investigation.

The problem with the music industry today is we know way too much about an artist's personal life and we don't pay enough attention to talent. Under all that silliness is a woman that knows how to write songs and sing. That should be what matters. If need be, don't watch her dance moves on any of the YouTube clips above, and love Taylor for what she is: a person with talent. She is not perfect. She has flaws. But so does everyone else; it is just not on national television.

So here are some reasons you should like Taylor Swift:

• Taylor started performing in public at the age of 10. Even though she was young when she signed a record deal, she'd already been working for years towards her goal.
• According to DoSomething.org, Taylor Swift tops the list of charitable celebrities. She's donated money to Nashville Symphony, as well as headlined a concert to help the homeless.
• Taylor recently surprised one of her fans by showing up to her bridal shower. (Don't worry - she was invited to attend. The fan just never thought she'd take her up on it.)
• Ms. Swift is a lovely dresser. She always looks pretty and well put together anywhere goes. Her outfits would fall into the category of "always classy, never trashy."
• Taylor does have talent! She plays guitar, writes her own songs, sings lead, but also sings background for others. In fact, I daresay she has helped improve many songs for others, such as Tim McGraw and John Mayer. For someone that is accused of stealing the spotlight at awards ceremonies, she certainly does not feel she is too good for background vocals.
• She seems like a nice person. So there! Let's give Taylor a break. When you grow up in the spotlight, it messes with your mind. Taylor is certainly handling it better than most former child stars.

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