Judgment is Swift by bloggers after Grammy star hits a few bum notes
Turns out Taylor Swift has trouble carrying a tune in front of 25.8 million viewers.
Sunday night, the 20-year-old Swift won four Grammys including the top award, Album of the Year, for “Fearless.” but some rock writers and bloggers have shifted the focus from her big win to the bum notes America’s sweetheart belted out during her “Rhiannon” duet with Stevie Nicks.
Immediately following the performance, pop music blog Idolitor tweeted, “How suitable: that guy from #americanidol introduces @taylorswift13, who – we have to say – sounds a little pitchy, dawg.”
Yesterday, the New York Times [NYT] weighed in: “for Taylor Swift, the jig is up.”
The Washington Post was even less kind: “To borrow a phrase from Montgomery Burns, it was more ‘off-key caterwauling.’ “
But the notion that Taylor’s army will turn on her for being off-key or, as the Times also suggested, winning too many awards, is ludicrous.
A quick look at Swift’s MySpace [website] (1,758,649 friends on a social network often-deemed dead) or FaceBook pages (3,067,330 fans) reveals just how bulletproof the sensation remains.
While there are a few snips about her vocal troubles, most of the posts giddily chirp over her Grammy haul and performance. “AWESOME duet with Stevie.” “Stevie and Taylor were great. a dream.” and “I loved this performance. great job.”
Nasty, often-hilarious Tweeters (“Last year the big battle was between Rihanna & C Brown. This year the fight was between Taylor Swift & pitch”) may be justified harping on Swift’s struggling voice, but the snipes won’t impact her popularity. the 60,000-plus fans who sold out Swift’s June 5 Gillette Stadium show in 20 minutes aren’t going to put their tickets on eBay because of a few bad notes. and nothing printed in the new York Times will affect what 12-year-old girls listen to on their Nanos.
Swift is the country’s biggest pop star, not because of the mainstream media or hipster blogs, but in spite of them (we pop writers were all pulling for Lady Gaga, not Swift and not Beyonce). and if the blowback does reach her fans, it will only stoke their loyalty.
The Roots’ ?uestlove now sides with Kanye West: he tweeted “dear kanye im sorry” right after the Swift/Nicks duet. but to the 5-million-and-counting who bought “Fearless,” any attack on their innocent icon – whether it comes from Kanye, the Times or gravity (after the show she dropped and broke one of her Grammys, which happens when waifish arms try to cradle that many golden gramophones) – seems cruel and unwarranted.
No, only time and maturity can stop Taylor. She’ll be massive until her fans grow up or she outgrows teen queendom. and there’s nothing the new York Times or the blogosphere can do about it.
Judgment is Swift by bloggers after Grammy star hits a few bum notes