Taylor’s Swift “Red” Album Review

If you’re a fan of Taylor Swift, you might remember Speak Now, her 2010 hit album that sold millions of copies worldwide. This year, she has come out with something new and red, literally. When asked about her album’s title, Swift commented, “All the different emotions that are written about on this album are all pretty much about the kind of tumultuous, crazy, insane, intense, semi-toxic relationships that I’ve experienced…in my mind, all those emotions are red.”

The songs, including the popular “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” are almost a complete change in genre.  Swift is now trying to incorporate rock music into her songs instead of her previous, country material. She has now been compared to bands like U2 and Muse.

“I don’t really like it anymore,” said junior Edugie Ojo, “I liked her old stuff. She [has] basically changed to pop music now.”

Songs like “I Knew You Were Trouble” and “State of Grace” are now listed as pop rock or bubblegum pop.  Swift’s older classics like “Love Story,” “Fifteen,” and “Fearless” all fell under country.  This musical change has some of her fans skeptical about the Red album.

However, she hasn’t changed her “break-up, make-up” love song themes, and critics predict that the album will be number one on the Billboard 200 chart. In fact, just four days after its’ release, people had already bought 900,000 copies of Red.

Yes, the songs are good, but are they the songs that pop into your mind when you think about Taylor Swift? Personally, this author prefers her old stuff better, but it’s up to whoever’s listening.