Look, to be able to release an independent record (2006) at the age of 16 written and co-written all the 11 tracks in her debut and be nominated as the Best New Artist for Grammy in 2008 certainly demands attention, if not respect. Taylor Swift does have a music talent and her voice does communicate a certain level of honesty and youthfulness. My only reservation is on the genre itself. To me, every country song tells an emotional story. Be it as a wedding that took place against all adversities, a girl who waited for a traveling soldier who didn’t return from the war, a poor family but yet happy with contentment, the impact of a divorce to the children, and etc, I think a country singer needs a certain level of maturity to tell stories of multiple facets. Being a teenage country singer and writer, the topic of her self titled debut pretty much circles around teenage love affair, which is good and bad. Good if you can relate to it and not getting tired of it for the entire album duration. Bad if you expect a country genre to be more, country, to have more impact.
For a 16 years old (when the album was released and she is now 18), Taylor Swift does have some mad vocal skills – although I must say, she doesn’t quite have the big voice as my favorite female country pop singers such as Carrie Underwood or Martina McBride, nor have that characteristic country voice of Martie Maguire from the Dixie Chicks or Gretchen Wilson. I hope to see a smoother transition of her low, mid, and high registers in her subsequent albums. And her voice may not sound unique – at least to me – and I find it hard to identify her voice amongst some other teenage pop singers.
From the song melody point of view, Taylor Swift’s debut does have a good number of catchy tunes. Overall a well rounded album and since she is still very young, she does have a great potential in this music industry. Below is one of her singles “Teardrops on my Guitars” inspired by a true story of hers. I am sure you would love it like I do. And you may understand why she has become so popular these days.
Heard of her but not into her songs. I like Martina Mcbride and Carrie Underwood though. Great big healing voices. 🙂
Tigerfish – Oh yes, both Martina and Carrie are wonderful country vocalists. It’s so … effortless for them!
How dare you destroy a beautiful song like Silent Night. I was appalled and offended that you would change the words and the music. Shame on you!!!!!!!
Marikath – Oh my. I just checked out the recording at YouTube. Gosh, I have got to agree with you. Taylor Swift has butchered that song so badly.
*Cry*
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think you are very talented and have such an amazing voice. i always hated country music, but after hearing you I LOVE IT! keep up the good work:)
Stinker – Taylor Swift does have a lovely voice, especially for her age. Oh my. You are the second person I “know” who hate country music. Cynthia hates it too. I personally like it a lot. And yes, I am pretty sure with her success, you will see many more albums from her in the future!
“Teardrops on my Guitar”, no ‘s’. Any way to change that?
I never really thought there was a way to explain the depth of country music, as a genre and also as individual songs, but you nailed it.
I grew up on country (by choice) but I listen to everything. Literally. I’ve known very few songs (let alone whole albums) recorded by artists outside the country genre to tell stories with true, emotional depth. And to do that at sixteen?
Hmmm.. ‘Nuff said.
Stefani47 – Thanks for dropping by. I double checked, triple checked, the song title should be “Teardrops …”.
It is good that you grew up with country! One time I was in US and I was shocked that in some locations, country music is very popular. And I got hooked from then on.
Lovely. I love listening to country music too.
Taylor Swift is so sweet and beautiful. i like only some of her songs. but I’m not crazy in love with her music. i am not a huge country music fan like the other girls at my school. But she is a great singer and I give her props for beating out Beyone (quite impressive) for best female artist of the year! And speaking of how in the hell did she beat out Michael Jackson. Alot of people are pissed off about it too. She is only popular because of nashville. Anyways she has got a beautiful voice and keep on rockin Taylor! 🙂
Lindsey – You know, I can’t wait for her next album already 🙂
To me, her music sounds more pop than country. Maybe another reason why she is so popular too …