To say that Taylor Swift\u2019s image has changed over the course of her career would be an understatement. Since her first album came out in 2006 she has grown up, and her brand has documented her growth. Along the way, she\u2019s dealt with a series of public criticisms and feuds, most recently with Kanye West, resulting in what many believed was the end of Swift\u2019s career. However, just over a year after the saga, the singer came out with a single, \u201cLook What You Made Me Do,\u201d where she declared that the \u201cOld Taylor\u201d was \u201cdead.\u201d As Swift gradually returned to social media and released more songs and eventually her sixth album, reputation<\/i>, in November 2017, she intended to show the world that she really had changed, and was more honest and open than before. Swift, who knows better than any other artist just how to play the game of being a celebrity, changes her image frequently, and is usually successful. Her problem this time is that she struggles to become a New Taylor, because her old self still shines through.<\/p>\n
Swift\u2019s first album, Taylor Swift<\/i>, introduced to the world a promising young singer-songwriter, whose songs showed that she was innocent, intelligent, and hopelessly romantic. After a few smaller releases, she debuted Fearless<\/i>, her sophomore album, in 2008. Swift gained more fame — but she also faced more setbacks. After winning numerous Grammys for that album, Swift had her first run-in with Kanye West at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. As Swift accepted the award for \u201cBest Female Video,\u201d West stormed onstage, snatched the mic, and announced that Beyonc\u00e9 had \u201cone of the best videos of all time\u201d<\/a> and should have won. Swift dealt with it with poise and maturity, but was visibly shocked.<\/p>\n Swift wrote her third studio album, Speak Now<\/i>, entirely by herself with no assistance, making it her most revealing album yet. Two songs on the album seemed to address Kanye West: \u201cMean,\u201d which became a hit single, fought back at West as well as at other critics, while \u201cInnocent,\u201d seemed instead to forgive West for the infamous MTV VMA incident. Swift showcased her reputation as trusting girl who dreamed of perfect love stories, and her fans loved her for it. Yet her persona began to falter — was she a sweet country girl, or an angry vengeful one? One New York Times <\/i>article<\/a> wrote, \u201cThe great accomplishment of [Speak Now<\/i>] is that Ms. Swift is at her most musically adventurous when she\u2019s most incensed.\u201d But Swift had already shown the world just how aware she was of her own reputation when she hosted Saturday Night Live<\/i> in 2009. In her opening \u201cMonologue Song,\u201d Swift ironically sang,<\/p>\n \u201cI like writing songs about douche bags who cheat on me \/ But I’m not gonna say that \/ In my monologue! \/ I like writing their names into songs so they’re ashamed to go in public, \/ But I’m not gonna say that \/ In my monologue.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As the rumors and backlash grew, Swift made her first major image change. In her next album\u2019s lead single, \u201cWe Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,\u201d a song that had much less of a country twang than her previous hits, Swift described a boyfriend listening to \u201csome indie record that\u2019s much cooler than mine.\u201d This self-aware view of her own image as a mainstream pop artist showed the world that although she might have appeared to be just another ditsy pop starlet, Swift was smarter. For this album, Red<\/i>, Swift changed her look: she wore red lipstick and straightened her youthful curly hair. She was growing up, and her album, featuring an eclectic mix of country and pop songs, showed it. Yet the rumors and backlash returned<\/a>, as people judged her for her dating habits and her tendency to write overly confessional songs.<\/p>\n So in 2014, Swift debuted 1989<\/i>, and made the official switch from country to pop, once again changing her image to reclaim her narrative, this time showing a new relationship with criticism. Her lead single, \u201cShake It Off,\u201d told the world that no matter what the \u201chaters\u201d and \u201cheartbreakers\u201d did, she would always shake it off. \u201cBlank Space,\u201d her second single, smartly satirized the reputation she\u2019d gained as a crazy ex-girlfriend. Swift was now a short-haired, stylish, savvy millennial with famous friends<\/a> and a popular and successful boyfriend (Calvin Harris), and her fans idolized her for it.<\/p>\n And then came the Kanye West scandal. West and Swift had appeared to have finally become friends, but when West came out with \u201cFamous,\u201d a song in which he boasted, \u201cI made that b**** famous,\u201d Swift claimed to be appalled. She publicly spoke out against the song, most prominently in a passive-aggressive acceptance speech<\/a> for \u201cAlbum of the Year\u201d at the 2016 Grammys. But in June, Kim Kardashian West posted video proof that Swift had approved the lyrics prior to their release. The internet erupted, with critics proclaiming that Swift was a liar who had played up her innocence to hurt West\u2019s reputation. The backlash was bad enough that she went underground, not even using social media. It was time for another character change.<\/p>\n Therefore, it should have come as no surprise to Swift fans when she released the bold \u201cLook What You Made Me Do\u201d in August 2017, a single off a brand new album. The song overtly addressed the impact of the drama with Kanye and Kim. The most telling line came near the end of the song, when she said, \u201cThe Old Taylor can\u2019t come the phone right now. […] \u2018cause she\u2019s dead!\u201d The music video<\/a> that followed was equally self-aware, ending with a conversation between caricatures of her personas from the last decade. Each Taylor insulted the others, often using direct quotes from criticism that she had received over the years. Swift endeavored to show the world that she was done playing media games by directly addressing the criticism and insults, and showing that, from now on, she would be herself and not some persona. But what listeners have to remember is that every time she shows the world a \u201cnew\u201d side of hers, she just spins her story a different way, creating a new arc for the character she plays. With the release of her newest album, reputation<\/i>, Swift portrays a mature adult woman who has grown hard and jaded from dealing with rejection, heartbreak, and judgement. However, the way Swift keeps trying to show the world just how far she has come may finally be getting stale.<\/p>\n