Whether you like her or not, Taylor Swift has done some really amazing things. As someone who has been a "Swiftie" for the past 9 years, I've witness the highest of highs and lowest of the lows that a fandom could ever go through. She follows me on Tumblr, I listen to her music and I understand that she's not perfect. She's made mistakes and she can be problematic at times, but she's human. Just like you.
You are no better than her so why should her human errors completely disregard all the good she's done for the world?
I'm not going to deny that some of these acts were probably created in the name of PR, but no matter what she does people still deem her as a villain, so why does it matter what the original motive is anyway? She still puts the time and effort into it.
I mean, come on:
1. She goes out of her way to meet her fans.
Her concerts, an award show, even Target...no place is exempt. If Taylor wants to meet you...she will meet you. You don't really have a choice.
2. And talks to them on social media
I could write an entire article about all of the times she has liked my own personal posts, the times she personally messaged her fans going through difficult times. She regularly stalks her fans on social media and can call them out by name in a crowd. Her personal connection is unique with each and every fan she meets.
3. She stood up for undermined musicians.
All anyone could talk about was her being "greedy" and "selfish." But they missed the point. It is unfair for anyone to not be fairly compensated, and the music industry excels at this. So, she made a stance and she used her privilege to bring awareness to the fact that so many artists an producers are extremely underpaid by streaming services, like Spotify or Apple Music.
4. She holds the record for the number of times the word "ass" was said in a courtroom.
When she went to Federal Court in Colorado after she was sexually assaulted by David Mueller - a radio DJ. The number of times she said it was never released to my knowledge but she was quoted in the article saying "I'm told it was the most amount of time the word 'ass' has ever been said in Colorado Federal Court."
5. She wrote a song about a little boy who died from cancer.
His name was Ronan. He was four. And she credited his mother as a co-writer on the song, because of her blog rockstarronnan.com.
6. She personally wrapped and sent her fans Christmas AND Valentine's Day presents.
She probably put thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours but she personally hand-wrote cards and little notes for each fan, sent them things like blankets, high-end makeup, and clothes that she picked out herself. And then she took the time to watch their reactions and posted about it on social media.
7. She successfully crossed 3 genres in one year.
2016 was the year of "I Don't Wanna Live Forever," "This Is What You Came For" and "Better Man." Pop, EDM, and country. She wrote them all. Artists don't just do that, let alone the fact that she was on a "break."
8. Where iTunes accidentally released a track off 1989 by mistake.
It wasn't a track. It was seven seconds of static noise... and it still went number one. Please tell me that's not intriguing or worth your time to say something like, "Wow!"
9. Four of her six albums sold over 1 million copies in their first week.
It was extremely difficult for an artist or band to do this without streaming, and she managed to do it not once, or twice, but four times.
10. She attended a fan's bridal shower.
Her name is Gena, she's a loving and dedicated fan whose been there since the beginning of Taylor's career. She presented her with the Billboard's Women of the Year award in 2014, she's gone to millions of shows. Taylor even went out of her way to reschedule a prior event in order to be there on this day for her, as stated in a Seth Meyer's interview. There's a video about the event here.
11. She symbolically adopted a seagull and named him George Washington.
He lives at her Rhode Island home, and every time the 4th of July rolls around, and she throws her annual party, someone asks Taylor how he's doing. We love George Washington.
12. She used her own heartbeat on a song.
That beat in "Wildest Dreams"... yeah. That's her heartbeat. She recorded her own heartbeat. She puts every ounce of her heart into her music... literally.
13. She has literally brought hundreds of fans into each of her homes.
Rhode Island, Nashville, New York, and Beverly Hills. Also her hotel room in London. She held these parties called "Secret Sessions," where she would invite her fans (roughly 200 people each time) into her homes and play them the album before it was released. Also, she invited a fan, Sophie, over for the two of them to personally celebrate Valentine's Day together.
No other celebrity in the history of the world has ever even thought about that- it's a massive breach of privacy. But, Taylor has such a close connection with her fans that she is willing to do that.
This isn't a plea to get you to like her music, or even a plea to get you to like her. I'm not going to grovel at your feet and force you to become a fan. But, at the very least, she deserves your appreciation for these 13 things, because they are unique, special and because this is only a fraction of the wondrous talent she has given to the world.
This list doesn't even include all of the money she has donated to various charities or the times that she surprises fans at her home. I didn't even include the time she gave a fan $90 for Chipotle or the time she gave a fan $1,989 to help her pay off student loans. Or the personal flowers and cards that get sent out. I didn't even include the 2011 Gillette Stadium show. Or all the celebrities she invites to perform on her stage during shows.
No other celebrity would, or has, ever gone to the lengths that she has for her fans. To surprise them, admire them, help them and love them.
So, suck it.
