The world is obsessed with Taylor Swift. Here's why!

Taylor Swift—you’ve probably heard this name over a million times this year. And probably at least a hundred times this week. So, for the hundredth and one time, we’re going to break the ice and repeat it—Taylor Alison Swift.

Time's Person of the Year, international tours, a film release, nine VMA’s in a night, record-breaking shows, and Spotify’s most streamed artist—she’s done it all now. And just as Peter Parker said in ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’, I’m going to say it too: ‘Everywhere I go, I see his (in his context, her) face’. If I were to tell you how I, a long-standing Swiftie, feel about my previously conjectured ‘underrated’ artist (who I also believed I was gatekeeping), suddenly becoming everyone’s favourite pop singer, it is going to get a little complicated. I say complicated because the secret that I blasted in my ears for over a decade is now on everyone’s cry-in-the-car playlist. And well, let's say, I wasn’t exactly keen on sharing my favourite lyrics with the rest of the world just as yet. 

For example, “Someday, I’ll be living in a big old city. And all you’re ever gonna be is mean"—a lyric from the song ‘Mean’. It's what I cried to for two whole days after getting yelled at by my math professor. Or “Romeo save me; I’ve been feeling so alone,” from the song ‘Love Story’ Although, it still took me a few years to realize no Romeo was coming to save me, it was the mandatory background score when fantasizing about a crush (even now).  Or “I cut off my nose just to spite my face. Then hate my reflection, for years and years” from the song ‘Archer’. It’s what I listened to on loop when I vowed to never see my best friend's face again. 

You get the point, don't you? It all meant too much. But it isn’t about me. Because, if you look around, everyone—from your ‘situationship’ to your boss and even your 8-year-old neighbour loves Taylor Swift now. So much so that Miss Swift, for quite some time, became the catalyst that helped slide men into a lot of DMs. She became an immediate conversation starter on dating apps too. “I am looking for someone who can vibe with me on Taylor Swift songs,” read a Hinge user’s bio. “My cry-in-the-car show is Exile by Taylor Swift,” said another. And it doesn’t stop here. A few weeks ago, someone I know, swiped right on a 23-year-old guy’s profile that said, “I am looking for someone who would go to the Eras Tour film with me.” They are seeing each other now. And then, of course, there were videos of people going on one knee at the Eras Tour, making life-long commitments. 
 

 

So, what has she done to people? And how did she get over a zillion people, spread across continents, to fall in love with her? 

“She first caught my attention when her album ‘Fearless’ was released. Love Story was the go-to jam for my school friends and I. We used to scream her songs at the top of our lungs. And it all came full circle when we danced to the same song when one of us got married,” shared journalist Abigail Banerji. Nostalgia is a funny thing; it can either unlock the Niagara Falls in your eyes or make your jaw ache from all the laughter. Best case scenario—it does both. Clearly Swift has mastered the latter category. 

Is nostalgia the answer then? 

“I wasn’t doing all that great a few months ago; to the extent that I didn’t know if I could get myself to wake up the next day. Cardigan, Willow, and August were the three constants in my playlist. And I’m going to have to say, whatever piano Taylor Swift played these songs on, saved me a lot of sleepless nights,” shared fellow Swiftie Sumit Raheja. Whoever said music heals was a hundred per cent right then. And here’s proof. 

So now wait, is it her songwriting ability that makes her work infectious?

The American pop artist turns 34 today, and while this debate on the reason behind her popularity will continue for at least a few decades more, what I can tell you is that the influence that she has had is almost out of promotion. And although I don’t believe in putting anyone from pop culture on a pedestal, I hope Taylor Swift will be the one artist I can vouch for—now and for years to come. 

Here’s Team Cosmopolitan India wishing Taylor Swift a very Happy Birthday.