For the Beliebers:
Vanessa Grigoriadis: “Justin Bieber: A Case Study in Growing Up Cosseted
and Feral”
http://www.vulture.com/2014/06/justin-bieber-experiment.html
For the Swifties:
Lizzie Widdicombe: “Taylor Swift: You Belong With Me”
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/10/10/you-belong-with-me
I swear I use to be a fake Justin Bieber fan. I mean I wasn't crazy like some people who buy his hair on ebay or stalk him religiously but I could listen to some of his music over and over. And I went through the Justin is the cutest thing alive for a little while. Reading the article the author talks about how Justin doesnt like to give interviews or the paparazzis. When famous people say this it makes me so confuse. I always consider a big part of fame to be about the exposure which means people getting to know and see you. When famous people get angry at that I just dont know how to react since I think the interviews and the paparazzis is what keep them relevant for their music or whatever is to keep selling. Another thing that caught my eye was the manger saying that Justin has a few times that he can mess up and play around. I know he is only human but this can explain why Justin has been doing so many negative things when your manger gives you the okay to do foolish things a few times with no real consequence. Looking at media there is a obvious shift in Justin B. behavior from child to adult. He became a little bit reckless and try to get rid of his parent figures like the article says to establish himself as his own person and an adult. We still see that today in the way he dresses and the types of songs he sings now.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like Justin Bieber's personality changes as his hairstyle does! As a guy growing up around the same age as the same age as Justin, my friends and I were never huge fans in middle and high school when he was popular. I knew that people changed when they got older, yet it was strange to see such a drastic change coming from Justin. Its interesting to see celebrities act out when they've been famous for a while. Perhaps its them seeking new attention, or trying to define themselves in new ways. We saw this with Michael Jackson, Brittany Spears, and now Justin Bieber. He's done a complete 180 from innocent boy that sings to the heart of girls all around the world, to a raging swagmonster. Its interesting to see the effect fame has on a person, especially one at a young age. Everyone can act out when they get older, but when someone's famous it's hard to keep some things secret. I wonder about the relationship Justin had with his parents. As Justin was going through puberty, a strange time in anyone's life, he was also getting famous. Where his parents there to guide and discipline him, or did he walk all over them as he seems to do with his manager? As the article says, he's trying get rid of the adult figures in his life it seems, yet judging from his actions, I'm not sure he's ready to be an adult.
ReplyDeleteAs of lately, it seems as if the only thing celebrities want to do is be on the front page of the newspapers; in reality, these celebrities are making headlines based on the controversies that they are involved in than their accomplishments. Taylor Swift, on the other hand, has made a successful career without causing trouble, unlike certain celebrities, such as Justin Bieber; Swift’s career seems to be based solely on her singing ability and songwriting talent. As Widdicombe mentions, “Swift is… a twenty-one year old 2.0- girl next door with superior talent.” At the age of 10, Swift was already signed and training under the music company RCA. As she continued to grow, her talents grew even further, she began to her own songs; one main reasons why Swift is able to bring such a large audience to her music is because the songs she writes are somewhat relatable. Though sometimes Swift does exaggerate the reality in some of her songs, listeners are still able to grasp the understanding of what her song is about. Since her debut in 2006, it can be agreed the Taylor’s singing ability has led her to become well-respected in the Hollywood world; not only does she have musical ability, but her talent has led her to have her own perfume line, as well as becoming a spokeswoman for the cosmetic brand, Covergirl. Another reason why Taylor Swift has been able to stay in the celebrity spotlight without being involved in controversies is because she handles any situation in a professional manner. Kanye West became infamous for interrupting Swift’s acceptance speech during the VMA’s, but instead of backlashing back at West, Swift was able to maintain her composure and did not make a big deal out of the event. Taylor has a business-like attitude, where she seems to remain calm at any given situation, whether it is good or bad. Personally, I believe Taylor Swift is an ideal person to idolize because not only does she know what she wants to do with her career, she focuses solely on it in order to gain fame, rather than rely on paparazzi to capture every bad moment that happens.
ReplyDeleteFrom Sarah:
ReplyDeleteI believe Taylor Swift’s rise to fame has to do with the fact that she writes catchy songs appealing to young girls’ romanticized ideas of love and heartbreak, plus parents encourage daughters to look to her as a role-model rather than other teen stars like Miley Cyrus or Justin Bieber. It does appear as though all of Taylor’s innocent actions have been carefully thought through from either hers a publicist’s standpoint. The author talks about how Swift has had no scandals, or even drunken pictures of her out at clubs-something seemingly impossible for a teen star. Taylor appears to really love and care for her fans, who easily reciprocate the love tenfold. “While many young stars have a programmed, slightly robotic affect, she radiates unjaded sincerity no matter how contrived the situation…” What parent would not encourage their young teens to look up to such an admirable star? “Swift approaches her career with the seriousness of a C.E.O.” shows how Taylor truly understands how her actions will affect her future, and her reputation as someone parents are okay with their kids wanting to be like. But is Swift acting like this because she truly has no interest in partying and appreciates her fans immensely, or is it because she is such a clever business woman that she understands acting in this way is how she can make the most profit? From my slim knowledge of Taylor Swift and what I learned from the article it appears to me that it’s just a mixture of both. Taylor expresses she has no interest in being “edgy”, which is conveyed through her actions, plus she seems sincere when interacting with her fans, while remaining business-like in choosing what to sell, and having her own perfume line.
It is said that there is no such thing as bad press. That all press is good. But for Taylor Swift, it seems that there is only good press involved. The superstar has done an amazing job at keeping her record spotless and relying solely on her talents to climb the ladder of stardom. I won’t lie, at first I did not know much about Taylor Swift. I thought that she was just a regular girl from some farm that just happened to be at the right place at the right time and landed a record deal. After reading this article I found out that this is not the case. I also did not really think about her being so involved in her brand and calling many of the shots. I had guessed that she was just the artist and that she did whatever her managers told her to do. I guess the reason I thought this was because that seems to be the case with many artists, but again I was proven wrong. Taylor Swift is greatly involved in brand and song writing. She writes her own songs, with help, and is involved in her merchandise sales. After ready this article I have to say that I now notice how responsible Taylor Swift is. I have yet to read negative stories about her actions or see any inappropriate photos or videos. Swift seems to take great care of her image and seems to care about her supporters. It was included that when she went to the Costume Institute Gala she drank soda water instead of champagne; a very responsible move indeed. However, this leads me to join Mr. Romans and questioning her reason. It could very well be that she is just one of those rare people that do not enjoy the party scene or it could be that she is too intelligent to get caught doing something that may affect her career in a negative way. Regardless of the reason, she seems to be making the right choices and her accomplishments continue to stack up. If she continues to make the smart decisions that she has made, the era of the “Swifties” may be a very long one.
ReplyDeleteTeen stars, the successful ones, are usually seen as immature and that is partly in thanks to the way media shows them. But for Taylor Swift that is different. There is very little, if any, bad publicity on her. She may be pop singer but she carries herself in a way that you would not see from a typical pop star. The way she acts can be described as that of a professional and businesswoman. She also takes an active role in writing her own music, a major difference from other teen stars. In the article we are told that this is a “clever marketing device”. The incident with Kanye West at the MTV Video Music Awards shows that she knows how to act calmly in public. Both of these represent how Swift carriers herself in a professional way. She also has many lines of products, demonstrating that she is thinking like a businesswoman and someone that could easily be a big time CEO if she was not a pop star. It also seems like Swift likes to lead as normal of a life as she can as a superstar during her free time. Swift has steered clear of drinking and clubs which has had a big effect on why she is not seen in a bad light in media. This might just be her preference, or she might be thinking like a businesswoman. Overall Taylor Swift does not fit the typical image of a teen superstar and represents the qualities of a successful business woman.
ReplyDeleteFrom Sara:
ReplyDeleteI agree with Patty and Sarah with the idea that Taylor Swift knows what she wants and knows how to get it. Like Sarah says, “Taylor truly understands how her actions will affect her future.” I’ve always been a Taylor Swift fan; I was in 7th grade when I first bought her album and was obsessing over her. I heard about the lawsuits and I’ve seen some inappropriate pictures and comments of her (her posing with a kid in a Nazi uniform and her refusing to call herself a feminist), so what really amazed me of her is the fact that this bad stuff really never got out. Being a fan, of course I forgave her of everything. However, the way this article is written shows Taylor Swift to be a master manipulator in a really nice way. Lizzie Widdicombe mentions the infamous moment at the VMAs where Swift gets interrupted by Kanye, which got her sympathy points, especially for the way she handled it. The way she grew to fame inspired millions of kids to follow this path, which might not even be true. Also, the way she handles her criticism, specifically by Bob Lefsetz, is by writing a song and getting fans backing her up. The best part of the entire article has to be how she describes Taylor Swift’s precedent style as “sundresses, cowboy boots, and a number 13 on her hand” but then also refers to her as a C.E.O.
This article is great! It brings me into Taylor Swift ‘s world. I like country music like her but the only difference is that I cannot sing! She is great not only because of a singer but also as a songwriter. She has experienced a lot of stuff that I cannot have. Her experience tells me that if we want to be successful, we need to work harder to get what we want like she did. And I remembered that I was so attracted to listening to her music not because of her delicate voice but also because of the story behind the songs as reasons that most people like her. As Taylor said: “It was just such a given I want to do that.” Every song she sang is just like storytelling. I am willing to be the one who listens to the story just by listening to her music. Every MV delivered an audience and a different feeling about her love story. I think she is unique, most singers or movie stars care about exposing their life. But Taylor is willing to share and tell her own story with different boyfriends to the audience. Perhaps some people cannot accept that she had so many boyfriends and may think that she is not loyal, but I think she’s brave. She has written these songs for them that means she cares about them. She likes writing and singing songs so she wants to use this method to record her memory with her lovers.
ReplyDeleteThis article was quite interesting and let us take a look into Taylor's life. It allows us to put ourselves in Taylor's shoes and get a glimpse of what her perspective is on the world. I remember the first time I heard one of her songs back in middle school and I instantly fell in love with her style of music. I like how she writes her own songs about experiences that she has encountered throughout her life because it allows us to get to know her better. We are better able to relate to her because some of us may have also gone through the same experiences. This allows Taylor and her fans to have a unique relationship that some artists who don't write their own songs may not have. Taylor is a good role model for her fans as well. When the going gets tough she pushes through and makes the most out of the situation. I admire her attitude towards Kanye West when he interrupted her speech at the Grammy's. She was likely angry and hurt as any person would be but she didn't say anything bad about Kanye when she so easily could have. Instead, she turned to what she does best and wrote a song about the situation to let people know her feelings in a more subtle way. All in all I think Taylor is a unique artist in that she doesn't follow the cookie cutter molds set by other artists who came before her. She does her own thing and that is likely a contributing factor to her long lasting fame.
ReplyDeleteThis article was really long but very enjoyable to read because I consider myself to be a Taylor Swift fan. Ever since the first time I listened to one of her songs, it’s always been so catchy and relatable to teenage girl’s life. It was fascinating to see how Taylor is really like in her shoes. I thought Taylor was only mature and sophisticated but she still has that feeling of being a kid inside still like when she got excited for going to a ball and getting her own CD from Starbucks. People think that celebrities are a higher status than everyone else, but they are still humans and they act like one too. I just love that Taylor Swift didn’t end up like Miley Cyrus or Brittany Spears. Taylor Swift doesn’t seem like the type to get in trouble or doing reckless things to put her reputation on jeopardy and she’s such a great role model to many teenage girls. Some people don’t like Taylor Swift just because she writes songs about her past relationships or her bad encounters with people. I find that really unique to put it into songs and those songs become hits. If that’s a way to become successful then let her be. Taylor never gave up on her dream and her dream came true of becoming a country-pop singer even though her real intention was to become a financial advisor. I find that Taylor is a one of a kind singer who has the best attitude for anything. She goes on her own ways and still ends up being fabulous.
ReplyDeleteMy first thought after reading this article was its shear length. The article was a very complete and intense overview of Swift’s life, career and brand. Even as a mild enthusiast of Swifts music I didn’t know all about her early life and some aspects of it are revealing to her success. For example I knew that she was much more country at the beginning of her career but has become more main stream poppy and has done extremely well to adapt to the current musical taste; it is thus no surprise that she has been the most successful recent artist in terms of sales. This impressive ability to adapt and maintain relevance, while based on a firm musical talent, could maybe be attributed to her earlier life of battling not being accepted by peers and then moving, from posh Pennsylvania to suburban Tennessee, and having to reintegrate.
ReplyDeleteI also was a bit shocked, I understand that many times artists sometimes play up or play down their childhood roots, but I certainly thought that Swift had a more country upbringing. While Swift did complete school around the Nashville area and would have gone to high school (arguably the most important years to shape a person) in the south; I had a perception, as does everyone, that Swift had a bible belt upbringing. This certainly plays into her savvy ability to create and continue, a possibly calculated, image. However, I do mildly feel like her perhaps disingenuous persona is off-putting; no one liked that Rick Ross was a CO, and Jay-Z is famous for actually having been a criminal in the 80s/90s.
On the other hand it does seem like Swift stays fairly rooted to a respectable set of beliefs that make her both admirable and probably a good role model for young girls. While Swift seems to be more than meets the eye, from how she is portrayed in this article, she is not a bad person under her public image. She seems to genuinely love her fans, does not appear to be blown away from her stardom and doesn’t really look like she’s on the path of a train wreck. While Brittney spear’s melt down seemed all but inevitable, other female stars such a Miley Cyrus, Amanda Bynes or Lindsey Lohan, were more out of left field. However, Swift’s perspective on the business and on her craft and her personality make one believe she isn’t headed the common female singer burnout; so perhaps she really is the brainy all American girl next door.
It takes me by surprise that Taylor is one of the few stars that started out as teenagers but still has a more firm handle on what it means to be an adult. She makes personal decisions that don’t intentionally garner negative criticism and fan opposition. The other pseudo-grown up teen stars contrast with her because it seems that the norm is to break out of the teen character and into the dark and sexy adult. I like the fact that Taylor managed her transition by simply becoming more independent and handling her business like an adult would. She acknowledges her fans in a way that isn’t detrimental and she handles quarrels in an adult manner behind closed doors and without garnering too much attention. I enjoyed reading the article but they play her to have no fault as if written by a fan. I enjoyed reading about a star that is more business than play but I didn’t enjoy that there was an opportunity to be critical about one of the biggest stars of our time. Bringing into light any negative event in this magazine article would have made her look even better because it makes her more normal. It was weird to see that Taylor has done nothing but positive actions her life when I’m sure she has some darkness to her that makes her human.
ReplyDeleteI thought this article was very insightful. The perspective of Taylor in this article is one that goes deeper into her life than media would ever show. Recently, Taylor took some of her new music off of Spotify, which is a music streaming application that lets people access a vast database of music. I haven’t researched the exact numbers, but in doing this she made a ton of money because her fans were forced to buy her albums instead of going to this free streaming service. This is another way that Taylor treats her career as a business. Some people said she was selfish and greedy but in reality it was a great financial move. I think this was a way for her to state that she is leaving that child-star phase of her career and moving onto becoming a powerful woman in American society. I personally don’t have any interest in her music but my sister does. She isn’t one of the swiftys that has a shrine dedicated to Taylor but she definitely considers herself a hardcore fan. My sister got pissed when Taylor pulled her music off Spotify because she uses the app for all of her music. She didn’t understand that the artists are not making as much money (about $0.006 per stream from Spotify) as they would if they sold their albums in stores or on iTunes. Like any business you try to maximize profit, and in the end, that is what “CEO” Taylor did.
ReplyDeleteObviously Taylor Swift is a very talented songwriter. She was noticed as a child and since then became a worldwide country music star with millions of fans. TV and magazines always say good things about Swift; she has a lot of positive critics in the media. Compared to other teen stars she never has issues with alcohol or drugs and we have never seen any inappropriate behavior. Her reputation has been perfect since she appeared on the music scene. And she is a good businesswoman that knows how to make a lot of money using her talent. She seem to be so perfect. “Taylor is so nice, Taylor is amazing, we love Taylor, Taylor blah blah blah.” This is annoying. While I was reading the article the only thing I was thinking about was “When will I hear something spicy?” Something that does not lay on the top, something extraordinary. I do not follow common thought about her that she is very innocent. I think she uses this stage image for own benefit. She is like Miley Cyrus but in the opposite way. They both play their roles on the stage but their actual personality is different from those roles. Even we know that Taylor has troubles with long term relationships (in the past six years she had ten boyfriends), it does not really affect her good girl reputation. It kind of turns into a good thing for her because she writes at least one new song after each break-up. Anyway, I am sincerely waiting for Taylor Swift to show her real face to the world.
ReplyDeleteLeilei Lin
ReplyDeleteEng 201
Taylor Swift is not strange in my life, but it is not super familiar to me also. I listen top 100 music from Spotify list and I listen to Taylor Swift music sometimes. But I didn’t focus on the lyric and didn’t pay attention to who she is. After I read the article and do some background research about Taylor Swift. She is un-expectable popular in our country. She is a very talented singer. She is not just sing well but also does song writing. I have totally flipped my impression on her. She is actually a young adult like us. Her life just like us: college students. I don’t know about others. There is one very impressive thing from Tyler Swift is that she found her interest when she was 14 years old. She wasn’t hesitating to pursuit her dream at all. And she has working as a singer for 11 years and she is still interest and feel motivates to do what she has been pursuing for. One of her lyrics mentioned “One life, you got to do what you should.” When I read here, I stopped reading. I think about myself, my dream and my interest. I am doubt that what I am doing and what I am pursing is what I am like to do in the future. Then I continued read. She also has a little girls dream and that came to true when she was 19 years old. As a girl, we all want to decorate our future house. She bought her first apartment when she was 19 years old. She didn’t learn how to design a house. However, she allowed her interest and spent two years to decorate her house. In addition, she doesn’t drink, she rather spent her off time with her friends, family and band members. She likes cook group dinner, watch TV. Overall, I like her life style and how she is. She is a young adult, but she doesn’t like college students like to go to party and drink. She knows what she is doing in her life. She is doing what she wants. She is not perfect, but she pursued what she wants earlier than normal youth. She gives me a different image about celebrities.
From Camelia:
ReplyDeleteTaylor Swift is not only a talented singer/songwriter; she is a business woman as well. She is one of the few famous singers who manages and controls her own business. Taylor Swift is known as one of the most successful artists today and I strongly believe it is because of her intelligence and the way she handles her image and business. Reputation and image is very important in the entertainment industry, and Taylor Swift has a reputation as an innocent and kind-hearted person. Whether or not she puts on a mask for the public or she actually is who she presents herself as; Taylor Swift knows what she is doing. Her self-image makes her a positive role model which also contributes to her success. Today's entertainment is made up of people who are famous for inappropriate behavior or drug and alcohol use; but Taylor Swift is a positive role model to look up to. She demonstrates how one could be famous and smart and still contribute to their own business. Before reading this article I knew a little about Taylor Swift and how she is not only talented vocally, but is an independent business woman as well. I have much respect for Taylor Swift because of the way she presents herself professionally and towards the public; taking a position as a talented artist, and a successful business woman.
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ReplyDeleteI admire Taylor Swift for who she is and the accomplishments that come with her. Taylor Swift has come out with many singles that have all risen to the top charts. She has been extremely successful in all of her career and has made songs that have appealed to all age groups. Many of Swift’s songs have been criticized for being appealing to the “generic teen queen, supplying background music for slumber parties and shoppers at Forever 21”. I think Swift is often stereotyped for this music often, yet Swifties of all ages continue to listen and thrive with her music. I believe that Swift is an admirable artist; one who is respectable and has never been accused of inappropriate behavior.
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