Opinions on Taylor Swift?

[JRTJ]

As a Catholic, I’m blown away by Taylor Swift. She is most likely the most modest, well-behaving person out there among the Hollywood music/film superstars. She is a role model for young girls and boys out there who are easily influenced. Sure, she does seem to have a penchant for serial dating, but I don’t think that retracts from her status as a person with values. A Catholic Bishop recently praised her for the admirable example she sets for the younger members of society (see here And I think she’s extremely talented - in fact, beyond talented.

I am curious to know what you think about her and about the image of herself she project. A friend of mine knows her quite well and has repeatedly told me that she is as genuinely nice in real life as she ppears to be on camera.

She obviously isn’t perfect, but I do think she is a breath of fresh air compared to her fellow entertainment superstars. I hope her success continues.

 

[Country_Gal]

I like her singing voice and style. I’m not sure why the media makes fun of her so much, but don’t know much about her personal life, other than the media makes fun of her dating life.

 

[Robyn_p]

I’m not a super huge fan, I only like a couple of her songs. But I agree she definitely seems to have a good head on her shoulders, I like the fact that she actually writes all her own music and lyrics too. (At least that’s what I heard)

 

[RPRPsych]

Hate to be devil’s advocate, but let’s hold our horses here. Not so long ago, I’ve read essays claiming that Miley Cyrus (!) and the Jonas Brothers (!!) were harbingers of another “Great Awakening” (an execrable term if there ever was one, but let me stick to topic) in America because they subscribed to “Christian” values.

The celebrity lifestyle is a dangerous one, and it’s a rare soul who doesn’t have their head turned by it. And sometimes the most authentic messages are from those who’ve actually experienced that dark side, and have managed to escape it and find a better purpose in life. (The lyrics of Don Henley are an excellent example.)

I wish Ms. Swift every success, but I’ll pass on the “role model” claims for now. Blame it on the fact that I got married on St. Maria Goretti’s feast, I guess. Now there’s a role model.

 

[JRTJ]

Hate to be devil’s advocate, but let’s hold our horses here. Not so long ago, I’ve read essays claiming that Miley Cyrus (!) and the Jonas Brothers (!!) were harbingers of another “Great Awakening” (an execrable term if there ever was one, but let me stick to topic) in America because they subscribed to “Christian” values.

The celebrity lifestyle is a dangerous one, and it’s a rare soul who doesn’t have their head turned by it. And sometimes the most authentic messages are from those who’ve actually experienced that dark side, and have managed to escape it and find a better purpose in life. (The lyrics of Don Henley are an excellent example.)

I wish Ms. Swift every success, but I’ll pass on the “role model” claims for now. Blame it on the fact that I got married on St. Maria Goretti’s feast, I guess. Now there’s a role model.

I agree with your basic point. However, in describing her as a ‘role model’ I was merely contrasting her with the rest of the entertainment industry at-large, especially with mega stars that compare to her in terms of popularity. In that sense, she is certainly the only one among them who I would be happy to see my (future) kids admire as a person. Of course there are surely people who have a better moral standard than her, but there are also many people who have better moral standards than you and me, and there probably are/were/will be many people who have higher moral standards than many of the Saints. You can’t compare a person such as Taylor to a Saint, but I’d similarly reject the comparison if you were contrasting me to one of these incredible Saints we all love and admire.

In Italy we have a saying that goes: “the grass of your neighbour is always greener than yours” - I believe it is also true with regard to one’s moral backbone.

 

[pensmama87]

I like her voice, and I like her public image, but I don’t think the message of her songs is anything spectacular. Which may be a bit much to expect from pop music, but the presentation of what love should be like is pretty immature, IMO. That could be a factor of her age, though (TBH I’m not much older, but I am married so I’ve been “in the trenches” a bit…haha!)

I agree that we need to be careful about it. A lot of people did think Miley Cyrus was going to bring back the wholesome female singer image…obviously not!

(It makes me sad, there’s a lot of talented women out there, even in the world of pop music, but they spend twice as much time being sex objects, and the cost is that their real talent is almost completely ignored. )

 

[JRTJ]

I like her voice, and I like her public image, but I don’t think the message of her songs is anything spectacular. Which may be a bit much to expect from pop music, but the presentation of what love should be like is pretty immature, IMO. That could be a factor of her age, though (TBH I’m not much older, but I am married so I’ve been “in the trenches” a bit…haha!)

I agree that we need to be careful about it. A lot of people did think Miley Cyrus was going to bring back the wholesome female singer image…obviously not!

(It makes me sad, there’s a lot of talented women out there, even in the world of pop music, but they spend twice as much time being sex objects, and the cost is that their real talent is almost completely ignored. )

In the end, when it comes down to it, musicians and, most importantly, songwriters such as herself, write about love. Love is one of the higher purposes of human existence. Her songs might not be exactly preaching the Gospel D) but at least she keeps the message about love pure, without promoting sexual promiscuity or impurity.

I am a fan of rock and blues mostly, as well as country, and while it is true that the music is incredible I’m sometimes disturbed by the vulgarity of the lyrics, which I absolutely ignore.

Swift’s lyrics, by contrast, can be read as bedtime stories to your kids, that’s how absolutely innocent they are in terms of content. I think that’s what she’s trying to do - keeping the message clean. What else can she write about, after all? Music has always treated the incredibly complex and multifaceted subject of love, and she’s doing just that.

Given that she’s almost 24, it is unlikely, in my opinion, that she will undergo a transformation such as the one we have witnessed in Cyrus’ case. She is well beyond her teenage ‘risk’ years.

 

[altms]

I like her music. She’s a superb singer-songwriter. Quite versatile as well, can fit in many genres.

As for being a role model, NO. I don’t think any of these popstars should carry such a tag. They live and say things that you wouldn’t want your daughter to be doing/saying. Fine, Taylor’s music sounds innocent, but let’s wait and see…

Want some real role models for young girls? Look no further than Missy Franklin and Katie Ledecky. Two young Catholic girls who live the faith and lead a decent, hard-working lifestyle. How I wish they were my little sisters…

 

[JRTJ]

I like her music. She’s a superb singer-songwriter. Quite versatile as well, can fit in many genres.

As for being a role model, NO. I don’t think any of these popstars should carry such a tag. They live and say things that you wouldn’t want your daughter to be doing/saying. Fine, Taylor’s music sounds innocent, but let’s wait and see…

Want some real role models for young girls? Look no further than Missy Franklin and Katie Ledecky. Two young Catholic girls who live the faith and lead a decent, hard-working lifestyle. How I wish they were my little sisters…

Respectfully, it seems that you, together with some other posters here, are largely missing my point.

I am NOT saying that she is as perfect as the girls you cited, and I am certainly not saying that we should look to her as a role model in our battle for Salvation (!!!). My point was that, given the idolization of popstars and celebrities our culture nurtures, which we might as well face as being a reality, I much prefer the idea of kids looking up to her rather than Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, or Lindsey Lohan. The secularist society we live in will not give these Catholic girls you cite a shot at becoming famous and widely known in the context of the entertainment industry. Thus, we are left with either totally closing ourselves off from a world that is largely off-course in terms of morality, or open ourselves up to these people who are the last flicker of hope for a decent moral standard in the celebrity and entertainment world.

I’d rather focus on the little good that remains (which OF COURSE is nothing compared to the good of many people who follow the ways of God, including many I know) in society rather than dumping everything in the trashcan.

God bless!

 

[Iheartcoffee]

She seems to have good control over what aspects of her private life are allowed to be shared with the media. I think this makes a big difference because you never hear about her being chased by paparazzi after some drunken party. I think she avoids situations where she could lose control of the media. (As well as avoiding situations where she could make poor choices). Also, I heard somewhere that her mom travels with her often. I think she has enough family around her on a regular basis to keep her in check. All too often it seems that the stars that go crazy are the ones that have too many “yes men” around them and not enough people willing to tell them the truth.

Another important trend that I see that divides the wild stars from the others is the ability to handle money. It seems like famous people that keep an eye on their bank accounts tend to have more control over their image as well. Look at famous people like the Duggars and the Duck Dynasty family. They are making plenty of money off of their fame, but they seem to be handling it very wisely, thus allowing them the flexibility of pulling the plug on any project that they deem offensive. Recently, the Duck Dynasty family has threatened to quit when the network tried to censor their prayers and add bleeps to make it sound like they used bad language. Jon and Kate plus 8, on the other hand, seemed to spend every last cent they earned and they obviously became completely dependent on the show’s income which certainly didn’t help anything. Singers and actors seem to follow this pattern as well. There are some that are going crazy to gain more attention and money. They get to a point where it seems they are willing to do anything to stay on top and keep making an income. Usually somewhere in or after their tragic downward spiral we hear that they are bankrupt.

 

[Arizona_Mike]

Well, she’s Catholic, that can only help.

I don’t know much about her personal life, but she seems to dress in a manner that is fashionable but not revealing, writes a lot of her own material, and maintains a personal life that at least is not a non-stop train-wreck. If it is, she keeps it pretty well concealed, I’d rather have that at least, than have someone’s failings celebrated.

I read where Miley Cyrus smoked a joint on-stage tonight while accepting the European MTV awards and twerked with a dwarf and did that stupid thing where she jerks her tongue out like a guernsey cow, so the bar isn’t set very high in the entertainment industry. Taylor seems to be doing okay.

I like her song “Christmas Must Be Something More,” about the need to remember Jesus in the festivities.

She’s wearing one of those Catholic bracelets with pictures of the Blessed Mary and some saints, so I’m guessing still Catholic:

http://eyedirection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/singer-taylor-swift-681x1024.jpg

Seems like a nice young lady to me.

 

[RPRPsych]

I agree with your basic point. However, in describing her as a ‘role model’ I was merely contrasting her with the rest of the entertainment industry at-large, especially with mega stars that compare to her in terms of popularity. In that sense, she is certainly the only one among them who I would be happy to see my (future) kids admire as a person. Of course there are surely people who have a better moral standard than her, but there are also many people who have better moral standards than you and me, and there probably are/were/will be many people who have higher moral standards than many of the Saints. You can’t compare a person such as Taylor to a Saint, but I’d similarly reject the comparison if you were contrasting me to one of these incredible Saints we all love and admire.

In Italy we have a saying that goes: “the grass of your neighbour is always greener than yours” - I believe it is also true with regard to one’s moral backbone.

Agreed. There are role models and role models.

 

[Rolltide]

Well, here’s one thing I know about Taylor Swift. I live in Tuscaloosa, AL. Just as Taylor Swift was beginning to get popular, she did an MTV show where she took a high school student to their prom. A student from one of our local high schools won the contest, and she came and really promoted our town well. She was also very nice to the student body, posing for pretty much unlimited photos and autographs, eating dinner with them, hanging out, and just generally being a good sport.

Flash forward a couple of years to April 27, 2011, and Alabama is hit by the great tornado outbreak. Tuscaloosa is absolutely devastated, and nearly 60 people were killed in our city alone. Taylor has always spoken fondly of her experience here in our town, and so she immediately opened the final rehearsal for her next big tour up to the general public. All of the proceeds raised, some $750,000, went to immediate disaster relief in Alabama. However, she felt that this wasn’t enough. She then took another $250,000 of her own money and donated it to Nick’s Kids, a charity established by Alabama football coach Nick Saban to help disadvantaged children… in this case, ones displaced by the tornado. However, she still wasn’t done. She then spent ANOTHER $150,000 of her own money to donate books and supplies to the Tuscaloosa City Schools Disaster Relief Fund (a charity that I volunteered with myself), which were then distributed to the three city schools that were completely destroyed. She made an immediate and real impact on our recovery, and she took virtually no credit for it. That’s what I think of when I hear her name.

 

[JRTJ]

Well, here’s one thing I know about Taylor Swift. I live in Tuscaloosa, AL. Just as Taylor Swift was beginning to get popular, she did an MTV show where she took a high school student to their prom. A student from one of our local high schools won the contest, and she came and really promoted our town well. She was also very nice to the student body, posing for pretty much unlimited photos and autographs, eating dinner with them, hanging out, and just generally being a good sport.

Flash forward a couple of years to April 27, 2011, and Alabama is hit by the great tornado outbreak. Tuscaloosa is absolutely devastated, and nearly 60 people were killed in our city alone. Taylor has always spoken fondly of her experience here in our town, and so she immediately opened the final rehearsal for her next big tour up to the general public. All of the proceeds raised, some $750,000, went to immediate disaster relief in Alabama. However, she felt that this wasn’t enough. She then took another $250,000 of her own money and donated it to Nick’s Kids, a charity established by Alabama football coach Nick Saban to help disadvantaged children… in this case, ones displaced by the tornado. However, she still wasn’t done. She then spent ANOTHER $150,000 of her own money to donate books and supplies to the Tuscaloosa City Schools Disaster Relief Fund (a charity that I volunteered with myself), which were then distributed to the three city schools that were completely destroyed. She made an immediate and real impact on our recovery, and she took virtually no credit for it. That’s what I think of when I hear her name.

Her philantropic works are actually pretty renowned. She appears at the top of the ‘most charitable celebrities’ list of 2012. She does seem like a genuinely good person as most people who have dealt directly with her can testify.

 

[iheartdance]

I personally love her. She is a better role model than other singers and she has a pretty good voice. Plus, she writes her own songs which is a very good talent to have as a singer

 

[yellowbird]

I don’t worry if my teenagers are watching a Taylor Swift video… can’t say the same for Miley that’s for sure. So I like her. She seems like a good girl. I loved reading the post about how much $$ she gave… very nice.