By anyone’s standards,Swift has had a remarkable 12 months. In December,she was namedTime magazine’s person of the year. She’s currently in the midst of a sold-out global tour (which arrives in Australia next week),and her high-profile,will play in the Super Bowl this coming Monday. Swift will be there,of course,and we will all be watching.
Taylor Swift has made history at the 66th Grammy awards.
Through no fault of her own,Swift’s chokehold on the culture,which was already vice-like to begin with,has tightened further recently. If it feels like Swift is hard to avoid,that’s probably because she is.
But and Swift’s first win of the night. On stage to accept her award,Swift ran through her thank-yous and then did what she does best:created a moment.
“I want to thank the fans by telling you a secret that I have been keeping from you for the last two years,” the singer said before announcing her new album,The Tortured Poets Department, due April 19.
To say Swift stole the show would be an understatement. The rest of the Grammys flew by (Swift popped up again to make history as the first artist to win album of the year four times),but all anyone could talk about was the announcement.
Was it a stroke of marketing genius or a crass and calculated PR stunt from pop’s most ruthless star? Did she fumble her album announcement? Is the backlash unfair? Or is it time to re-interrogate the most powerful person in the business?
Swift has long been polarising. To some,she is the all-American success story,the sweet-as-pie girl from Nashville who conquered the world. To others,she is a billionaire businesswoman who has carefully crafted an underdog image that is at odds with her unrivalled reach and influence.
This week on,the weekly culture podcast fromThe Sydney Morning HeraldandThe Age, Osman Faruqi,Thomas Mitchell and Melanie Kembrey unpack all of the above,going deep on the impact of Taylor Swift’s dominance and the tricky reality of being the top dog.
Plus,we reflect on the Grammys and look forward to the Oscars,with a discussion about the entertainment industry’s awards season and what role the Emmys,Grammys and Oscars play in our cultural conversation.
Finally,a bumper Impress Your Friends segment where the hosts share their favourite summer watches,what they are streaming right now,and what they’re excited about in 2024.
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