It’s no secret Taylor Swift is a fan of clichés. She’s made a name for herself by penning songs that allude to Romeo and Juliet and singing about being rescued by knights mounted on white horses. She’s an All-American star. She promotes good-girl brands like Diet Coke and Keds, and she’s dated half the men in Hollywood. It’s not surprising, then, that her most recent announcement would be somewhat trite.
On Tuesday, Taylor Swift hosted a highly-anticipated live stream on Yahoo during which she released a new music video for her single “Shake It Off,” announced a new album titled “1989” and revealed she and her team will be hosting a “Swiftstakes” in which she will give away 1,000 tickets and 500 meet-and-greets. They say good things come in threes, and Swift’s announcement definitely takes the cake when it comes to exciting trios.
However, the most outrageous thing to come from Swift’s thrilling reveal is not the fact each album will come with 13 Polaroid photos, nor the fact “1989” is the first full-length pop album Swift has ever recorded. The most notable, most talked-about aspect of the album is, without a doubt, the music video for “Shake It Off,” which depicts Swift dressed as a ballerina, a hip-hop dancer and a cheerleader.
Swift’s awkward depiction of these various characters is nothing new. Her adoption of the gawky, girl-next-door persona is a crucial aspect of the Taylor Swift experience. She has donned nerd glasses for previous music videos, a fashion choice which spawned a trend of lens-less glasses at Urban Outfitters. GIFs of her clumsily grooving at awards shows consistently color social media, and just last week she wore fake braces to achieve a whole new level of awkwardness in Jimmy Fallon’s popular “Ew” sketch. Swift is a master at embracing uncomfortable moments and turning them into something from which her fans can learn.
“Shake It Off” makes it obvious she doesn’t take herself too seriously. “I’m putting myself in all these awkward situations where the dancers are incredible, and I’m having fun with it, but not fitting in… It shows you to keep doing you, keep being you, keep trying to figure out where you fit in the world, and eventually you will,” she said in a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine.
Rather than wearing her quirks as a chip on her shoulder, Swift uses them to relate and connect with the public. “Shake It Off” encourages listeners to passionately pursue what they love without worrying about the opinions of others.
Swift will release her new album Oct. 27, and it is already available for pre order on her website.
