It’s been several days since Taylor Swift and Stevie Nicks sang their infamous duet at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards—a duet in which Swift sounded, um, a little off-key. But people are still talking about the performance—and whether all the ensuing negativity against Swift is justified or not.
And we’re talking some serious negativity. Take a look at this, written following the Grammy performance:
"Swift gave a strikingly bad vocal performance … sounding tinny and rhythmically flat-footed as she shared the microphone with the distinctive Stevie Nicks." —Ann Powers, the Los Angeles Times
or …
"A night in the charmed life of Taylor Swift: Give an incredibly wretched vocal performance, go on to win the biggest Grammy of 2010 anyway." —Chris Richards, the Washington Post
Ouch.
Swift isn’t without support, though. Her label, Big Machine Records, came to her defense. CEO Scott Borchetta said, “She is the voice of this generation. She speaks directly to [her fans], and they speak directly back to her. This is not American Idol. This is not a competition of getting up and seeing who can sing the highest note. This is about a true artist and writer and communicator. It’s not about that technically perfect performance.”
But Borchetta’s comments haven’t stopped ongoing criticism—maybe because the performance magnified what some people thought of Swift before the Grammys: Taylor-haters have long contended that she’s an overhyped, underdeserving superstar.
But maybe some of the ire stems from something else. Since Taylor’s music is relatively wholesome, I wonder if that’s part of the fuel behind the condemnation. I’ve heard less fresh-faced but equally famous artists give stinkers of a performance—but suffer no public censure whatsoever.
So is Swift, because she’s “nice,” more likely to draw outrage than, say, Lady Gaga if her vocals were flat? Are some people inherently turned off or made nervous by Taylor’s sweetness in an industry that usually pushes sex, drugs and, well, rock and roll?
What do you think about it all?
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