From catchy-country to prominent-pop songs, Taylor Swift's tunes have at one point or another engrained themselves in almost everyone's heads. Her previous transition from country queen to pop princess gave her a much bigger audience. The cross-over radio hits she's known for gained her listeners in both the country and pop genres. Seemingly this would be a good thing, but with new singles like "We are Never Ever Getting Back Together," she may be losing the interest of her country-leaning admirers.
Swift captured the hearts of country fans with the songs like "Teardrops on my Guitar" and "Tim McGraw" on her first self-titled album. As her singles crossed over in to the pop genre and she altered the background of her music, it appeared she was only gaining fans. However, her most recent hit "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" may be too distanced from her country sound to keep her original audience interested.
"She definitely has alienated her true country fans," freshman Samantha Cutrone said.
This mentality that Swift is becoming less country may be seriously affecting her original followers. "We are Never Ever Getting Back Together" is definitely more pop than country, but will her new song "Ronan" help her keep her original fans and maybe even gain more?
At the Stand Up To Cancer Telethon, Swift performed "Ronan" for the first time. The song was about three-year-old boy who died from Neuroblastoma, a form of childhood cancer. Swift was inspired to write the song after reading Maya Thompson's, Ronan's mother, blog about the family's journey. After her performance, she released the song on iTunes where the proceeds from each download will go to cancer-related charities.
"I think 'Ronan' is absolutely beautiful [and] I can't wait for her new album to come out," junior Sarah Gibson said.
Swift's new album "Red" will be released on Oct. 22. While she may be losing a few of her original listeners, it seems that she is maintaining a large fan base with her catchy and caring new releases. It seems that if anything, her audience may still be growing. Whether or not her time in the country music scene is dwindling, Taylor Swift will remain on the music scene for years to come.
Samantha Gierdis can be reached at Samantha.gierdis@student.shu.edu.
