She's doing much better than I originally thought she would. And whatever deal they made for the last two tours and album - label setting her free in terms of product control etc - as a whole, actually worked out quite well, but (there is always a "but") . She needs to figure out a clean way out for the inevitable "coming of age" effect, like extra pronto.
She's everyone's American sweetheart, and people still think of her as a teenager, so at the moment media outlets don't focus that much on the fact romantically she's one step from Adele's "uninsurable insanity".
However, unless she does smooth transition to adult rock by next album, just to grow with her audience, I think she's going to get hit by that Kate Bush/Avril Lavigne "too old to play little girl" syndrome like a freight train.
Her label is basically her lol. The head of the label had left Sony or Universal or something at the time when she was 15/16 and set up his own - Big Machine Records and Taylor Swift was his first signing and Taylor (When she quite the development contract at Sony, which people generally do not do) started her own production company that runs her own world tours, she literally runs the show for her own tours (if you watch the DVD, and I think it is on YouTube too that part).
As for a smooth transition into "adult", I think you are seeing it now tbh. Fearless was very much Highschool and the lyrics reflected that with lyrics like
"
She's cheer captain
And I'm on the bleachers"
And song such as Fifteen about her best friend Abbie when she was 15 years old.
But in Speak Now, her first music video from her first single shows her getting married and having children, and she dropped most but not all references to being in school, still a hint here and there - The Story of us shows her in a school uniform in the library...
Although in Ours she plays a girlfriend/wife of someone who is waiting for the other half coming back from war.
In RED, straight off I think you will notice the grown up part. The decision to collaborate with Max Martin was to take her to a slightly different route. You can tell what songs he has less influence on and what songs he has more without looking at the CD booklet. The whole feel of the album is more a soft rock and pop, and only a slight hint of Country left.
Her last few video also has her much grown up
but yes...we also get this, at least the guy isn't a Highschool Quarterback!
Sure, she still sings about love and heartache and break ups, but hell, so did the Beatles !
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