Christmas will come early this year for Australian music fans when Taylor Swift drops ticket sales for her 2018 Reputation tour December 15th.
As one of the highest downloaded stars across streamed music platforms, it will be a wonder if any tickets are left following the nationwide pre-sale event exclusive to Swift’s Fan Club, which goes live just two days prior. The iconic American blonde has taken back control of her public image after years of growing up under the spotlight. Her Reputation tour is a metaphor for the many faces, allegations and personal evolutions the starlet has journeyed through, to come out with an identity that is intact in its message of female empowerment and creative freedoms.
Forming a sense of self is hard enough without the judgemental eye of the media capturing your every move. Most child stars have succumbed to an identity crisis, losing their way either from overwhelming pressure, or through acts of rebellion against public expectations e.g. the Britney Spears head-shave of 2007. Taylor Swift is however seemingly unscathed by her own journey through adversity. With a strong network of support from the three F’s: Family, Friends & Fans, she has managed to navigate the teen years as a positive role model for young women.
Swift’s music, which has always managed to appeal to wider audiences outside of any one genre, is similar to Swift’s influence, expanding her personal message beyond her teen angst to a more developed fan base. Now in her late twenties, Swift is a champion for all women’s right – to be safe, to be sexy, to be heard – whether a creative type or not. In the post-Weinstein era, unjust actions affecting women will no longer be swept under the rug and Swift is tackling offenders both in the charts and in the courts.
In 2009, the notorious interruption by Kayne West on the eve of her Grammy win for best female video was met with gracious shock from a younger Taylor, who stood like a deer in headlights. Not ending there, Kayne included references to the event in his hit track Famous, which alluded to her as a sexual object whose success was in point an after-effect of that interaction. The video featured the rapper in bed alongside a Taylor lookalike as he sang:
“I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex. Why? I made that (expletive) famous.”
Whilst he apologised later, in 2016 an older and wiser Swift opened the 58th Annual Grammy Awards and in trailblazing style, accepted the win for album of the year; the only women to do so consecutively. The 1989 album, titled after the birth year of the artist, came full circle with the hit single “Shake It Off”, backed up by Swift’s Grammy acceptance speech in which she denounced (without naming names) the discreditors of her success.
Following her own lead, she fought for her reputation in August of 2017, putting to bed a defamation and sexual harassment suit brought on by former DJ David Mueller in 2013. The pair met during her promotional tour, where it was alleged the star was groped by the then DJ. Her complaint to private parties led to the stepping down and discredit of Mueller, who sought millions of dollars in damages for the loss of future income. According to biography.com, Swift countersued for alleged assault and battery, and won her claim of $1 in damages as a monetary gesture which shone light on her agenda for true justice. Post-trial Taylor had this to say:
I acknowledge the privilege that I benefit from in life, in society and in my ability to shoulder the enormous cost of defending myself in a trial like this. My hope is to help those whose voices should also be heard. Therefore, I will be making donations in the near future to multiple organisation that help sexual assault victims defend themselves.
Putting her money where her mouth is, Taylor unabashedly used the publicity to tie in with the message of her next album Reputation, with the single Look What You Made Me Do dropping in the same month as the jury’s verdict. It was her sixth studio album and the fourth consecutive record to top sales of one million in the opening week. The single’s video features a zombiefied Swift crawling from a grave stone etched with ‘here lies Taylor Swift’s reputation’. The singer moves from a symbolic trapped bird swinging inside a gilded cage, to standing on high above versions of herself. The self-made stereotypes are characters from her music videos, representing the evolution of her personal and musical styles. The characters are at odds with each other, one even calling out the country-music Taylor as not being so sweet after all.
Like the media, Taylor is willing to take a jab at herself since she is equipped with the understanding that change is power. Power also translates to economy, with Forbes Magazine ranking her as the highest paid celebrity of 2012 when she banked a cool $57 million. Swift’s philanthropic goals – to aid the empowerment of women and honour her music roots by supporting education opportunities for country musicians – shows that she is willing to secure her reputation on the back of authentic good will. Regardless of what is written or posted about her, Taylor Swift is a formidable feminist and a musician of the age – now that’s worth a look.
Taylor will be in attendance to Perth audiences on October 19th; Etihad Stadium in Melbourne on October 26th; ANZ Stadium in Sydney November 2nd and The Gabba in Brisbane on November 6th.
If you’ve been to a Taylor-made concert before, we’d like to hear your experiences below!
