How much Taylor Swift news is too much? For Swifties, there's no such thing

H has been a fan of Taylor Swift since her Red era but only became “a more involved ‘stan’ during her 1989 era”.

“I love her lyricism and her way with words. She tells a story with every song she writes. She creates a narrative in her music and that sets her apart from others in the industry. She is a good songwriter and I think that is something that everyone can agree on, whether they like her as a person or not," H said.

However, H believes that “Swift deserves to be criticised to a certain extent” for some of her recent actions but feels that there is a double standard against her.

“The Matty Healy saga [which saw her briefly dating The 1975 singer in 2023] was extremely disappointing, considering his stance on many issues. She does have a huge reach and speaking out on certain things can definitely make a huge difference in the world. 

“However, there is definitely a tinge of double standards and (there are) many other celebrities, with similar reach, that are doing the same thing. But since Taylor Swift is considered ‘trendy’ now, it’s no surprise the public will criticise everything she does. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. I think people put too (many) expectations on celebrities these days. At the end of the day, she is a celebrity.”

H’s sentiment was shared by another fan, Kim Lee, who thought that the close scrutiny of the media towards celebrities “can be quite harmful”.

The 22-year-old added: “I feel like the media uses (Swift’s) name as clickbait too much. Especially all the headlines about her and her current partner. I think it’s the way the media makes it seem like (it is) such a big deal that is slightly off-putting to me.”

These fans aren’t alone in thinking that there is too much coverage on Taylor Swift. A poll conducted by Yahoo Entertainment and YouGov in October 2023 among adults in the US found that 55 per cent of respondents felt that the news media coverage surrounding the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce relationship was “too much”.

Nonetheless, Foo, H and Lee have stated that they are “not bothered” by the negative press surrounding Swift.

“...It does make me distance myself from the idea of being a ‘Swiftie’ or the idea that she is perfect, like many Swifties on the internet," H admitted.

“I think I interact with her and the music differently than most Swifties do. You can love someone and not support every single thing she does. It doesn’t necessarily make me like her less, but just more aware of the fact that she is a person who just does things sometimes.”

In any case, with Taylor Swift’s Singapore shows happening very soon and her being in town, readers here should expect to see even more Swift content in the coming days. The singer even became a national issue a few days ago after Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said that the Singapore government offered Swift millions of dollars per show in exchange for exclusivity in Southeast Asia.

The Singapore Tourism Board has since clarified that it "provided a grant" to help organisers bring the Eras tour to Singapore. However, it did not confirm nor deny if an exclusivity deal was struck. And whatever the case may be, the "Taylor Swift effect" in Singapore has been in full swing.

We asked 29-year-old executive Mira Choi, a Swiftie since her teen years, about her thoughts on this claim of exclusivity. Choi said: “If it’s true, then I guess it is smart of Singapore to take advantage of a pop sensation and use it to their benefit since this will significantly boost tourism.”

Whether you're a player or a hater, it's clear that Taylor Swift will continue being a media fixture for the foreseeable future. Ultimately, we have the power to choose the content we consume. So instead of asking "Is it over now?", it might do us good to just shake it off and enjoy the lavender haze without any bad blood.