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Why the haters are gonna hate on Taylor Swift

Some of the pop star's best-known attributes also feed her worst detractors.

September 11, 2015 at 6:48PM
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Despite becoming the biggest and most ubiquitous pop star of our day — or more likely because of it — Taylor Swift has her fair share of detractors. She addressed the naysayers directly in her No. 1 kiss-off hit "Shake It Off," but they didn't go away. Here's a quick look at the flip side to all the things people love about her.

She conquered country and pop

Love: No question, the musical transformation to electronic beats and catchy synth-pop music on her latest album "1989" confirms she makes a great pop star.

Hate: Her previous country albums always edged on Top 40 pop music anyway, and as a result she heavily tilted Nashville toward its slicker, teen-centric sound of today.

She writes her own songs

Love: Her name appears in the songwriter slot under every song on every one of her five albums, and clearly they're loaded with her own personal/personality touches.

Hate: She enlists a lot of help from outside co-writers, especially on "1989" with such hitmaking machines as Max Martin and Shellback. Most pop and mainstream country stars today also use co-writers, though — and the ones who seem to get criticized most for it are women.

She sings her own songs

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Love: No lip-syncing here. Swift delivers all her vocals live in concert and TV appearances. She also seems to use AutoTune much less than a lot of her peers in pop music.

Hate: She's no vocal powerhouse and frequently goes off-pitch. This has been repeatedly exposed by viral audio clips of her isolated vocals, especially her duet of "Rhiannon" with Stevie Nicks at the Grammys in 2010.

She seems so down-to-earth

Love: Her approachable, girl-next-door persona has led to frequent up-close, one-on-one encounters with fans.

Hate: Her list of true BFFs all seem to be TMZ-worthy celebrities, be it musician boyfriends or supermodel girlfriends.

She's so positive and clean-cut

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Love: She's a respectful, healthy-living young woman who's kind to others and doesn't get in feuds or hold grudges. She even forgave Kanye!

Hate: Booooooorrrrrriiiiiing!

Taylor Swift, right, arrived at the MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 30 with her celebrity BFFs Cara Delevingne, left, and Selena Gomez.
Taylor Swift, right, arrived at the MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 30 with her celebrity BFFs Cara Delevingne, left, and Selena Gomez. (Chris Riemenschneider — Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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about the writer

about the writer

Chris Riemenschneider

Critic / Reporter

Chris Riemenschneider has been covering the Twin Cities music scene since 2001, long enough for Prince to shout him out during "Play That Funky Music (White Boy)." The St. Paul native authored the book "First Avenue: Minnesota's Mainroom" and previously worked as a music critic at the Austin American-Statesman in Texas.

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