\u201cThe aim of an artist is to break the mold, not try to fit the part.\u201d<\/p>\n
I heard this quote from a small-time artist a while back, and for whatever reason it\u2019s something that\u2019s really stuck with me. Nowadays, we\u2019re force-fed the \u201cnext big thing\u201d again and again through the radio waves, TV appearances, and news headlines. We\u2019ve gotten to the point where there are few original artists out there at all, if any.<\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s Taylor Swift…<\/p>\n
Even if you can\u2019t stand her, you have to respect her. With all of the seemingly recycled songs, beats, acts, Madonna clones, rappers talking about ass and stacking cash, the sweet girl from a little town in Pennsylvania remains unfazed by the current trends. T-Swift is T-Swift.<\/p>\n
Even so, it\u2019s not much of a stretch to call Miss Swift the biggest pop star out there right now. Hell, even Apple backed down<\/a> after she spoke out against Apple Music\u2019s payment policy on Twitter. (And in case you missed it, this caused her friend Jennifer Lawrence to call her something we won\u2019t be repeating here<\/a>).<\/p>\n Of course, Swift wasn\u2019t always this far on the poppy side of things. With humble beginnings as the 16-year-old Country breakthrough artist, she burst onto the scene with her self-titled debut in 2006. As we\u2019ve seen with quite a few celebrities who achieve such success at a young age, it\u2019s difficult to keep it from going to your head.<\/p>\n But Taylor has.<\/p>\n Instead of stupid Twitter feuds, Taylor Swift visits cancer centers. Instead of drug rehab, we\u2019ve heard about her raising $750,000 for tornado victims. Instead of coming out on stage in a tiny outfit and twerking, Taylor released a music video where she poked fun at her painfully awkward dance moves.<\/p>\n As her 1989 World Tour<\/em> visits Chicago with back-to-back Soldier Field shows this weekend, there\u2019s really no better time to see the world\u2019s largest pop star at the peak of her career; ticket prices be damned. It\u2019s utterly painful to hear some of the music on the radio these days, and with our kids growing up listening to it all you can\u2019t help but wonder if real the real artist is a dying breed. Without getting too punny, she\u2019s filling the music industry\u2019s blank space whether we realize it or not.<\/p>\n As we cascade down the ever-changing rapids of the musical world, let\u2019s take a second to freeze time and appreciate Taylor for who she is right now.<\/p>\n She\u2019s exactly who she was nine years ago: a bright-eyed, small town girl with a big heart.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n