Taylor Swift Debuts “Shake It Off” — LISTEN NOW

As celebrity worlds become small, so does their material, and Taylor Swift’s new single shines a light on that exact issue. Instead of her typical love-lost lamenting, it appears as if she’s traded it in for a single-girl celebration that takes aim at her critics, with lyrics like, “haters gonna hate” and “players gonna play.” The new found, non-country genre is a confusing cross between Katy Perry and Beyonce, with far less vocal prowess or convincing choreography. If you want to forgo authenticity and song quality for party music, then the production value of the presentation has to drastically increase. Unfortunately, that did not happen here. Swift is nothing if not cute, fun, and a little crazy, but perhaps she’s in need of some new inspiration.