Blocked is a biT of an exaggeration, they were just hesitant to switch things up

didn't the Billboard article say she part-owns Big Machine? I dont know, it also said that label is for sale or something and Republic is it's sister label?

Im not seeing anyone specifically use the term "innovative" in describing this record but the comparisons people draw blows my mind and imply pop visionary. From Thriller, to Madonna, to ANNIE LENNOX. They compared songs on this album to Annie Lennox when they're more comparable to tracks off Maroon 5's V. Its not that I think Taylor Swift is terrible nor do I think this is a bad album, its not my type of shi,t but I could see how it would be commercially viable. But I too don't buy for a second that the record label would've considered anything from this album to any degree a risk because it sounds like anything else being released right now and its a millimeter of a stretch from most of Red. I normally have absolutely no opinion of Taylor Swift, but after the way people praised her last album and now this one even more i've gotta come out and say what the **** everyone. What the ****.

Run that label Taylor! Show 'em who's boss

It's the fact that she's built her career as a Country artist. Red had a couple of Pop songs but it still had mostly Country, and she was catering to the Country fans. This was the first fully Pop album she's released with no Country on it.

I don't think you guys have listened to her previous albums..

So what? The singles released to entice the public to buy the album before the country album tracks were even heard were pop songs. All of her big singles from the previous albums were country-pop. She was never a hardcore country artist to begin win. Those albums were not bluegrass.

Um, what? You do realize, Begin Again, Red, & State Of Grace- 3/5 of the singles released pre-album are nowhere near Pop right? You do realize the entirety of ATRL was convinced she'd flop because she would not be releasing any country music right? Not even country pop...and bluegrass is not the same thing as Country.

She built her career as a country artist, she was considered a country-crossover artist up until Red. Which featured both Country and Pop music. The reasoning this is a risk is because she wouldn't be pandering to an entire audience of her music. Country fans, which so many people said was the reason she was so successful- it was definitely a risk.

No, Begin Again (a country song) was released as a single simultaneously with WANEGBT to Country radio (although it premiered a couple weeks after). She was performing on Country award shows and stuff to promote the album.

That's not true at all. Mean, which was a big hit and won a Grammy, which was a single from her 3rd album, was probably her most Country sounding song ever....pretty bluegrass influenced. Her first album really wasn't that Country-Pop other than a few songs' crossover appeal. Her hits like Tim McGraw and Our Song weren't very Poppy. Every song on every album of hers before Red had complete live band instrumentation/production, and most of Red was live instrumentation.

In addition to that, Country fans are extremely fickle. If an Country artist even dabbles in Pop, they don't like that. If a Pop artist tries to cross over to Country, they are not very accepting. This album was a risk.....hell most people on here thought her sales would decrease from the last album since she wouldn't have her Country fan base.

Exactly. If anything shouldn't the label be happy she's going even more generic. And yes a P!nk fan said it.

I don't agree with this, I think shes been catering herself to both pop and country fans alike for the past 5 years and even moreso with pop since she became a bonafied household name 5 years ago. You and many others continuously reference her as if shes hardcore country or something, to which it would make sense calling this album a crossover. But Red was so ****ing pop! Like maybe there was some country nods in her vocals or the production but they were nothing more than nods; it was a pop record through and through. There was absolutely no risk on the horizon with this album, zero. Z-E-R-0

Im not trying to insult her, but the way people react to her just trips me out. I mean I have to say it again, ive seen reviews over the past 2 years comparing her to both Barry White and Annie Lennox, granted those are stretches but regardless, the comparisons were made. People imply shes a pop visionary and it makes absolutely no sense to me when the content of her album is literally on par with Maroon 5.