Can someone explain to me what makes Taylor Swift so popular?
I don't get it. Her music is sometimes catchy but otherwise unremarkable, from the songs I've heard. How does she break all these records and accumulate so much fame and wealth?
She's pretty, but a lot of singer songwriters are, especially those with makeup and costume people, a support staff.
Is there something else to her that people like?
I'm confused about what makes her so apparently unique or phenomenal.
Update: there are so many things that make swift unique or phenomenal.
I've received tons of great answers from people that have helped me understand, like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle, many factors that makes swift different and consequently more successful than her peers.
Clever lyrics, top-tier production, sharing autobiographical and emotional points in her life very directly, apparent honesty with few or no public blemishes, creating a community of fans through Easter eggs and house parties and unconventional, but always personal methods, an early start supported by wealthy parents, she keeps winning against abusers, and her music itself is popular and fun.
Those are just a few of the puzzle pieces contributed here, and a dive into this post is a pretty good explanation of many of the factors that must be contributing to her phenomenal success and recognition, that set her apart from other pop stars, even pop stars who were phenoms in their own right.
This is a very educational post, thank you to everyone who has contributed.
Cause shes hot and i like her voice. I like her pop stuff better than her country though. There are a few of her country songs i like but very few compared to her pop stuff.
Male artists have certainly used sex appeal to sell records and tickets without much issue, I can't see why it would be any different if Swift does it.
I hate that male artists do it, too. Spectacle and visuals are a part of live shows, of course, but I wish recorded music could stand on its own without relying on sex appeal or any kind of visuals in order to sell.