“Look What You Made Me Do” – Taylor Swift

The first Taylor Swift song I ever heard was “Tear Drops on My Guitar,” and, like many people, I had no idea who Taylor Swift was when I heard it. But as an 11-year-old, I absolutely loved the idea of being the innocent girl who fell in love with a boy and couldn’t stop loving him no matter what. I used to listen to that song over and over again.

Eventually, I did figure out who Taylor Swift was. Now, I am by no stretch of the imagination a crazy Taylor fan. I like most of her music and will listen to it on the radio, but unlike many people, I don’t really have a strong opinion either way on the love/hate scale. For years, I’ve listened to friends go on and on about how much they loved Taylor Swift and just had to buy her new album the moment it was released.

I’ve also listened to friends who absolutely couldn’t stand anything about her. I honestly don’t care. I’m not one of those people who will like a song simply because I love the artist or hate a song because the artist did something I didn’t like a few years ago.

The same goes for Taylor Swift. There are some songs, even some of her very old ones that I will listen to on repeat and others that I really have no desire to hear again.

This is where her newest song, “Look What You Made Me Do,” comes in. Taylor Swift released her newest single at the end of August as an introduction to her next album “reputation.” While each of her previous albums was slightly different from the one before it as she transitioned from country to pop, her new single suggests that she will be taking a completely different direction. For several years, people have criticized Taylor Swift for playing the victim or dating too many guys just to write songs about their breakups.

While Taylor Swift has released several songs, like “Shake It Off” and “Bad Blood” in the past few years about haters, her newest song goes a little farther than either, ignoring the jerks who say bad things about her or calling people out for being mean. One of the most talked about parts in the whole song is when Taylor Swift speaks the line “I’m sorry. The old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, ‘cause she’s dead.” Fans and critics alike are wondering what this line and the entire song will mean for the future of Taylor Swift. Many are asking if this is a pivotal moment in her career in which she moves from the sweet, innocent girl looking for love to a much darker version of the popstar.

As for me, I still can’t decide whether I like the new song. While I’m not opposed to the darker side of artists or the transition Taylor Swift has decided to make in her new album, it’s definitely strange to hear a song like this one come from an artist who’s always been known for her romantic and heartbroken love songs. But, like many of her songs, this new song is catchy and easy to get into. And I’m honestly excited to see what happens with her new album that will be released on Nov. 10.