Rating:✰✰✰✰

It is out with old and in with the new for this young superstar. Miss Swift has taken on 80’s pop and modernized it on her new album, leaving behind her country twang for the big city.

This album presents the former country singer as a reformed pop performer. Swift opens the album with her song “Welcome to New York”, which accurately sets the stage for the following tracks.  The first song presents her idea of new beginnings and a new sound. She says it herself in the song, ”It’s a new soundtrack I could dance to this beat.”

Taylor Swift intends to reinvent herself on this album, hence the title “1989.” Choosing this vague title, “1989”, for the album leaves curiosity to the listeners. Swift was born on December 13, 1989. Inferring, this 80’s-like pop album is almost a sense of rebirthing Taylor Swift’s musical pursuit. The album is filled with 13, like her date of birth, upbeat and tense songs.

The song Swift introduced to the public before releasing the whole album on October 29, 2014, was “Shake it Off.” The lyrics of the piece express her need to shake off her past relationships, rumors, everything. The tough exterior and confidence is a far cry from her old days of “tear drops on her guitar”. There is actually hardly any guitar on the entire album. She takes an old school style of pop and makes it modern, without jumping on the bandwagon of adding in guest features of hip hop or rap artists, it’s simply her. In the video for the song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfWlot6h_JM) she is accessorized with many hip hop style dancers for the popular appeal, although it does not directly reflect in all of the music. She truly is popping onto the scene with this album.

Successfully done so, Taylor Swift wipes her country, juvenile innocence clear, like the name of the last song on this album. She is setting a whole new standard for today’s pop music with this upbeat, fun, and catchy production. Country music can say goodbye to their little girl, Taylor, and the pop singers should watch out because Taylor Swift is here to stay.