She doesn't have a reason to have the drive she had after lover underperformed at the time anymore. She has a gigantic fan base now full of yes men that are would call audio of her farting genius and thought provoking. She's constantly portrayed herself as the victim in most situations. While that worked with her romantic life and with Kanye, going after artists with less than 10% of your success with a fan base you know will harass that artist for months makes you look like a loser, not a victim.

5 minutes ago, TayDuaStan said:

Didn't Beyonce perform for dictators in Dubai just so she could become even richer. I guess Taylor's not the only one looking for success 

Interesting how you all have been running with the "beyonce and her fans can't read" narrative for years yet you missed the clearly underlined focal point of the OP

 

Quote

While she remains a dominant commercial force, in terms of artistry, innovation, and cultural respect, Swift now feels more aligned with the likes of Katy Perry or Ed Sheeran than with the peers she's often still compared to.

Nothing is wrong.

I think it's her best album so far. 

 

ATRL will claim it's a flop until it breaks a bunch of records. 

4 minutes ago, KillingYourCareer said:

Nothing went wrong, she's just been uninspired since after folklore/evermore. Midnights (very good album) was pretty much reputation (Taylor's Version) (from the Vault) tracks and from TTPD you could tell she had nothing much to say, but she still served vibes and made those who already consumed her albums happy. This new album is the result of her being in a stable relationship where she's happy - not the inspiration behind artists' best works usually, but good for her.

But no one was forcing her to make an album. If the issue is lack of a creative spark, then maybe wait til the spark arrives...

Basically what went wrong with apple. You get too comfortable at the top and your creative output drops.

OP asks about creativity

Swifties: I bought 10 variants. 

I am reading all these comments and... wtf? The album slays

It seems she is surrounded by yes men, someone needs to challenge her and call out some of her bs

What went wrong is that she is currently happy while you all are a bunch of pathetic losers that find joy in trying to bring her down while she is just happy living her life and giving fans what they like!

I don't think there's a problem really. it's just that taylor has become so unmanageably big that even her tiniest flaws or misteps are magnified by people, mostly her haters. 

Anyways, she just released my aoty 

Do the fan bases actually pull out the variants they buy? Do they even have a record player? Genuine question

1. She's creatively bankrupt from releasing so much music in such a short space of time 

 

2. Her main goal is success, everything else is secondary, so she ends up playing it safe 

 

3. Her fanbase buys up anything she releases, in multiple copies, without ever hearing anything from those albums, so she's incentivised to use the same formula without ever changing anything. 

 

I guess you can blame her fans for their unconditional support. If they demanded more from their fave and had higher standards maybe she'd be more inclined to branching out creatively. 

13 minutes ago, OrbitNumber1 said:

She made her career out of an image of a victimized ingenue. But at some point in time she became arguably the most powerful woman in the industry and that narrative doesn't work anymore. Being supposedly wronged by people is where she gets her inspiration from, and after all these years, she didn't learn to get her creativity out of anything else. Music that was once relatable now is just the diary of a billionaire woman talking about her white people problems.

This is so spot on. AND, it was one thing when she was punching up. She constantly punches down now, no one likes a bully. 

16 minutes ago, Cruel Summer said:

Wrong? Nothing. Why don't you try asking again when the numbers are in and we see how the GP feels?

3rd post .

 

Wake me up when Swifties talk about Taylor without mentioning numbers/streams.

4 minutes ago, elincomprendid said:

What went wrong is that she is currently happy while you all are a bunch of pathetic losers that find joy in trying to bring her down while she is just happy living her life and giving fans what they like!

I mean you can not be surprised. Remember that the user that has created this post used to say that Taylor was better having eating disorders

"swifties only talking about sales" I mean you guys would be probably the first ones to make hundred of threads if she underperforms  please please be for real for once.

 

Anyway she knows what she's doing and I really don't see anything went wrong. 

 

35 minutes ago, Feanor said:

At the same time, established icons such as Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, and Beyoncé continue to push creative boundaries and release projects with widespread acclaim and that spark cultural conversation.

 

Btw Taylor has covered all the artistic ground they did at the point of her 4th album (except Beyonce). Please don't ever compare them to Taylor. I genuinely don't see them have stronger and memorable discography than Taylor when all is said and done.

Edited October 3, 2025Oct 3 by enchanted0

"What went wrong?" She was given a record deal. 

Her fans will buy fart in the bottle and claim it's the best smelling scent they've ever smelt. Therefore, NOTHING. She's a very very great marketer! 

2 minutes ago, Broken said:

3rd post .

 

Wake me up when Swifties talk about Taylor without mentioning numbers/streams.

You mean like we constantly do in every other thread  wild that it's so difficult for some of y'all to realize we just… already like the music!

5 minutes ago, elincomprendid said:

What went wrong is that she is currently happy while you all are a bunch of pathetic losers that find joy in trying to bring her down while she is just happy living her life and giving fans what they like!

The Folklore - Red TV - Midnights - 1989 TV - TTPD - Eras Tour string of unprecedented success is truly hunting the OTHs

She went in a Adult-hits direction, which was too safe in my opinion. It's like she took Miley's "Flowers" and decided to make an entire album like that. Elizabeth Taylor/Cancelled! are the few standouts on the album.

The album is great and much better than ATRL will have you believe. Outside of folklore/evermore, y'all do this every single time Taylor releases an album.

 

When reputation dropped, it was branded cringe and try-hard. When Lover came out, it was an embarrassing mess and the worst album of all time. You couldn't be on here for more than a minute without being bombarded with negative comments about it. When Midnights came out, it was lashed for being uninspired, corny and a huge downgrade. When TTPD came out, y'all called it her most boring album, an unlistenable slop that all sounded the same. And now we're at it again.

 

Every single era, it's the same cycle: clown on release week, then slowly walk it back when the music proves itself over time. 

I think she is a bit over the very -tip- peak of her career which was in 2022/23, this album will decline further like the previous one did but she will still look anomaly huge compared to her peers.

her fans

 

That's what went wrong. They buy (multiple variants) and listen (24/7) anything Taylor releases without being critical. Truly the MAGA of fanbases. 

Edited October 3, 2025Oct 3 by Patient Zero