Professional Fangirl- Katelyn Benschoter

No matter the genre you listen to, your hobbies, or the brands you pay attention to, you definitely know who Taylor Swift is and may have even seen some marketing for her new album without even realizing it. A few weeks ago, the popstar announced her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, and it was instantly all over social media and news headlines. While this kind of response may seem expected when a musician as successful as Swift drops music, it did not stop there. Not only did fans get excited about the album and reshare it on their social media, but even brands were getting in on this. The album has a distinct color scheme, as many of Swift’s albums do, this one being teal and sparkly orange. Within hours of Swift announcing the album all sorts of brands, influencers, etc, were promoting their product using this color scheme. And not just small brands or music-related brands—literally all of them. With every post I saw, the more shocked I was. Brands such as Olive Garden, Dunkin’ Donuts, FedEx, Ollipop, Crumbl Cookies, the list goes on. I can not remember something like this ever happening, and especially so quickly after an initial announcement. This led me to ponder celebrities such as Taylor Swift’s impact on us and our decision-making. Going along with that, should celebrities be able to hold this position of power?

First, let’s discuss the idea of celebrities and how this came to be. Celebrities are people who became famous for a specific skill, whether it’s dance, acting, singing, or writing. And as they gain popularity, they also gain more eyes on them and become notable people in our society. Who becomes a notable figure also tends to correlate with people who are stereotypically attractive, skinny, and follow a certain agenda—but that is not the main point here. The point is, celebrities are just people, but because of one talent, or one notable happening, they are put up on a pedestal. One way of thinking about this is thinking of the popular crowd at your high school. For one reason or another, fellow high school students decided these people were more worthy and should be put on a pedestal. When someone is put on a pedestal, there is power at play, and with power, peers forget that those people are the same as me and you. So if that’s true, and celebrities are just normal people, why do we listen to whatever they say?

Celebrity culture in theory is a wonderful idea; people with great talents should be rewarded. The trouble only comes when our vision starts to get clouded by these people. Let’s take a closer look at Taylor Swift and her impact on her fans and the greater society. Swift is one of the celebrities who is most known for her connection with her fans (known as “Swifties”). She has created inside jokes with them, a culture of hiding “easter eggs” for them, and intimate meet and greets. To many, Swift defies what is to be a regular person, and is instead this larger-than-life figure. And as mentioned prior, this mindset can be dangerous, and it can be easy to lose oneself in a celebrity they admire. But it is a two-sided coin as celebrities can also do a lot of good with their platform. And I do think Swift is one of those celebrities who has decided to take the power given to her and advocate for good. Swift has in recent years become known for being politically active, and is not afraid to make statements about her views, and what should be done. In the 2024 election, she made waves when she shared a link to the official voting information site (vote.gov). In only 24 hours after posting the link 406,000 people visited the site. Prior to Swift’s endorsement, the site was averaging 30,000 people a day. Therefore, it is clear that Swift has a definite effect on the numbers. This same reaction also occurs when Swift does quite literally anything. If she wears a certain skirt, drops merchandise, even if she uses a certain recipe for cookies, the general public rushes to find a way to also have those things. Or even if you were to look at what happened to Ticketmaster during her ticket drop for the Eras Tour. It is clear Swift is one of the celebrities that whatever she promotes, says, or does, there will be fans ready to back her up and engage in whatever she is talking about. But at what point does this relationship become unhealthy? Taylor Swift, like every other person, is just a person. She makes mistakes and should not be expected to be perfect. What if she were to commit a crime? She should not have her fans back her up then. Where do we draw the line between being a fan and being controlled by these celebrities’ opinions and endorsements?

What if the power is handed to someone else not like Swift who advocates for equality and encourages her fans to vote? What if it is handed to someone who has cruel intentions? I do not have the answers to these questions, but it is something to ponder. Media, music, and celebrities are all around us and have become an integral part of our culture. Therefore, it is incredibly easy to become influenced by these forces. As fans, we have to keep ourselves accountable for separating following a celebrity from worshiping them. It is fun to buy an item of merchandise or want to post about an upcoming album. And there is a reason every brand was posting about the latest Swift album announcement. That reason is that humans long for a sense of belonging, and finding a group of people who are like you and all like the same thing is fun. Therefore, it is a super smart marketing play. But next time you think about rehearing or taking a similar belief to a celebrity you admire, consider your reasoning for doing that.