Taylor Swift Admits Scott Borchetta Begged Her to Put Country Songs on ‘1989’
With the impending release of Taylor Swift's new record '1989,' there has been much talk about the hitmaker's official transition from country to pop. Swift admits that she's happy with the direction she's taken ... even if it means a full dive into a new genre, much to her label head's dismay.
Swift's 2012 release 'Red' featured some songs with her well-known country sound, but the new album won't nod toward her country roots at all. The reason? While Swift doesn't totally explain the full-on switch, she admits to Rolling Stone, "... At a certain point, if you chase two rabbits, you lose them both."
It's because of this that she's focusing on "blatant pop music."
Not only will her album be a sonic reinvention, but Swift will be absent from country music awards shows and will not promote her album to country radio -- a first for the singer whose early hits included a song titled 'Tim McGraw.'
Swift explains that when she first turned in the record, famed Big Machine label head Scott Borchetta begged for more. "This is extraordinary – it's the best album you've ever done," he told her, asking, "Can you just give me three country songs?"
Swift's response was short and sweet: "Love you, mean it ... but this is how it's going to be," she says she told him.
Along with the shift into solely pop tracks, there will be another distinction on Swift's album that is new territory: there aren't any songs scorning former lovers. Sure, '1989' holds songs about relationships and past loves, but nothing quite like 'We Are Never Getting Back Together.'
"Different phases of your life have different levels of deep, traumatizing heartbreak," Swift says. "And in this period of my life, my heart was not irreparably broken. So it's not as boy-centric of an album, because my life hasn't been boycentric."
In fact, the 24-year-old hasn't had a romantic jaunt with a boy since Harry Styles ... a year and a half ago. "Like, have not gone on a date," she shares. "People are going to feel sorry for me when you write that. But it's true."
Instead, the singer is focusing on other relationships, specifically with her girlfriends, and has even moved to the Big Apple. In all of these changes, Swift has found happiness like she's never known. "I really like my life right now," she reflects. "I have friends around me all the time. I've started painting more. I've been working out a lot. I've started to really take pride in being strong. I love the album I made. I love that I moved to New York. So in terms of being happy, I've never been closer to that."
While there will understandably be country fans disappointed that she's moving from her country music roots and fully embracing her role as a worldwide superstar, she's happy -- and at the end of the day, that's what really matters. She's not the first country artist to dabble in pop, and she won't be the last. Plus, country artists like Brad Paisley support her decision, which is always a boost of confidence.
Swift's '1989' streets Oct. 27.
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