In love and in charge with no time for games: Swift is back with her latest album Reputation

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Taylor Swift is back with a new look, attitude and new sound on her sixth full-length studio album, Reputation.

Taylor Swift is back with her sixth full-length studio album, Reputation and since the “old” Taylor is apparently dead, nothing will ever be the same, or will it?

Reputation is a dramatic shift from anything Swift has released before, not only in its musical sound, but also slightly in lyrical terms, definitely in its representation and in the way Swift characterizes herself with this new era of her musical career.

Not that any of these noticeable remarks are negative, rather they show the growth and strength Swift has gained since coming into the spotlight just over a decade ago.

For some, especially those who have been long-time Swift fans, otherwise known as “Swifties”, this new album might take a bit of an adjustment to get used to, or it may be the opposite and may be an instant hit for them. Either way, many have invested so much time, money and love for Swift and trust any new musical journey is the right path for her.

No matter what people say, Swift has taken the musical reins once again and even with her new edgy and tough persona, it seems to be working.

According to multiple publications including Rollingstone.com and Bilboard.com, though Reputation has only been out since Nov. 10, it's already broken records, including being Swift's fourth album in a row to sell a million copies in its first week, with this particular album surpassing that number.

Since this article's publication date, Reputation has held the number one spot on the U.S. charts for the past few weeks, while still continuously selling more. Even though the album just came out and the year is almost over, it's being called the biggest-selling album of 2017 in the U.S.

On top of these numbers, anticipation for Swift's upcoming stadium tour is on the rise, with some venues adding second shows, due to popular demand. That isn't a surprise, but rather another nod to how much in demand Swift is, how many fans have stayed with her through thick and thin and the highs and lows. Even when she stepped back, or at least tried to step back over the last little while from the public's eye, her fans assured her they'd be waiting for her when she came back. The bond between Swift and her fans is special and unique, perhaps even as close as a fan can literally get to a superstar. From letting a number of lucky fans around the world listen to Reputation before it was released, to meeting them at the album pop-up shop in New York City and to going to a Nashville Target to purchase her album (as a tradition), while interacting with a number of fans, Swift's fanbase is still strong.

Back to the album though, Reputation isn't easy to describe in a few words, but it's worth a shot.

Besides being a complete change from her previous albums (which seems hard to do, since her last album, 2014's highly successful 1989) was Swift's official jump into the pop realm, but Reputation is a whole other world of popular modern day music.

It's a pop, rap and R&B infused album, with ounces of '90s and '80s sound, though it's hard to tell exactly what direction Swift wanted this album to be generalized as, though maybe the point is she doesn't. Swift isn't a stranger to including different genres on her albums, though this one still is cohesive, even with the different sounds of each song.

One thing for certain is that Swift's new persona demonstrates how she isn't here to play games and doesn't necessarily care anymore of what people say about her (at least this is the feeling being portrayed with her new edgy look and performance attitude).

With each album she seems to have a certain “character” of herself she's bringing to the spotlight and this time it's dark and shows how she's in control of how she wants people to know her, not by what others, or the media seem to label her as.

Though this tough look might be present, she's still overall showing her sweet side to many people, but be warned, she's a powerful force to be reckoned with.

The first single released off of Reputation was “Look What You Made Me Do”, a cue at the haters in her life (possibly including Kanye West) and though it's not the strongest song on the album, it's a catchy one and grabbed the attention of many, which might have been Swift's bait to hook people into the anticipation of the album. If anything, the video itself is creative and visually cleaver, with mixed signs and cues into what the song is about. The next single “Ready For It?” is another catchy tunes with beats dropping hard to signify “she's coming for you” and listeners can hear Swift's slight attempt at rapping.

These two songs only show a glimpse of what the full album is about. With the musical beats being a big part of this album (cue videos Swift posted about the making of certain songs), it's not hard to see how much creativity and processing some songs went through to get that perfect sound.

With “End Game”, Swift collaborated with Future and pal Ed Sheeran, with Swift trying to somewhat rap it out, with synthesizers and sound manipulation/voice technology also being heard not only on this song, but a few others as well.

While Swift is known for her lyrical abilities (depending on who you ask), Reputation has no shortage of clues and words to understand what each song is about and who it might be about (though the latter shouldn't matter).

Essentially, Swift is ready to let the world know that she isn't interested anymore in being labeled anything she is or isn't (depending on who is calling her what).

As the lyrics to “I Did Something Bad” go, “They're burning all the witches, even if you aren't one. They've got their pitchforks and proof, their receipts and their reasons. They're burning all the witches, even if you aren't one. So light me up, light me up, light me up, go ahead and light me up….” Swift isn't here just for the fun of it.

Something also different on Reputation is that there are many reference of drinking, some sexual clues and even one true cruse word Swift blurts out, which make this album been more mature than her previous work. Though sex might have been lingered in previous body of works, it's clear and visible with Reputation, most notably in her song “Dress”.

“Cause I don't want you like a best friend, only bought this dress so you can take it off,” are lyrics repeated over and over again throughout this song.

Though a number of songs do deal with hardships and drama, a vast majority of them deal with love, but rather be about a breakup (minus the one rebound song), they are all about a positive romantic relationship, something Swift doesn't always get to share with her audience.

Songs like “Delicate” “Dancing With Our Hands Tied” and “Call It What You Want” are only a handful of the roughly eleven positive love songs on Reputation, the one heartbreak song called “Getaway Car” is still a classic Swift song and something worth listening too. “Don't pretend it' such a mystery, think about the place where you first met me,” Swift sings.

Swift's vocals are strong on songs such as “I Did Something Bad”, “Dancing With Our Hands Tied” and on another love song “Don't Blame Me” which has a church choir feeling to it. The final song off the album is “New Year's Day”, which happens to be a song that brings listeners back to the “old” tender and loving at heart Taylor (that's not to say she still isn't). It's sweet and cute, but also realistic and demonstrates a happy and loving relationship.

“Don't read the last page, but I stay, when you're lost and I'm scared and you're turning away. I want your midnights, but I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day,” the chorus goes. If this isn't a step back, even just a little to Swift's previous music and perhaps self, then who knows what is. The fact that it was recently released to country radio (where she got her start) says something, since she hasn't been on the country airwaves with new tunes for roughly five years.

The only downfall to this 15 track album is how many times it did take to fully appreciate the new change in her music and more so lyric wise (at first), which is something that slightly happened when 1989 first came out as well. However, if “New Year's Day” is any indication, the old Taylor may still be present and is resting, until she slowly, but surely rises to the top once again.

Overall, Reputation is a gem of an album worth the investment, even if it does take a couple of times to listen to, to fully appreciate the jabs, understand the clues in the clever lyrics that make you think twice, hear the precise layout of instrumentation and musical beats and overall new work of what is already carving out to be another hit album for Swift.

One thing for certain is that Swift is back and in her own words, is “doing better than [she] ever was”.