Chart Mondays: Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do
Look What You Made Me Do - Taylor Swift |
She's done it, Taylor Swift has finally got her first UK number one single. Now, I have to review one of the most incredible music videos I have ever seen - and I have been dreading it. There's so much going on in this visual, that no one can pick up every single detail, but I sure as hell going to try. This video is beyond epic and it's something I haven't been able to stop watching. It's full of shade and I totally love it in every way. I also liked the song from the minute I heard it, I just can't help but be a fan of Taylor Swift's, her music is incredible but this visual is off the radar, for sure. Watch Taylor Swift in her best music video to date, where she throws shade, hits back at comments made about her, and shows off her various personality traits of her past for new song "Look What You Made Me Do".
Taylor Swift is one of the biggest female artists in the world right now. She sent country music out to the world, but as time went on, she developed her sound and gone down a more pop route. She is gearing up to release a new album, titled "Reputation". This song is the lead single from the album and has certainly got me excited for the other tracks to be released. "Look What You Made Me Do" hits back at all the controversy she has received in the past few years, specifically her feuds with Katy Perry and The Kardashians. Not to mention, the way the media has heightened these arguments. The song contains an interpolation of Right Said Fred's song "I'm Too Sexy". It was written by Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, Fred Fairbrass, Richard Fairbrass, Christopher Fairbrass, and Rob Manzoli.
Directed by Joseph Kahn, the music video is a pure performance piece which sees Taylor Swift deal out a whole lot of shade. There's so much for me to cover about this visual, I'm just going to have to start at the beginning.
We have a zombie Taylor Swift rising from a grave with the headstone that says: 'Here Lies Taylor Swift's Reputation'. It totally gives off a Michael Jackson "Thriller" vibe, that's for sure. She starts to shovel soil into a grave, with a headstone stating Nils Sjöberg, which is the pseudonym that she used when she co-wrote the Calvin Harris track "This Is What You Came For" which features Rihanna. In the grave is Taylor Swift herself from the Met Gala 2014; where she looks like a princess. The whole scene has an "Out Of The Woods" vibe to it, which is her last official solo music video, discounting "New Romantics" tour video.
Next up is the bath scene. Taylor Swift can be seen in a bath tub filled with various diamonds and jewellery that is definitely giving off a Britney Spears YM Magazine cover look. People have stated that it could be a response to the media who stated that she cries in a marble bathtub surrounded by pearls, whereas others believe it's a connection to Katy Perry's "This Is How We Do" or it's to do with Kim Kardashian's robbery in Paris where she was placed in a bathtub; the latter one coincides with the lyrics to some extent. Not only that but the dollar bill that Taylor Swift won in her recent court case against DJ David Mueller who sexually assaulted her, can be seen right next to her; and a locket can be seen on the floor which may signify the locket Calvin Harris gave her for their one-year anniversary, it spells the word 'no', but more on that later.
The mirrors in the bathroom open up to reveal a set of stairs with Taylor Swift wearing a gorgeous red dress, sitting on some sort of throne. The words 'Et Tu Brute' can be seen on the columns and the armrests of the chair. There is a bunch of snakes slithering all over this scene, and one even pours her tea (which has to be a reference to gossip - no tea no shade as many say in the drag world). The words are from Shakespeare's drama Julius Caesar, which means 'and you, Brutus?' in English, suggesting a betrayal. Whereas the snakes are a reference to both the hate Taylor Swift received online during the controversies and also people who can't be trusted.
Then we've got the incredible car crash scene. She's sporting quite the Katy Perry look with her hair and the cheetah-print coat. She flashes her Grammy award - she currently has ten, whereas Katy Perry has none. There is also a cheetah in the passenger seat, giving a lot of Katy Perry "Roar" vibes, and not forgetting the similarity to Daft Punk's "Starboy" featuring The Weekend video which has a panther in the passenger seat; very loose connection but they're both cats! The car resembles a Maserati - even though it's just a sports car - which references her song "Red"; the album was also nominated for a Grammy but didn't win. Not only that but the car is similar to the one in Katy Perry's "Waking Up In Vegas".
Birdcage scene is next. Now we've seen a lot of these in a lot of music videos, most notably Miley Cyrus' "Can't Be Tamed". She is dressed in orange and has a snake tattoo on her thigh, similar to the one Kendall Jenner dons for her V Magazine shoot; while she swings in the air. Kendall Jenner was initially known as one of Taylor Swift's friends, before the feud between Kim Kardashian (who is Kendall Jenner's sister). Then we see Taylor Swift sit down for a meal in the cage, continuing to suggest that she's been locked up in the past, done things that weren't her choice; as she picks up a lobster with a fork as a rat sniffs at the plate.
Now she's robbing a bank with her cat squad. The vault she's chosen is the 'stream.co' vault, which is highly suggestive of when she famously took all her music down from Spotify and had words with Apple about their three months free trial for Apple Music. She's brandishing a golden baseball bat that definitely gives off Beyoncé "Hold Up" vibes, even if director Joseph Kahn refutes that claim. There is also an engagement box in the background with no ring inside; apparently, Calvin Harris was shopping for engagement rings when he and Taylor Swift broke up... Remember the locket that spelt the word 'no' beside the bathtub, well there's the answer to the engagement question. She is also wearing a sweater that says 'Blind For Love' suggesting she falls for guys quickly - don't we all. Also, the fact that they're all wearing cat masks is either a dig at Katy Perry's Katycats - which are Katy Perry fans - or just that Taylor Swift is known to own cats who she loves very much.
Then it's the motorbike scene. Personally, Taylor Swift is giving me total Fergie vibes, for some reason; although this isn't the connection. Some think it's connected to Kim Kardashian's robbery as they ran off on motorcycles and it sure looks like they're stealing, plus when she picks up the bikes, money does fall. And, let's not forget Kanye West's "Bound 2" music video which features both him and Kim Kardashian on a motorbike.
It's time for the manufactured U Squad scene, that is so channelling the film I, Robot - that's for sure. It hits back at the people who have called out her Squad - her friends - because they're all beautiful stunning professionals. It definitely takes us back to the "Bad Blood" music video, which is also about the Katy Perry feud. If you're wondering what happened, it's all to do with their tour dancers who jumped onto Katy Perry's tour and left Taylor Swift's tour.
My favourite scene is next because it so reminds me of one of my favourite music videos from her - "Blank Space", also Todrick Hall stars in this clip! Taylor Swift walks in and eight guys, in heels, line up behind her, Todrick Hall has a clipboard as if he's writing down the list she previously mentioned in the lyrics, or maybe it's a list of guys she's dated. The guys fan out revealing their tops which say 'I ❤ TS' which is similar to the top Tom Hiddleston wore last summer during their much-photographed relationship. There are also eight men to signify the eight relationships she's had with other celebrities (who are Joe Alwyn, Tom Hiddleston, Calvin Harris, Harry Styles, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Mayer, Taylor Lautner, and Joe Jonas). She also dances in the clip, which is a total rarity in her music videos, but she pulls it off with style and class, nailing the choreography fiercely and perfectly.
Interspersed with this clip is a few seconds of Taylor Swift on the wing of a plane wearing a bloody outfit, using a chainsaw to chop off the wing. Now some say this correlates to Katy Perry's "Roar" video where there is a plane involved, others think it's a connection to Iggy Azalea's "Team" video because she spray paints the plane with the title of her album, which is similar to what Iggy Azalea does; who knows, maybe she doesn't want to fly around the world anymore.
I love the scene that's next, the pyramid of Taylors. Now, this is where we wish there was a behind-the-scenes video because this looks beyond epic. We see new Taylor Swift, standing at the top with the letter 'T' lit up behind her, as all the Taylor Swift's from the past try to crawl up to the top. There's some from previous music videos, others from red carpet events, others from award ceremonies. It's just complete chaos that is beyond amazing. New Taylor Swift then flings her arms out which shoves all the old Taylors away - goodbye!
The talking snippet is next, where she's on the phone saying 'I'm sorry, the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now... Why...? Oh... Cuz she's dead'. This reminds me so much of the "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" talking snippet.
The final scene has got everybody talking. 14 Taylor Swifts from the past and this music video are lined up in front of the plane that is missing a wing - and that Taylor is standing on, making it 15 Taylor Swifts in the aircraft hanger. They all take a bow of some sort, the "Shake It Off" Taylor Swift falls to the floor. They then all throw shade at one another. "You Belong With Me" Taylor says: 'You guys.' and is wearing a t-shirt with an updated list of her squad members. Zombie Taylor retorts: 'Stop making that surprise face. It's so annoying.' referencing when she kept on winning awards. "Shake It Off" Taylor even joins in saying: 'Yeah, you can't possibly be that surprised, all the time.' Snake Taylor hisses. Then, new Taylor Swift (from dance scene) says: 'What's with that bitch?' and Zombie Taylor says: 'Don't call me that.' suggestive of Kanye West's "Famous" song and video which is where the whole feud with him came from. Then fresh on the scene Country Taylor (that so reminds me of "Teardrops On My Guitar") says: 'Y'all', so Ringleader Taylor says: 'Oh, stop acting like you're so nice. You are so fake.' Then Country Taylor starts to cry, to which Biker Taylor says: 'There she goes, playing the victim, again.' - which is a constant criticism Taylor Swift has received in the past. The Met Gala 2014 Taylor sees Cheetah-Print Taylor snapping photos, she asks: 'What are you doing?' to which Cheetah-Print Taylor says: 'Getting receipts! Gonna edit this later.' both taking a dig at Katy Perry's "Swish Swish" song lyrics whilst implicating Kim Kardashian, as well, who released video footage of Kanye West and Taylor Swift talking about the "Famous" song, suggesting Kim Kardashian edited the clips. Lastly, the 2009 VMAs Taylor - who was rudely interrupted during her acceptance speech for an award, by no other than Kanye West - says: 'I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative.' which was from a statement she released regarding the Snapchat videos that Kim Kardashian released.
Overall, this music video blows my mind. There's so much going on and Taylor Swift nails everything completely. She proves that she can hold a grudge; hell, we know that from her previous songs. There's so much shade that we all love this way too much. Plus, there's bound to be references we have all missed in this music video. It's clear that "Reputation" is going to be one of the best albums this year, and I cannot wait to hear her other tracks. She also confirmed that there will be 15 tracks on the new album, the same amount of Taylors that can be seen in the ending scene. Some believe that each of the Taylors represents a song and hence why the sixth Taylor is the Cheetah-Print Taylor because this track is so shady.
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