Taylor Swift has officially outdone herself…

She is a music icon who has conquered an artist’s “evolution” problem. This evolution issue we see a lot of time with child stars… famous when they are young and then drop off the face of the planet when they are older. There are some who successfully make the leap from child star to superstar… like Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, and Taylor Momsen. By child actor I’m not necessarily referring to Disney Channel stars like Miley. Justin Bieber got his start at age 11 and is still conquering the music industry today; you also might remember Taylor Momsen as the cute little Cindy Lou Who in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” but has succeeded in adult roles like that in Gossip Girl. Furthermore, this could refer to a musician, actor, or model.

It is a constant marketing problem to stay relevant in the world where everyone seems to be striving for the same attention. With the release of Taylor Swift’s new single, “Look What You Made Me Do”, she is drawing attention to her artist evolution. From a marketing standpoint Taylor has hit almost all the major “Do’s” and not a lot of the major “Do Not’s”.

Instead of trying to analyze all the transitions she has gone through, let’s just compare who Taylor was when we first met her and who she is today:

Everyone knew Taylor as the girl who could write catchy country tunes that every teen girl could relate to. She spoke out against those who had bullied her and stood as a sweet and innocent icon. The only major controversy around her then was her “goofy” dancing and a botched Grammy performance.

In looking at who she is portraying to be in her latest music video release of “Look What You Made Me Do”, she has turned a 360. She gives herself characteristics such as edgy, mature, dark, aggressive, and sexy. Not the sweet guitar playing 15-year-old anymore!!

No matter who she is song writing with or what persona she is trying to portray, there are two things I believe Taylor has done over her career to keep her on the top of everyone’s mind:

1.     Her love life is front and center

2.     In every feud with another A-lister she always plays the sheep

From the beginning, everyone wanted Taylor to be ‘the girl who got the guy’. With many of her songs centered around her real relationships, the public can feel a deeper connection to the story of her music. Forfeiting a long-term relationship has made her career more profitable.

Also, she is always the damsel in distress for feuds. Whether it is between Kanye West or Katy Perry she is always the one supposedly being bullied by haters. Not only does this fuel her fans to be even stronger supporters but it fuels the discussion on herself. Not only is it a discussion… 9/10 times it is a discussion spun in her favor.