Man, I wish Taylor Swift was around when I was going through all my teen angst and insecurities in 1989. I would have rocked my side pony while I sang “Haters Gonna Hate!” into my hairbrush and danced around my tiny bedroom filled with oversized sweatshirts, acid wash jeans, and banana clips. Appropriately enough, Tay’s new album is called “1989” and will be available to everyone on October 27th. I know the cool, hip thing is to pre-order it, but my butt will be waltzing into Tarjay that Monday morning after school drop-off so I can pick it up myself. Just like when I was a teenager. In 1989. We didn’t pre-order anything. We didn’t download anything. We didn’t preview music videos or live chat. We went to the store and bought the record/cassette tape the day it came out. It was organic and exciting and real. Like Taylor.
I guess it’s a little sad to call Taylor Swift an “old soul” simply because she is kind to everyone and loves what she does. (And because she’s a bit obsessed with Polaroid pictures.) But that’s how I feel about her. Yesterday evening she hosted a worldwide Yahoo! livestream to announce the new album and its first catchy single, “Shake It Off.” But she didn’t just sit there and press play. She got up and danced with everyone while the “sick beats” took over. She looked genuinely giddy and overwhelmed with the idea that we all could finally hear the music she’s been working on for two years. She’s always been a “pop” star to me, but now it’s official: there will be no country tunes on “1989.” Some might be surprised, or a little angry, but she’s ready. She told GMA that “Shake It Off” means “you have to not only live your life in spite of people who don’t understand you, you have to have more fun than they do.” Yes!
Following the livestream, Taylor invited a bunch of her loyal fans to her apartment for a pizza party and hangout session.FOR REAL. TO HER REAL APARTMENT. And it “smells like Anthropologie,” someone said. OF COURSE IT DOES. Here are some of the fun tweets from her ridiculously lucky fans. (I’ll admit I’m a bit jealous. I would have loved to see her fabulous apartment with its perfect furniture placement and vintage accessories. It would be my HGTV-obssessed heaven.)
Taylor literally had a giant party in her apartment with all her fans
— ???? ? (@lissyypop) August 19, 2014
Me: “your apartment smells like anthropologie” @Taylorswift13: “that’s because I have more candles than a seance”
— Anna Rose Brennan (@annarosebrennan) August 19, 2014
So I looked at the DVDs she had in her TV room. Friends with benefits, Bambi, frozen, law and order SVU…
— ???? ? (@lissyypop) August 19, 2014
Taylor’s apartment smelled like Christmas and anthropologie and the Grammys were SO heavy haha
— Hayley Williams (@HayleyWi11iams) August 19, 2014
Taylor has a room filled with polaroids of her and her friends all over the walls
— Taylor’s A Team (@MyChoiceIsTay13) August 19, 2014
taylor had a birdcage with books in it on her floor
— ???? ? (@lissyypop) August 19, 2014
The fact that Taylor danced with all 89 of us in her kitchen when her song came on the radio >>>
— Megan (@megannryann) August 19, 2014
In Taylor’s apartment there’s a giant picture of ed sheeran giving the middle finger
— ???? ? (@lissyypop) August 19, 2014
I was also lucky enough to meet Taylor a couple times and she even gave me a concert shout-out (!) I’m ready for her new pop album and for a new tour to hopefully follow. The countdown is officially on for us to party like it’s 1989. I CAN’T WAIT.