Taylor Swift Named The “Voice Of A Generation” By President Of Her Label

Oh, how quickly they fall. In just one off-key performance at the Grammys, Taylor Swift went from being the highly praised underdog to the girl everyone loves to put down. It’s as though the whole world is filling in for Kanye West, and Scott Borchetta—the president and CEO of Swift’s record label Big Machine Records—is the one voice defending Taylor’s Grammy goof. But has the damage already been done to her career?

Responding to all the critiques of Swift’s singing, he tells The Tennessean:

“The facts say she is the undisputed best communicator that we’ve got,” Borchetta said. “So when she says something or feels something it affects more people than anybody else. Maybe she’s not the best technical singer, but she is the best emotional singer. Everybody gets up there and is technically perfect people don’t seem to want more of it. There’s not an artist in any other format that people want more of than they want of Taylor. I think (the critics) are missing the whole voice of a generation that is happening right in front of them. Maybe they are jealous or can’t understand that. But obviously the people that she talks to are engaged with her. No one is perfect on any given day. Maybe in that moment we didn’t have the best night, but in the same breath, maybe we did.”

Uh…. huh. A very biased review from the man whose paycheck depends upon on the masses buying Swift’s albums. He might need to keep publicly complimenting the country singer, cause it’s not looking good: last week Swift’s “Today Was a Fairytale” was #2 on Billboard’s Hot 100, but it’s already dropped to #22. Shouldn’t winning multiple Grammys and performing on the awards show have only made her more popular this week? (You could argue that she’s still incessantly talked about as a trending topic on Twitter.) We bet the producers of Valentine’s Day aren’t loving this newfound Swift backlash the week before their movie is released.

Hey, at least she’s still got a fan in one unlikely place: Janet Jackson. Ms. Jackson tells Wonderland magazine in a new interview, “I like Taylor Swift. I’m not sure why.”

“She’s starting out very young,” continues Janet. “Which is what I did. And she’s having incredible success at a very young age, which is what I did, and I love that she’s so sweet. I think her melodies are sweet, and for that generation I think it’s nice to have that balance.”

Notice she says nothing about the girl’s vocal talents.

Is the world overreacting? Or finally realizing that Taylor Swift isn’t the be-all and end-all of music? Watch Taylor’s Grammy performance again below, and see if some wobbly notes are worth the mass hysteria.

[Via Rolling Stone]