Unless you’ve been living under a rock lately, you’ve undoubtedly heard (or heard about) Taylor Swift’s new single, “ME!” and her teases to release new music. For months, she’s been dropping subtle, yet confusing, hints on social media and even at her last award show appearance, sending fans into a frenzy of excitement. Once a countdown clock for 4.26 was posted and a secret mural in Nashville went up, things got real. No one knew exactly what the countdown clock was for and no one knew for sure that Taylor was the one who had the butterfly mural painted. They just guessed because of Swift’s new social media aesthetic of butterflies and spring colors. Come the morning before the countdown clock was to end, hundreds of fans showed up at the butterfly mural at The Gulch in Nashville. Not because it had been announced that Taylor would be showing up or even that anything would be happening at all. At this point, it still wasn’t confirmed that she had commissioned the painting. While the fans were there, the artist, Kelsey Montague, added the word “ME!” to the center of the butterfly. Then it happened. Taylor Swift showed up at the mural and confirmed that it was hers before taking a slew of selfies with fans. Again, fans had no idea this would happen. That is the power of Taylor Swift and her Swifties.
Fast forward a couple hours and Taylor’s made an announcement on the Live NFL draft that her countdown is to a new song and music video featuring Panic! At the Disco’s Brendon Urie. Fast forward again, Taylor does a brief – albeit funny – live chat on YouTube leading up to the release. Midnight comes and the video lands. Cue the fangirling of all Swifties around the world that garners Swift and Urie a record-breaking YouTube viewership of 65.2 million in 24-hours. “ME!” is fun, quirky, colorful and all about accepting who you are because there’s only one you. You may think before you jump, go psycho on the phone and tend to make it about yourself, but hey… you’re never boring and there’s no one else like you. The chorus, “I’m the only one of me. Baby, that’s the fun of me” followed by, “You’re the only one of you. Baby, that’s the fun of you. And I promise that nobody’s gonna love you like me-ee-ee” is so catchy it’ll be stuck in your head for days and has already earned a multitude of Instagram captions. The same night as the song/video drop, fans posted countless excitedly crying reaction videos and mastered Swift and Urie’s dance moves.
However, even though the song is catchy and positive, I’ve noticed some hate – amidst the fangirling – claiming that the song is childish because of lyrics like “Hey kids, spelling is fun!” Listen, I’ll be the first to admit it’s not my favorite song. Just like “Look What You Made Me Do”, “Shake It Off” and “We Are Never Getting Back Together” (all lead album singles) weren’t my favorites. Each of these songs (plus “ME!”) have something else in common besides being lead singles – they’re all poppy, different from their albums and they all did really well at radio, which in turn, gets more people interested in the albums that soon follow. The thing with these lead singles is that you may hate them at first, but eventually, after hearing them repeatedly, you grow to bop, sing along to and maybe even love them. Then, Taylor will release an album full of meaningful songs that people will love and relate to because that is her specialty. Lead singles are supposed to be catchy pop songs that hypes up and kicks off a new era. “ME!” isn’t supposed to be some masterpiece – Taylor and Brendon have even said as much. It’s just a positive song that makes people feel good about themselves, gets you dancing and excited for the new album.
Call it what you want (😉), but “ME!” is breaking records. How? Because Taylor Swift is a marketing genius and Swifties go HARD! Not just because they love her, but because Swift has coyly (and not so coyly) hidden Easter eggs about her upcoming album and tour throughout the video. She’s encouraged fans to figure them out – hence, the record-breaking views -, but has also stated some will take longer to come to fruition than others. There’s no confirmed album release date or even a title (it’s supposed to be hidden in the video). A tour hasn’t been announced, but limited merchandise is on sale daily. Really, the only thing that’s been confirmed from the video is her new cat, Benjamin Button, who’s the most adorable kitten ever. But fans are still tweeting about the song, the video, the cat, the Easter eggs, Taylor, Brendon, merchandise and theories constantly. So, you may call “ME!” childish and a stupid move on Swift’s part, but in reality, she’s a marketing genius and everyone should take notes.
