‘Egregious mistake’: criticism mounts towards Taylor Swift over Travis Kelce’s ‘terrible’ song

Taylor Swift has written several songs about her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce over the years. While some are better than others, the newest one received very poor reviews from critics.

Last week, Swift officially released A Showgirl’s Life: The Encore, with four new songs, including a song about her relationship with Kelce called “Cleveland!” Unfortunately for Swift, critics slammed the song in the days following its release.

“Cleveland!” »

Fast song “Cleveland!” focuses on her relationship with Kelce, whom she married in July.

In the song, which is the second of four new songs on A Showgirl’s Life: The EncoreTaylor shares several criticisms she’s probably heard or read about herself, ranging from her appearance and clothes to the way she dances. She then explains how much Kelce loves her anyway.

“Something we can all agree on,” Taylor sings. “But my baby likes what he likes.”

“He already took me to Cleveland,” the song continues. “And showed me The Heights, so hate all you want. He’s the love of my life.”

She continues the upbeat song with a few playful lines like “The taste for me is acquired, but it’s her favorite food” before returning to the chorus. The song then enters a bridge.

“You just have to find one person in this world who doesn’t find you completely unbearable. And I have an important announcement to make: I’ve found mine,” Taylor sings.

The song ends with another chorus. This time, however, the lyrics include “wearing white” in reference to their recent marriage.

“Now I’m wearing white, so hate all you want,” Taylor sings. “He’s the love of my life.”

Criticism mounts against Taylor Swift

My review of the song wasn’t exactly positive (although it’s also not the worst Kelce song she’s ever written), and I wasn’t the only one to criticize. Music critics from various media outlets lambasted the song as it was described as “lousy”, “smug”, “dreadful” and as a “glaring mistake”.

Here’s a sample of what was written on Travis Kelce’s latest song.

“The Encore has its own version of ‘Call It What You Want.’ Belles-meets-5-Minute Crafts. The latent communal spirit of the “woah-oh-ohs” in the song’s chorus is drowned out by the ugly, defensive solipsism of the lyrics, which celebrate the fact that Kelce “must not have read that/the scathing speech about how I’m fake.” quality of his writing slipping in favor of commercial dominance,” wrote Pitchfork’s Shaad D’Souza.

“The full power of Swift’s vengeful pen comes to light as she slams her critics who say she’s no longer sexy enough, that she dresses ‘like trash’ despite her billions, and that she has a ‘boring’ smile and horrible dance moves. As she sings in the chorus, Kelce loves her despite these supposed flaws: ‘My baby likes what she likes (…) So hate everything you like / He’s the love of my life.’ It’s striking that the love songs Swift writes for Kelce are rooted in the public’s perception rather than her inner feelings; she cares more about how the world sees them together than how she sees him. We’re miles away from the sensitive songwriter who, while dating English actor Joe Alwyn between 2016 and 2023, wrote some of the most intensely romantic love songs in 21st century pop: “King of My Heart,” “New Year’s Day,” “Call It What You Want,” Poppie wrote for The telegraph.

“The dreadful ‘Cleveland!’ it’s all about how Kelce loves her despite internet commenters saying she can’t dance (a long-dead criticism) and that she’s boring, and is sung with such oozing self-satisfaction that it’s like being repeatedly asked if it hurts. Spiritually, this is a sample of two of his worst songs ever, Lover’s Me! (about being gritty but free) and Showgirl’s Honey (about other women being jealous and hateful). Although her longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff isn’t part of the Showgirl era, it still feels like Bleachers reheated,” wrote Laura Snapes of The Guardian.

“Invoking the melody of a theater production to add drama to a pop song is harmless fun, but ‘Cleveland!’ has the Encore’s most glaring error. Despite the jaunty piano and bells that give the track a Christmas feel, the song is less “Opalite” or “Wood” than it is just another rant against its critics in the vein of Showgirl’s dud “Cancelled!” and “Actually Romantic.” The track’s tepid self-deprecating lyrics (“When she smiles, it’s boring”), all sung in a dinner-theater cadence, emerge as an added irritant when Swift reminds us (repeatedly) on the bridge how finding a big, strong man who loves her silenced her enemies — just, obviously, not enough to stop herself from writing another song about them,” wrote Michael Savio of Slant Magazine.

“While romantic love, at its best, should make us love the outside world more, finding the love of her life seems to have made Swift more vindictive. The ‘me and my baby against the world’ mindset has already worked in her favor – just look at ‘Love Story’ or ‘But Daddy, I Love Her.’ The life of a showgirl This era seems marked by the question “Who are we doing this against?” approach to love. “Cleveland!” » it doesn’t feel like a sincere celebration of finding the person you want to build a life with; it has about as much depth and artistic value as Swift showing off her rock 700k and shouting, “That’s my husband!” as Kelce scores a touchdown, nothing more than a hollow, materialistic power move. Once again, his branding eclipses his artistry,” wrote Grace Robbins-Sommerville of Paste Magazine.

Although some of her songs about her relationship with Kelce were legitimate hits, this one clearly missed the mark with critics.

The article ‘Egregious Mistake’: Criticism Mounts on Taylor Swift Over Travis Kelce’s ‘Awful’ Song appeared first on The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions.