Taylor Swift is officially middle-America’s squinty-eyed sweetheart. She keeps her clothes on, has a bit of “musical credibility” (i.e. she plays guitar and writes her own lyrics) and has a blandly appealing vibe that’s obviously worked wonders at the sales counter. Hell, I dig her and at first glance you wouldn’t figure me for a fan. Her first two albums have sold 10 million copies combined and she took home a Grammy Award for Album of the Year back in February. While Johnny-come-latelys may attribute her success to her Kanye-hijacked VMA moment, Taylor was a juggernaut before that pop culture defining moment made her ubiquitous. If there’s anything the suffering music business has these days that’s even CLOSE to resembling a sure thing, it’s Taylor Swift.
For the first single from her upcoming third album, “Speak Now”, Taylor has (perhaps wisely) decided not to upset the apple cart. “Mine” is pretty much exactly what you’d expect a new Taylor Swift song to sound like. It’s a little bit country, it’s a little bit pop, the lyrics are sort of angsty in that wholesome girl-diary kinda way, and it’s hooky as hell. The song’s chorus has been rolling around in my head ever since I played it for the first time.
Idolator’s got a sanctioned stream of “Mine”, so check it out there, and you can also pick it up on iTunes if you’re so inclined. “Speak Now” hits stores on October 25th.