Live Review: Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

Last week, Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande performed for the Victoria's Secret Fashion show, and yesterday we got to see these performances for the first time. Taylor rolled out Blank Space and (1989's best track) Style, while Ariana Grande took the liberty to do a 5 minute long greatest hits medley. How did they fare?

Taylor's performance notably benefitted from two things: playback and voice processing. Over the past week it's obvious that some voice processing was used on her voice, creating an ever so slightly noticeable metallic twang to her voice. The playback also undoubtedly helped her stay on pitch and cover her voice at points, like Blank Space's chorus. She also had some throaty strain on some of the higher portions that signaled distress. That being said, one can't deny that what Taylor doesn't bring to the table in vocals, she makes up for with performing. 

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Track By Track Review: Taylor Swift - 1989

Taylor Swift's fifth album and first fully pop record was co produced by hitmaker Max Martin and is gunning for a platinum debut week. But is it worth the hype?

Welcome to New York: A lovely album opener, built on a sea of flashing synths. Swift wasn't kidding when she said 1989 was straight pop, and by New York's path, it seems to be the right move. A-

Blank Space: Passive aggressive shots at her detractors - "they'll tell you I'm insane" - play over a Lorde's Tennis Court inspired beat. A qucik mood change from the predecessor, but a welcome one. Some single potential lies around here. A-
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Single Review: Taylor Swift - Shake It Off

Someone as skilled and respected as Taylor shouldn't have an excuse for making a single this bland.

Nothing about Shake It Off is that interesting. The horn line sounds too close to All of the Lights, a comparison and battle that Swift was bound to lose. The inspirational message that directly pertains to Taylor is cute, but pales to other inspirational anthems Firework or Born This Way. Even the spoken bridge comes far too short of matching Swift's last (phenomenal) lead single We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. Shake It Off explores a different sound for Taylor with its use of wind instruments, but it comes off as following the trend set forth by Jason DeRulo and Ariana Grande earlier this year. In short, Shake It Off just doesn't bring anything new to the table.

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