Label boss hits back at Swift's detractors
Source: Agencies |
February 5, 2010, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE head of Taylor Swift's record label is fired up and ready to defend his superstar from people who are criticizing her Grammy-night performance.
"She is the voice of this generation. She speaks directly to (her fans), and they speak directly back to her," said Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta in a phone interview. "This is not 'American Idol.' This is not a competition of getting up and seeing who can sing the highest note. This is about a true artist and writer and communicator. It's not about that technically perfect performance."
Borchetta first responded to the backlash in The Tennessean. Asked why he felt the need to defend Swift, he said because the criticism was "just over the top."
"It's that classic thing that critics do of building something up and then wanting to tear it down," he said.
Swift rehearsed her performance and duet with Stevie Nicks two different times at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in front of a crowd of people. Critics were nicer then. Entertainment Weekly wrote of the rehearsal, "The two women's voices complimented each other nicely on the harmonies of 'Rhiannon.'"
But on Sunday night's Grammy show, Borchetta said Swift, 20, had a technical issue that made her worry about her performance.
"We had a volume problem in the ear. So, she was concerned that she wasn't able to hear everything in the mix," Borchetta said. "That's just part of live TV. So you're going to have difficulties on occasion. Unfortunately, on one of the biggest stages, we did have a technical issue. She couldn't hear herself like she had in rehearsal."
As quickly as you could say "Fearless," bloggers and media outlets, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, pounced on Swift's performance. The chatter at times overshadowed the four Grammys she won - including album of the year.
But it's doubtful her fans will abandon Swift anytime soon, judging by the positive comments on her Facebook and MySpace pages, or that those with tickets to the second leg of her "Fearless" tour will throw them away because she had a bad night.
Swift's "Fearless" album has sold over 5 million copies. She is the youngest artist to ever win the Grammys' top prize of album of the year. She will resume the "Fearless" tour on March 4.
"She is the voice of this generation. She speaks directly to (her fans), and they speak directly back to her," said Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta in a phone interview. "This is not 'American Idol.' This is not a competition of getting up and seeing who can sing the highest note. This is about a true artist and writer and communicator. It's not about that technically perfect performance."
Borchetta first responded to the backlash in The Tennessean. Asked why he felt the need to defend Swift, he said because the criticism was "just over the top."
"It's that classic thing that critics do of building something up and then wanting to tear it down," he said.
Swift rehearsed her performance and duet with Stevie Nicks two different times at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in front of a crowd of people. Critics were nicer then. Entertainment Weekly wrote of the rehearsal, "The two women's voices complimented each other nicely on the harmonies of 'Rhiannon.'"
But on Sunday night's Grammy show, Borchetta said Swift, 20, had a technical issue that made her worry about her performance.
"We had a volume problem in the ear. So, she was concerned that she wasn't able to hear everything in the mix," Borchetta said. "That's just part of live TV. So you're going to have difficulties on occasion. Unfortunately, on one of the biggest stages, we did have a technical issue. She couldn't hear herself like she had in rehearsal."
As quickly as you could say "Fearless," bloggers and media outlets, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, pounced on Swift's performance. The chatter at times overshadowed the four Grammys she won - including album of the year.
But it's doubtful her fans will abandon Swift anytime soon, judging by the positive comments on her Facebook and MySpace pages, or that those with tickets to the second leg of her "Fearless" tour will throw them away because she had a bad night.
Swift's "Fearless" album has sold over 5 million copies. She is the youngest artist to ever win the Grammys' top prize of album of the year. She will resume the "Fearless" tour on March 4.
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