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I really enjoyed reading this. Your structure and style was very intriguing and made me remember how much I love the office! I definitely think that the U.S. version of the office is much more enjoyable and humorous. Sometimes when I am sad I go and watch an episode of the Office to laugh and to further invest myself into Jim and Pam’s relationship. True story. 

Which Wins the Battle: UK vs US Version Of The Office?

There are two different versions of The Office, the iconic sitcom that is known and loved by many, the world over. The original, British version of the show that started in 2001, and the US remake that was aired starting 4 years later. Which of these shows is better, is now a very controversial topic, because people quickly grew to love the US version, shortly after word got out that this was rumored to top the popular original British version. People who love the British version, argue that it was both short and sweet — while people who love the US version, say that where some is good - more is better. It is clear, however, that the benefits of the longer US version, easily outweigh the benefits of the original version of this sitcom.

In this essay, I will argue that the US remake of The Office is much better than the British original of this sitcom for three reasons: First, with it having four times as many seasons as the original, British version, there is a lot more to love and enjoy. Second, all of the characters in the US remake have an infectious sense of humor that really increases how much the audience will enjoy themselves while watching. Finally, the US version has some of the best characters sitcoms have ever seen, which gives the audience the ability to really connect with them. All of these reasons combine to create a great show that reinvents the stereotypical boring office environment we know of today.  

There are fair points on both sides of this controversial issue, including that the US version creates the vibe that the office workplace can be fun and entertaining, and the British version has a better boss as a character. Although there are some good things people have said about the British version, they don’t measure up to the many benefits of the US version when I personally watched and compared the two. One of the reasons the US version is better all-around, is because there is more to love, helping to “hook” the viewer into wanting to watch more of the characters they love.

A main reason why the US version of The Office is better is because with many more episodes to watch, the writers were able to develop the characters more intimately, giving the viewers a lot more to love and appreciate. According to an article titled, “The Office U.S. Vs. The Office U.K: Which Comedy Wins Out?”, they mention that there is “a long list of great episodes in the remake, easily three to four times as many as the original”. Specifically, there are 9 seasons with about 25 episodes per season in the US remake of the original, whereas the original British version only has 2 seasons with 8 episodes each. With so few versions to watch, the British version does not give as much content for the audience to get hooked on. This is exactly what I thought as I watched the whole series of both versions. The US version had a lot more episodes I could look forward to, whereas the original version stopped shorter than many would have liked it to. Another key reason why the US version of The Office is better is because the US version is funnier all around.  

My favorite shows or movies to watch all have some sort of humor in them that I don’t have to have a degree from Oxford to be able to comprehend. It’s a situational comedy, not a lecture series on office antics. The US version of the show never fails to make almost anyone watching it, laugh out loud.  Examples from Jim constantly pulling hilarious pranks on Dwight, to scenes where Michael does something bizarre that makes you want to cringe in disbelief that a boss could actually be that clueless, are what make this show great. I can count on these characters to make me laugh, and they meet that expectation every episode. The third reason I see that attests to why the US version of The Office is better, is that the characters themselves are some of the best TV has ever seen.  

The characters are a lot funnier, and better at acting - plain and simple. In the British version, it feels like the characters are trying to act funny, whereas in the US version the characters just naturally seemed funny, and are great in their roles. According to an article titled “ ‘The Office’: Why the American Remake Beats the British Original”, one of the salesmen in the British version, “seems to be borderline socially autistic, and Tim’s abuse of him feels cruel before funny”. The characters from each version of the show have their own unique qualities, but the American counterparts seem to amuse them more than the autistic/cruel acting British characters. The relationships that we see in both versions also differ between characters, and the romance is a lot more prevalent in the US version. As a result of this, the audience emotionally gets attached to those characters who are falling in and out of love during the series. Watching the British characters that are dull makes the audience want to fall asleep, but in the US version of The Office, rarely will you find that to be the case with these characters. According to an article titled, “A brilliant artist reimagined characters from ‘The Office’ as cartoons”, the artist interviewed, Marisa Livingston, said that ‘characters from the US version are both “memorable and charming”. These characters truly make the show come to life.

The US version is also better than the British version because of the fact that there is more of an emphasis on making the boring office workplace we know of today, come to life in a relatable and hilarious way. On the other hand, the British version fails to make the office workplace seem like a fun job to be a part of. According to a review by a fan on Metacritic.com, the US version of “The Office is a daring, unflinching take on very American workplace tensions”. This is true, because it seemed like it would be a risk doing a remake of what seemed to be the best version of the show, and made it better in the office workplace. The US version also was a lot more popular when it came out for the first time than the British version.

The final reason that the US version of The Office is better than the UK original version is because it was a much more popular show and loved by a lot more people when it came out, than when the British version first came out. According to an article titled, “13 Reasons “The Office” Is the Best Show Out There”, it “was still one of NBC’s highest rated shows. In October 2011, it was reported that it cost $178,840 per 30 second commercial, the most for any NBC scripted series”.  That says a lot about how much people loved this version of the show, because it was one of the most popular shows to EVER stream on NBC! While there are a lot of benefits and arguments I made regarding why the US version of The Office is better than the UK version, there are some counterarguments that have been made on this topic.  

One of the consistent points I saw as I was doing my research, on why some people think the British version is better, was that the boss was more interesting to watch and his qualities made him a better character. According to an article titled, “Why the UK ‘Office’ is better than the US version”, they mention that, “David Brent’s dark descension and eventual redemption made him all the more compelling”. Another argument that was made on this side of this argument was that it was the original, and the US version was really just a remake of what they came up with in the first place. While these are fair points, one thing that came up in my research was that Michael Scott (the boss in the US version) is very funny and is also a great boss, which really makes the US version unique in its own way. I don’t think many people want to watch this man from the British version who is very dark and does not have great humor to make it interesting. There are some things that are quite similar between the two versions. America not only made the original version better, but they made it more of a success as a result of revising it, including its great characters.

In conclusion, the US version of The Office is a much better version than its original counterpart, the UK version. There are fair arguments that go both ways in this controversial topic, but the benefits far outweigh the negatives in the US version over the British version. My research found that there are more seasons and episodes in the US version, giving people more to love. The humor in the US version was on point and not dry, like the British version, and made it entertaining and enjoyable to watch. The characters and cast in the US version were way better and acted better in their roles than those in the British version. The US version of The Office is a great sitcom that many love and enjoy, and I invite you to watch the US version if you have not already! I promise you will be hooked, and not regret it!

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This is a great way for beginners or even people who are more experienced in the fitness lifestyle, to be able to tryout new ways to workout anywhere and everywhere they want. Lots of people nowadays (including myself) find excuses to not workout daily, but with this app it will not only give them great workouts to follow but will also constantly motivate them!

Fitplan

Fitness apps have been so popular and useful for people who would like to be fit or tone. Like all of you know, the fitness apps can help people reach their own fitness goals.

There is one fitness app that I would like to discuss in this essay. Fitplan is one of the most popular fitness apps now. With fitplan you can train with whoever you would like to train with. They provide a lot of famous fitness celebrities who you probably  know so you can  train with them and follow their routines or challenges. Instead of paying thousands of dollars in a personal trainer, why not pay for Fitplan. Fitplan is  all that you need in order to accomplish your fitness goals and work at your own time without losing your money. Fitplan is good because it is giving you and idea of how to workout and it will make you to believe in yourself and to get the body that you would like to have. This App wants you to think in the way that you can success in your goal, and show you that exercises it is easy to start with, and to get a better idea of how exercises works without paying a expensive personal trainer.

The fitplan is an app with a membership where you can have access to all the workout and all the fitness trainers. The fitplan app is where you can find your favorite fitness person and train with them  and do their workout plan, which is being designed by them for you. In this app you can find different workouts. For example, perfect booty, perfect body, tight and tone, etc.Each one of these workouts tell you how many sets  and repetitions you have to do with a resting time between each set. This app has some challenges, which depends on the fitness level you are at. It tells you how many days per week and the time per day it will take you to complete the workout. For those who might have a tight schedule, this app help you to manage your time better an plan ahead your workout.This app is perfect for all type of level of fitness and for everyone who would like to do exercise and have some help from your favorite fitness start. So, there is no excuse to not be healthy and achieve your goals with your favorite fitness person.

The Fitplan has a monthly membership where you will be able to access all of the trainers and routines that they. This is good because it shows you how to start your goal without any worries about how to do exercises. This is a great way of how to motivate yourself and get into the fitness path.

This app has all that you need in order to accomplish your goals. I know the membership sounds a little scary to you because of the cost, but with this app you will be able to learn how to do the exercises correctly and how many sets you have to do in each of your workout routines. Also you do not have to worry about planning your own routine or think about what type of exercises you should do. With this app you will have your workouts all divided per day and what exercises you have to do each day and how long the routine will take to finish it.

The Fitplan give you the option to workout at home if you are a busy mother or father who would like to get fit and tone. This app has routines where you will be able to do at home with your kids without having to take them to a daycare and pay extra money to someone to watch your kid. The fitplan app has all you will ever need, with just a tiny monthly payment so everyone will be able to afford it.

The Fitplan give the opportunity to take your before and after picture so you can see your progress. With your dedication and effort this app will help you to reach your goals in just 90 days. After you reach your ideal weight, you will be able to focus on getting tone and tight with the help of your trainer. There are a lot of people who are  using this app where they have post their before and after pictures. This help them to see what they have accomplished, they can see their goals, and where they see all the changes of their body since the beginning.

I have been doing a little bit of research about what people think about this app. A lot of people who have been using this app said; “ this is the best app ever that I have ever had and used. This app guided me through all my workouts per day and also helped me keep track of  the weight that I used on my previous workouts.”  All of the reviews are from people like you and I who need this extra help in order to achieve their goals. From my own experience, I know  that in order to start the first step is to going to the gym on a regular basis. It is one of the hardest steps, but when we really start to think about this, to start going to the gym is not the hard part. The hard part is when you go to the gym without any idea of what to do or how to do your workouts. When I first started, it was hard to find the right way to do my workout without injuring myself. With this app, you will not have that problem because they have their trainers where they show you how to do each workout and manage your resting time in each workout. The fitplan app is all that you need in your workout to help you to get to the fitness level that you would like to be in.

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I honestly have no good or bad feelings towards Chrissy T. But looking at her twitter I can see why people find her humor amusing and relatable. She really knows how to give people a good laugh... or scare. She can be psycho at times but everyone can. I really enjoyed the style and outline of the article you wrote. 

Aesthetic Influencer

If you spend about 5 minutes on the twitters, you will most likely see your high school friends, Jason, Ashley, and Sarah have all retweeted one of Chrissy Teigen’s tweets. No matter what time of the day you get on to de-stress after a long and hard day of labor, you will always–without a doubt–see that one of your friends has retweeted something of Chrissys’.

What makes so many people attracted to Chrissy Teigen’s twitter page rather than any other of her social platforms? It has to do with the fact that her twitter page allows her to freely post what is on her mind, and that means that Teigen’s tweets will say exactly the sorts of things people come on twitter to read! They come to see the perspective of someone with a greater influence.  Chrissys’ twitter page is the equal to your friend, Derek, who has no filter. You know, the one who doesn’t know what he should or shouldn’t say, but strangely enough you can relate to his thoughts 100%. Chrissy’s page is a combination of offensive, yet relatable tweets.

In the week of August 20-24 of 2018, she came to share how truly sorry she was for projectile vomiting all of the caffeine she took, for not being able to open her eyes, and for having the loudest newborn baby in the room. Man what it’s like to get those first day jitters. Oh wait! It’s not first day jitters, it was thanks to the combination of wine Korean barbeque and jet lag she had the night before. She had me fooled. I have definitely felt those first day jitters, and that tweet was a representation of how life can turn upside down at one point or another. Can you imagine how awful it would have been to have one thing after another happen to you while all of the others think you’re a complete wack job? That would be so embarrassing.

Another known fact we can get from her page, is that Chrissy is obsessed with Housewifes. And while we see shows like The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, where ball gowns are worn constantly over extended periods of time, Chrissy brings it to our attention that looking glamorous can be very uncomfortable. She told us that she would like to be on Housewifes if she can get it in her contracts that she does not have to sit in a ball gown for 12 hours at a reunion. To that we think how awesome it would be to get paid to talk about your life at home-opportunities of being on a reality T.V. show that get you to movie premieres and red carpets, award shows, fashion shows, and so much more.. No one ever thinks about how uncomfortable it can be to sit in a Versace gown for hours on end, but there truly is no better feeling than coming home, taking off your mask of makeup, untying your tie, and getting into your made bed with fresh sheets is what Chrissy looks forward to the most at the end of the day.

“Look, ‘Gullible’ is written on the ceiling”. We have all heard this joke at one point or another. Well Chrissy came up with the thought of making edible stickers one night, the twitter Chrissy fan community just exploded at this idea. Someone brought it to Chrissy’s attention that produce stickers were already edible, and her fan community went wild. Chrissy decided to test this theory out. Everyone was a bit curious to find out if those awful tasting stickers were actually edible, right? Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but those stickers are not actually edible. Was this a scheme the fan base all caught onto and decided to trick Chrissy? If so, she congratulates the schemers for making her eat a sticker.

So what makes Chrissys’ twitter page so enjoyable? It’s the fact that she knows how to interact with her fans in such a way, that makes her so much more relatable. We forget that celebrities are people too, and to see that Chrissy thinks just like any other person, makes following her twitter page a lot more enjoyable.

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You’ve said it all. You went very well into depth about not only the song, but also about Frank Ocean’s symbolic style and the way he portrays his music. Ocean is a very very “to himself” kind of guy. No one ever thinks he really has anything to say, until you really dig into the lyrics and listen to what he is saying through music. I really hope he finds his Novacane, Coachelle woman. Thank you for this!

Novacane

Although Frank Ocean might not yet be a household name, for those who are fans of Christopher Edwin Breaux (aka Frank Ocean), we  know his songs are more than just a good sing along.  His songs have a rich depth of meaning. One element of his music that I love is he frequently has multiple and layered meanings within his music which make his songs interesting and fresh each time I listen. Frank began as a ghostwriter. He later joined  “Odd Future” in 2010 and released his debut mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra.  One of most popular out of the 14 songs on the mixtape, “Novacane.”  reached number 82 on Billboard Hot 100.

Novacane is a five minute song that is a great example of Frank’s talent of being able to say one thing but have it have multiple hidden meanings. One of the first things someone might realize about this song is the spelling of “novacane.”  In the medical world the word “novacane” is traditionally spelled “novocaine” and refers to a drug  used by dentist for numbing. The different spelling of this word might not strike some as something significant but there are actually several meanings behind  Frank’s spelling of the word. The word Nova means “a star showing a sudden large increase in brightness and then slowly returning to its original state over a few months” (dictionary.com). The word “cane” has multiple meanings but here it’s referring to a cane or a crutch,  something that some people rely on in their everyday lives, such as a drug addict relies on drugs as a crutch or a cane to support them each day.

After listing to these songs,  you can easily tell why it is spelled the way it is. This song is about a woman who, like the nova star, increased the brightness is his life for a couple months until she left, and he was relying on her for support and strength, much like one who is unsteady or weak may rely on a cane.  It is also called “novcane” because after she leaves, he is left completely numb to any other woman and  unable to feel,  just like the drug novocaine leaves your mouth numb.

Novacane isn’t the only drug talked about during these songs. He talks about when he met a woman at Coachella and how she handed him a bong, the drug inside made it so he couldn’t feel his face, this ties back to the title of novacane. Later in the song he says “You put me on feelin’ I never had, never had, never had and ever since I’ve been tryna get it back, pick it up and put it back now I’m somethin’ like the chemist on campus but there’s no drug around, quite like what I found in you”. After this woman leaves, Frank is constantly trying to find something that makes him feel like this woman does, much like a drug addict chases the high and the feeling they get from drugs.

The few examples I’ve written about just scratch the surface of how in depth Frank Ocean’s songs really are. From the title of the songs to almost every line written within them,  Frank always keeps the audience questioning and analyzing what his songs really mean. It takes a true artist to write such a creative masterpiece that almost everyone who listens,  picks up a different meaning from it. From Frank Ocean’s 2011 mixtape Nostalgia Ultra, to his most current album,  Blonde, each song is just as thoughtful  and meticulous as the one before.  

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I definitely agree that Kanye West always has something to say, mainly something completely insane to say to benefit himself, to get more followers/fans etc. But I do think that a main reason he has to speak out about everything is because he wants people to know he has a voice and also wants them to know that his voice is louder and much more listened to than anyone else’s voice.

Kanye West; Psychopath or Genius?

Kanye West is definitely one of those people you can’t miss.  Whether you know him by his outspoken views, or just his everyday life, he is constantly receiving mainstream attention.  He is a source of controversy whether it is his conduct at his award shows, his place in social media, or his comments on politics and race.  Kanye West has an opinion and he is not scared to let everyone know how he feels no matter who it affects or how insane it makes him look.  He is not afraid of anyone’s opinion and welcomes others to challenge them.  He is so vocal that even if you aren’t interested in Kanye or care to keep up with him, you will hear about what is going on with him.  He is a constant figure in the media and is a frequent subject of talk shows and interviews.  Kanye is so focused on his rise to fame that he is willing to sacrifice his sanity.  In any talk show that he is featured on Kanye always make sure to make some comment that will make the headlines the next day.  He usually shoots for something so crazy and negative that no one else would say it. Kanye’s reputation is so bad he doesn’t care to save it.  Some may even call him crazy.  Kanye West psychopathic mind is the reason he fights with other celebrities, says obscene things, and voices his opinion on topics he knows nothing about.  This is why everyone is constantly discussing him and his actions.

Kanye always has constant feuds going on with several artists and celebrities.  Whether he has offended them with his comments, or has verbally attacked them directly, there is a lengthy list.  The most well known is his famous feud with Taylor Swift.  This fire was first ignited at the Video Music Awards in 2009.  While Taylor was accepting The Best Music Video of the Year  West got up on stage, interrupted Taylor, and began to tell why Beyonce deserved the award over her.  This is one of the most well known fights and actions of Kanye.  It is has inspired multiple songs for both of the artists and some say this feud has fueled these artists to be the best they can be.  Whether it is to prove the others wrong or because of the hatred between Swift and West. This is one of the main events that started Kanye’s spiral to craziness. Kanye pretends to be crazy and it boosts his publicity and is one of the reasons he is as successful as he is. He does this often times through his music and his constant comments.   In many interviews Kanye mentioned “how he apologized to Taylor, but he doesn’t regret interrupting her speech”.  I think it’s because he is willing to say and do anything for the sake of publicity and how the media will react.  He is constantly showing his displeasure at award shows.  He makes this clear as he has walked out and commented on Music Video Awards.  Although many people don’t agree on things like this Kanye goes out of his way to prove a point and stand out from anyone else.  The issue with Taylor Swift wasn’t the only example of this. 

 Everytime the Video Music Awards happen, Kanye comments on how he should’ve won an award, how someone didn’t deserve it, or he has even walked right out of the ceremony.

 After each one you can expect to see at least one comment on Kanye and his opinions. Not only this, but every comment he makes he uses something out of the ordinary whether it is all caps, exclamation points, and over the top grandstanding.  When he doesn’t agree with how something is going down, or who is winning, he makes sure everyone knows it.

In Kanye’s most recent Album “Ye”

 he addresses many controversial topics that have been linked to him since 2016. He has a song titled “I Thought about Killing You” where  he talks about how he how is constantly thinking about killing himself and how he has thought about killing others.  It is such a bizarre song and almost makes you feel uncomfortable listening to it. It is referring to when Kanye claims to trying to kill himself after having a mental breakdown that was all over the media.  Everyone was commenting and tweeting about whether Kanye was crazy and analyzing every move that he had made over the last few years.  Kanye blew up in the news when the he went to what we think was a mental hospital.   He became more popular and it made people interested with what he was going to do next.  

Kanye is constantly taking on people in politics when he knows almost nothing about it.  Many say he’s not even into politics but is more interested in the publicity it will bring to him.  When Donald Trump was running for president, Kanye made sure to tweet his strong opinion in supporting Trump which created a huge twitter fight. Although Kanye’s wife and family were very strong Hillary supporters, Kanye was very honest and blunt about how he felt about with the election and the candidates.  Not only is he commenting on politics that are always controversial, but he choose to stand for one of the most hated candidates that almost everyone has a strong opinion about.  Through this tweet, Kanye lost many followers and fans which brought him even more publicity than he originally got from the tweet.   Many commented on how the Twitter fight had nothing to do with politics and how it was all based on the Television ratings.  Kanye really didn’t have that strong of an opinion about Trump.  Another example of this is when Kanye called out George Bush telling him and the whole world on live television that he didn’t care about black people.  He didn’t just call out someone who was well known or in politics.  He called out the President of the United States on live television.  This was one of the more gutsy things Kanye has done.  This would bring anyone publicity because if you decide to take on the President, all of America is going to hear about it.

Kanye West is a self obsessed man who only cares about the money and where his name is gonna take him.  Many people say not only does he care to share his opinion on everything, but he only does it to spread his fame.  He doesn’t care about anything besides himself and how much money he can make.  Kanye has become so well known because of his comments and how is so “out there”.  He is a constant subject in media, and everyone knows his name due to his controversial comments on everything from music, celebrities, and politics.  He is not scared to go after anyone and makes sure that everyone is aware of his influence and how he is.  He uses this to his advantage making himself popular for how crazy he is and not for his music.  His popularity leads him to be successful but it makes him not so much of an artist but more of a oportunitist. Kanye’s crazy mind is the reason he constantly in a fued with others, saying deranged things, and is constantly commenting on things he doesn’t know anything about.   Kanye plays this role of a crazy man and it is the main reason that Kanye West is so successful with everything he does.

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Don’t Step On A Kitten

Taylor Swift and Kanye West’s first public interaction will always be infamous. In 2009 fifteen year old Taylor shocked the public when she won “Female Video of the Year” over Beyonce. Her big moment that she had been dreaming about her whole life was quickly interrupted when rapstar Kanye West got up on stage and stole the mic from her. If you know anything about Kanye it is that he can’t keep his huge mouth shut and he didn’t mind it either. But if he knew what he was about to do would blow up in his face and stay with him throughout his career would he still have done it? Kanye shouted to the crowd, “Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you and I’ll let you finish… but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!” Then casually shrugs, tosses the mic back to Taylor, and heads back to his seat. From then on Taylor and Kanye have had many back and forth moments in their “relationship”, most of them being unpleasant.

One of the main questions asked within this fan community is, did Kanye West help Taylor Swift’s career take off because of the 2009 Video Music Awards incident? Kanye West claims that he is the reason Taylor is considered one of the biggest pop stars today. He went as far as to further this claim by writing the hit “Famous” where he says “I made that b*tch famous”.  So, is Kayne West really the reason behind Taylor Swift’s success? I believe taylor creates her own success through her relationships with other well known artists and popular figures, she keeps her fans and the public interested, and the speech from Kanye only motivated Taylor to stand up for herself.

Taylor creates her success through her relationships with other well known artists and popular figures. Ever since 2009 everyone has something to say, including President Barack Obama. In an interview close after the VMA’s Obama was doing an off-the-record portion of a television  interview with CNBC. He was asked the question “Were your girls as hecked off as mine were that Kanye gave Taylor Swift the Joe Wilson treatment?” Obama responded to this question by straight up calling him a jackass. He said “I thought that was really inappropriate, ya know? Like she’s getting an award, why are you butting in? She seems like a perfectly nice young lady, just receiving her award. He’s a jackass.”

This was definitely a common response. Most people, whether they were fans of Taylor Swift or not, defended her side of the scenario and bashed Kanye. Which is appropriate considering the circumstances. He deserved it. Obama was definitely not the only well known person to speak up about the situation. There was many other stars who weren’t afraid to speak out on twitter. Katy Perry tweeted “F*** YOU KANYE. IT’S LIKE YOU STEPPED ON A KITTEN.” Kellie Pickler stated.. “Tater Tot, you handled yourself with Grace. Kanye, go grow some f-ing balls bi***! Don’t mess with  my little sis!!” and Tom Fletcher also stepped in with “Taylor Swift should have kicked him in the nuts! What an eventful VMA’s!” No wonder Kanye “took some time to himself” and went MIA for a couple months. I would too if I was getting bashed for “stepping on a kitten”.

When Taylor Swift found out that she was nominated for two awards at the next VMAs she tweeted “Two nominations!! If you vote and get us one, I promise to keep a firmer grip on the mic this time;)” This was when we first started realizing that Taylor wasn’t some young, innocent country singer. If you push her she isn’t afraid to push back, thus, one of the strangest rivalries in music history was born.

Taylor keeps her fans and the public interested by changing up her style and genre regularly. Taylor started off her career by singing country music. As she got more and  more famous she gradually started changing her style from country to pop. She started off as Americas “princess”/ “the girl next door” but when we started seeing more of her out in the public eye is when she started to change into the girl you don’t mess with. This all began changing around the same time her music style started changing. So, what pushed her into pop?

She loves to write about her drama, and soon they become her top hit songs. At the beginning of her career Taylor would write country love songs about the boys she had crushes on, and then later she wrote about the heartbreak that followed. Once she realized you can’t write a lovey dovey country song about some women celebrity who steals your man, she realized she had to switch things up. Everyone went crazy when she had released her first pop album, Red, in 2014. Since then she has been writing about anything and everything, from boys who cheat on her, getting revenge, any girls that cross her and her squad, how the “old” taylor is dead, etc.

Taylor Swift makes it through the music industry perfectly fine on her own. In 2009 she made $63.7 million on her Fearless world tour, pretty good for a 15 year old. Later on in 2011/2012 on her “Speak Now” tour she made around $123 million. This most recent album she  made 54 million dollars on the first 6 days of her Reputation world tour alone. By the time the tour ends in under just six months it is estimated to have made 400 million dollars. Taylor is clearly making more income than she did at the time of the 2009 VMA’s, and that makes sense considering once she generates exposure she in turn will generate popularity.

If anything, Kanye's speech only motivated Taylor to stand up for herself. Aside from the large increase in fans and sales following the incident, Kanye’s disrespect gave taylor something new to write about. Taylor gradually went from an artist that stuck to a general relationship storyline in all of her songs, and developed into an artist that bluntly calls out her haters and stands up for herself through lyrics. New songs such as “Look What You Made Me Do” And “Bad Blood” are great examples of lyrical blackmail and revenge. Her way of writing makes fans on both sides of the feud question and conspire. Who is she writing about? If she is able to sing freely about it then maybe she has the power? Releasing these songs are Taylors way of staying in control of her publicity and speaking her truth. It is not to say that Kanye gave Taylor her voice, but maybe the humiliation she endured gave her a higher platform to promote herself.

Taylor Swift didn’t need Kanye to be where she is right now in the music industry but, people do say that he definitely played a small role. An article written in 2010 called “Did the Kanye West Incident Help Taylor Swift’s Career?” said that “the Kanye incident brought attention to Taylor, to an audience that did not really know her or her music. And when they did check it out, they discovered that they really liked it.” Which is true, in 2009 her 2008 album Fearless went on to sell 3.2 million copies, and ended up being the best selling album of 2009. It has sold over 7 million copies all over the world, which was 2 million more copies than her self-titled debut album in 2006. This shows that she definitely had more eyes on her after the 2009 VMAs. Kanye also noticed this and knowing him he wanted to be credited for it. Released about 7 years later Kanye came out with a song called Famous, where he literally points out Taylor in the lyrics saying.. “For all my Southside niggas that know me best I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex. Why? I made that bitch famous (God damn) I made that bitch famous.” These lyrics started a whole different feud concerning his wife Kim and Taylor, but that is a story for another time. Taylor and Kanye were on good terms before this song went viral, and as soon as it was released they were back on their bull shiz.

Taylor made sure to get her feelings across at that 2016 Grammys during her acceptance speech. She stated “As the first woman to win Album of the Year at the Grammys twice, I want to say to the young woman out there, there are going to be people along the way who try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame,” she said. “But if you just focus on the work and you don’t let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you’re going, you will look around and you will know it was you and the people who love you who put you there.”.

In return from the the drama she was put through from the West family, Taylor released the song “Look What You Made Me Do” where she attacks Kim by singing, “I don't like your little games, don't like your tilted stage, the role you made me play, of the fool, no, I don't like you. I don't like your perfect crime, how you laugh when you lie, you said the gun was mine, Isn't cool, no, I don't like you”. To further drive her point home, Taylor addresses Kim in her music video by sitting in a bathtub full of diamonds and money, mocking her for the supposed robbery in France where Kim was placed in a bathtub.

Earlier, Swift released another song addressing her feud with Katy Perry. This time around it dealt with not only a boy, but the fact that Katy supposedly sabotaged her tour as well. Taylor addresses these circumstances in the best way she knows how. Writing songs and producing incredible music videos not only makes her money, but it entertains her fans, puts rumors to rest, and it enables her to take control.

So did Kanye help Taylor gain a few more fans? Maybe so, but he was not the reason she made it big. In 2009 she was making millions of dollars, and today is no different. Taylor continues to lead the press, entertain the industry and create her own revolution. Regardless of who motivated her to get where she is, she did it all on her own.

In conclusion, I don’t believe that Kayne West made Taylor Swift “famous”, but it is possible that he was a piece in the domino effect of her overcoming adversity and rising to the top. He was the first of many to create conflict with the pop artist, and he won’t be last. Taylor has proven the point that any publicity is good publicity, because regardless of what has come her way, she pushes on. What Kanye did in 2009 was disrespectful, but in my opinion it in no way damaged her reputation. If anything it gave Taylor a platform to speak out and stand up.  

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Fearless Or Melodramatic?

Blank Space was one of Taylor’s first songs that WAS NOT directed to a certain ex. Instead it was a character she wrote about that the media was portraying her as. A “psycho serial dater girl”. For months Swift had been hearing and seeing all different sorts of rumors that people were saying, or stereotypes that they were setting for her. As her career got bigger and bigger so did the gossip and media. Taylor finally decided to  explain the background to her newest hit at the time in a chat with NME.

"Every few years the media finds something they unanimously agree is annoying about me," she said. "2012-2013 they thought I was dating too much, because I dated two people in a year and a half: 'Oh, a serial dater. She only writes songs to get emotional revenge on guys. She's a man-hater, don't let her near your boyfriend.' It was kind of excessive and at first it was hurtful, but then I found a little bit of comedy in it. This character is so interesting though. If you read these gossip sites, they describe how I am so opposite in my actual life: I'm clingy and I'm awful and I throw fits and there's drama. An emotionally fragile, unpredictable mess. I painted a whole picture of this character: she lives in a mansion with marble floors, she wears Dolce & Gabbana around the house, and she wears animal print unironically. So I created this whole character and I had fun doing it. Half the people got the joke, half the people thought I was really owning the fact that I'm a psychopath. Either one's fine. It was #1 for eight or nine weeks, so I have no complaints.".

The music video is made to be manipulative, and to pretty much make fun of the way the media sees her.  Instead of her moping around (like a lot of stars do when harsh gossip is released about them) she decided to use it to her advantage and write about it. It starts with a girl sitting on a bed in black pajamas, holding a cat, because we can’t forget about the fact that she is also known as a “crazy cat lady”. The next scene shows  a boy pulling up to her huge mansion and as she opens the door she reaches out her hand as though she is welcoming him into her “web”. Next we are looking at a close up of her face as she slowly looks up into the camera and into your eyes, trying to make you believe that you are the one she has just caught in her trap.

Then she adds in the whole basic “fairytale” scene where you see them eating a big yummy dinner, riding bikes around the family room, dancing in the ballroom, running in slow motion in the courtyard, riding perfectly white horses, painting portraits (she nonchalantly hangs the self portrait of the new man next to all the dozens of other self portraits of her ex lovers), and carving their initials into a tree. How romantic. This is a visual of the perfect relationship, so happy and in love.

And before you know it, as all great relationships should, they start spiraling down. The boy gets caught texting another girl and soon enough “psycho serial dater girl” is released. Taylor really portrays her character well in the last 2 minutes of the video. Throughout the entire song her lyrics are basically a warning to all. She says things like.. “You look like my next mistake. Loves a game, want to play?” or  the chorus of the song “ If the High was worth the pain”, “Got a long list of ex lovers, they’ll tell you i’m insane”, “Cause darling I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream”etc.

She says these things the entire song, but watching the beginning of the music video you don’t recognize the creepy things she is saying because you are so focused on the acting in the video and how she looks like this perfect, friendly, girl. Its when she starts doing things like, smashing his car with a golf club, cutting up his clothes, stabbing a knife through his self portrait, or looking creepily into the camera while laying on the dining room floor crying with mascara running down her face singing the words “They’ll tell you I’m insane..” , that you start to notice how weird and messed up the song really is.

There is a scene in the video where Taylor is on top of the boy in the middle of the driveway hitting him and pretty much treating him like a doll. You see this guy just blow off everything she does like it is nothing at first and just lets her continue to keep bullying him. She manipulates him and makes him believe that he deserves her rath because he is the one who fell for her, when in reality its a continuous cycle she can’t stop doing. When he finally breaks and tries to leave, she won’t let him. The direct eye contact through the filming makes it seem like you’re the one that can’t leave, you’re the one that is trapped in her web and there is no getting free.

Finally, in the end of the video you seen the guy scared out of his mind speeding away in wrecked car. Right as he pulls out of sight a brand new red car pulls into sight and into the driveway. An attractive man in a suit steps out of the car and up to the door. There we see once again a close up of her face as she slowly raises her eyes to the camera, to represent the cycle of psycho serial dater girl. She found another man to warmly welcome into her trap. Taylor did a great job portraying this character throughout the song and music video. She got the majority of the fans to understand her joke and then others continue to believe that that is who is she. Either way she was happy with the outcome. The whole video it is constantly drawing you in and making you believe that you are either the victim in the music video or you are going to be her next one.

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Taylor’s Five Big Breakups and the Top Hits They Created

We all know Taylor Swift for having boyfriend after boyfriend and breakup after breakup, and after each boyfriend and breakup comes a top hit song. Today we are going to be talking about five of Taylor’s famous “breakup” top hits We Are Never Getting Back Together, I Knew You Were Trouble, Forever and Always, Back to December, and Blank Space, along with the celebrity boyfriends who influenced her writing them. If you ever get the chance to date Taylor Swift in your lifetime, there is a big chance that she will write a song about you.

The first song, We Are Never Getting Back Together, was released as her lead single in her Red album released in August of 2012. She began writing this song when one of her ex boyfriends friends came into her studio and told her how her ex was planning on “getting back together”. She was taken back because this was definitely not the case. Then came her 2012 top hit. This song is known to be written about her 2011 boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal.

Besides the back up story, there are a lot of hidden clues provided in the music video that back up the evidence. She is wearing a bracelet in the video that looks identical to the $100,000 one Gyllenhaal gave Swift for her birthday, the male role in the music video wears a blue scarf that Gyllenhaal was seen wearing often with Taylor. This couple was reportedly seen together after they had broken up multiple times, making Jake Gyllenhaal the main culprit.

The next song, I Knew You Were Trouble, was openly admitted by Taylor, that it was about the one and only Harry Styles. She performed this song at the Brit Awards in 2013 and was asked the question in the interview if playing the song at the awards terrified her and she responded with “Well it's not hard to access that emotion when the person the song is directed at is standing by the side of the stage watching.”. Oh snap. Harry then responded to the paps taking the “high road” “I thought her performance was really good. She looked great.” Maybe writing and performing bomb songs in front of your ex isn’t so scary.

The next song, Forever and Always, is one of Swift’s first top hit songs. It was released in 2008 in her Fearless album. This song was written about Joe Jonas in late 2008 who famously dumped her over a 25 second phone call. Taylor stated on Ellen Degeneres "You know what it's like, when I find that person that is right for me, he'll be wonderful. … When I look at that person, I'm not even going to remember the boy who broke up with me over the phone in 25 seconds when I was 18. … I looked at the call log —- it was like 27 seconds. That's got to be a record." And she is right that has got to be a record. Come on Joe, you had to of seen this coming after that? In the song Taylor talks a lot about “staring at the phone, he still hasn’t called.” I think it is safe to say that he very well gave her a call, just not the one she was wanting and waiting for.

The next song, Back to December, was released in 2010 in her Speak Now album. Taylor wrote this song after her breakup with Taylor Lautner in 2009. Most Swift fans were more upset about the no longer existing “Taylor Squared” than they were about any of her previous breakups. Lautner was brought back to the good old memories of the song in a interview with Lea Michele and John Stamos in 2016. Lautner stated how he now finds it “hilarious” and how “that's what she does”. He is not wrong.  Back to December is reminiscing about a December night when Lautner gave Swift a bouquet of roses, and she left them there to die. The song bluntly gives it away that she misses Lautner when she states, “I miss your tan skin, your sweet smile.”  But what better way for Taylor to heal from a breakup than to write, yet, another song.

The last song we will be talking about is her 2014 hit Blank Space, from her 1989 album. Most people assume that this song is yet another one about, Harry Styles. But in 2016 Taylor Swift explains in detail to the media at a special show what triggered her in creating this song. At 26 years old Taylor Swift is being painted as a “psycho serial dater girl” and her first reaction to this was a little bummed.

But soon she sparked the idea of recreating the character the media was pursuing her as. Swift describes the girl in the song as “She jet sets around the world collecting men, and she can get any of them, but she’s so clingy that they leave and she cries, and then she gets another one in her web and she traps them and locks them in her mansion and then she’s crying in her marble bathtub surrounded by pearls.”. So this song isn’t written about any boy in particular but shows yet again, what happens when you cross Taylor.. A top hit song is bor.

In conclusion, all of Taylor’s songs together might make her look like some desperate “psycho serial dater girl” but, the true Swift fans see her as a badass legend. She is literally making money off of her breakups… genius. So, with that being said, if by some chance you get to date Taylor Swift in your lifetime, maybe don’t, unless you want a song written about you.

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Swift’s New Reputation

Taylor Swift was 16 years old when she released her first song and started her career as a singer-songwriter. Twelve years later and her ‘Reputation’ album is the first to surpass two million sales in a week since 2015. Taylor’s style has definitely taken one of the most drastic changes in the music industry and we are all well aware. Not only has her style in music taken a turn but she is also known for her new “reputation” and subtly throws shade at other celebrities in her new symbolic music videos. We are going to continue that subject by talking about one of her latest music videos “Look what you made me do”.

Taylor acts confident, unapologetic, and fierce in the new hit video as she is throwing fire left and right. This whole video is packed full of symbols regarding celebrities that might have crossed Taylor one way or another. Starting with the second scene, Taylor is sitting in a tub that is full of diamonds and pearls. These aren’t any fake diamonds no, Taylor literally cleaned out the store of celebrity jeweler, Neil Lane just to fulfill this scene. Most people say that this represents the time when Kim Kardashian got robbed of her diamonds and was put in a tub in France. Swift and the Kardashians are known for having “beef” when Kim leaked the video of Taylor giving Kanye her so called “permission” to write about her in his hit song “Famous”. Also in the tub is a single dollar bill to represent her going to trial against DJ David Mueller for sexual assault back in 2013, and asking for a single dollar bill, she got her point bluntly across with that one and won the case. Some say that it even is the original dollar bill.

Another symbol we see in the video is when she is sitting on a throne surrounded by snakes, urban dictionary says it best when they define a “snake” as.. “"We all know somebody who is a doubletalker, a gossip and a generally untrustworthy person. They are cruel to their enemies and even meaner to their friends - only with the friends the mean streak only comes out when their backs are turned. This type of friend is all sweetness and sugar to people's faces but act ugly and spiteful behind their backs. We call people like this "backstabbers" because they sneak around portraying themselves as something they are not, a friend.” (F.F.). In this scene if you look closely next to her right hand are the words written “Et Tu Brute” this was said by Julius Caesar in Shakespeare’s famous play Julius Caesar, while he was literally being stabbed in the back by his former friends. Nothing Taylor puts in her music videos is unintentional or unapologetic. Everything that she does is thought out well and planned. Even if you aren’t a fan of the old or new Taylor you would have to agree that this music video is a work of art because of the amount of detail that was put into every second of the video.