Taylor Swift’s gamble to go all-pop has paid off as her new single “Shake It Off” is fast becoming not just her biggest hit, but one of the biggest hits by anyone in decades.
The song, which debuted directly at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 100 chart two weeks ago, is gaining airplay faster than any single since Mariah Carey’s “Dreamlover” in 1993, according to Mediabase, which measures radio airplay. The music video for the song, Swift’s first single from her next album, has already logged about 70 million views since debuting on YouTube.
Two weeks ago Swift, who has been generally classified as a country artist with pop tendencies, announced she is going all-pop with her next album, “1989,” due on Oct. 27. Swift was born in 1989 and said the album will reflect music from the 1980s.
Some fans were upset that she was abandoning country music and many criticized the song and music video, both of which echo elements of Toni Basil’s 1982 hit “Mickey.” Yet Swift has clearly shaken off detractors and picked up new followers to mark a milestone in her career.
The detractors are going to have a harder time shaking off her omnipresent song.
