Everyone can agree that peer influences get to just about everybody. Who hasn’t heard from their parent’s “If your best friend (insert relevant name here) jumped off a bridge, would you too?” And while many people might not be prone to bridge jumping, there are definitely things one would do just because they took note of who else was doing it around them.
The home stretch of the teenage years is upon those in college. And though there are the occasionally murmurs of “I’m not ready to grow up”, or “I want to be young forever”, it’s not that hard to unite together in remembrance of some awkward, strange, and overall laughable teenage memories that have shaped each and every person into who they are today.
Being 19 years old does still categorize me with all other teenage girls, but I’m not ashamed.
Teenage years are pretty horrendous, especially for girls. From boy problems, to friends, school, sports and everything else in between, it’s pretty easy to get caught up in what everyone else around you is doing or saying. This makes focusing on bettering and truly becoming you much harder. Because of this “tunnel vision”, as sung by Justin Timberlake, it wasn’t hard to jump onto the country music bandwagon. Watching older girls go to country concerts and dress up with all of their friends and then post endlessly about it on all social media outlets, inevitably lead me to believe country music was “cool”.
Having limited access to downloading music because of pretty strict parents made my country music bingeing consist of mainly Taylor Swift (no complaints there), Eli Young Band, and Miranda Lambert.
Now I will not argue about whether or not Taylor Swift should still be considered a country artist, for that you can refer to CBS news. However, I will defend Taylor’s first singles from when she was up-and-coming.
Taylor Swift has accomplished and will continue to accomplish many musical feats, but what she is most well known for is writing songs that are relatable for teenage girls. One that brings me back almost all the way to pre-teen Alyssa is “I’d Lie”. It was the first song I listened to when I got a car at age 16, and easily is my absolute favorite throwback song to play on road trips.
Because country music was introduced to me through Taylor Swift (try not to cringe) and a few other bands/artists during my teenage years, I view the genre as youthful and playful. Hearing those country songs on the radio that talk about boys, friends, school, sports, and everything in between, never fails to remind me of high school friends and finding myself.
Country music as a whole has the power to influence every listener differently, no matter the age or gender. One can say that it can’t be put into a specific box. As society grows and transforms, so does country music. Whatever way country music makes you feel- it is catchy, and therefor a prominent and influential genre. All genres have this potential, but country music hits it right on the nose.
The little things in life can have a much bigger impact on one than might be led on, and I am living proof of that. And on top of that, peer influences during teen years are so weighty. They affected the type of music I listened to, and still listen to, to this day. Makes you wonder what other influences have done and/or will do?
Whether Taylor Swift should be still considered country is definitely a whole other topic that will forever be debated, but no body can deny that her first album relates to every teenage girl out there. Break ups, best friends, and driving are all about what her first songs were about. There are a ton of country songs that are nostalgic for high school and college days of being youthful and adventurous so I think it is super relatable to us. Luke Bryans song “We Run This Town” is a prime example of this nostalgia. The type of music we listened to growing up and even today shapes the way we view society.
I think a lot of girls were introduced to country music through Taylor Swift. I remember my second concert was a Brad Paisley concert and Taylor Swift opened for him, this was before she got big. I had no idea who she was but was able to relate to a lot of the songs, just like you said. As cheesy as this sounds, I think a ton of girls are able to relate to her song “Fifteen”. It’s that age where everyone is starting high school and starting to grow up a little bit. I don’t shame you one bit for loving Taylor Swift… she is still one of my favorites whether we consider her country or not! She’s catchy, a positive role model, positive attitude on life.. love love love TSwift.
I can relate to this so much- it’s like Taylor Swift was the queen of teen girl country. I feel like she drew so many people into the genre that stayed fans after she left, it seems like the whole sundress and cowboy boots look started with her as well! I had never thought about how much of an influence she was until I read this.
I will also defend Taylor Swift’s early years in the country industry. She was the artist who got me through those tough preteen and teen years. One of my favorites from that time is “Teardrops on my Guitar” (yes it’s basic, I know), but I also love “Picture to Burn” because it brought up the angst of teenage girls. Even though I never went through the same exact pain Taylor sung about, I feel like she prepared me for the “real world”. Taylor didn’t introduce me to country, but she was the first of her style that I had heard and enjoyed. I’m a big Miranda Lambert “Gunpowder and lead” fan. Any hour any day I will listen to that song!