And Finally

Label boss defends Swift’s Grammy performance

By | Published on Friday 5 February 2010

Scott Borchetta, the CEO of Taylor Swift’s record label, Big Machine Records, has spoken out to defend the singer’s performance at the Grammy’s on Sunday. Which must mean he thinks it was pretty awful. And he’d be right to think that, because it was. The shakiness of Swift’s voice was almost disguised when she sang on her own, but when Stevie Nicks came out and duetted with her, it just served to prove how much better Nicks is at singing.

But criticism like that, says Borchetta, is “just over the top”. He told Associated Press: “She is the voice of this generation. She speaks directly to [her fans], and they speak directly back to her. 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”.

He added that reviews of Swift’s Grammy rehearsals had been written up positively, and blamed a technical problem for her ropey singing on the night, saying: “We had a volume problem in the ear. So, she was concerned that she wasn’t able to hear everything in the mix. 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”.

So certain is Borchetta that those of us criticising his girl based on her Grammy stint alone are misguided, that he is going to pay for us all to go and see Taylor Swift in concert to prove how fab she really is. He finished his rant by saying: “If you haven’t seen her live performance, you’re welcome to come out as my guest to a Taylor Swift show and experience the whole thing, because it’s amazing. There’s a reason tickets are selling like they are”.

I’m up for it if you are, Scott. Give me a call.



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