By now, some of you might be going: "Oh great, another Taylor Swift article." But hey, you clicked on it. It’s no secret that the media loves talking about Taylor Swift. She is undeniably one of the biggest celebrities of this generation and headlines, both good and bad, will follow her every move.

Plus, articles about her (even those on CNA Lifestyle) tend to generate loads of engagement from her fans – and haters. So overall, it is a pretty good business model.

However, is there too much Tay Tay now?

Speaking as someone who's had to work on dozens of Taylor Swift articles within the year, I personally think the answer is "Yes". However, like many other Swifties, my follow-up response would be "So what?"

Because, spoiler alert, you're going to be reading a lot about her in the coming days. Especially since she's already in town for her sold-out Eras Tour concerts. 

Now, to her credit, Taylor Swift’s achievements do warrant the articles surrounding her. Her ongoing Eras Tour is the highest-grossing concert tour of all time, with research company QuestionPro projecting that the tour has the potential to generate US$4.6 billion in consumer spending in the US alone.

And in Singapore, where she'll be performing six shows, this "Taylor Swift effect" has been in full swing, with hotels and airlines seeing spikes.

Recently, she also made history as the only artiste to ever win album of the year four times at the Grammy Awards.

You don’t have to be a fan to acknowledge that these feats deserve to be celebrated. 

On the flip side, we have the headlines surrounding her personal life and actions which is where disagreements might lie.

For instance, Swift’s romance with Kansas City Chiefs American football player Travis Kelce. Fans are ever curious to see if he'll show up to support her at her concerts, like she showed up to cheer him on at his NFL games. There was definite interest when he landed in Sydney, Australia, on Feb 22 a few days before her shows there. 

And a few weeks ago, many fans were anxious to know if Swift could make it to Las Vegas in time for the Super Bowl after performing in Tokyo – prompting Japan's US embassy to step in.

Clearly, there is still great interest in the relationship.

However, objectively speaking, did a general reader really need to know about all of that? 

And then we have the miscellaneous articles surrounding things like Swift's private jet usage (which amounted to about 8,300 tonnes of carbon emissions in 2022 – 1,800 times the average person’s annual emissions) or her actions at the recent Grammy Awards which saw viewers criticising her perceived snub towards Celine Dion, among other things.

Some might find articles on these matters nitpicky but others might feel that it is important to call out these actions, given her sheer influence.

And it's not just Swift herself – there's also interest in the people in her orbit. For instance, her 71-year-old father is currently under investigation for allegedly assaulting a photographer in Sydney.

So how much is too much, and is it already too much when it comes to articles surrounding Taylor Swift?

For 24-year-old fan Alex Foo, the oversaturation has only been happening “recently”. Speaking to CNA Lifestyle, Foo mused: “Frankly, I don't think any other current pop star gets as much news coverage as her nowadays. However, I do believe the extensive coverage is also something that Taylor is in control of and permits as if she wishes to be hidden away from the spotlight, she can do so."

A fan of Swift since her first album, Foo shared his admiration of the singer during her Reputation era “for her ability to bounce back stronger and better than ever” after she was slandered online.

Foo also questioned if the recent criticism surrounding Swift’s private jet usage "was accurate”.

“That is not to say that I will willfully choose to ignore the facts and blindly defend her, but rather, I have seen contrasting articles about how she is not the top celebrity in terms of carbon emissions for her private jet usage, and there have also been articles stating that she pays twice the amount of carbon tax to offset the damage of flying private,” he added.

Another Taylor Swift fan, who wants to be known as H, agreed that there is an oversaturation of Taylor Swift content covered by the media but doesn’t feel like “it matters much”.

The 23-year-old elaborated: “I think with such a huge fan base and a worldwide reach, the media coverage is bound to be high. People need something to talk about and she is the biggest pop star in the world. I think some articles bring to light things that people want to know about. For example, her carbon footprint and her silence on politics. But I think it's inevitable that people form a parasocial relationship because of how oversaturated she is in the media.

“I do think she becomes more mainstream but it is understandable that there is an oversaturation of her content, given her success worldwide." 

H has been a fan of Taylor Swift since her Red era but only became “a more involved ‘stan’ during her 1989 era”.

“I love her lyricism and her way with words. She tells a story with every song she writes. She creates a narrative in her music and that sets her apart from others in the industry. She is a good songwriter and I think that is something that everyone can agree on, whether they like her as a person or not," H said.

However, H believes that “Swift deserves to be criticised to a certain extent” for some of her recent actions but feels that there is a double standard against her.

“The Matty Healy saga [which saw her briefly dating The 1975 singer in 2023] was extremely disappointing, considering his stance on many issues. She does have a huge reach and speaking out on certain things can definitely make a huge difference in the world. 

“However, there is definitely a tinge of double standards and (there are) many other celebrities, with similar reach, that are doing the same thing. But since Taylor Swift is considered ‘trendy’ now, it’s no surprise the public will criticise everything she does. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. I think people put too (many) expectations on celebrities these days. At the end of the day, she is a celebrity.”

H’s sentiment was shared by another fan, Kim Lee, who thought that the close scrutiny of the media towards celebrities “can be quite harmful”.

The 22-year-old added: “I feel like the media uses (Swift’s) name as clickbait too much. Especially all the headlines about her and her current partner. I think it’s the way the media makes it seem like (it is) such a big deal that is slightly off-putting to me.”  

These fans aren’t alone in thinking that there is too much coverage on Taylor Swift. A poll conducted by Yahoo Entertainment and YouGov in October 2023 among adults in the US found that 55 per cent of respondents felt that the news media coverage surrounding the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce relationship was “too much”.

Nonetheless, Foo, H and Lee have stated that they are “not bothered” by the negative press surrounding Swift.

“...It does make me distance myself from the idea of being a ‘Swiftie’ or the idea that she is perfect, like many Swifties on the internet," H admitted.

“I think I interact with her and the music differently than most Swifties do. You can love someone and not support every single thing she does. It doesn’t necessarily make me like her less, but just more aware of the fact that she is a person who just does things sometimes.”

In any case, with Taylor Swift’s Singapore shows happening very soon and her being in town, readers here should expect to see even more Swift content in the coming days. The singer even became a national issue a few days ago after Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said that the Singapore government offered Swift millions of dollars per show in exchange for exclusivity in Southeast Asia.

The Singapore Tourism Board has since clarified that it "provided a grant" to help organisers bring the Eras tour to Singapore. However, it did not confirm nor deny if an exclusivity deal was struck. And whatever the case may be, the "Taylor Swift effect" in Singapore has been in full swing.

We asked 29-year-old executive Mira Choi, a Swiftie since her teen years, about her thoughts on this claim of exclusivity. Choi said: “If it’s true, then I guess it is smart of Singapore to take advantage of a pop sensation and use it to their benefit since this will significantly boost tourism.”

Whether you're a player or a hater, it's clear that Taylor Swift will continue being a media fixture for the foreseeable future. Ultimately, we have the power to choose the content we consume. So instead of asking "Is it over now?", it might do us good to just shake it off and enjoy the lavender haze without any bad blood.