2023 was “the year of Taylor Swift” with the start of her tour The Eras, his new status as a billionaire and his title of Spotify and Apple Music artist of the year. The year 2024 promises to be just as important for the artist’s career, and not just on the music scene.
Saturday afternoon, 3 p.m. Dozens of people line up outside Cabaret Mado to see celebrity impersonator Jimmy Moore, who has been performing the tour for several months The Eras, Taylor Swift’s new show. A production that lasts more than three hours.
The room is full and the spectators, swifties of all ages, exchange friendship bracelets like during a real performance. “They are created from marbles with letters written on them. We write, for example, “Taylor Swift” or lyrics from her songs and we will add little colored pearls,” explains Emma Thibault, swiftie responsible for and responsible for the Taylor Swift Quebec Facebook and Instagram pages, which have thousands of members.
Jimmy Moore enters the stage wearing a near-exact reproduction of one of Taylor Swift’s multiple costumes. When the music begins, the audience begins to sing each of the lyrics. “There is no show I do that compares to this,” says Jimmy Moore, met on the sidelines of the event. In more than 25 years, he has impersonated several stars, including Madonna, Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson, but the success of his tribute to Taylor Swift is unprecedented. “It’s a hysterical, joyful and then singing audience. […] It’s an experience that literally surpasses me. There is nothing but pure happiness in this show,” he says.
The Taylor Swift effect
Jimmy Moore had no idea that his show would attract so many fans. “We’re at Cabaret Mado on a Saturday afternoon, 3 p.m. There are 230 people who come to see me. It’s still quite extraordinary,” he admits. The recipe for her success: Taylor Swift.
“It feeds the machine, and the swifties feel very close to her,” explains musicologist and director of the UQAM Music Department, Danick Trottier. It is therefore not surprising that his most ardent admirers consume his music, his concerts, his film, his documentary and attend several events associated with him.
Every month, those responsible for the Taylor Swift Québec Facebook and Instagram pages organize and participate in dances, karaoke evenings and even picnics. “Taylor is a real part of our daily lives. Concretely, it’s every day, every hour, I would even say almost every 30 minutes,” explains Marie-Anne De Champlain, one of the managers.
But what makes her such a “special” artist? “It is certainly Taylor Swift who is the most representative artist of the 21st century in terms of musical talent, who blossoms in popular music and who goes so far,” says Mr. Trottier. According to the musicologist, Swift is also part of the current pop trend. “We noticed it in the last Grammy ceremony, in February 2024. Pop is very, very, very feminine at the moment. Taylor Swift is part of this major trend of women who assert themselves as singer-songwriters […] and who take popular music elsewhere. »
“Swiftonomy”
Beyond fans, Taylor Swift’s visit to a city also pleases politicians. Before she announced dates for Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau implored her on X to stop in the country. “I know places in Canada that would love to have you. So don’t make us live through another cruel summer [en référence à sa chanson Cruel Summer]. We hope to see you soon,” we could read on the platform.
This is because when Taylor Swift arrives, the local economic benefits are immense. Experts have called this phenomenon “swiftonomy” (“swiftonomy”). swiftonomics » in English), in reference to the concept of “rockonomy” developed by the famous American economist Alan Krueger. The polling firm QuestionPro estimated the expenses of a swiftie made as part of a show by his idol, for the purchase of the ticket, but also for the hotel room and meals at the restaurant.
“For his show in Foxborough, I paid $1,400 for my ticket, for one ticket, and I would be willing to go even more [haut], maybe $2,000,” admits Marie-Anne De Champlain. On the resale site StubHub, its tickets for the Toronto and Vancouver performances are currently selling for between $1,500 and $14,500. Moreover, his tour The Eraswhich includes 151 dates around the world, will boost the U.S. economy by $5.7 billion, according to the magazine’s estimates Timewho named her personality of the year.
Undeniable power
Its influence particularly resonates across the border, in the run-up to the American elections in November. “Taylor Swift posted on her Instagram account [en septembre dernier]which is followed by millions of people, a call to register to be on the electoral lists. […] And it is said that the day she posted her publication, there were 35,000 people who registered on the electoral lists, which is a record,” notes Valérie Beaudoin, associate researcher at the Observatory on the United States. of the Raoul-Dandurand Chair.
It is only since 2018 that the singer has spoken out on American politics. At the time, she urged residents of Tennessee, the state where she was born, to vote Democratic in the midterm elections to prevent Republican Marsha Blackburn from winning. She wanted to avoid a decline in the rights of LGBTQ+ people and the right to abortion. Marsha Blackburn was finally elected, but that didn’t stop the artist from publicly indicating her support for Joe Biden.
And this year, it particularly bothers people on the American right. “A commentator named Jesse Watters said on air: ‘I wonder if Taylor Swift is an agent of the US government.’ He even interviewed a former FBI agent to comment on the case. He was trying to find out if, for several years, she was an agent who was being prepared so that she could possibly influence the vote,” says Valérie Beaudoin.
But can it really influence the 2024 elections? According to the researcher, it is possible, although it is difficult to analyze the question directly. “With the issue of abortion being brought up to date, LGBTQ+ rights being violated in several southern states of the United States, conservative states… Will Taylor Swift decide to go further? and to raise awareness among its fans [sur ces thèmes] ? We must also not forget that Taylor Swift’s base is mainly young millennials who are of voting age. »
If Taylor Swift’s influence is undeniable, the megastar also receives her share of criticism. Some commentators denounce in particular her ecological footprint and her songs which position her as a victim in her love stories. “When you are at the top, you are checked at all levels,” says Danick Trottier. We watch your every move, we analyze, we weigh everything you say, everything you do. » But according to the musicologist, we haven’t heard the last of her. “She reinvents herself, so perhaps that, too, is Taylor Swift’s recipe for success,” he concludes.
The Jimmy Moore show is presented at Cabaret Mado on March 23, March 28 and April 13.