Roots, Toots n' Hoots Blog

Taylor Swift, the Grammys and that British accent

Jeffrey Remz  |  February 11, 2013

About the biggest news coming out of the last night's Grammys was Taylor Swift's ultra coveted opening performance of her gigundo hit We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.

Just what she was trying to achieve on stage wasn't all that clear. The theme was one straight out of "Alice in Wonderland" with four people on stilts, red-and-white and all white outfits predominating, dancers and, oh yeah, her band. The song provided sensory overload for viewers.

The whole thing was over the top to say the least, but Swift, who wore a white jacket, shorts and top hat, pulled it off. I mean that chorus is catchy and sticks in your head even if the overall effort left me wondering "what was it that I just saw?" (and I'm still not sure even after watching it a few more times)

That wasn't what got people wagging their tongues. Instead, it was the spoken part of the song where Swift adopted a sort of British accent. Swift said, "so he calls me up and he's like, 'I still love you,'" with the British accent on the latter.

Was Swift imitating the voice of none other than Harry Styles of British boy band One Direction? You see, the two dated for a few months (does Swift go out with anyone for much over a few months these days?) before breaking up around New Year's while vacationing in the Caribbean. The vacation was cut short by Swift, who had enough of the young (he's 19) Styles.

At the Grammys, Swift dissed her beau, "I'm too busy opening up the Grammys."

Swift's history is one of getting back at her exes in song. After all, doing so makes for good fodder, and it is something females can relate to - "guys who done me wrong" kind of credo.

At least Swift didn't adopt a fake Massachusetts accent and go after Connor Kennedy, who's about four years younger than Swift. He was her beau before she went with Styles. In fact, there's not one song I know of (yet) about Kennedy. Whew!

Somehow it's starting to a wear a tad thin if Swift in fact, purposefully faked the British accent, although if that was British accent, then Swift needs a coach to get it down far more pat. It's easy to go after these guys, of course, and Swift has every right to do what she wants. That doesn't mean it gets a bit tiring.

But doing so just plays into the tabloid games that are always rampant with Swift. Maybe some day she'll find true love.