I swear Taylor Swift is following me. I turn on the TV and she is frolicking like a high school cheerleader in a Kansas City Chiefs luxury suite.
I change the channel and she pops up in a Capital One commercial, in not one image, but 10, all posing in an elevator.
I open my Internet news feed and she has been named Time’s Person of the Year, succeeding Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Their biggest difference? She is a billionaire with more hit records.
There is no escaping Taylor these days. I should have taken note 15 years ago when I turned my fifth-graders loose for 15 minutes on a series of math problems. The deal was simple – they worked quietly in pairs, talking was limited to problem-solving strategies, and I turned on the radio unless they got chirpy. They were learning math and how to earn privileges.
Soon, I heard some a couple of students humming. Then I heard whispers. Moments later, they whispering in cadence, singing softly with Taylor Swift.
Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone
I’ll be waiting, all there’s left to do is run
You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess
It’s a love story, baby, just say, “Yes”
Like most of the world, I had no idea whom this singer was, but the students sure knew her. As a 14-year-old from West Reading, Pa., Swift and her family moved to Nashville, where Taylor signed a record deal. By the time my students were humming along, she had issued her second album at age 17.
Her ascent to stardom resembled a jet. She left vapor trails everywhere. The hits piled up as fast as the Grammy Awards. Who wouldn’t recognize “Mean,’’ “I Knew You Were Trouble,’’ “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’’ and “Shake it Off.’’ I know my former students knew all the lyrics.
Her year-long tour that ended in 2012 grossed $123 million followed two years later by another tour that raked in $150 million. Kindergarten students could do the math:
1 tour + 1 tour = $273 million.
I used to think the Kansas City Chiefs, already loathed for their miraculous overtime playoff win over my beloved Buffalo Bills in the last 13 seconds, were overexposed after two recent Super Bowl victories. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes pitched insurance. Coach Andy Reid hawked candy bars. Tight end Travis Kelce sold soup.
That exposure rose to a stratospheric level this year during her lucrative Eras Tour when Swift was spotted at a Chiefs game. Swift and Kelce became the new “it’’ couple. The supermarket gossip rags graduated from “Bennifer’’ and “Brangelina’’ to “Traylor.’’
Kelce, whose net worth is estimated at $30 million, wasn’t merely doing “two things at once’’ for Pfizer; he was pushing Lowe’s, DirecTV, State Farm and Campbell’s Soup.
But Taylor topped that easily. She was the most streamed artist this year (26.1 billion), which added another $80 million to her bottom line. Forbes estimated the 33-year-old to be worth $1.1 billion. Only Bruce Springsteen is estimated to have topped $1 billion in net worth.
Just when I thought I had seen it all, I was informed that Swifties can shop at an Etsy site. Gulp.
Then I wandered through a bookstore during Christmas shopping. I counted 11 magazine covers displaying her image. Within a day, Time magazine made it a flirty dozen.
I conferred with my editor of 39 years and suggested we too needed a catchy celebrity couple’s nickname. Maybe it would boost our bottom line.
I thought of Holleran and Dannemiller, turned to my spouse, and offered “Hollermiller.’’
All I received was an eyeroll.
So I mildly protested. “Darling, I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream.’’
Deadpanned Herself: “The only thing you got right was nightmare.’’
Morristown native Jim Holleran is a retired teacher and sports editor from Rochester. Reach him at jimholleran29@gmail.com or view past columns under “Reflections of River Rat’’ at https://hollerangetsitw rite.com/blog/
Holleran Gets It Write 