Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys has slammed Taylor Swift, saying her songs cannot compete with the classic hits of superstar Michael Jackson.
Swift’s new album “The Tortured Poets Department” is already the best-selling album of the year.
She is looking to add the album to her 11 existing chart-topping albums on Friday, likely achieving the highest first-week sales she has ever experienced.
Despite the excitement surrounding the release, Tennant, 69, admits he finds Swift’s music lackluster, reports the Mirror.
He explained: “I looked at the charts today and there’s only Taylor Swift. She fascinates me as a phenomenon because she’s so popular. But then I listen to the records and think, ‘Where are the famous songs? What is Taylor Swift’s Billie Jean? ‘Shake It Off?’ I listened to that the other day and it’s not Billie Jean, is it?'”
The singer of the hit single “It’s a Sin” attributes the success of the 34-year-old Swift to the longing for a shared experience among listeners. He added: “I like the fact that it brings people together, but the only disappointing thing is the music, not the lyrics.”
Swift’s fans have to guess which songs refer to her British ex-boyfriends, actor Joe Alwyn and musician Matty Healy.
Synthpop icon Tennant has expressed concerns that the current pop scene’s obsession with personal love lives is stifling musical diversity – a stark contrast to his 1980s contemporaries such as Culture Club.
He noted, “To have a successful pop career today, you have to have a series of relationships that are great and then tragically fall apart.”
He added: “I don’t think that in the world of pop, people don’t write songs like Karma Chameleon anymore.”
The Pet Shop Boys shared their insights at a talk event in Kings Cross, central London, ahead of the release of their new album, ‘Nontheless’, scheduled for Friday.
In 2016, Tennant and Chris Lowe called Taylor Swift the “Margaret Thatcher of pop music” and explained: “She seems to be concerned with economics. There is only one topic at the moment and that is the singer.”
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