Evolution of Taylor Swift and ABBA

 
Taylor Swift- the innocent girl with the blonde curls turned into the woman who can't seem to keep a man, and will write a song about him once they breakup. While only 29 years old she has managed to create and maintain her image in the public eye since she was a teen, and she released self titled debut album. For her, there was no going back after that. Her career has only gone up (some may argue) from there. Although, the girl who released catchy country songs in the early 2000's has drifted away from her roots. Taylor has transitioned now to a more "pop" look, and with her new album, has released some darker tunes as well, per "look what you made me do". The way she has managed to stay relevant, even during tumultuous times, is quite impressive. She has even shifted her style to appeal to the masses, a technique that also keeps her relevant, I believe. It is almost as if Taylor herself grew up alongside her fans. She started off as a young girl singing catchy country tunes, and she's not a woman singing somewhat darker pop tunes, still about love. She sings about a relatable subject for many people, and now sings about it in a way that her original fans can still connect with. Aside from her genre change, the way she makes music has also changed. She originally started off making music on her guitar, keeping it relatively simple. She has incorporated more technology into her music, so much so that to me, I don't really think some songs can be sung live at concerts due to the level of technology used. In "look what you made me do", she uses a dial tone, alters her voice to make it sound like she's on the phone, and brings her voice to a high pitch that she hasn't done before. I think it is am amazing feat that she is still relevant years after she started in this industry. Her career has never tanked, or even looked like it would. The way she has adapted the music she creates to the world around her is a big reason her relevancy remains.
To connect this with ABBA- despite being big in the 1970's they are another prime example of remaining relevant. Just look at Mamma Mia. Two movies written based off of songs. Much to my disbelief I always thought that the songs came after the movie, but was surprised to find it to be the exact opposite. Their catchy tunes have stood the test of time, and honestly with the Mamma Mia brand, will likely be around for a good time longer. Even in the 70's they managed to incorporate some modern aspects into their music. They used digitized beats, and still incorporated actual instruments. Also, visually their outfits were way before their time- some would have been perfect for the MET Gala this year.
I think Taylor Swift and ABBA are two prime examples of being timeless, but also changing with the time. Relevancy is all the rage these days- if people aren't talking about you then you're really a nobody.