Taylor Swift's new single was unveiled a couple of days ago and nearly melted the internet. "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" destroyed Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" digital sales record in a matter of hours and topped iTunes charts around the world. But is the song any good? There was a time when I would have trashed anything Tay Tay released but I was completely won over by the Speak Now era. The album is immaculate and her contribution to The Hunger Games soundtrack is just as impressive. Which makes her latest offering a bit of a letdown. It's a nice little break-up song but I'm disappointed that she returned to her trademark Disney princess lyrics - only this time set to synthesizers. You can thank legendary hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback for that. Taylor called on them for a more commercial sound and they certainly delivered. This is going to be an Adele-sized hit. More power to her. I just think it's a bit of a step backward after the brilliance of "Mean", "Ours" and "Safe & Sound".
"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" is also, dare I say it, inferior to Carrie Underwood's collaboration with Max Martin and Shellback. Yes, Taylor got the idea of fusing country music and Swedish pop from the American Idol winner. Queen Carrie worked with the super-producers on her 2009 album Play On and got a better song. "Quitter" is such a sublime country-pop anthem. I will never understand why the track wasn't released as a single. It stands out like a sore thumb on that album for all the right reasons. The catchy, uptempo love song has hit written all over it and would have helped Carrie crossover into the pop market. I'm sure that was the goal. It's a shame her label didn't have the courage to see the plan through. If they did, Taylor mightn't have the monopoly on country-pop like she does now. Anyway, listen to "Quitter" (below) and judge for yourself who snagged the better Max Martin/Shellback tune. Carrie gets my vote.
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