Damon Albarn generated a controversy with Taylor Swift and then apologized
Given Taylor's reaction via twitter, the leader of Gorillaz pointed out that everything had been a misunderstanding. The incident was even joined by the elected president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, who through the networks revealed himself as a fan of the author of "Bad Reputation".
Damon Albarn's chain came off again. In a not so distant past, the English musician was characterized not only by his anthems in the key of pop but also by his confrontational character. And on Monday afternoon he entered this déjà vu, although he realized it very late. Regarding the recital he gave yesterday at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, where he presented his latest solo album, The Nearer the Mountain, More Pure the Stream Flows, the leader of Blur offered an interview for the American newspaper Los Angeles Time on Sunday. During the note, Mikael Wood asked if he thought modern musicians rely on sound and attitude, citing Taylor Swift as an example. But the London singer-songwriter stepped on the stick, to the point that he stated that "she doesn't write her songs." Realizing the controversy that his interviewee had just ignited, the journalist refuted the assertion and said that the American artist does write and co-write her songs.
Then the equally leader of Gorillaz, a project that will return to Buenos Aires on April 30 as part of the Quilmes Rock festival, went for more by drawing a parallel between Billie Eilish and Ella Fitzgerald. "That does not count. I know what cowriting is. Cowriting is very different from writing. I'm not throwing anyone, I'm just saying that there is a big difference between a composer and a composer who co-writes”, reflected the 53-year-old musician. “That doesn't mean the result can't be really good. I mean, Ella Fitzgerald never wrote a song in her life. When she sings, I have to close my eyes and just be there. I guess I'm a traditionalist in that sense. A really interesting songwriter is Billie Eilish and her brother (Finneas). I'm more attracted to that than Taylor Swift. It's just darker, less infinitely optimistic. Much minor and strange. I think what Billie does is exceptional.”
Before that edition went to press, on Sunday night the interview appeared on the newspaper's website. Although at first it did not generate any kind of stir, the next day the author of the hit "Bad Reputation" replied to a tweet from the Los Angeles Times that highlighted Albarn's dismissal. Furthermore, she added: “Damon Albarn, I was your fan until I saw this. I write all my songs. Your hot opinion is false and quite harmful. You don't have to like my songs, but it's too bad for you to discredit what I write." As if there were no doubts about her disappointment and anger, the music, as a postscript, used that social network again with a post that read: “I wrote this entire tweet alone, in case you are asking". In the last few hours, Swift's response (whose account has almost 90 million followers) reached half a million likes and just over 100 thousand retweets.
In 2020, the Nashville band released two albums that ranked on the lists of the best albums of the year: Evermore and Folklore, especially the latter. While last year she released new versions of Fearless (2008) and Red (2012), two of her first six recordings, whose masters she lost after taking talent promoter Scott Braun to court, who had acquired. At the same time, Taylor Swift, who has been praised by the likes of Paul McCarteny, wrote songs for the likes of Miley Cyrus, Calvin Harris and legendary songwriter Andrew Lloyd Weber. She also did the soundtrack for the movie The Hunger Games. However, if we go back to 2006, her single “Our Song”, included on her self-titled debut album, made her the youngest person to single-handedly write songs. In a matter of months, the song reached number one on the chart of country music songs in his country.
After Swift's last tweet, Damon Albarn addressed her in the same way and claimed that it was all a misunderstanding. "I totally agree with you," wrote the artist who in 2021 released his first solo album in seven years. “I had a conversation about songwriting and sadly it came down to this. I apologize unreservedly and unconditionally. The last thing I want to do is discredit your songwriting. I hope you understand". The British musician resumed the controversy on Monday during his recital at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Apart from playing the songs from his latest solo album, he made songs from his group projects such as "Song 2", by Blur, which he incidentally dedicated to the journalist Mikael Wood, who asked him if he would play it, before "throwing himself into the abyss of social networks". The only thing missing to smooth things over was inviting Taylor Swift to come on stage.
Although several personalities jumped to defend the singer, the most striking support came from the least imagined place. As soon as he heard the news, the Chilean president-elect, Gabriel Boric, took advantage of Twitter to express his support as well as the rest of the "swifties" (as the artist's fans are called) of the southern nation. to Taylor Swift. In English, the president of the neighboring country wrote: “Here in Chile you have a large group of followers who know that you write your own songs from the heart. Don't take seriously guys who need to swear or lie to get attention. Hugs from the south, Taylor." At the moment, the singer-songwriter, who is not very close to social networks, did not respond. Although Albarn, when he reads it, he will undoubtedly think that in the Uruguayan capital (the city to which he dedicated a song on his new album, “The Towers of Montevideo”) they are more cool.
