Here's why Nashville still roots for Taylor Swift, even though #Reputation is a far cry from country

https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/heres-why-nashville-still-roots-for-taylor-swift-even-though-reputation-is-a-far-cry-from-country.1324662/

"I think [Nashville] realizes that country music just couldn't hold her,” says Neil Pond, former editorial director at the now-defunct Country Weekly magazine and current managing editor at Parade Magazine. “The country part of it was great, but she's got a lot of music and textures to explore and experiment with."

There are several reasons Nashville is still rooting for Swift, starting with the way she navigated her move from country to pop: 2012’s Red served as a transition album, with sounds ranging from country to pop and even dubstep, such that by the time 2014’s 1989 arrived -- with nary a country twang to be found -- fans in Nashville and beyond already knew she was moving in a pop direction and accepted that she had evolved musically beyond any particular genre.

Beyond the music, Swift handled the transition with grace -- never dismissing her country past or indicating that she has used the country genre as a gateway to pop. She also continued to keep a hand in country, most recently via “Better Man,” which snagged the CMA Award.

Though she could write a song for any artist in almost any genre, Swift not only wrote "Better Man" specifically for Little Big Town, but also allowed the group to release the single without initially revealing who wrote it, for fear of any backlash. Swift was in rehearsals for SNL and couldn’t attend the CMAs, but immediately tweeted “I LOVE YOU @littlebigtown and CMAs” upon the award announcement.