Taylor Swift And Zayn Malik Continue To Fall Down The Charts, But Things Could Change

Taylor Swift ended 2016 on a bad note. Her new single, “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever,” was expected to debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100. However, it debuted at No. 7 and dropped to No. 18 last week. This week, the 50 Shades Darker theme song has fallen four more spots to No. 22.

It’s not that the song is disliked. Entertainment Weekly gave the song a “B+.”

“And by the time she delivers her own breathy high notes on the ‘Baby, baby, I feel crazy’ pre-chorus, she proves that ‘sultry’ and ‘Taylor Swift songs’ aren’t such a foreign combination—and that you don’t go from country darling to globe conquering pop superstar without having a versatile skill set.”

However, Robbie Daw from Idolator has a mixed take on the song.

“It’s no ‘Style’ or ‘Pillowtalk,’ but I’m sure it will be drilled into our collective consciousness with millions of plays out of every available speaker over the next seven months, until ultimately we just submit. Sexy!”

Well, Daw certainly wasn’t right about the part where the song would be played out of every speaker. In fact, according to statistics on the Pulse Music Boards, the song is doing okay, but not spectacular. It is stuck at No. 12 in terms of pop airplay. It is still gaining and will likely end up in the top 10 — but that’s far from the expected success Taylor and Zayn was supposed to have with the song.

But all hope is not lost. “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” is No. 1 on iTunes as of Thursday afternoon. The song could also get another boost when the movie 50 Shades Darker is released on February 10. If the movie is a great success, it could help boost the song on the Hot 100.

However, the lack of initial success of the single shows that Taylor Swift has likely peaked. The backlash against her, which some think is unfair, really started when Swift released her video for “Wildest Dreams,” which the Huffington Post criticized as bringing back white colonialism. However, the real backlash occurred after Swift declared she was unhappy with the use of her name in Kanye West’s song “Famous.” Unfortunately, a tape was released where Swift appeared to give Kanye approval of using her name.

The media went in on Swift, called her a hypocrite, and even made the conflict racial. A feminist site Wear Your Voice even went as far as to refer to Taylor as “that b***h that lives for white feminism.” However, Taylor’s response also earned a little bit of praise.

Swift has been trying her best to improve her image. According to CNN, Taylor Swift was seen surprising a World War II veteran over the holidays.

“Taylor Swift met a unique fan of hers over the Christmas holiday. The singer surprised Cyrus Porter, a 96-year-old World War II veteran, at his Missouri home on Monday. The moment Swift walked through the door, his family erupted into screams and tears.”

The article adds that the megastar posed for pictures and even did an acoustic rendition of her hit “Shake It Off.” Swift’s visit got a lot of notice from the media, but several on Twitter accused Swift’s visit of being nothing more than a publicity stunt. It seems like Taylor Swift has hit the stage in her career where she really can’t do anything without people accusing her of having ulterior motives.

Are you a fan of Taylor Swift? If so, do you think Swift can make a comeback in 2017? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section.

[Featured Image by Matthias Nareyek/Getty Images]