Taylor Swift Lent Her Music to a Political Ad for the First Time
Jamie McCarthy, Getty Images
Gone are the days when Taylor Swift stays mum about her political beliefs. As she explained in her documentary, Miss Americana, she was told by her publicity team to stay silent when it came to talking politics, or else risk the same scourge The Chicks faced back in the early 2000s. Now, Swift realizes choosing a side is important if we want to work toward a better future, and she lent her song "Only the Young" to a political campaign for the first time ever.
Swift wrote and released "Only the Young" as an anthem about the power the next generation holds in January 2020. Now, it plays in the background of an ad released by Representative Eric Swalwell of California, who ran for president in the 2020 primaries as a Democrat.
"Up there's the finish line," Swalwell captioned the ad, posted to his Twitter. "Our future is worth our fight. Thank you, @taylorswift13, for voicing what #OnlyTheYoung can do."
Up there's the finish line.
Our future is worth our fight.
Thank you, @taylorswift13, for voicing what #OnlyTheYoung can do. Let’s run! pic.twitter.com/q4EAJwwzqG— Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) October 30, 2020
The ad encourages the eligible voting youths of America to head to the polls for 2020 election prior to and on Election Day to vote blue in order to better their future. And according to Swalwell's campaign, this is the first time Swift has licensed her music to be used in a political ad.
Per CNN, Swalwell himself considers "Only the Young" "an anthem for 2020 and a call to action for the youth vote."
Taylor Swift has 87.3 million followers on Twitter - the exact same number as Trump.
This is the first campaign ad she has ever given permission to use her music.#onlytheyoung
pic.twitter.com/6TohIvM5Mz— The Hoarse Whisperer (@TheRealHoarse) October 30, 2020
The ad runs through images and videos from the past four years depicting the separation of migrant children and parents at the border, the Black Lives Matter protests precipitated by George Floyd's death at the hands of police, and the Women's Marches, held in protest for giving women the right to control their own bodies. At the end of the video, a series of hashtags for movements scroll across the screen, including #ClimateChangeIsReal, #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter, #EndGunViolence, and more, ending with #Vote.
These are all issues that will hopefully motivate the next generation to use their vote to stand up for what is right, Swalwell says. "They've marched for years on these issues," Swalwell told CNN. "The song calls on people to run, and essentially run to the polls."
If you haven't voted already, do so ASAP. And march to polls or ballot dropbox with Swift's "Only the Young" playing on repeat.
