cheek by jowl
Red vs. R.E.D.: Taylor Swift and Ne-Yo Have a Lot in Common
Last month, a little album called Red was released into the world and promptly sold 1.2 million albums, making Taylor Swift your 2012 Pop Music Champion. This week, in what surely cannot be a case of poor promotional timing, another album named R.E.D. hit the shelves. Ne-Yo's version is technically an acronym — it stands for "Realizing Every Dream" — but the two titles are not a coincidence. Red is a statement color; Red means the same thing to both Taylor and Ne-Yo, and their albums share more than you might expect. Look, we made a chart to prove it.
Taylor Swift |
 Ne-Yo |
|
|---|---|---|
| What is the album's title again? | Red | R.E.D. |
| Got it. What is that color supposed to represent? | The artist's intense commitment to being in love (and also maybe synesthesia). | The artist's intense commitment to making love (and also making dreams a reality, etc.) |
| Is the artist singing to anyone in particular? | Her exes, for the most part. | His exes and soon-to-be-exes. |
| Does he or she have any regrets? | Oh god, so many. She wishes she had known better; she wishes she'd worn high heels; she wishes Jake would just return her scarf already. | He wishes he hadn't spent 40K in the club that one time. (He's also a little bummed about a couple break-ups.) |
| But was all that the artist's fault, or the ex's fault? | Yeah, definitely Jake Gyllenhaal's fault. | From "She Is": "Ask me who's responsible for this, she is." And from "Forever Now" : "Everything you said we would be / all the things you said we'd do." Her fault! |
| How is he or she dealing with the pain? | By going on coffee dates with other dudes. | By going to the bedroom with other ladies. |
| Is there a country influence? | Yes. (Though less than you'd expect, coming from Swift.) | Why yes, there actually is (in the form of a duet with Tim McGraw.) |
| How about sex? Any sex on this album? | Do you count the lines "I'll do anything you say / if you say it with your hands" ? Then yes. | Uh, yeah. |
| Tell me about their beverage choices. | Maple lattes. | Chardonnay. |
| Do people use their phones responsibly? | No. Lots of post-break-up calls. | No. (The woman in "Carry On" keeps calling and calling.) | But will our heroes give up on love? | Never! (Ever!) See: "Begin Again." | Never! See: the slowjam half of this album. |
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