Taylor Swift Needs to Grow Up

Taylor Swift turned 22 yesterday, but she still doesn't seem much like an adult, writes Willa Paskin in New York. Despite the fact that Swift always says the right things, acts the right way, and has so far not had a meltdown like so many of her famous peers, she's just a bit too precocious for her own good. It makes sense, of course; "This is the person who emerged at 15, writing the kind of perfectly crafted pop songs people four times her age would be proud of," Paskin notes. But the precociousness extends beyond her music, and it's getting annoying.

Journalists can never get Swift to say even one inappropriate thing in an interview, and her presentation is "unnerving," Paskin writes. "Saying exactly the appropriate, mature thing doesn't make one an adult: it just means one is good at mimicking adults. At 22, Taylor Swift still seems like she's faking it." Her "infamous surprise face," used at every awards show, is the perfect example of this. Meant to come off as humble, it actually seems "disingenuous" because—after more than 60 awards—"it is getting difficult to believe it's a shock." If she doesn't find a way to acknowledge her own specialness, her songs "may start to seem as bogus and immature as her surprise face." (More Taylor Swift stories.)