It Seems Like Everyone Hates Taylor Swift’s New Songs, So Why Are They Still So Popular?

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Can I confess something that might make me instantly suspect as a music critic? I really don’t mind Taylor Swift’s “ Wood .” I actually … kinda like it.

The most maligned album cut from Swift’s fall 2025 blockbuster The Life of a Showgirl , “Wood” is very obviously about her then-fiancé, now-husband Travis Kelce, more specifically his, uh, manhood. Given its lyrics about how “his love was the key that opened my thighs,” critics were quick to pounce on “Wood” as the low point of Showgirl , the epitome of ick. Slate’s own Carl Wilson called it “ the cringiest ,” and Katherine St. Asaph, writing for the Singles Jukebox, regards “Wood” as the low point of Swift’s whole career, the “ floor for her musical output .” But … it must be said the song is also a banger, a Motown-slash-disco homage teeming with musical allusions to everything from the Jackson 5’s superlative “ I Want You Back ” to Amii Stewart’s electro version of “ Knock on Wood ” to Naughty by Nature’s breezy hand-waver “ Jamboree .” I don’t know about you, but after decades of ingesting pop hits with groan - worthy , squicky , and unquestionably racy lyrics, when I encounter “Wood” in the wild I mostly let the lyrics sail over my head and just tap my foot.

Why do I bring up “Wood,” which wasn’t even an officially promoted single from The Life of a Showgirl ? Because despite all the carping, it was kind of a hit anyway. It peaked at No. 5 in its opening week —higher than seven other songs from the LP, including the Sabrina Carpenter duet—and wound up spending about two months on the Hot 100. I remain convinced it could’ve caught on for real if promoted to radio. (Who knows—maybe one day, like “ Cruel Summer ,” it will be.) Given the reality distortion field that is Taylor Swift’s career, basically anything she releases these days is going to have a shot at No. 1: moody therapy sessions , a quirky Shakespeare metaphor , a modern girl-group homage , a soundtrack song about Jessie and Woody . Why not a song about her hubby’s woody? Ultimately, it’s the pop hooks that make a hit.

In short, the critics and the more cynical factions of the Swiftie army may have strong opinions about her output these days, but the marketplace keeps saying we aren’t done with Taylor. As if proving my point, Swift has another earworm at No. 1 right now that the commentariat loves to hate . One year after The Life of a Showgirl and its singles crash-landed on the charts, she returns with a batch of bonus tracks, branded as a Showgirl addendum and cowritten and produced by her 1989 and Showgirl brain trust of Max Martin and Shellback. And the first of those tracks shot to No. 1, even though the whole project has been widely panned, or at least widely meh’d . Like “Wood,” the lyrics of its leadoff track have taken a beating among critics and the very online. ( The title, deservedly .) And yet, I must confess I find the song quite infectious. It not only evicted Ella Langley’s record-breaking “Choosin’ Texas” from the penthouse, it’s held there for a fortnight and counting.