Shadowing Practice: Chatterbox #311 – The Taylor Swift effect - Learn English Speaking with Video

Hello, everyone.

My name is Andrew.

And my name is Anna.

And you're listening to the Q-Lips English podcast.

Hello, everybody.

Welcome back to Q-Lips.

This is Chatterbox, which is the Q-Lips series designed for intermediate and advanced English learners.

And here in Chatterbox, we present natural,

unscripted conversations about a wide range of fascinating topics or current events or trending issues.

And I guess today, Anna, we have a little bit of everything.

It's like an interesting topic.

It's a current event.

It's a trending issue all rolled into one.

And yeah, everyone, I'm talking to my co-host, Anna, here.

Hi, Anna.

How's it going?

Hi, Andrew.

I'm great.

How are you?

I'm good.

Anna, what are we talking about? in this episode.

Well, that was a lovely introduction, Andrew.

And today we're going to be talking about the Taylor Swift effect

and the huge impact that celebrities and influencers can have in our societies.

Exactly.

And I'm a little bit of a closeted Taylor Swift fan.

I'm a fan, but I'm not really too loud about it.

I don't tell too many people, but I am a Taylor Swift fan, so I have to say that I'm looking forward to this episode.

But before we kick things off, I want to remind all of our listeners that a transcript

and study guide for this episode are available to all Qloops members.

And using the study guide while you listen is an excellent way to improve your learning experience with us.

By becoming a Qloops member, you'll not only get access to our wonderful learning materials,

but you'll also help us to continue to be able to create English lessons for people all around the world.

And when you're a member, you'll also get tons of other bonuses and perks, such as ad-free audio, access to our member-only series,

the fluency files, invitations to our monthly member live streams, access to our member-only channel on Discord, and so much more.

The list goes on and on.

So sign up and become a member by visiting our website, QLips.com.

Lastly, we wanted to give a shout out to our listener Sophia from Armenia, who left us a lovely comment and a five-star review on Apple Podcasts.

Sophia wrote, It's already been several months that I've been listening to QLips and I feel like I'm addicted to it.

I can listen to the same episodes twice because I like the way it's introduced to the listeners.

Recently, my daughter, who is 10 years old, has also joined me and even asked to turn it on for her every so often.

Thanks for the great opportunity to enjoy myself and learn English at the same time.

Well, thank you to you, Sophia, for that wonderful review.

We really appreciate it.

Yeah, thank you, Sophia.

And I love that.

Hannah, this is not the first time that I've heard that Qloops listeners listen as a family.

There are actually many families out there where the kids and the parents all listen together and all learn English together.

So that's not something that I really expected would happen.

I didn't think kids would like Q-lips too much, but I guess, yeah, some even younger folk like Q-lips.

And maybe this episode today, Anna, will kind of skew towards that demographic.

I think Taylor Swift herself has many, many young fans, but really she's so popular that she has fans from all demographics.

And that's really one of the reasons why there is this thing called the Taylor Swift effect.

And so that's what we're going to talk about here.

And why don't we just jump in and get started?

Maybe with a definition, I think we should really clearly explain what we mean by the Taylor Swift effect.

And also maybe we should explain who Taylor Swift is.

It's possible that some listeners out there who maybe are living under a rock don't know who she is.

But Taylor Swift, of course, is the American singer, songwriter, and pop star.

She's huge.

She's the most streamed female artist on Spotify.

And she has one of the highest grossing tours of all time.

And highest grossing means made the most money.

So she's made a ton of money by selling tickets for her tour, one of the most famous concert tours ever.

And when we talk about the Taylor Swift effect then,

we're referring to her huge impact on her fans and the ripple effect that this causes with behavior and consumerism.

Yeah, that's right, Andrew.

And it's really her special ability to create this community that acts in harmony and collectively makes decisions,

decisions that actually end up having a huge effect on the economy.

Like you mentioned, Andrew there, her recent tour, which there's loads of statistics about how it had a really big impact on the economy.

So I think lots of people are happy that she's going on tour, lots of businesses, but it's really this community that's so fascinating.

By the way, Anna, do you know what Taylor Swift fans are called?

They have a nickname. Of course.

An irrelevant question.

Of course, I know what they're called.

They're called Swifties.

Swifties.

And are you a Swifty, Anna?

I am.

I wouldn't say I'm the sort of person that's going to go to a concert, but I am a Swifty, but I'm not a concert Swifty.

What about you, Andrew?

Yeah, like I said at the top of the show, I'm a fan.

And I don't know if I would go to a concert or not.

Right now, we're recording in late October of 2023.

And as far as I know, she has a world tour coming up soon.

And some of my students told me that she's not coming to Seoul.

So Sol has been snubbed on the world tour.

So I won't have an opportunity to see her.

But yeah, I don't think I'm that level of fan.

I'm not that big of a Swifty where I'd go to a concert.

So I guess we're kind of similar in that way, Anna.

Anyway, so why don't we check out a recent example of the Taylor Swift effect.

And so probably many of our listeners have heard this story already because it's been all over the place in the media.

But recently, Taylor attended an American football game by the team, the Kansas City Chiefs.

They play in the NFL, the National Football League, which I don't have the exact statistic in front of me,

but just my gut feeling tells me that is the most popular sport in the USA.

For many people, football is life.

It is like a religion almost in the States.

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So extremely, extremely popular game and sports.

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And she went to that football game to see the Kansas City Chiefs to support her new boyfriend, who is a player on that team.

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And I don't watch football, so I don't know.

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But from what I've read online, I heard that he's a really great player.

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He's a superstar.

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And his name is Travis Kelsey.

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Right.

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And it was crazy because this completely blew up everywhere.

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There are a couple of images of her at the game.

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And there was specifically one video of her walking with Kelsey afterwards.

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It went crazy.

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It was everywhere.

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And one of the results of that was that there was a 400% spike in Kelsey's jersey sales, 400%.

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And not just

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that, it actually led to the highest rated NFL game of the week among female viewers aged around 12 to 49.

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and this was all reported by Fox Sports.

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But can you imagine a 400% spike just because she was there and she attracted her fans, her young age group fans or female fans?

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I mean, I'm sure she probably can't believe that it had that effect as well.

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Yeah, it's pretty wild because she wasn't wearing a jersey to the game

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and she didn't tell her fans to support her boyfriend by buying his jersey.

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It was just a natural side effect of her attending the game.

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So that is pretty wild.

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And that just goes to show how strong the Taylor Swift effect is.

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And also, so many, like you said, female viewers tuned in.

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And I heard this was a real problem that the NFL was facing, is that it couldn't really attract women to watch the games.

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So many guys love it.

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And like I said earlier, it's like a religion.

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A lot of football games happen on Sundays.

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And Sunday is like going to the church of football.

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It's like a huge event.

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You have your buddies over, you watch the game.

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It's like this all-day thing.

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But a lot of women don't tune in.

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And so the NFL was faced with this crisis.

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How can we attract women to become interested in watching the NFL?

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And then suddenly Taylor Swift goes to this game, and then the ratings shoot up.

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And so many women tuned in to watch the game and there was some debate, like, are they watching because of the sport or are they watching just to see Taylor?

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Because, you know, whenever there was a break in the action, the TV cameras would pan to Taylor and show her on the TV.

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So yeah, sports commentators weren't really sure.

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Is this because of an interest in football or an interest in Taylor?

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But at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter.

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I guess for the NFL, they're happy.

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They have more eyeballs watching their games.

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Absolutely.

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And so all of these things, that's kind of what we mean when we say the Taylor Swift effect.

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But it's not just limited to things like the NFL.

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There's also other areas and fashion,

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for example, music, she really has this effect where everything she does has a really positive effect

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or attracts so many people or attracts so much attention.

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So everyone then to sum up what we're meaning here when we say the Taylor Swift effect, it's about her ability to inspire her fans,

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the Swifties, who then go on to inspire their friends and their connections.

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And this reverberates throughout society.

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Exactly.

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And then Taylor Swift is almost like the spark that sets a chain reaction in motion, influencing people who then in turn influence other people.

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And it's all really about this power of the community and how it resonates with many people.

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Anna, do you have any other examples of the Taylor Swift effect?

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Have you heard or seen any others while, you know, surfing the nets or talking with your friends or anything like that?

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Well, her most recent tour, which was the Ears tour, which is what we were talking about before, she did her American tour and then she's coming to Europe.

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So I know people are going crazy and they were trying to get tickets

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and these tickets were selling out the minute that they were going on there.

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And in the opening week of her Era's Tour movie,

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the film made $95 to $97 million at the domestic box office.

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So there's just so much demand for people to watch things by her, to hear her music, to see the films.

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And even the New Balance sneakers, I don't know if you heard about that one, Andrew.

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yeah so what i heard anna is

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that she wore a pair of new balance sneakers

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which i actually like new sneakers so i wear them also

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but not because of taylor swift at least i don't think

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because of taylor swift

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but maybe it's like this chain reaction maybe i'm like the last link in the chain who is buying them

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because of taylor swift who knows but anyways so taylor wore a pair of New Balance 550s to the game.

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And then after like the next week following that game,

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it was reported that there was a 25% jump in revenue for the sales of

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that specific sneaker and also units of that sneaker sold by 22%.

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So that's just crazy.

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I don't even think she's sponsored by them or anything, right?

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But New Balance must be really thankful that they got that indirect endorsement from her.

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Absolutely.

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And it's interesting because as far as I know, Taylor Swift doesn't do many commercial collaborations as far as I remember.

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But I mean, many people talk about her and they say that she's the pop star of a generation.

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There's something different about her and the way that she is, the way that she holds herself to be this type of superstar.

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I wonder, Andrew, why do you think Taylor Swift has such a significant influence on the music industry?

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Because there's many other singers out there, but there's not many people that are like Taylor Swift.

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Okay, Anna, we're going to test our Taylor Swift knowledge here.

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Okay.

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And please correct me if I'm wrong.

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But I think as far as I know, Taylor got her start at maybe on like a reality show or something?

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Or like, how did she first start?

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Initially, she wasn't really a pop star, right?

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She's like a singer-songwriter doing country-style music.

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And I think that's how she debuted, right?

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So she's got like very humble origins.

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It's not like she was just selected by a record company and then groomed to be a pop star.

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She's got this sort of, yeah, grassroots roots beginning, right?

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So I think a lot of people sort of look at her and think that she's like a regular everyday person, not this superstar.

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So I think just because of the way that she started her career, maybe that makes her more relatable than some other stars.

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And then also just the way that she lives her life.

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You know, she's very honest in her lyrics, talking about her personal life, talking about not just positive things, but like a lot of breakups, right?

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She's kind of famous for having so many relationships and breakups, but that's another thing that she doesn't really hide.

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She's very honest about who she is and the way that she lives her life.

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So I think that's maybe what makes her unique and probably what people can relate to.

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Yeah, I think you touched on something really important there, which is there's a phrase that we have in English, which is the girl next door.

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And Taylor kind of is like that.

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She kind of seems like somebody you grew up with, but you lost touch with.

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And now she's a superstar.

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like you kind of think

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that you'd be able to meet her have a coffee with her

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and it would be fine she's approachable she's relatable you just feel like you know her

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when you don't know her at all obviously but the way

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that she relates to people and like you said in her lyrics it's

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so human I think that's one of the things for me

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and you're right she did start at 17 around 17 16

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and she was initially a country singer and country music is really based around storytelling so I think

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from those beginnings she kind of transitioned then she released an

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album called 1989 she kind of reinvented herself a bit there

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and went in a slightly different direction

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and I think that's a common theme with other artists

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that are able to kind of reinvent themselves

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but still keep the essence of like who they are as a as an artist like Madonna for example

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or maybe Rihanna like there's these few singers superstars that are able to do that like reinvent themselves but not lose that.

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And for me, it's the way she holds herself.

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Artists are different and they move differently, if that makes sense.

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And she just holds herself in a way that I have a lot of respect for.

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She's obviously an extremely hard worker.

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I'm sure she has a huge team.

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There's no denying that these big stars have a huge number of people behind them, but she will be driving that.

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So I'm sure she's an extremely, extremely hard worker.

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And I don't know, she just comes across with somebody who has a lot of respect for herself and what she does.

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And recently she decided to re-record her masters.

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The masters are like the original copy of your song because they were sold to an investment company.

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It's quite a long story, but so I feel like she's an artist and she's a performer and she's a businesswoman.

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I mean, she's just so many different things, but for me, the key is like her lyrics, what she writes about.

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It's like those things that you've always thought, but you've never had the words to describe it.

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And she just describes it in a song and it's so catchy and you can't stop listening to it.

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I think that's one of the reasons why I do like Taylor Swift.

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And maybe if she was this kind of pop star that was created by a record company, and it wasn't really an authentic person,

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then I probably wouldn't like her that much.

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But I remember I watched a documentary about Taylor Swift and apologies listeners, I can't remember the name, but I'm sure you can find it on Netflix easily because that's where I found it.

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It was like a documentary and it showed her in the studio a lot.

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And as a musician myself, I always love watching studio footage and watching people work in the studio and write songs.

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And I was impressed by just how much she was a part of the songwriting process.

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Like, of course, she has this huge team of songwriters and, you know, they need to make hits like she's a business, right?

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They need to come out with super catchy songs so that she can stay relevant.

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But it wasn't like she was doing nothing.

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She was a huge part of the songwriting process, coming up with the lyrics on her own, writing some songs on the piano and the guitar as well.

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And it was a real collaboration with her songwriting team.

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And so to me, that's really impressive.

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And that's one of the reasons that I like her is because she's a genuine artist.

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She's not just this like manufactured pop star.

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Oh, absolutely.

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She is an artist.

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She is a musician.

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She's a talented songwriter.

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I guess it's like the combination of all of the factors that don't come along very often, but they have for her.

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And I think with the fans, like if you look at fans for different things like actors or maybe sports stars, but I think fans go crazy for musicians.

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There's just something about music that people connect to on a different level than like a sports person or a film.

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I would say in general, I don't know if you agree with me, but I feel like people really love music artists, singers, and they just go crazy for them.

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You know, you see these videos of people at the concerts, they're jumping around.

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And I think it's just

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because all those people there feel like they know Taylor on some level because of the songs that she writes.

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The funny thing is, maybe she's a little bit like Ed Sheeran, because I've heard Ed Sheeran talk about his songs.

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And he's like, oh, yeah, I wrote it in like three minutes.

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and you think how is that possible like how did you write something

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so clever and like simple but simple sometimes the hardest thing to do

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but you know I feel like she's one of those people

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who's like oh yeah I just you know I wrote it

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in like five minutes you know one of her most famous

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songs like blank space you're like oh yeah I just wrote

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that in like three minutes I find that really amazing

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and really really admirable I think she's an admirable person and she's obviously worked extremely hard.

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And it's tough to be in the spotlight like that, you know, because being like that in the spotlight comes with a lot of pressure and, you know, responsibility.

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So I'm sure that she feels that way too.

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So I have a lot of respect for people that are in

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that position because I'm sure that it's not easy at all.

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Yeah, that's a really interesting point about musicians being the most admired more so than sports stars or movie stars.

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I wonder why that is, but I tend to agree with you.

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I wonder if it's because we can listen to a song over and over and over again, but it's pretty hard to do that with a movie or a clip of a sporting event or something.

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I wonder if that has something to do with it.

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I think it's to do with the fact that a song can just hit you at an emotional level, like something that you're going through or something that you feel.

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It's like raw.

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It's more visceral.

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I don't know.

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There's just something about a song

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that just hits us in a different way than a sports game or a movie or whatever.

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And I think that's why fans, all these Swifties and, you know, Rihanna's got her Navy.

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Is that what they're called?

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Rihanna's the Navy?

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I didn't know that.

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Yeah, the Navy and Lady Gaga, for example, they kind of have a following because there's just something about music, I think, that connects in just a different way, in my opinion, anyway.

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Yeah, that's really interesting.

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So Anna, I wanted to shift the focus here just a little bit to ask you about the role

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that the media plays in the Taylor Swift effect, because obviously it's not just Taylor that has a part to play, right?

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Also, the media is involved, the fans are involved, there's a lot of moving parts.

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So what's your opinion on this?

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What do you think is the role of the media in producing the Taylor Swift effect?

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I'm not really sure because I mean obviously they will cover all of her life events

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and as you saw with this NFL game they kind of blew up everywhere you know

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and the media was covering all of that story.

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I don't know what her relationship has been with the media in the past, but she's quite a private person.

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So I think in terms of her private life, she holds her cards pretty close to her chest deliberately to avoid that type of media coverage.

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I mean, obviously, it will have a big impact on spreading her tours, her music, etc. But I think for me, it seems like most of the media coverage is about

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her music or her tour and she keeps her cards pretty close to her chest in terms of her personal life, which I also really respect as well,

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because I'm sure that's also extremely difficult to avoid people knowing about your private life.

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So I really respect that as well.

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What do you think?

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Yeah, I think it's like a cycle that kind of feeds on itself, right?

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Like, for example, Taylor Swift goes to the football game

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and then more people watch the football game and then people talk about more people watching the football game.

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And then the next week the game happens again

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and she goes to another game and then more people tune in because yeah, it's probably the Taylor Swift effect in action, right?

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Like maybe you're a big Taylor Swift fan.

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So we say, Oh, I got to watch the game on Sunday to see Taylor.

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And then you invite your friends to come over and watch it with you.

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And it spreads like this.

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And so like, it just is like this cyclone that gets bigger and bigger and bigger.

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And so yeah, I think definitely there's a huge role that the media plays.

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I mean, here living in South Korea, you know, this is not like a scientific survey or something.

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But I would say Taylor is not too popular here.

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Judging just from talking with my students, of course, there are some people who know who she is,

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but she doesn't have that huge level of fame that she does probably in other parts of the world, in North America, Europe and stuff, at least here in Korea.

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So if I didn't hear about Taylor through the media,

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then I wouldn't hear about her because it's not like the people in my social circle are talking about her.

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But yet still, I know all of these things about Taylor Swift.

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I know about this football game.

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I know about her new boyfriend.

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And that is all just because of the media.

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so I think yeah there's definitely a big role that the media plays in hyping her for sure.

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Oh yeah and I mean she benefits from

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that as well you know there's no denying

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that like there's an expression in English

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which is like no publicity is bad publicity so even

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if it's something that's really bad you're still getting out there you're still getting your name out there people are

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finding out about who you are.

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I'm not sure if everyone would agree with that statement

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but I'm sure you know it benefits her in a way to be talked about in the press

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and things like this because then more people can find out about her.

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So there's obviously that knock-on effect as well of that.

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But anything she does just blows up in the media, just blows up in the press.

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Anybody that she's seen with, any romantic interest, I can just imagine her or other celebrities that have these sort of things.

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And they're like, why do people care?

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Like, who cares, you know?

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And I mean that in the nicest way possible.

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Like, I would be really happy for anybody that's starting a new relationship if that's what they want.

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But like, really, who cares?

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Like, just let them get on with it because it sells, you know, it sells.

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People want to hear about these sorts of things.

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But, you know, really, you've got to think like, really, is that what's covered in the newspaper?

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Like Taylor Swift going to an NFL game.

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I'm sure she would agree that maybe there's something else slightly more interesting

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or important that we might want to be focusing on, you know.

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But, well, it is what it is.

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And a final question here for you before we wrap things up.

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And I really want to know your perspective on this because it doesn't really apply to me as much.

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But I'm curious, like, especially in like style and fashion, how much impact does Taylor have in women's fashion?

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And have you ever put together an outfit or shopped for some clothes

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because you've seen Taylor Swift wear something that you thought looks amazing?

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Well, not really.

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I think me and Taylor have got different styles.

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she's got kind of quite a preppy I would say preppy cute style

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and it's kind of been reinvented as well over the years

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so I mean I'm sure she has a lot of influence on some people's taste

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but it's not my particular taste I've got to be honest

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but she's definitely got a kind of a preppy style she's also got the trend of like wearing red lipstick

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that always kind of makes me think of Taylor

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and she wore a couple of really beautiful dresses and outfits

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when she was going to award ceramese and things but i think

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if i compare with somebody like rihanna for example who's another

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big singer pop star i think she's got more of an influence than somebody like taylor swift

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so i think they're very different artists of course

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but i think yeah i would say that rihanna's more of a fashion person

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and when i think of taylor swift i really think of the music

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and the lyrics and and the tours

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and things like this more than fashion taylor swift just dresses like she hangs out at country clubs and rides horses.

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Yeah.

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And she's just chill and she just, yeah, little jumpers and little dresses and skirts and boots and things like that.

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Yeah.

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She just looks like a normal person.

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And I think that is the biggest thing that appeals to people.

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She looks like somebody that, you know, that lived on your street when you were younger, that you played with outside.

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And now she's this famous superstar.

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Well, with that being said, I think that will bring us to a close for today, everyone.

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So we hope that you enjoyed our discussion and found it beneficial for improving your English fluency.

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Remember, this episode was made available for everyone to listen to for free, thanks to our fantastic member community.

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And without them, Q-Lips wouldn't be possible.

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As a show of appreciation to our members, Anna

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and we look forward to chatting with you on the discord bye for now bye everyone Music

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Chatterbox – The Taylor Swift effect”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: taylor, swift, fan. This video has 393 sentences and 5043 words to shadow. The speech runs for 27:35. The speaker talks fast, about 183 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
swift noun	/swɪft/	A small plain-colored bird of the family Apodidae that resembles a swallow and is noted for its rapid flight.
listener noun	/ˈlɪs(ə)nɚ/	Someone who listens, especially to a speech or a broadcast.
lip noun	/lɪp/	Either of the two fleshy protrusions around the opening of the mouth.
sneaker noun	/ˈsnikɚ/	One who sneaks.
superstar noun	/ˈsuː.pəˌstɑː/	Someone who has accumulated a vast amount of fame; a high-level celebrity.
reinvent verb	/ɹiːɪnˈvɛnt/	To invent again something that has already been invented.
songwriter noun		A musician who composes songs; especially writing the song's lyrics and/or creating a melody or a tune for the song.
musician noun	/mjuˈzɪʃən/	A composer, conductor, or performer of music; specifically, a person who sings and/or plays a musical instrument as a hobby, occupation, or profession.
discord noun	/ˈdɪskɔɹd/	Lack of concord, agreement, harmony; disaccord.
songwriting noun		The work of a songwriter.
admirable noun	/ˈæd.məɹ.ə.bəl/	The quality, state, or an example of being admirable.
catchy adjective	/ˈkæt͡ʃi/	Instantly appealing and memorable.
fascinate verb	/ˈfæsɪneɪt/	To evoke an intense interest or attraction in someone.
fluency noun	/ˈfluːənsi/	The quality of smoothness of flow.
relatable adjective	[ɹɪˈleɪ.tə.bɫ̩]	Able to be related to something else; connected with.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
blow up verb	To explode or be destroyed by explosion.
look forward to verb	To anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to.
check out verb	To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
come across verb	To change sides; to cross over to work for the opposition.
come along verb	To accompany.
come out with verb	To say (something) unexpectedly.
come over verb	To affect in a sudden, unprecedented or surprising manner; to overwhelm a person's ordinarily contrary impulse.
come up verb	To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

Anna, what are we talking about?
Of course, I know what they're called.
I'm sure she has a huge team.
Is that what they're called?
So what's your opinion on this?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	are called · has been snubbed · was faced
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	has also joined · I've heard · has been snubbed
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	Chatterbox, which is · people who then · tour, which was

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 108 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: thankful /ˈθæŋkfəl/, authentic /ɔˈθɛn.tɪk/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: musician /mjuˈzɪʃən/, dashboard /ˈdæʃˌboɹd/, shout /ʃaʊt/, beneficial /ˌbɛn.ɪˈfɪʃ.əl/, appreciation /əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: admirable /ˈæd.məɹ.ə.bəl/, demographic /ˌdɛm.əˈɡɹæf.ɪk/, publicity /pʌbˈlɪsɪti/, approachable /əˈpɹəʊ.t͡ʃə.bəl/, consumerism /kənˈsumərɪzm̩/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like swift, listener, lip.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?