After all that drama with the pseudonym, the cat is finally all the way out of the bag, and Taylor Swift's name is on "This Is What You Came For," the song we now know she wrote for her then-boyfriend Calvin Harris, which he later collaborated with Rihanna on as well. There was speculation since the beginning that Swift had been involved in the songwriting process, but up until she abruptly dropped the pseudonym last week, we were lead to believe that the track was written by a Swedish artist with the carefully-chosen name of "Nils Sjöberg." I hope you didn't get too attached to the idea of Swift-as-Sjöberg, however. Now that her identity is out in the open, Swift's own name appears on BMI next to Calvin Harris' as a cowriter. Goodbye, Nils Sjöberg. We hardly knew ye.
So what does it mean that this identity has been erased so thoroughly and so suddenly? My first inclination is that it might spell rocky seas ahead for the former couple, as Swift taking such a clear stand could be a power move. After all, as co-writer, Swift could actually prevent "This Is What You Came For" from being used in television or film, if she so chose. It could be a shot across the bow, warning him not to mess with her. But that's a pretty negative way to look at it, so I'm going to choose to interpret the situation another way.
I'm hopeful that it means that Swift will be a bit more forthcoming going forward. Obviously this is particularly topical right now, with Kim Kardashian's leak of the recordings that seem to show Swift approving the release of Kanye West's song "Famous," which she vehemently denied doing. In response, Swift released a statement on her Twitter and her Instagram,
I'm really hoping that doing away with her pseudonym on "This Is What You Came For" is proof of a desire to start with a clean slate and a little more transparency with her fans. But Swift could have very easily just shed the pseudonym because everyone knows Nils Sjöberg is her now, and there's no reason to keep up the act. Either way, I hope it's for a positive reason, and that Swift owns both her accomplishments and any potential slip-ups going forward.
Image: Giphy
