Country/pop sensation Taylor Swift released a music video for her new single ‘Shake It Off’ on Aug. 18, and it certainly has many people wondering what happened to the old ‘You Belong With Me’ era Taylor Swift.

Although the song itself is fun, upbeat and a feel-good tune; the music video is a sad attempt to be humorous and is slightly offensive to the eyes. The video features a variety of dance styles and dances, which are beautifully executed by the professional dancers, but not quite as gracefully by Swift.

Swift jumps, plies, twerks and krumps her way through the song, making viewers cringe and wonder why. The theme of the video is clearly to be comfortable in your own skin and to be your own person, but Swift demonstrates that message poorly by trying to be someone she’s not. In the song, Swift sings “I’m dancing on my own,” but is she really?

In ‘Shake It Off’ Swift sings of being yourself and ‘shaking off’ the haters, but lately she has not been very original. ‘Shake It Off’ has the same name as a Mariah Carey hit, and Swift’s original country style has shifted to mainstream pop, making her sound like any artist off the streets.

Swift paints herself as the victim in the video trying to act ditzy, awkward, and “cute”, despite the fact that in real life she is a successful artist and 24 year old adult. Swift needs to understand that dumb is not cute.

Overall, the song ‘Shake It Off’ is actually very catchy, and worth a listen, even though the music video itself is cringeworthy. Swift’s new album, 1989, is set to hit shelves on Oct. 27, and needless to say, it will be interesting to see what persona she portrays with this new release.