For years, the pop scene has been dominated by the prolific Taylor Swift. 24 albums after her debut in 2006, she remains one of the most famous and influential pop stars of all time. For years, it seemed as though she would keep that title indefinitely.

However, in 2024, Sabrina Carpenter flooded the scene with her hit single “Espresso,” followed by the equally successful album “Short ‘n’ Sweet.” Soon, she was all that people could talk about, and Taylor seemed to fade into the background.

But it’s very clear that Taylor and Sabrina are far from enemies. In fact, they even performed an acoustic rendition of “Espresso” together at one of Sabrina’s shows on her “Short ‘n’ Sweet” tour. Unfortunately, the comments on every video I saw of that performance was mocking Taylor, saying how her voice “ruined” the performance and Sabrina was much better performing solo.

Of course, every fandom will always rush to claim their idol as the best of all time. But that’s not the only instance. Sabrina’s tour altogether is gaining just as much media attention in compared to Taylor’s Eras Tour. And Taylor has recently been repeatedly slammed for her excessive use of private jets and it’s impact on the environment, not to mention getting constantly booed at NFL games.

The number one saving grace that’s been preventing Taylor from getting completely shunned lately is the argument that fandoms shouldn’t be pitting women against each other. And I agree—just because two successful women exist in the music space doesn’t necessarily mean they have to be competitors. Especially when put up against Sabrina, who is famously only 5 feet nothing, many fans have been criticized for body shaming Taylor. After the release of Taylor’s “Midnights” album, it’s clear that Sabrina may now be one of the “sexy babies” making Taylor feel like a “monster on the hill.” However, Taylor doesn’t seem to find a problem with putting herself up against other artists. According to IMDb, “Taylor Swift has come under fire […] for dropping new digital variants of her album The Tortured Poets Department, seemingly in hopes of getting fans to re-buy the album and secure another week at number one.”
Although Billboard has disputed this claim, this hasn’t stopped the public from noticing that releasing several versions of the exact same songs one after another is a little weird. Additionally, one of these re-releases blocked Charli XCX’s Brat, the “most critically acclaimed record of the year,” from getting the #1 spot on the British charts. DailyMail says, “Many fans believe the release to be a strategic move on the part of the “Blank Space” hitmaker to prevent Charli getting the top spot, a tactic Taylor has been accused of doing several times before.”

So, at this point, I’d say it’s time for Taylor to make way for more relevant artists. With the artistic decline of her last few albums, and the general turn of public opinion over the last few months, it’s no wonder Taylor has started to resort to stealing spots on the chart to cling to the spotlight. But there’s nothing wrong with no longer being the #1 most loved artist ever, and this doesn’t mean Taylor has never had any good songs. In fact, there are a few songs of hers that will likely be iconic for years to come. But I think she—and her fans—are having a hard time handling that she’s no longer the best option for music. Maybe Sabrina will be the next big pop superstar, or maybe it’ll be someone else. But whoever it is, it’s time for Taylor to make way.