For years, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé have been compared and debated – especially as both Beyoncé and Swift release more projects on a regular and frequent basis. While the two artists are supportive of each other in real life, the arguments over who is better still happen. Now, the thrash metal guitarist for Exodus, Gary Holt, has fired shots at the Cowboy Carter artist while defending The Tortured Poets Department singer.
During the Scandalous Podcast, the Exodus guitarist was asked about the “Taylor Swift problem,” which led to him saying:
I love Taylor Swift. Why all the hate? She's an extraordinarily hard worker. She's super fucking nice to everybody, and people hate her. She's just the biggest popstar on Earth and more power to her. I like the songs. I love pop.
He noted that he listens to pop more than metal in the car. Then, the host pushed back asking about Swift’s songwriting abilities and called her music “glittery.” This led to the guitarist saying he wants to look at songwriting credits when he’s considering how much praise he’s giving a project. He then continued to express his opinion by firing shots at Beyoncé, saying:
Beyoncé will put out a song, and there’s 30 fucking people on it. How can 30 people write a song, all gathered together? It’s like ‘You’re not even a songwriter Beyoncé.’ I mean, her daughter got a songwriting credit and a Grammy because she probably threw some fucking kindergarten rhyme on one line, and like ‘Yep, give her a Grammy.’ She now has one-seventh the Grammys Prince − the greatest artist that ever was or ever will be − ever got. But Taylor writes everything. So I give her credit, she’s a songwriter.
For some context, if we look at the two singer’s big singles for this year – Beyoncé's “Texas Hold ‘Em” from Cowboy Carter, and Swift's “Fortnight” from The Tortured Poets Department – here’s how the songwriting credits are cited:
- Texas Hold ‘Em: Written by Beyoncé, Brian Bates, Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Megan Bülow, Nate Ferraro and Raphael Saadiq per Billboard
- Fortnight: Lyrics by “Austin Post, Jack Antonoff, Taylor Swift,” Produced by the same three, and composed by Antonoff and Swift, per NME.
Per that Billboard article, no song on Cowboy Carter was written solely by Beyoncé and there are only a few tracks with less than three songwriter credits. As for Swift’s latest project TTPD, via NME, the only lyricists and producers cited for the most part are Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner, and Swift (the only exceptions are Post Malone (AKA Austin Post) and Florence Welch, who are credited in these roles for the songs they’re featured on). The "All Too Well" singer also wrote a few songs on this album by herself.
Holt went on to say that it’s hard for him to tell who did what on a song these days when there are “like 20 names on it,” and he complimented Swift’s reputation.
The guitarist also said he liked that she tipped her truck drivers at the end of the North American leg of the Eras Tour, and pondered if the “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer did that. Overall, he made it obvious that he’s a much bigger fan of Swift, and he laid his thoughts on Beyoncé out clearly, ending the section by saying:
I think Beyoncé is the most overrated talent on Earth. I think she’s marginally talented.
Now, let it be known that this is his opinion, and both Taylor Swift and Beyoncé have been actively supportive of each other, especially in the last year. As the Midnights artist released her Eras Tour concert film (which you can stream with a Disney+ subscription), and the “Cuff It” singer released the Renaissance concert film, they both attended the premieres for each other. Swift flew to London for Beyoncé’s event, while she attended the Eras Tour premiere in LA.
On top of them both releasing concert movies about their tours in movie theaters, they both headlined major, massive stadium shows last summer and released new albums not long after that. Talk about powerhouses!
The power of both Taylor Swift and Beyoncé is incredible, and they’re both immensely talented. However, people still have strong opinions about who they think is better. So, while they support each other and many are fans of both (myself included), the debate will likely continue as they keep working.
