Taylor Swift’s Netflix documentary is almost here. Watch the ‘Miss Americana’ trailer
You don’t need to calm down — the trailer for Taylor Swift’s Netflix documentary is officially here.
The streaming giant unveiled on Wednesday its first look at “Miss Americana,” a behind-the-scenes exploration of how the global superstar secured herself as an unflinching force in the music industry. The feature, directed by Emmy winner Lana Wilson, is set to debut Thursday at the Sundance Film Festival.
“Throughout my whole career, label executives would just say, ‘A nice girl doesn’t force their opinions on people. A nice girl smiles and waves and says, ‘Thank you,’” Swift narrates over concert video in the trailer. “I became the person everyone wanted me to be.”
The highly anticipated project comes on the heels of Swift’s public feud with her former record label, Big Machine, and music mogul Scooter Braun, who acquired the pop star’s back catalog along with the label last summer.
In a more recent development, the “Lover” artist alleged that Big Machine attempted to prevent her from playing her earlier hits at November’s American Music Awards or featuring them in “Miss Americana.”
“I just want to be able to perform MY OWN music. That’s it,” Swift wrote in a statement shared on social media at the time. “I’ve tried to work this out privately through my team but have not been able to resolve anything. Right now, my performance at the AMA’s, the Netflix documentary and any other recorded events I am planning to play until November of 2020 are a question mark.”
Big Machine then accused the singer-songwriter of spinning a false narrative to incense her devoted army of Swifties — who diligently defended their queen in full force — but did not specifically deny her claims that it tried to block her from featuring tracks from her first six studio albums in her AMAs set or Netflix doc.
In a musical middle finger to Big Machine, Swift’s AMAs medley did ultimately include a sampling of her beloved oldies, however, no recordings from her back catalog are featured in the “Miss Americana” trailer. The preview does include video from her earlier concert tours, though.
After Big Machine allegedly tried to block Taylor Swift from performing old songs at the AMAs, she’s now selling a shirt inspired by the show (and feud).
The remainder of the Netflix trailer is a montage of Swift walking red carpets, playing stadiums and recording in the studio to the tune of the film’s title track. It also teases some behind-the-curtain moments, such as conversations leading up to the entertainer’s landmark decision to go public with her political opinions and “be on the right side of history” after the 2016 election.
“I feel really good about not feeling muzzled anymore,” she says. “And it was my own doing. There’s nothing that feels better than this moment.”
“Miss Americana” hits Netflix on Jan 31.
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