When I first watched this, I tried to pretend that this wasn’t Taylor Swift … that a bunch of unknown singers were performing.

From that perspective, I thought it was a notch above medicare. It was mildly entertaining. It sort of had a James Bond kind of feel to it, but very inferior to that. The bottom line is that Taylor Swift doesn’t have the gritty personality to pull this off. Or, if she does, it wasn’t brought out in this video. Her attempt was making me cringe.

It kind of reminds me of two recent swimsuit covers. Hannah Davis on the cover of Sports Illustrated, in her bikini, pulled off sexy beautifully. Kendall Jenner on the cover of GQ, in her bikini .. not so much. They’re both beautiful women, but Kendall just doesn’t have the “oomph” to make it work. She looks awkward and uncomfortable.

That’s how I felt with Taylor Swift in the video … she’s an amazing young woman, but this video didn't showcase that. I’m not a fan of Madonna, but she could have pulled this video off beautifully.

Next, I watched the video from the perspective of this being made by the most powerful woman in the music industry today.

I thought … WOW, with all of Taylor Swift’s money and power, if she had wanted to do something like this, she should have totally knocked it out of the park! But, it would have to have been tailor-made for her (no pun intended). It seems that no one took her personality into account when this video was produced. I understand that she's in control of everything, but I felt like someone else took control of this and placed her in it, as an after thought.

The fact that Taylor didn’t knock it out of the park is completely puzzling.

While I was watching this, I couldn’t help but think of the decline of Miley Cyrus. The decline started small for her, but once she lost her way … she plummeted into the depths.

So, as someone who likes Taylor Swift … I watch this and think that maybe she just made an error in judgement in putting out a medicare video that doesn’t suit her at all … and I hope it’s not a sign that she’s following the Miley Cyrus model.

Taylor Swift should take a step back and follow Shakespeare’s advice … “to thine own self be true.” I think it is what has gotten her this far, and it would be a shame to see her lose her way.