Taylor Swift is the queen of surprising music videos — here are the five that really floored us

Taylor Swift dropped her music video for “Style” today and our first reaction was that it was probably one of the least-Taylor Swifty things we’ve ever seen. Sure, the super hot guy, classic red lips and enviable wardrobe were all quintessentially Taylor, but what about the smoke effects, the lightning and overall eery vibe of the video? Was this the dark side of Taylor Swift we were witnessing? SO. MANY. FEELS.

Then, as we rewatched it (several times), we realized that, not only is this one of the coolest things we have seen in 2015, it also fits right in with Taylor’s pitch-perfect catalogue of music videos precisely because it completely surprised us. Taylor loves to keep us guessing with her music videos; constantly taking risks, playing against type and generally surprising her fans by doing what they least expect her to do next. Here are five times she did the opposite of what everyone was expecting (and nailed it):

“Style”

As we’ve already established, Taylor is stepping up her game. Not only does she do an incredible job of rocking her signature red lip, but the effects are so interesting that we don’t think this video will ever go out of style.

“Blank Space”

There was a time when people didn’t think Taylor could laugh at herself. As soon as the “Blank Space” video premiered, that time ended. The video was Taylor’s way of acknowledging some of the meanest rumors people spread about her and showing that they don’t bother her. She took her maneater rep, exaggerated it to the point of hilarity and dropped the mic on the whole conversation.

3. “I Knew You Were Trouble”

Taylor not only got in touch with her inner rock star for this video, but she also put aside her composed personality and perfect presentation and got down and dirty. No joke, she literally woke up on the cold hard ground for this one. Plus, that long intro clip before the song even starts was completely unexpected, but also completely amazing. 

4. “Ours”

Taylor stripped down all of the glam for her “Ours” video. The song is about an epic love, so we kind of expected an epic video to go with it, but she ditched the ball gowns, makeup and high heels and cast herself as a totally average girl working a painfully average job. And yet again, Tay knew exactly what she was doing; the drab setting only made the beautiful romance shine that much more.

5. “Mean”

Taylor’s country hit “Mean,” with it’s catchy banjo-driven twang, exudes equal parts confidence and sass. It’s a modern song for modern girls dealing with modern meanness. That’s why we were so shocked to see the video — with it’s retro vibe and old Hollywood feel. Now, of course, we couldn’t imagine another video for the song.

So what will Taylor do for her next video? We would try to guess, but we know it will probably just be the opposite of whatever we come up with and total perfection.

(Image via Billboard.)