Gene Simmons recently said that Taylor Swift’s success is well-deserved. As one of the biggest pop stars in the world right now, Swift has gained respect from many rock and metal musicians, but Simmons was also recently slammed for an affair.
Stars like Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day, Billy Corgan from The Smashing Pumpkins, and Def Leppard’s Joe Elliot have praised her, with Elliot even saying she’s bigger than The Beatles and The Rolling Stones together.
In an interview with Forbes, Simmons talked about Swift’s hard work, saying she started in country music as a teenager and grew her career on her own terms. He highlighted how her success is due to her dedication and effort.
“She’s young. She paid her dues. She started off in her early teens as a country singer and decided for herself to broaden her thing. Because she decided, not because there were any rules that she was going to follow. I’ve met her a few times. She’s a very impressive young lady.”
Gary Holt, from Exodus and formerly Slayer, also said he likes Swift’s music. He shared that while he’s not a huge fan, he enjoys listening to her songs, especially when driving. Holt mentioned he prefers pop over metal when he’s on the road and admitted he’s liked pop music, like Madonna, for a long time.
“I love Taylor Swift. Why all the hate? She’s an extraordinarily hard worker. She’s super fu**ing nice to everybody, and people hate her. She’s just the biggest pop star on Earth, and more power to her. I like the songs. I love pop. I listen to pop mostly in the car, you know, I don’t listen to metal [while driving]. I just recently started exploring my Sirius subscription [laughs]. Okay, you know, there’s some heavy sh*t on here, but I’d rather listen to George Michael myself.
“I’m not a Swiftie, but when ‘Trouble’ comes on the radio, I don’t change it. It’s alright. I like it. I like pop music. Always have, though, even back in the ‘Bonded by Blood’ era. I’d be out on tour with Venom, and I’d be drunk at the bar, singing every word to Madonna’s ‘Angel’. And Cronos was shaking his head, like, ‘What’s wrong with this guy?’ But I’ve always liked pop music.”
