SALT LAKE CITY — “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.’ I became the person everyone wanted me to be.”
So begins the first official trailer for the Taylor Swift documentary “Miss Americana,” which dropped Wednesday. The release comes a day before the documentary’s big premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
“Miss Americana” delves into Swift’s decision to become more vocal and politically active — something she had always feared because of the backlash the Dixie Chicks received 16 years ago when singer Natalie Maines spoke out against then-President Bush.
“I saw how one comment ended such a powerful reign, and it terrified me,” the 30-year-old singer told Variety. “I registered it — that you’re always one comment away from being done being able to make music.”
But Swift broke her silence in 2018, when she endorsed two Tennessee Democrats running for reelection in her state’s congressional midterm elections, the Deseret News previously reported. She has also spoken up about music industry sexism and her battle with Scooter Braun over the rights to her music, which needed to be cleared for the documentary.
“I feel really good about not feeling muzzled anymore,” Swift says in the trailer.
The documentary, directed by Emmy winner Lana Wilson, features a new song from Swift — a political anthem titled “Only the Young” — and will be released as a digital single along with the documentary’s release, Variety reported.
The doc trailer also shows appearances from Swift’s mom, Andrea, who was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor while receiving treatment for breast cancer, and Panic! At The Disco lead singer Brendon Urie, who is featured on the song “ME!” from Swift’s album “Lover.” That album is up for a Grammy Award on Sunday, Jan. 26.
“Miss Americana” has its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival Thursday at 9 p.m. MST. The PR firm Sunshine Sachs has not confirmed with the Deseret News whether Swift will be in attendance.
The documentary will be available on Netflix and in select theaters Jan. 31.
Note: The Deseret News decided not to link to the trailer because it contains mature language.