No stage two production of the same play are staged exactly alike. You can see that by searching for
On My Own in Youtube. Also look up,
Rose's Turn, from
Gypsy. Look up
All I Ask of You from
The Phantom of the Opera. You'll find different people singing them. Some will have a key change, but otherwise when it's time to belt out the song or sing lovingly, they are the same.They are the same because the song is not just a song. It's inner dialogue. It's the venting of anger or the expression of love. It's not just hitting notes, staying on pitch or in key or time. It's more. It's emotion, it's theater; where we, the audience, need to get pulled into these characters lives. If we're not pulled in, or jolted out because of a singer(s) ability, we all lose.
Check out the songs I listed and you'll see the ones that stray too far from the original suck.
If Swift agrees to do the role, I'll be rooting for her and the whole cast. I want to be wrong about Swift, but so far I'm not seeing anything to make think I'm wrong. I really want to be wrong, you can't tell how much, but I really want to be wrong.