Listen—Taylor Swift was my top Spotify Wrapped artist this year, by a lot. I listened to Spotify for roughly 50,000 minutes in 2024, and I’m willing to bet the “Eras” Tour star’s catalog accounted for at least half of those. Still, I can’t say it wouldn’t alarm me to hear Russian-language covers of hits like “Shake It Off” and “I Knew You Were Trouble” for hours on end. But that’s exactly what happened to listeners of one Alabama radio station on Dec. 22.
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Alabama Listeners React to Bizarre Taylor Swift Situation
Recently, former Tuscaloosa alternative radio station 101.7 announced plans to transition to new programming starting Thursday, Dec. 26. Days later, listeners tuning in during the early morning hours of Dec. 22 were stunned to hear what turned out to be Russian covers of Taylor Swift songs.
The news quickly spread across social media, with many listeners speculating about Russian broadcast interference. “Has anyone called the radio station? Maybe just to make sure they’re not being held hostage or something…” one concerned TikTok user wrote.
“So is it red dawn or not?” another TikTok user asked, referring to the 1984 action film starring Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen. “I need to know so I can stop paying these outrageous bills already…”
Radio station in Tuscaloosa, AL 101.7 WQRR playing Shake it Off by Taylor Swift in Russian then playing this message after. Then more Taylor songs. Wtf is going on? Can anyone translate the Russian?#wqrr #1017tuscaloosa #tuscaloosa #alabama #AL #taylorswift #taylor #russia pic.twitter.com/llnR0JMM63
— 🔥Ash Will Ride 🐴Rivendare🐴 by 200 Runs 💯% (@ash_nazg_) December 22, 2024
Was It All Just a Publicity Stunt?
According to social media footage recorded by listeners, a gravelly voice came over the airwaves following Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.”
After asking, “Is this on?” the voice declares, “We have taken over 101.7 frequency.” It gets a little garbled after that, but I was able to make out the words “comrade Vladimir.”
[RELATED: 3 Era-Defining Hits from Taylor Swift]
No one affiliated with the station has spoken publicly about the incident, and everything appears to have returned to normal. However, Radio Insight has theorized that the move may have merely been a marketing ploy to generate buzz around the station’s pivot to Christian music this week.
“The end of the stunt has all the markings of something that became too big for the station to control,” wrote Lance Venta.
Featured image by Jon Robichaud/UPI/Shutterstock
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