For those of you who think that every one of Taylor Swift’s songs are pop-country ballads about lost love, “Red” is a surprising addition to her previous three albums. In “Red,” Swift discovers a new sound, or rather, many new sounds. In her fourth album, she shows much more range, in her voice and general musical sound, than ever before.

To gain hype for her new release, Swift released five singles off the album before the October 22nd release date. Each single reached the top ten on iTunes within the day it was released, foreshadowing the success of “Red,” which is now the number one album on iTunes in 31 countries.

The album contains many of her usual country-pop ballads, such as “Sad Beautiful Tragic,” “All Too Well,” “The Moment I Knew,” and “Begin Again.” But then the album progresses past country-pop into full on pop territory. The first single released, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” seemed to be a symbol for the shedding of Swift’s country persona. The most surprising record on the album, though, is definitely “I Knew You Were Trouble.” The song starts with a pop beat and an electric guitar strumming; out of nowhere, the chorus breaks into an almost dub-step beat, with a drop and everything. This Swift is almost unrecognizable from the sixteen year old girl who released her self titled album almost six years ago.

“Red” proves that angsty teenage girls come in many different sounds and genres– the only thing Swift hasn’t changed up is her subject matter. The album travels through her many makeups and breakups with celebrities like Jake Gyllenhaal and Cory Monteith, that every girl can relate to.

The country Taylor Swift may be gone but she is still someone who girls can look up to and relate to, and that is arguably the most important part.