#but no i think it's entirely disconnected from SNTV

[septembersghost]

What do you think of the idea that this was PR for SNTV so that everyone would be paying attention to the Nash shows?

oof. okay, first of all, and this isn't aimed at you anon, but everyone has gotten way too comfortable using the term "PR" inappropriately, to the point where it's meaningless, because you get people online saying everything they see ever is PR when that's simply not the case and a lot of things are just...humans living life who happen to do so in the public eye. but the whole point of the concept there is some benefit. this is not an instance where there's benefit of publicity - trolling potential aside, because that would serve a different purpose - all eyes are already on her.

she knows fans pay attention to the shows every week (even the ones like me who aren't viewing the livestreams! i read along with the updates as they happen but haven't watched, others might check in the next day due to time zones or busy schedules, and so on), no matter what we all know what happens and what surprise songs she plays and what she might've said, and we know very quickly. every entertainment and music outlet is paying attention. an album announcement would make spectacular noise and immediately be reported no matter what.

furthermore, stoking romance/personal rumors, if anything, takes *away* from the announcement, it doesn't add to it - hence the internet being in a dither about matty rather than only being focused on excitement over SNTV. why on earth would she intentionally court speculation and rumor that distracts from an important project? moreover, why with someone who undeniably would be controversial and cause anger/annoyance? how does that help her? (answer: it's irrelevant to her if she likes him.) i'd be slightly inclined to think it was a silly joke for the sake of 1989 TV and a potential collab if she'd announced that album instead, but everything about the optics, especially given very recent events and history, has such overwhelming negative downsides with really no upsides as far as press and reactions go. so PR for SNTV specifically makes very little sense to me, versus her being in a do-whatever-i-want-with-whoever-i-want moment (which, let's be real, is not out of character).

it's either a (perhaps ill-timed and unclear) bit of shenanigans between chaotic friends or it's...whatever it is, and we're going to be living with that rebound reality for a bit. he took a very long trip to get to a hometown show for her...we're gonna have to face what that means, particularly after not seeing the person we thought we should have seen on opening night. i didn't want to read into that absence before, but unfortunately information is now what it is. (me @ mr. bowery: you should've been there! you should've burst through the door with that, "baby, i'm right here" smile!)

the announcement of SNTV would've happened last night no matter what, i'd lay odds she's had that planned for the first night of nashville for quite a while. the matty of it all is a wrinkle, not a boost. the only thing i hope is that it doesn't have any negative ramifications for her (not necessarily in the press, but in her personal life. having fun is fine, i just don't want her to be hurt anymore than what's already happened, you know?).

ultimately, what we all have to remember is that boundary - we don't know her directly. we have no say or influence over her decisions or personal life. that doesn't mean we have to like them, but we have zero input into her making those choices. all we can continue to do is what we already do, support her artistry, wish her the best, and cherish her music.