Just Because Something’s Popular

Until recently, there was one particular artist I never really paid much attention to. I always thought when she sang, it sounded more like talking. And that all of her songs were about breakups.I respected what she had built — a massive, successful entertainment business — but I just wasn’t personally into it. Then her new album was released. And one particular song got me hooked.

The Song I Couldn’t Get Away From

The Life of a Showgirl album by Taylor Swift released, and “The Fate of Ophelia” was among the first songs to have a music video.

Between the song itself and the choreography, it became a massive viral hit.I couldn’t get away from it.

It was popping up everywhere in my short-form video content — along with everyday folks doing their own rendition of the dance.

And at first, I allowed that to bother me. I kept thinking “Why is everyone obsessed with her? She’s not that great.”

Then I listened to the song a couple more times. And I figured something out that ties directly to your trading.

What Pop Music Taught Me About Trading

Like my averseness to Taylor Swift – all gone now, btw – you may have resisted diving into what other traders do or use successfully JUST because it seemed so commonplace. But there’s usually a reason those approaches stick around.

The way I look at pop music is the same way I look at price action in trading.

Pop music follows a formula. And Taylor Swift’s use of that formula is why so many of her songs become hits — they have an intentional flow, so often used that it’s familiar to the audience subconscious.

In The Fate of Ophelia, she actually goes off the formula at the start. Where (seemingly inspired by Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter) she sings five verses, not the standard four. It’s kind of unsettling to the ear. But it’s also intriguing.

Then she resolves it — goes back to the standard four measures — and suddenly everything feels comfortable again. Makes sense and she’s singing about finding the love she’s now engaged to. And it’s the pop formula that carries the hit song the rest of the way. 

Why the “Boring Stuff” Matters in Trading

Patterns, candlesticks, trendlines. These are among the most time-tested (and sort of boring) parts of all of our charts. 

And yet — that’s where the foundation of most good trading systems comes from.

So as you reflect on 2025 and we head into 2026, ask yourself this:

Is there anything in your trading — or even in your life — that you’ve resisted just because it’s popular?
Because everyone else seems to follow it?

Maybe it’s worth examining instead of dismissing.

I’m a bit of a Swiftie now. I would know. 🙂

~ Hima