Several Reasons A KenGi Friendship Means More Than A Taylor Swift Girl Squad

Having an oversized girl squad like Taylor Swift’s can be so fun, especially for certain plans. Nothing beats a beach getaway, bachelorette party or impromptu ski weekend surrounded by your mains. Who run the world? Your CREW. And let’s be honest, who better to dance the night away with on the bar than your main gal pals? Squad-FREAKING-goals met, Tay.

A girl squad is mad fun to call on for special occasions… but when you’re living a real life and planning normal weekend events, it can be a bit girl crazy. It could end up being too much #drama to handle. After all, girls will be girls… and that’s not always a good thing. Most nights, you just want to grab a bottle of wine, bake chocolate chip cookies in the oven and have a chick flick movie marathon with your number one bestie. You’re totally OK not having a crazy night out and missing out on other plans because you’re spending time with the peanut butter to your jelly. Having that one-on-one irreplaceable bond – like Kendall Jenner has with Gigi Hadid – isn’t something many can replicate.

Here’s why a KenGi friendship means more than a Taylor Swift girl squad.

1. In every girl squad, you’ll inevitably have one or more drama types who add extra annoyance and stress to your life. That’s obsolete in a KenGi type of relationship.

2. You won’t have to deal with the jealousy and immaturity that can come with a girl squad.

3. You’ll never have to compete for queen bee status, or have the fear of being overthrown.

4. You dedicate all of your effort into strengthening your close bond with the Gigi to your Kendall.

5. There’s no competition because you both have something different – and equally incredible – to offer your friendship.

6. She’ll always be there to support you, and you’ll always be there to support her. No one can come between the two of you and your support system.

7. Even if you’re miles away, you’ll never grow apart. You actually feel closer because you text and Skype every single day, while members of an oversized girl squad may fade out over time.

8. She’s always there when you need her the most. She’s seen you at your worst, but she comes prepared with the necessities: wine, chocolate and perfect advice.

Max Martin Discusses Prince, Taylor Swift, And Pharrell In Rare Interview

Max Martin doesn’t really do interviews. The pop genius more or less responsible for the past two decades of Top 40 hits only rarely speaks about his work, so it’s always a huge deal whenever he opens his mouth. He recently gave his first extensive magazine interview since 2001 with Sweden’s Di Weekend, and he had a lot to say about his theories behind constructing vocal melodies — his specialty — using Taylor Swift and Prince as examples:

I have lots of theories when it comes to this. If you’ve got a verse with a lot of rhythm, you want to pair it with something that doesn’t. Longer notes. Something that might not start at the same beat. As I say this, I’m afraid it might sound like I’ve got a whole concept figured out…But it’s not like that. The most crucial thing is always how it feels. But the theories are great to have on hand when you get stuck. ’We can’t think of anything, is there anything we could do?’ In those cases, you can bring it in as a tool. If you listen to “Shake It Off” with Taylor Swift (he hums the verse melody). After that segment, you need a few longer notes in order to take it all in, otherwise it’s simply too much information. If there would have been as many rhythm elements in the part right before the chorus … Does what I’m saying make any sense to you at all?

Although Martin never really went anywhere, he had a bit of a low period after his wild success with Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, and NSYNC, and he blames Pharrell’s sick beats:

I’ve learned that things change. The whole boy band thing almost turned into a stock market crash. We folded Cheiron at the right moment. Then, there was a period when we thought that Pharrell (Williams) and the others came and ruined it all for us with their super cool beats. My first thought was: people are idiots for not understanding how great our stuff really is. Then, in the end, I realized: the world has moved on, we’re the ones who’re stuck in one place. So I started listening to other kinds of music. I spent a lot of time in New York and worked with artists who never really got anywhere. Then things took a new turn with Since U Been Gone (Kelly Clarkson). But at the same time, during the Cheiron era, we never really understood what we had achieved down in our basement in Stockholm. Since we never realized how big we were back then, I took that cold period with a shrug of the shoulders.