Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter. She is widely known for her musical versatility, artistic reinventions, and influence on pop culture. In addition to releasing multiple chart-topping albums, she has also made appearances in films and television shows. Her popularity has led to several endorsement deals and a fashion line. She is one of the most influential musicians of her generation, and her philanthropic work has garnered her numerous accolades.
Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, she moved with her family to Nashville when she was eight years old. She began singing at local talent competitions and was discovered by Big Machine Records executive Scott Borchetta. He signed her to a multi-album deal in 2005. She spent 2006 and 2007 touring as the opening act for country artists such as Brad Paisley. She co-wrote all but two of the tracks on her debut album Fearless, which reached number 5 in the US Billboard 200.
Her third album, Speak Now, reached number 1 in the US Billboard 200 and earned a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It was followed by 1989, which debuted at number 2 in the United States and became the best-selling album of 2014 by a female artist. It was certified platinum by the RIAA in the US and double platinum in Australia. It was preceded by the release of two singles, Look What You Made Me Do and Shake It Off.
During this time, she fought with music streaming services Spotify and Apple Music over the way they paid royalties to artists. In a highly publicized feud, she removed her music from Spotify’s ad-supported free service and demanded that they pay higher royalties on their premium subscriptions. This was an effort to combat the fact that these services did not pay songwriters during their three-month free trial period.
In 2019, she released Lover, the most-streamed song by a woman in a day and the only album to sell a million “pure” copies in a week. She also made history with her re-release of 2012’s Red (Taylor’s Version), which featured a 10-minute version of the hit All Too Well, the longest track to ever top the Billboard Hot 100. She also directed a documentary called Miss Americana, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival before becoming available on Netflix in January 2021.
She has continued to release music and make headlines with her activism, philanthropy, and style choices. She starred as Bombalurina in the movie adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway musical Cats. She has been awarded many accolades, including 23 AMAs and the prestigious Artist of the Year award.
In 2021, Taylor announced she would be re-recording her first six albums in order to give fans updated versions while keeping ownership of her master recordings. Fearless and Red were re-released in 2022, with both albums breaking streaming records for the most streams by a female artist in a day. In the music video for Look What You Made Me Do, Taylor is a modern-day Cinderella who escapes from her cruel stepmother and stepsisters into a building elevator where she encounters another version of herself.
