Taylor Swift has long held a unique place in pop culture. She’s an artist who straddles the line between artistry and commerce, combining the two with remarkable grace and skill. Whether it’s her music or her social media presence, she’s constantly re-inventing herself while keeping a firm grip on her core audience.
She’s the only woman in history to have four albums sell more than a million copies in their first week, and she’s the only performer to chart at least 18 songs simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100, a record she set with her 2022 album, Reputation. She has won dozens of Grammy awards and a record-tying six VMA awards, and she’s the only female artist to win Artist of the Year at three different award shows.
Despite all that, Swift has always remained true to her roots and her Pennsylvania upbringing. She’s been a champion for women’s rights and has a keen sense of community that she brings with her wherever she goes.
But more than anything, it’s her talent as a singer-songwriter that’s made her so successful. Taylor’s songwriting skills are matched only by her gift for storytelling, and she’s always able to connect with listeners on a deeper level than other artists can.
She started her career by winning local talent contests at the age of 11, and she took a chance on a Nashville industry showcase in 2005, catching the attention of Scott Borchetta, who was forming Big Machine Records. After the release of her third album, Fearless, she took on a more country sound that separated her from her mainstream pop peers.
Swift’s blatantly autobiographical love songs are a small subset of her work, but they always carry power, and this track is one of her most classic. She takes a dated, terrible trope — “your good girl’s gonna go bad” — and turns it into a prideful anthem of ill will. It’s a bold move that’s still working on its 10th anniversary, and it’s a great role-model for her young fans.
A year after her last album, Red, was released, Taylor released a rerecording of the project in the form of a box set that included nine never-before-released tracks. The Los Angeles Times felt that the re-recorded version of the album delved into “more nuanced relationship issues on an unapologetically big pop record that opens new sonic vistas for her.”
