Taylor Swift is one of the most successful and recognized artists in modern music. Her songs have sold over 200 million units and she has won numerous awards, including a record seven albums that reached number one on the US charts. She has also been named Billboard’s Artist of the Year twice and voted by fans as the AP’s Pop Music Person of the Year (2023). Despite having no formal training as an artist, she is considered to be among the most influential artists in popular culture, has earned several honorary degrees, and is the highest-grossing female touring act ever.
During her rise to fame, she has established herself as an advocate for artists’ rights and women’s empowerment. Her philanthropic efforts have earned her the distinction of being known as a “global citizen”.
Born Taylor Alison Swift on December 13, 1989, in West Reading, Pennsylvania, Swift’s early life was shaped by her mother Andrea’s career as a financial planner and her father Scott Swift’s job as a stockbroker. At age 10, she won a talent contest singing LeAnn Rimes’ “Big Deal”. This performance isolated her from her peers and shifted her focus to country music, inspired by Shania Twain and Faith Hill.
By the time she was 15, Swift had written her first song and secured a contract with Big Machine Records. Her first album, Fearless, was released in 2008 and quickly rose to No. 1. Its girly songs and relatability drew in teenage listeners and made Swift a star.
The success of her debut album was followed by the release of two more albums, Fearless Tour and Speak Now, before she re-energized her musical direction with the release of Red in 2012. This album pushed beyond country and into a more pop sound, which was reflected in its promotional campaign. Swift promoted the album by flying representatives from 72 worldwide radio stations to Nashville during release week for individual interviews. She appeared on several talk shows, including The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Good Morning America, and performed at Nashville’s CMA Awards and London’s Teen Awards.
In 2022, Swift released her ninth studio album and folklore’s sister record, evermore. This album continued her collaborations with artists like Bon Iver and HAIM. The album and its lead single, Willow, both debuted at the top of the US Hot 100. This marked the first time in history that a song had charted at No. 1 on both the Hot 100 and the Billboard 200 simultaneously.
On her tenth studio album, Reputation, Swift debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 and the Hot 100 with her most commercially successful release to date. The album features a more mature tone with lyrics about the complexities of relationships and the pains of growing up. The album was a critical and commercial success, resulting in the first RIAA Triple Platinum certification for a woman in the history of the music industry. It became the fastest-selling album by a female in history and was a record-setting global hit.
