A subject of widespread public interest, taylor swift has influenced the music industry and popular culture through her artistry, songwriting and entrepreneurship. She has been described as a feminist and advocate for artists’ rights and women’s empowerment.
Swift’s musical talent was evident from a young age, and she began taking vocal lessons. She was cast in local productions of musical theater and won a national poetry contest with her work “Monster In My Closet”. At 13, she moved to Nashville to pursue a career in country music after impressing judges at an industry showcase at the Bluebird Cafe. She signed a contract with Scott Borchetta’s independent record label, Big Machine Records.
In her first five years as a professional singer, she released three albums: Fearless, Speak Now and 1989. 1989 is her most commercially successful album, having reached number one on the Billboard 200 and selling over 1.2 million copies in its first week of release. It also won the Grammy for Best Country Album, making it Swift’s third album to win that award. It is also the only album by a female artist to win Album of the Year twice.
On her fourth album, Red, Swift expanded her musical horizons, moving away from her signature pop sound and embracing an edgier style. She tapped into the raw emotions of her personal life to create songs that resonated with many, including “Shake It Off”, a song about being embarrassed about dancing at a high school dance. The track was so successful that it made the top ten on both the US and UK singles charts. It went on to become a worldwide hit, selling more than 2 million downloads in its first week. In addition to a chart-topping album, Red earned Swift a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song and a Grammy nod for Best Country Solo Performance.
With her fifth album, Swift again stepped away from her country roots and experimented with genre. She was met with enthusiasm from fans as she introduced a new, more mature sound with the release of her twelfth studio album, Fearless, in 2008. The album’s first single, Shake It Off, reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and helped to propel the album to number one on the Billboard 200, becoming Swift’s sixth consecutive release to reach that position. Fearless also won the Grammy for Best Country Album, and the following year, it won the award for Best Pop Album.
The lead single from the album, Shake It Off, was an international smash, topping the US Billboard Hot 100 and breaking the record for the longest running number-one song on the chart by a female artist. It was also the most streamed single by a female artist in history, with over 533 million streams in its first week of release. It stayed at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for 18 weeks, setting a record for most-streamed song in a single week.
