Taylor Swift is one of the most popular, acclaimed and controversial artists in modern pop. A multi-Grammy and multiple Billboard award winner, she has a knack for navigating the music business with both artistry and acumen. From the lyrical sagas that double as Proustian flashbacks (“cardigan”, which bears shades of Lana Del Rey) to outcast widows (“the last great american dynasty”) and doomed relationships (a heavy-hearted duet with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon), her songs are works of remarkable texture and imagination. And with the recent release of 2022’s Midnights and its companion album, folklore—the product of her isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic—Swift continues to mine her life for inspiration.
Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Taylor began singing publicly at age 10. She was the youngest artist ever signed by Sony/ATV publishing house. As a teenager she moved to Nashville and began honing her songwriting skills in two-hour sessions with songwriter Liz Rose. In 2005 she played a showcase at Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe and caught the attention of Scott Borchetta, founder of independent label Big Machine Records. He signed her, and she released her first album in October of that year. The New York Times hailed it as “a small masterpiece of pop-minded country, both wide-eyed and cynical, held together by Ms. Swift’s firm, pleading voice.”
The album was a breakthrough success for the then 19-year-old, becoming her first to top the Billboard 200 chart and earning her an Academy of Country Music and a CMA Award nomination for Female Vocalist. It is still her best-selling album to date and has sold more than a million copies.
Swift’s debut is a nimble, idiosyncratic pop album that sounds unlike any other of its kind in the music industry and remains one of her finest albums to this day. It features a handful of ballads and anthems, including her most famous singles, “Twilight” and “Love Story.” The album also includes the wildly popular duet with Colbie Caillat, “Breathe.”
A year after the release of Fearless, Swift became embroiled in a highly publicized dispute with her record label Big Machine over control of her back catalog. She eventually purchased the masters to her back catalog and in 2021 began re-recording her older material in order to own and fully control the rights to her musical legacy.
Swift has since written and released an astonishing number of hit albums, winning numerous Grammys along the way and claiming the title of Record of the Year on three occasions. She has also earned several American Music Awards and has been named Billboard’s Woman of the Year and Entertainer of the Year. She has toured extensively across the globe and, in 2023, completed her massive multi-year Eras Tour. She is also an entrepreneur with a number of fashion lines and charitable efforts under her belt. She has also appeared on a variety of TV shows and has even made forays into acting, appearing in the movie “The Spectator”. This article was originally published April 20, 2023.
