Taylor Swift is a famous American singer and actress who became an international star after winning the seventh season of American Idol in 2006. She has sold over 80 million albums worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists in history. She has received numerous awards and nominations for her musical and acting work. She is also known for her philanthropic efforts, including supporting the LGBT community and participating in the Stand Up to Cancer telethon.
Taylor was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. She grew up on a Christmas tree farm with her parents and three sisters. She attended the Alvernia Montessori School and later the Wyndcroft School. When she was 12, she started writing songs and performing in local coffee shops. She met a talent manager who helped her get jobs modeling for Abercrombie & Fitch and having her original song included on a Maybelline CD. She eventually landed a role on the Broadway show X-Men: The Musical, and then began working with New York City-based agent Dan Dymtrow. Dymtrow would later help her land a job with the NBC television show Saturday Night Live, where she performed a parody rap song with T-Pain.
She soon signed a multi-album deal with Big Machine Records. The first two albums, 1989 and Blank Space, were a huge success. Both topped the charts in their respective releases. The 1989 album also won a Grammy Award for Best Country Album. In addition to her musical career, she has also appeared in several films and TV shows.
After her second album, Taylor made a transition to pop music. Her third album, Fearless, was a major success and earned her many awards and nominations. Its biggest hits include Shake It Off and Style. It also spawned its own iconic music video, with the singer dressed in a bejeweled dress and kicking her evil stepmother and stepsisters out of her mansion. It was the most-viewed video on TikTok at the time of its release.
Swift’s fourth album, RED, was released in October 2012. It was her first number 1 album in the US. The album featured a more mature sound than her previous works. It explores more nuanced relationship issues and opened up new sonic vistas for her. The album received critical acclaim, with “USA Today” saying that it saw Swift “write ever-more convincingly—and wittily and painfully—about the messy emotions of a young twenty something”.
In 2021, she surprised fans by releasing an extended re-recording of her fourth studio album, Red, as well as a short film to accompany it. The project was part of her effort to own the master recordings of her earlier albums after it was discovered that her original recordings were owned by a media company controlled by Scooter Braun, who had been accused of bullying.
In 2021, Taylor also appeared on the single “Gasoline” from Haim’s expanded edition of their album Women in Music Pt. III, and on two tracks from the indie folk band Big Red Machine’s 2021 album How Long Do You Think This Is Gonna Last?
