As a global pop star with a massive social media presence, Taylor Swift is one of the most influential people in music. She’s influenced the industry, popular culture and even politics through her songwriting, artistry, entrepreneurship and advocacy. But if you’ve only listened to her most commercially successful songs, you might not have realized just how versatile of an artist she is.
From ballads to power pop and even a few dance-rock hits, Swift has a knack for writing songs that are just as relevant now as they were when she first started her career. She’s never been afraid to try new things and explore her own sound. In fact, some of her most successful albums were the ones that saw her explore more nuanced relationship issues or genres.
In addition to her many solo hit singles, Taylor has written hits for a host of other artists, including “This Is What You Came For” with Calvin Harris and Zayn Malik and “Better Man” with Little Big Town. She’s also collaborated with the likes of Nicki Minaj, Ed Sheeran and Ariana Grande. She also co-wrote the song “Look What You Made Me Do” with Beyonce for her sixth album, Lemonade.
Despite being the most commercially successful artist in history, Taylor is not averse to taking risks. Whether it’s risking her image for a political cause or taking a break from the spotlight to focus on her mental health, Taylor’s willingness to be unafraid of the consequences has made her one of the most powerful female entertainers of her generation.
Taylor began her career at a relatively young age, writing and performing in local talent contests and competitions. She was eventually spotted at a showcase in Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe by Scott Borchetta, who helped her sign with the independent record label Big Machine Records at the age of 12.
From there, she quickly became a household name with the release of her fourth album, Fearless. The album was a huge success, selling over 2.5 million copies and propelling her to superstardom.
After the success of Fearless, Taylor started to experiment with her sound. She shifted away from the country-pop ratio of her earlier albums, and enlisted producers such as Max Martin and Shellback for 1989. This album is widely considered to be the turning point of her career, with Swift exploring more complicated relationship issues and embracing a fully matured style that is both sophisticated and fun.
This is also the album where she shattered a number of terrible myths about herself, such as the idea that she’s a serial dater. The album’s closing track, “Blank Space,” is a testament to her ability to take a sexy, high-fashion image and turn it into an anthem of self-love and confidence that can still command a stadium of screaming teenagers.
