Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13, 1989, inWest Reading, Pennsylvania.[1] She is named after the singer-songwriterJames Taylor;[2] her parents chose a unisex name, hoping it would help her succeed in business.[3] Her father, Scott Kingsley Swift, was astockbroker forMerrill Lynch, and her mother, Andrea Gardner Swift (née Finlay), worked as amutual fund marketing executive.[4] Swift's younger brother,Austin, is an actor.[5] The siblings are of Scottish, English, and German descent, with distant Italian and Irish ancestry.[6][7][8] Their maternal grandmother,Marjorie Finlay (née Moehlenkamp), was an opera singer whose singing in church became one of Swift's earliest memories of music.[9]
At the age of 11, Swift traveled to Nashville with her mother to visit record labels and submitdemo tapes ofDolly Parton andDixie Chicks karaoke covers.[22] She was rejected by all the labels, which led her to focus on songwriting.[23] She started learning the guitar at the age of 12 with the help of a computer repairman and local musician who assisted Swift with writing an original song.[24] In 2003, she and her parents started working with the talent manager Dan Dymtrow. With his help, Swift modeled forAbercrombie & Fitch, had an original song included on aMaybelline compilation CD, and was given anartist development deal fromRCA Records at 13.[25][26] To help Swift break into the country music scene, her father transferred to Merrill Lynch's Nashville office when she was 14 years old, and the family relocated toHendersonville, Tennessee.[27][28] Swift attendedHendersonville High School for two years before transferring to Aaron Academy, which offered homeschooling.[3][29][30]
2004–2008: Career beginnings andTaylor Swift
Swift promoting her debut album in 2007
Swift signed toSony/ATV Tree Music Publishing in 2004; at 14, she became the youngest signee in the publishing company's history.[31] In Nashville, she worked with experiencedMusic Row songwriters, includingLiz Rose.[32][33] Rose and Swift would write songs every Tuesday afternoon after school.[34] After one year on the development deal, she left RCA Records, who decided to keep her in development until she turned 18.[35] Swift made this decision because she wanted to release the songs immediately, to make sure that they still resonated with her teenage experiences.[36]
Swift organized a showcase concert atBluebird Cafe on November 3, 2004; among the attendees wereScott Borchetta, a music executive who was planning to establish anindependent record label,Big Machine Records.[37] She signed arecording contract with Big Machine two weeks after the concert, on the condition that her albums would be written by herself;[38][39] her father purchased a three-percent stake in the company.[40] The contract was finalized by July 2005, when Swift ended the working relationship with Dymtrow.[41] She spent four months near the end of 2005 recording her debut album,Taylor Swift, with the producerNathan Chapman.[42]
Swift's debut single, "Tim McGraw", was released in June 2006. She and her mother spent mid-2006 sending promotional copies of the song tocountry radio stations across the US.[43]Taylor Swift was released on October 24, 2006.[44] On the USBillboard 200 chart, the album peaked at number five and spent 157 weeks—the longest chart run by an album in the 2000s.[45] WithTaylor Swift, she became the first female country music artist to write or co-write every track on aplatinum-certified debut album.[46] The album was promoted by a six-month radio tour and Swift'sopening for other country artists, includingRascal Flatts in 2006,[42][47] andGeorge Strait,[48]Brad Paisley,[49] andTim McGraw and Faith Hill in 2007.[50] She opened for Rascal Flatts again in 2008,[51] when she dated the singerJoe Jonas.[52]
Swift's second studio album,Fearless, was released on November 11, 2008, in North America,[59] and in March 2009 in other markets.[60]Fearless spent 11 weeks atop theBillboard 200, becoming her first chart topper and the longest-running number-one female country album; it was the best-selling album of 2009 in the US.[61][62] The album's lead single, "Love Story", became the first country song to top the Pop Songs chart, and its third single, "You Belong with Me", was the first country song to topBillboard's all-genreRadio Songs chart;[63][64] both reached the top five of theBillboard Hot 100 chart and peaked atop the Hot Country Songs chart.[65][66] Three other singles—"White Horse", "Fifteen", "Fearless"—all reached the top 10 of Hot Country Songs.[66] In 2009, Swift opened forKeith Urban's tour and embarked on her first headlining tour, theFearless Tour.[67]
Swift wrote her third studio album,Speak Now, entirely by herself.[87] Released on October 25, 2010,[88]Speak Now expands on thecountry pop sound ofFearless and incorporates strongrock music influences.[89]Speak Now debuted atop the USBillboard 200 with over one million first-week copies sold, registering the highest single-week tally for a female country artist.[90] Five of its singles—"Mine", "Back to December", "Mean", "Sparks Fly", and "Ours"—charted in the top three of Hot Country Songs; "Sparks Fly" and "Ours" reached number one.[66] "Mine" peaked at number three and was the highest-charting single on theBillboard Hot 100.[91]
Swift embarked on theSpeak Now World Tour from February 2011 to March 2012.[92] In 2011, Swift was honored as Woman of the Year byBillboard,[93] Entertainer of the Year by both the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Country Music Association Awards,[94] and Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards.[95] She again won Entertainment of the Year by the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2012.[96] At the54th Annual Grammy Awards in 2012, "Mean" won Best Country Song andBest Country Solo Performance.[97] AfterSpeak Now's release, Swift dated the actorJake Gyllenhaal.[76]
On October 22, 2012, Swift released her fourth studio album,Red,[98] which featured collaborations with Chapman and new producers includingMax Martin,Shellback,Dan Wilson,Jeff Bhasker,Dann Huff, andButch Walker. Conceived as a record that expanded beyond Swift's country pop releases,Red incorporates eclectic styles of pop and rock such asBritrock,dubstep, anddance-pop,[99][100] leading to a critical debate over Swift's status as a country musician.[101] The album opened at number one on theBillboard 200 with 1.21 million sales, becoming the fastest-selling country album in US history.[102] It was Swift's first number-one album in the UK.[103] During promotion ofRed, Swift was romantically involved with the political heirConor Kennedy, and subsequently the singerHarry Styles.[76]
The two most successful singles fromRed, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" and "I Knew You Were Trouble", peaked at numbers one and two on theBillboard Hot 100.[104] Both of them also reached the top five on theUK singles chart, and the former was Swift's first chart topper in the US.[105][106] Two other singles, "Begin Again" and "Red", peaked in the top 10 of theBillboard Hot 100;[65] while two others, "Everything Has Changed" and "22", reached the top 10 on the UK singles chart.[105]The Red Tour ran from March 2013 to June 2014 and became the highest-grossing country tour with revenue of $150.2 million upon completion.[107] Swift was named Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards in 2013.[108]
Swift relocated from Nashville to New York City in March 2014 and transformed her image from country to pop with her fifth studio album,1989.[117][118] She produced1989 with Martin, Shellback, Chapman, and new collaboratorsJack Antonoff,Imogen Heap,Ryan Tedder, andAli Payami.[119] Rooted in 1980ssynth-pop,1989 incorporates upbeatdance andelectronic arrangements ofsynthesizers,drum machines, and processed vocals.[120] Released on October 27, 2014, the album spent 11 weeks at number one and one year in the top 10 of theBillboard 200.[121][122] It has sold 14 million copies worldwide, becoming Swift's best-selling album.[123]
During promotion of1989, Swift publicly opposed freemusic streaming services. She published anop-ed inThe Wall Street Journal in July 2014 to stress the importance of albums as a creative medium for artists,[131] and, in November, removed her discography from ad-supported, free streaming platforms such asSpotify.[132] Big Machine kept her music only on paid, subscription-required platforms.[133] In a June 2015 open letter, Swift criticizedApple Music for not offering royalties to artists during its free three-month trial period and threatened to withdraw her music from the platform,[134] which promptedApple Inc. to announce that it would pay artists during the free trial period.[135] Big Machine returned Swift's catalog to Spotify and other free streaming platforms in June 2017.[136]
In April 2016, Kanye West released the single "Famous", in which he references Swift in the line, "I made that bitch famous." Swift criticized West and said she never consented to the lyric, but West claimed that he had received her approval, and his then-wife,Kim Kardashian, released video clips of Swift and West discussing the song amicably over the phone. Although the clips were proven to be purposefully edited,[141] the controversy made Swift a subject of an online "cancel" movement, where her critics denounced her as a fake and calculating "snake".[142] In late 2016, after briefly dating the actorTom Hiddleston, Swift began a six-year relationship with the actorJoe Alwyn and underwent a hiatus.[143][144]
In August 2017, Swiftcountersued and won a case against David Mueller, a formerradio jockey forKYGO-FM, who sued her for damages from loss of employment. Four years earlier, she informed Mueller's employer that he had sexually assaulted her by groping her at an event.[145] The public controversies influenced Swift's sixth studio album,Reputation, which explores themes of fame, drama, and finding love amidst the tumultuous affairs.[146] A primarilyelectropop album, itsmaximalist production experiments withurban styles ofhip-hop andR&B.[147][148] Released on November 10, 2017,[149]Reputation opened atop theBillboard 200 with 1.21 million US sales[150] and also reached number one in Australia,[151] Canada,[152] and the UK.[153]
Reputation's lead single, "Look What You Made Me Do", topped theBillboard Hot 100 with the highest sales and streaming week of 2017,[154] and was Swift's first UK number-one single.[155] The singles "...Ready for It?", "End Game", and "Delicate" were released to pop radio, all of which reached the top 20 on theBillboard Hot 100.[156] In 2018, Swift featured onSugarland's "Babe",[157] surpassedWhitney Houston as the most-awarded female musician at the American Music Awards,[158] and embarked on theReputation Stadium Tour, which grossed $345.7 million worldwide.[159]
2018–2021:Lover,Folklore, andEvermore
In November 2018, Swift signed a record deal withUniversal Music Group, which promoted her albums underRepublic Records' imprint.[160] The contract included a provision for Swift to maintain ownership of hermasters. In addition, in the event that Universal sold any part of its stake in Spotify, it agreed to distribute a non-recoupable portion of the proceeds among its artists.[161][162]
Swift's first album with Republic Records and seventh overall,Lover, was released on August 23, 2019.[163] She produced the album with Antonoff,Louis Bell,Frank Dukes, andJoel Little.[164]Lover peaked atop the charts of such countries as Australia, Canada, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, the UK, and the US,[165] and was the global best-selling album by a solo artist of 2019.[166] Three of its singles—"Me!", "You Need to Calm Down", and "Lover"—were released in 2019 and peaked in the top 10 of theBillboard Hot 100. "The Man" was released in 2020 and reached the top 30, and "Cruel Summer" became a resurgent success in 2023, reaching number one.[167]
In 2019, Swift was honored as Artist of the Decade by the American Music Awards and Woman of the Decade byBillboard,[168][169] and became the first female artist to win Video of the Year for a self-directed video with "You Need to Calm Down" at the MTV Video Music Awards.[170] During promotion ofLover, Swift became embroiled in apublic dispute with the talent managerScooter Braun after he purchased Big Machine Records, including the masters of her albums under the label.[171] Swift said that Big Machine would allow her to acquire the masters only if she exchanged one new album for each older one under a new contract, which she refused to sign.[171] In November 2020, Swift beganre-recording her back catalog, which would enable her to control the licensing of her songs forcommercial use.[172]
In February 2020, Swift signed a global publishing deal withUniversal Music Publishing Group after her 16-year contract with Sony/ATV expired.[173] Amidst theCOVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Swiftsurprise-released two "sister albums" that she recorded and produced with Antonoff andAaron Dessner:Folklore on July 24, andEvermore on December 11.[174] Joe Alwyn co-wrote and co-produced several songs under the pseudonym William Bowery.[175] Both albums incorporate muted, atmosphericindie folk andindie rock sounds withorchestrations;[176][177] each was supported by three singles catering to US pop, country, andtriple A radio formats. The singles were "Cardigan", "Betty", and "Exile" fromFolklore, and "Willow", "No Body, No Crime", and "Coney Island" fromEvermore.[178]Folklore and "Cardigan" made Swift the first artist to debut a number-one album and a number-one song in the same week in the US; she achieved the feat again withEvermore and "Willow".[179]
Swift's tenth studio album,Midnights, was released on October 21, 2022.[189] The album features aminimalist electropop and synth-pop sound,[190][191] with elements of hip-hop, R&B, andelectronica.[189][192]Midnights was Swift's fifth album to open atop theBillboard 200 chart with US first-week sales of one million. Its tracks, led by the single "Anti-Hero", made her the first artist to occupy the entire top 10 of theBillboard Hot 100 the same week.[193] The album peaked atop the charts of at least 14 other countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, and Sweden.[194] Two other singles, "Lavender Haze" and "Karma", both peaked at number two on theBillboard Hot 100.[195]
In 2022, Swift won Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards[205] and Video of the Year forAll Too Well: The Short Film, her self-directed short film that accompanies "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" at the MTV Video Music Awards;All Too Well also won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video.[206][207] The following year, she again won the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year with "Anti-Hero",[208] became the first musician to rank at number one onBillboard's year-end top artists list in three different decades (2009, 2015 and 2023),[209] and had five out of the 10 best-selling albums of the year in the US, a record sinceLuminate began tracking US music sales in 1991.[210] At the66th Annual Grammy Awards in 2024,Midnights made Swift the first artist to win Album of the Year four times; it also won Best Pop Vocal Album.[211]
2023–present: The Eras Tour,The Tortured Poets Department, andThe Life of a Showgirl
The Tortured Poets Department was released on April 19, 2024. The same day, it was expanded as adouble album, subtitledThe Anthology.[229] It became the first album to accumulate one billion streams on Spotify within one week and topped charts of various countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the UK.[230][231] In the US,The Tortured Poets Department debuted atop theBillboard 200 with 2.6 million first-week units and stayed at number one for 17 weeks, becoming Swift's longest-running number-one album.[232] The album was the global best-seller of 2024, with 5.6 million pure copies sold.[233] Its songs made her the first artist to monopolize the top 14 of theBillboard Hot 100 the same week;[230] the lead single, "Fortnight", peaked atop the chart, while the second single, "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart", peaked at number three.[234] On May 30, 2025, Swift finalized the purchase of the masters to her first six original studio albums fromShamrock Holdings, which had acquired them from Braun in 2020.[235]
With continuous musical reinventions, Swift was described as a musical "chameleon" by publications such asTime and theBBC.[243][244][245] Her discography spans styles of pop,[246][247] country,[248][249]folk,[250][251] and rock,[252][253] with elements of R&B, hip-hop, andindie pop.[254][255] She self-identified as a country musician with her first four studio albums, fromTaylor Swift toRed.[256][257] Her influences were female country artists of the 1990s such as Shania Twain, Faith Hill,LeAnn Rimes, the Dixie Chicks,[258] and Keith Urban's countrycrossover sound with elements of rock, pop, andblues.[259] The albums feature a country pop sound defined by instruments such assix-string banjo,mandolin,fiddle, a slighttwang in Swift's vocals, and pop-rock melodies;[260][261]Speak Now draws on rock styles of the 1970s and 1980s such aspop rock,pop-punk, andarena rock.[87][262] Some critics argued that country was an indicator of Swift's songwriting rather than musical style[263][264] and accused her of causing mainstream country to stray away from its roots.[265][266]
After the critical debate aroundRed's eclectic pop, rock, and electronic styles, Swift chose 1980s synth-pop as a defining sound of her recalibrated pop artistry and image, inspired by the music ofPhil Collins,Annie Lennox,Peter Gabriel, andMadonna.[267][268]1989, the first album in this direction, incorporates electronic arrangements consisting of dense synthesizers and drum machines.[269] Swift expanded on the electronic production on her next albums.[270]Reputation consists of hip-hop, R&B, and EDM influences; maximalist arrangements of heavy bass and manipulated vocals; and an emphasis on rhythm.[147][148][271]Lover incorporates eclectic sounds from country, pop-punk, andfolk rock.[272]Midnights andThe Tortured Poets Department both have a minimalist synth-pop sound characterized byanalog synthesizers, sustainedbass notes, and simple drum machine patterns;[273][274] whileThe Life of a Showgirl incorporates pop andsoft rock.[275] When Swift embraced a pop identity,rockist critics regarded it as an erosion of her country songwriting authenticity,[276] but others considered it necessary for her artistic evolution and defended her as a pioneer ofpoptimism.[123][277]
Her 2020 albumsFolklore andEvermore, described by some critics as "alternative",[278][279] explore indie folk and rock styles. They incorporate a subtle, stripped-back soundscape with orchestrations, muted synthesizers, and drum pads.[176][280][281]Evermore experiments with varied song structures, asymmetrictime signatures, and diverse instruments.[282][283] Critics deemed the indie styles a mature representation of Swift's singer-songwriter status and credited her with popularizing "alternative" music, although there were disagreements on this description.[284]
Swift possesses amezzo-sopranovocal range,[289] but she mostly sings in heralto range.[290][291][292] Herpitch,dialect andaccent have undergone many changes throughout her career.[293] Reviews of her early country albums criticized her vocals as weak and strained compared to those of other female country singers.[294] Defenders of Swift appreciated that she refrained from correcting her pitch withAuto-Tune and how she prioritized intimacy and emotionality to communicate the messages of her songs with her audience,[295] a style that critics have described as conversational.[290][296] According to the criticAnn Powers, this singing style is demonstrated through Swift's attention to detail to convey an exact feeling—"the subtle adjustment of words and phrases to suggest moods like doubt, hope, and intimacy".[290][297]
OnRed and1989, Swift's vocals are processed with electronic effects such as synthesizer tweaking, looping, and multitracking, to accompany the pop production.[298][290] Her voice onReputation andMidnights incorporates hip-hop and R&B influences that result in a near-rap delivery which emphasizes rhythm andcadence over melody.[254][299] She uses her lowerregister vocals extensively inFolklore[300] and both her lower and upper registers inEvermore; themusicologist Alyssa Barca described hertimbre in the upper register as "breathy and bright" and the lower register as "full and dark".[283]
Reception of Swift's vocals has been more positive since the release ofFolklore. The criticAmanda Petrusich commented in 2023 that her singing became richer with stronger clarity and tone, even in live performances.[301]Rolling Stone ranked her 102nd on their 2023 list "200 Greatest Singers of All Time"; the magazine argued that her breathy timbre allows for a broad range of delivery and commented: "A decade ago, including her on this list would have been a controversial move, but recent releases likeFolklore,Evermore, andMidnights officially settled the argument."[302] For Powers, Swift's versatile vocals are a result of her evolving artistry, combining "subtle interpolations of hip-hop's cadences and country crooners' relaxed timbre".[254]
Swift considers herself a songwriter first and foremost.[27][310] She divides her lyrics into three types: "quill lyrics", songs rooted in antiquated poeticism; "fountain pen lyrics", based on modern and vivid storylines; and "glittergel pen lyrics", which are lively and frivolous.[311] Using songwriting to cope with personal experiences, her songs are largely autobiographical and feature narratives that mostly revolve around love and romantic relationships.[28][312][313] She would start writing by identifying an emotion she wanted to convey, and the story and melody would follow.[314] WhereTaylor Swift andFearless are rooted in adolescent feelings and detail optimistic romance inspired by fairy tales,Speak Now reflects her young adulthood with newfound wisdom on real-life heartbreak.[315][87]Red explores the tumult of an intense breakup, and1989 reflects on failed relationships with a wistful perspective; both albums incorporate lyrics that hint at sex, reflecting her personal growth.[291] Swift describedLover as a "love letter to love", inspired by her realization of "love that was very real".[316]
As her career progressed, Swift wrote about self-perception and confrontation against her critics, influenced by fame,sexism, and scrutiny on her personal life by the press.[317] This was first exhibited inSpeak Now, which set the precedent for the frantic media speculations on the subjects of Swift's songs, specifically concerning her dating history;[318] Swift considers this practice sexist.[319]Reputation both tackles the public controversies that tarnished her wholesome image and addresses a blossoming romance with intimacy and vulnerability; its extensive references to sex and alcohol set it apart from the youthful innocence that had informed Swift's past albums.[147][320][321] The nocturnal ruminations addressed inMidnights encompass regrets and fantasies, informed by Swift's self-awareness of her fame.[190]The Tortured Poets Department was conceived amidst her heightened fame brought by the Eras Tour and intensely publicized love life during 2023.[221] It explores heartbreak and other themes to extremes: erotic desires, forbidden love, and escaping from the public spotlight.[255][322]
OnFolklore andEvermore, Swift was inspired byescapism andromanticism to explore fictional narratives, deviating from the autobiographical songwriting that had characterized her artistry.[323] She imposed her emotions onto imagined characters and story arcs, inspired by authors and poets ofromantic andmodernist literature likeF. Scott Fitzgerald,Robert Frost,William Wordsworth, andEmily Dickinson;[324][325] the last of whom was a distant cousin of Swift.[326] The characters ofFolklore andEvermore construct their narratives based on fragments of memory, symbolizing the nature of folktales and oral traditions that pass through time.[327]
Swift considers her songwriting "confessional",[319][328] and academics have connected her style to that ofconfessional poetry, in that her songs reference personal events and publicize internal feelings to her audience.[313][329] Critical reception of her songwriting has been largely positive,[27][330][331] and her melodic compositions have been highlighted for optimizing theverse-chorus form with memorablebridges.[290][332][333] Several scholars have credited her with taking the confessional singer-songwriter tradition to new heights,[334][335] and she has been variedly described by journalists as a "poet laureate"—of puberty,[27][336] of romance,[337] and of her generation.[338][339] Some critics have dismissed her "confessional" style as material fortabloid gossip.[340] Objection to the perceived poetic value of her songs, mostly from rockist critics, views her as a pop star using literary subtexts as a commercial ploy, with metaphors that are at times imprecise or self-indulgent.[341]
Scholars have attributed criticisms of Swift's songwriting to sexism. The musicologist Travis Stimeling argued that whereas Swift's autobiographical authenticity conforms to country and rock standards, her detractors, mostly male, view her lyrical depictions of a young woman's experiences as trivial and unworthy of serious merit.[342] According to the English-language academic Ryan Hibbett, this gendered criticism bars Swift from receiving full artistic credentials as doesBob Dylan, whose reliance on romantic themes and occasional literary imprecisions are not as harshly criticized.[343] In the view of the literary criticStephanie Burt, although Swift's writing is not poetry in its traditional sense, it is proficient at "placing inventive, evocative language into pop melodies designed to be sung".[344]
Swift's concerts are equipped with elaborate settings, incorporating elements fromBroadway theatre andhigh tech.[345][346][347] She does not rely on elaborate choreography and instead emphasizes connecting emotionally with her audience through storytelling and vocal delivery.[348] Since 2007, she has toured with the same live band.[349] She plays four instruments live: guitar (includingelectric, acoustic six-string, andtwelve-string), six-string banjo, piano, andukulele.[350][351][352]
Critics have praised her stage presence, stamina,[353][354] and ability to bring forth an intimate atmosphere for her audience, even in stadium settings.[301][355][356]Sasha Frere-Jones, in a 2008 article forThe New Yorker, hailed her as a "preternaturally skilled" entertainer who exerted professionalism with a vibrant energy.[264] InTime's 2023Person of the Year piece,Sam Lansky wrote: "Swift is many things onstage—vulnerable and triumphant, playful and sad—but the intimacy of her songcraft is front and center."[331]
Videos and filmmaking
Swift emphasizes visuals as a key creative component of her music.[357] She established her production company,Taylor Swift Productions, in 2008.[358] Her directorial debut was the music video for "Mine", co-directed withRoman White, in 2010;[359] and she developed the concept andtreatment for "Mean" in 2011.[360] For the music videos of the1989 andReputation singles, she had an extensive collaboration with the directorJoseph Kahn on eight videos;[361] among them, she produced "Bad Blood", which wonBest Music Video at the Grammy Awards in 2016.[362] She worked withAmerican Express for the "Blank Space" music video (which Kahn directed) and served as executive producer for the interactive appAMEX Unstaged: Taylor Swift Experience, for which she won aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Interactive Program in 2015.[363]
Swift has won 14 Grammy Awards (including fourAlbum of the Year wins—the most by an artist),[369] 12 Country Music Association Awards,[370] 8 Academy of Country Music Awards,[371] 2Brit Awards,[372] and anEmmy Award.[373] She is the most-awarded artist of the American Music Awards (40 wins),[374]Billboard Music Awards (49),[375] and MTV Video Music Awards (30, tied withBeyoncé).[376] Swift is the first woman and second artist overall (afterGarth Brooks) to be honored with the Pinnacle Award by the Country Music Association Awards,in 2013,[377] and the first woman to receive the Global Icon Award by the Brit Awards,in 2021.[378] At the 64thBMI Pop Awards in 2016, Swift became the first female songwriter to be honored with an award named after its recipient, the Taylor Swift Award.[379] She is the youngest person to be featured onRolling Stone's 2015 list "The 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time",[380] received the Songwriter Icon Award from theNational Music Publishers' Association in 2021,[381] and was named the Songwriter-Artist of the Decade by the Nashville Songwriters Association International in 2022.[193]
In the US, Swift has sold 116.7 million album units, including 54 million pure sales, as of May 2025.[393] She is the solo artist with the most weeks at number one on theBillboard 200;[394] the female artist with the most number-one albums on theBillboard 200 (14) and most number-one debuts on theBillboard Hot 100 (7, tied withAriana Grande);[230] the artist with the most number-one songs onPop Airplay;[395] the first artist to chart five albums in the top 10 of theBillboard 200;[396] and the first woman to have both an album (Fearless) and a song ("Shake It Off") receive Diamond certifications from theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[397]Billboard ranked her at number eight on its list "Greatest of All Time Artists" (2019),[398] number two on "Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century" (2024),[249] and number one on "Top 100 Women Artists of the 21st Century" and "Top Artists of the 21st Century" (both 2025).[399][400]
Swift has appeared in power listings. In 2024, she became the first solo artist, and second overall (after Beyoncé andJay-Z), to topBillboard's annual Power 100 ranking of the top music industry executives.[401]Time included her on its annual list of the100 most influential people in 2010, 2015, and 2019.[402][403][404] She was one of the "Silence Breakers" that the magazine spotlighted as Person of the Year in 2017 for speaking up about sexual assault.[405] In 2023, she became the first person to be recognized asTime's Person of the Year for "achievement in the arts" and the first woman to appear on a Person of the Year cover more than once.[406][331] She received anhonoraryDoctor of Fine Arts degree fromNew York University and served as itscommencement speaker on May 18, 2022.[193]
Swift is an enduring figure of 21st-centurypopular culture.[245] Her career trajectory from a country singer-songwriter to a pop star in the 2000s and 2010s was the subject of extensive commentary.[256][407] Deemed "America's Sweetheart" in her early career, she was described in the press as a "media darling" with agirl next door's polite demeanor and open-hearted conversations.[408][409] Swift displayed a feminine image but refrained from the "aggressively sexualized feminist pop" of her contemporaries, leading publications to comment that hersex appeal was modest, subtle, and sophisticated.[256][410][411] The adolescent themes of Swift's music contributed to her status as ateen idol,[412][413] although severalfeminist authors took issue with her songs about romantic relationships as narrow-minded and detrimental to girls and women, who made up the majority of her fanbase known asSwifties.[414]
Upon recalibrating her artistry to pop music, Swift has identified as a feminist and achieved apop icon status.[270][409] In 2013, the authorJody Rosen labelled Swift the "Queen of Pop", citing her popularity that defied traditional boundaries between "genres, eras, demographics, paradigms, trends".[256] Her feminist public image garnered varying reactions from the public, including praise that regarded her success in a male-dominated music industry as an inspiration for girls and women, and criticism that dismissed her feminist adoption as superficial and self-interested.[415]
The 2016 dispute with Kanye West bolstered the narrative by her detractors that she was a calculating and manipulative woman despite her sweetheart image, and deepenedtheir feud that has resonated in their respective careers.[74][416] Her artistic reinventions in the 2020s turned her into an acclaimed singer-songwriter.[278] Buoyed by her enduring pop stardom, she has been recognized as a rare phenomenon that combines the pop star and singer-songwriter archetypes with unprecedented success.[334][343] Swift is a knowntriskaidekaphile, known for using the number13 in her various works.[417]
Swift is one of the few artists who consistently sells millions of albums throughout two decades of artistic reinventions despite the industry decline of record sales after thealbum era had ended.[418][419] In this regard, academics and journalists have described her as "the last pop superstar" and "the last great rock star" of the 21st century.[420][421][422] Her commercial strategies to bolster sales of albums and concert tickets have earned her a reputation as a savvy businesswoman.[423][424][425] The economistAlan Krueger described Swift as an "economic genius".[426] Strategies such as enhanced material for physical album variants andeaster egg usage in her works became indicative of music marketing trends.[427][428]
Swift's success in country music has been credited with popularizing the genre beyond the US and introducing it to adolescent women, a previously ignored demographic.[256][429][430] The criticKelefa Sanneh dubbed Swift the biggest country star since Garth Brooks, "and maybe since before him, too".[431] Her guitar performances resulted in increasing sales of guitars to women, which the media dubbed the "Taylor Swift factor".[432][433] Her transition from country to pop has been credited as the catalyst forpoptimism,[434] and her songwriting and musical transitions have been credited with influencing a new generation of artists.[280][430][435] According toBillboard, Swift is one of the few artists who could achieve chart success, critical acclaim, and fan support at the same time,[436] and she has the ability to popularize any sound in mainstream music.[437]
Swift's enduring popularity, particularly to female audiences, contributed to her status as a representation ofmillennials,[438] or more broadly, her generation'szeitgeist.[439][440] Her fandom of Swifties has been described by journalists and academics as one of the most loyal and dedicated.[441][442][443] In the views ofTime's Cady Lang, she maintained her superstardom by her "savvy manipulation of both the industry and [her] personal brand".[444] According to the popular-culture scholars Mary Fogarty andGina Arnold, Swift is arguably the singular artist "whose story encapsulates many of the urgent conflicts in early twenty-first-century American culture".[445] In a 2024 article forThe New York Times, Joe Coscarelli wrote that her lasting popularity provoked debates that compared her not only to contemporaries likeDrake or Beyoncé, but also to veteran artists likethe Beatles,Michael Jackson,Elton John, or Madonna.[446]
Swift's advocacy for artists' rights and re-recording projects have contributed to industry-wide discourses and reforms.[447][448][449] Her artistry and career maneuvers have been the subject of various university courses in literary, cultural, andsociopolitical contexts.[245][450] According to the popular culture scholars Sarai Brinker, Kate Galloway, and Elizabeth Scala, Swift's legacy has been both embraced and critiqued by different affiliations—feminist andqueer communities,far-right groups, and religious organizations, and studied by experts in various fields—musicology, literature, sociology, media theory, linguistics, and culture studies.[451]
Wealth and other activities
Through her management company, TAS Rights Management, LLC, Swift has filed over 300 trademark applications in the US and holds more than 400 registrations worldwide, as of August 2025[update]. Her filings include her name "Taylor Swift", her fanbase name "Swifties", album cover art and titles, tour names, lyrics, slogans, and her cats' names.[452] Swift was listed byForbes as the world'shighest-paid musician in 2016 and 2019,[453][454] the highest-paid female musician of the 2010s decade,[455] and the highest-paid female musician of 2021 and 2022.[456][457]
By October 2023, as reported by bothForbes andBloomberg L.P., Swift achieved her billionaire status. She was recognized as the first billionaire "primarily based on her songs and performances", with the majority of her fortune coming from royalties and touring.[458][459] As of June 2025,[update] her estimated net worth byForbes stands at $1.6 billion, making her therichest female musician in the world.[458][460] Her real estate portfolio, estimated byForbes at $110 million as of 2025,[update][458] consists of residential properties in Nashville, New York City, Los Angeles (Samuel Goldwyn Estate), andRhode Island (High Watch).[461][462]
Swift'sprivate jet use has drawn scrutiny for itscarbon emissions.[463][464] In 2023, a spokesperson for Swift stated that she had purchased more than double the requiredcarbon credits to offset all tour travel and personal flights.[465][466] In December 2023, Swift's lawyers sent acease and desist letter to the American programmerJack Sweeney over tracking her private jet, alleging stalking and safety risks. Media outlets have reported that the information posted by Sweeney is a synthesis of publicly available data.[467][468] In February 2024, it was reported that Swift had sold one of her two private jets.[469]
In 2014, New York City named Swift its official tourism ambassador.[475] She had an exclusive streaming deal with Apple Music in 2015,[476] signed a multi-year deal withAT&T in 2016,[477] and partnered withUnited Parcel Service to distribute her albums in 2017.[409] In 2019, she signed a multi-year deal withCapital One and launched a clothing line withStella McCartney.[478][479] She became the first global ambassador forRecord Store Day in 2022.[480]
Swift avoided discussing politics in her early career.[409] In an interview withTime in 2012, she said that she kept herself as educated as possible but did not want to influence other people with her political opinions.[481] Due to her apolitical stance, she was appropriated by thealt-right movement in the US, which sparked controversy.[482] She did express support for PresidentBarack Obama in 2008: "I've never seen this country so happy about a political decision in my entire time of being alive."[3]
Since 2018, Swift has been public about her political views and abandoned her once apolitical stance.[409][483] She publicly endorsed twoDemocratic politicians for the2018 US midterm election, which resulted in headlines about how she finally dissociated herself from the alt-right andconservatives.[482] In interviews, she attributed her political reluctance in the past to the2003 Dixie Chicks controversy, which left a lasting impact on country musicians at large and female country musicians in particular.[484] She has openly criticized PresidentDonald Trump.[485] In 2020, Swift urged her fans to check their voter registration ahead of elections, which resulted in 65,000 people registering to vote within one day of her post,[486] and endorsed the Democratic ticket ofJoe Biden andKamala Harris in the2020 US presidential election.[487] For the2024 election, she once again endorsed the Democratic ticket of Harris andTim Walz.[488]
Swift's political engagements have been met with mixed reception: they have provoked further public discussions on political issues and empowered Swifties, but critics have questioned whether her political alignments were strategic in her career.[500] While some publications have argued that Swift's stardom had a significant impact on political involvements in the US, others have viewed her influence as sizable but overstated.[501][502] According to the popular-culture scholar Simone Driessen, her political impact reached beyond the US to Australia and Europe.[503]
She is a supporter of the arts. A benefactor of theNashville Songwriters Hall of Fame,[527] Swift has donated $75,000 to Hendersonville High School to help refurbish the school auditorium,[528] $4 million to build a new education center at theCountry Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville,[529] and $100,000 to theNashville Symphony.[530] In 2012, Swift partnered with Chegg for Good to donate $10,000 to the music departments of six US colleges.[531]
She has also provided one-off donations. In 2007, she partnered with the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police to launch a campaign to protect children from online predators.[532] She has donated items to several charities for auction, including theUNICEF Tap Project andMusiCares.[533] Swift has also encouraged young people to volunteer in their local communities as part ofGlobal Youth Service Day.[534] Also a promoter of children's literacy, she has donated money and books to schools around the country.[535][536] In 2018 and 2021, Swift donated to theRape, Abuse & Incest National Network in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.[537] Swift donated to fellow singer-songwriterKesha to help with her legal battles againstDr. Luke and to actressMariska Hargitay's Joyful Heart Foundation.[537][538]
During the Eras Tour, Swift donated to food banks in Florida, Arizona, and Las Vegas;[539] she also employed local businesses throughout the tour and gave $197 million inbonus payments to her entire crew.[540][541][542] In February 2024, she donated $100,000 to the family of a woman who died in ashooting at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl parade.[543][544] In December 2024, a week before Christmas, Swift donated $250,000 to Operation Breakthrough. The funds were directed to workforce development, childcare, and early learning programs.[545]
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