Whether you are a Taylor Swift fan or not, there’s no denying that the little girl from West Reading, Pennsylvania, has grown up from humble beginnings to be possibly the biggest, most influential music artist on the planet today.
Born on December 13, 1989, and named after singer-songwriter, James Taylor, she spent summers in her early years at the family’s holiday home in New Jersey, often performing acoustic songs at a local coffee shop. She enjoyed performing in theatre productions, travelling regularly to New York City for vocal and acting lessons. She even auditioned in a screen test for the Les Miserable movie role of Eponine in 2012 and in 2019 played the role of Bombalurina in the movie ‘Cats’ where she sings “Macavity, The Mystery Cat”. She also wrote and recorded an original song for the movie, “Beautiful Ghosts.”
Taylor’s early love for country music was influenced by many artists including Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes, and the Dixie Chicks. At the age of 11, she travelled to Nashville with her Mum to visit record labels and submit demo tapes of karaoke covers. After being rejected, she took up guitar lessons and began focusing on songwriting.
She was given an opportunity to perform some of her original songs at an RCA Records showcase, resulting in a ‘demo deal’ with the record label. She travelled regularly with her Mother to Nashville, where she received training to help develop her skills and public profile.
When Taylor was 14, the family moved to Tennessee to help her break into the country music scene. She continued attending High School and would meet up after school on a Tuesday for a writing session with some experienced songwriters.
In 2005, she was signed to an independent record label, Big Machine Records and began working on her first album, called “Taylor Swift”. Released in October 2006, it peaked at number five on the United States Billboard 200. It spent 157 weeks on the charts, which was the longest stay on the charts in the 2000s decade.
She made radio and television appearances promoting her album, tapping into a previously unknown market – teenage girls who listen to country music. She released five songs from this album, with two reaching number one on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs. She became the youngest person to write and sing a Hot Country number one single.
During 2006 and 2007, she was the opening act for other country musicians and received various awards including the Academy of Country Music Awards “Top New Female vocalist”, and the American Music Awards “Favourite Country Female Artist Honor.”
Her second studio album, Fearless, was the best-selling album in 2009 in the US and the longest-running number one female country album, and the song “Love Story” became her first number one in Australia.
Her third studio album in 2010, “Speak Now”, became the fastest-selling digital album by a female artist.
In 2014, Taylor released what she called her first “official pop album”. Three singles, including “Shake It Off” reached number one in Australia and that year she won seven awards, including Billboard’s Woman of the Year, for the second time.
Year after year, album after album, Taylor consistently wins awards, some of them for a second time, being the first artist to do so in some categories and has broken many records in the music industry. By 2018, she had become the American Music Awards most awarded female musician.
She has won 14 Grammy Awards, 40 American Music Awards, 39 Billboard Music Awards, (all being the most won by an artist), 23 MTV Video Music Awards, 12 Country Music Association Awards, two Brit Awards, 118 Guiness World Records and has been ranked as the Global Recording Artist of the Year, not once but four times. Her achievements show just how popular she is in Australia, being the first artist to occupy the top five of the albums chart and the top ten of the singles chart. As a songwriter, Taylor has been honoured by the Songwriters Hall of Fame and in 2015, she was the youngest person on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.
And the records don’t stop there. Each time Taylor takes to the stage on tour, there is a new milestone. The 1989 (name after her fifth studio album) World Tour, was the highest-grossing tour of 2015 and her 2023/2024 Eras Tour, which covers music from all of her studio albums, is the highest-grossing tour of all time, whilst she is also the most streamed artist on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.
It is hard to find words to describe her talent, the connection she has with her fans and the positive influence she has on the music industry. What she has achieved in such a short time, can for some, take a lifetime. For sure, it can be said, that Taylor Swift is a leading figure in popular music and her documentary, “Miss Americana” showcases her transformation over almost two decades in the limelight, from her beginnings to the pop icon she is today.
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