Biography of Taylor Swift
Country-pop singer Taylor Swift is one of the brightest musical stars of the "new generation." She is beautiful, and talented, with her albums selling in millions and achieving multi-platinum status.Childhood
The future country-pop star was born on December 13, 1989, in the small town of Reading, Pennsylvania, but moved at an early age to another provincial town, Wyomissing. Her father was a renowned financial advisor, and her mother managed the household.First Steps to Success
As a teenager, Taylor Swift moved to one of the suburbs of bustling Nashville, a city rightfully called the capital of country music. Here, she began taking private lessons with songwriter Liz Rose and sang with her guitar on the streets, standing by the windows of a local café. It was there that producer Scott Borchetta noticed her. At that time, the music industry veteran was just starting to promote his own label, Big Machine Records, so meeting a young, talented singer was very timely.Rise
By this point, Taylor Swift had transformed from a promising young artist into one of the most popular stars on the global stage. Her position in the music industry was solidified by two new albums—"Speak Now" (2010) and "Red" (2012), each of which went quadruple platinum in the US and brought her phenomenal popularity in Europe. The young singer's tour geography extended from the US to Japan. She spent long months away from home, returning to the States only to collect another award. In 2013, she recorded a soundtrack for the movie "The Hunger Games," and her song "Safe and Sound" was nominated for a Golden Globe but lost to "Skyfall" by Adele.In 2014, Taylor Swift released her fifth studio album titled "1989," which she described as her "first documented official pop album" with a completely new style. The new release was a hit: in the first week, US residents bought 1.2 million copies of the album, and total sales approached 9 million copies. The singer's image also changed: replacing curls, t-shirts with bright prints, and short denim shorts were elegant evening outfits, heels, and perfect styling.
The summer of 2019 started with major troubles for Taylor Swift. The label Big Machine Records, under which her career began 13 years ago, was bought by Justin Bieber's producer and manager, Scooter Braun. Taylor's and other artists' opinions on the label, including Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, and Kanye West, were not considered in the deal.
The rights to all the artists' albums were transferred to Scooter Braun. Taylor Swift lost the rights to all the songs released before her album "Lover" (released in August 2019), as it was recorded on her own label, Taylor Swift Productions, Inc.
Taylor had no hope for a diplomatic resolution of the conflict, as Scooter Braun never hid his dislike for Swift and supported Kanye West when he mocked her. Moreover, Taylor admitted that she learned about the sale of the label from the media.Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun have now said that I’m not allowed to perform my old songs on television because they claim that would be re-recording my music before I’m allowed to next year. Additionally—and this isn’t the way I had planned on telling you this news—Netflix has created a documentary about my life for the past few years. Scott and Scooter have declined the use of my older music or performance footage for this project even though there is no mention of either of them or Big Machine Records anywhere in the film. Scott Borchetta told my team that they’ll allow me to use my music only if I do these things: If I agree to not re-record copycat versions of my songs next year (which is something I’m both legally allowed to do and looking forward to) and also told my team that I need to stop talking about him and Scooter Braun.
According to Forbes for 2019, Taylor Swift again became the musician with the highest income ($185 million), surpassing her rival Kanye West and British pop singer Ed Sheeran. Her album "Red" was among the top five albums of the 2010s according to Rolling Stone magazine. Here, Kanye still took the lead over Taylor: his album "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" ranked first, while Taylor's only reached fourth place.
Film Roles
Taylor's acting career began with an episode in the series "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." A few months later, in the fall of 2009, she appeared in a feature film about Hannah Montana with a cameo. Her screen appearance was brief, but during the filming, Taylor got along quite well with the lead actress, singer Miley Cyrus. The singer's appearance in the romantic comedy "Valentine's Day," released in 2010, was somewhat more noticeable. Subsequently, the American singer also appeared in the little-known film "Todd vs. High School," as well as in an episode of the comedy TV series "New Girl."Conflict with Kanye West
In 2009, Taylor Swift had a conflict with rapper Kanye West. She won the MTV award for "Best Female Video." As she went on stage to give her acceptance speech, the rapper suddenly grabbed the microphone from her and stated that Beyoncé's video, nominated in the same category, was the best video he had ever seen in his life. His words undoubtedly impressed Beyoncé, who was in the audience, but Taylor visibly wilted on the spot. Seven years later, the conflict continued: Kanye West released the single "Famous," which included the line: "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex, why? I made that bitch famous." Furthermore, the video featured a wax figure of a naked Swift (to be fair, there were many other figures, including Rihanna and George W. Bush).The 2020s: A Global Phenomenon
The year 2020 was incredibly eventful for Taylor Swift and resulted in a genuine creative rebirth for the singer. While the world went into lockdown, Taylor worked on new songs from her home.In July, she unexpectedly released the album "Folklore" – a true surprise announced just 24 hours before its release. The album marked a turning point: instead of her usual pop sound, fans were greeted with atmospheric indie-folk compositions featuring deep stories and characters. She worked on it remotely with members of The National and Bon Iver, creating music through video calls – very much in the spirit of 2020. But this was just the beginning. In December, she surprised the world again by releasing a second album, "Evermore" – a "sister" album to "Folklore." Taylor called it the continuation of her "woodland season."
There was also a turning point in her conflict with Scooter Braun over the rights to her old recordings. Taylor began the process of re-recording her early albums to regain control over her music.
The year 2021 was a return to her roots for Taylor Swift, but with an entirely new scope – the singer embarked on a long journey of re-recording her old albums! In April, she released "Fearless (Taylor's Version)" – a re-recorded version of her iconic 2008 album. It wasn't just a reissue – each song sounded new, and the tracklist included previously unreleased tracks. Fans were thrilled to hear their favorite teenage anthems performed by a more mature Taylor.
But the real sensation happened in November when she released "Red (Taylor's Version)" – the ten-minute version of "All Too Well" took the internet by storm. Taylor created a short film featuring Sadie Sink and Dylan O'Brien, turning the song into a true cinematic story. The red scarf from the song, seen as a nod to Taylor's ex-boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal, went viral on TikTok. That same year, Damon Albarn from Blur claimed Taylor doesn't write her own songs. She responded in her trademark style:
The music community rallied to her defense, and Albarn had to publicly apologize.I was a big fan of yours until I read this. I write all my songs. Your opinion is completely false and so damaging.
There were also touching moments – Taylor sent a special gift to a young mother, a longtime fan: a knitted baby blanket and a handwritten letter. When she learned one of her fans got into medical school, she sent flowers and a congratulatory card.
At the Grammy Awards, she won "Album of the Year" for "Folklore," becoming the first woman to receive this prestigious award three times. In her speech, she thanked not only her team but also her long-time fans who have supported her throughout her career. By the end of the year, Taylor broke several records – her ten-minute version of "All Too Well" became the longest song ever to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Red (Taylor's Version)" became the most-streamed album by a female artist in a single day on Spotify.
In August 2022, at the MTV Video Music Awards, Taylor announced the release of her new album "Midnights." She turned the announcement into an engaging game, revealing track titles each night on TikTok in a series called "Midnights Mayhem with Me." On October 21, "Midnights" was released and quickly broke all conceivable records: it became the most-streamed album in a single day on Spotify, and Taylor became the first artist to occupy all top 10 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously. "Anti-Hero," with its famous line "It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me," spawned thousands of memes. The year concluded with the announcement of the grand "Eras Tour," promising to be the biggest in Taylor's career. Swifties began preparing special outfits and friendship bracelets for exchanges at concerts. Ticketmaster experienced such a demand for tickets that the site crashed. This led to a scandal that even caught the attention of the US Congress.
At the end of the year, Taylor received numerous awards, including the prestigious "Artist of the Year" at the American Music Awards, where she thanked her fans for their incredible support. Her video for "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" won a Grammy.
The main event of 2023 was the grand "Eras Tour," which began in March. It was something extraordinary: three-hour shows featuring 44 songs, covering all stages of Taylor's career! Every concert became a true celebration – fans exchanged homemade friendship bracelets, dressed in costumes, and the cities hosting concerts received a multimillion-dollar economic boost from the influx of tourists.
October promised more with the release of "1989 (Taylor's Version)"! The album broke sales records, and new versions of hits "Style," "Blank Space," and "Shake It Off" sounded fresh and modern. Fans particularly appreciated the song "Slut!" which became an anthem against double standards.
Taylor Swift's Personal Life
Taylor Swift’s romantic interests have always been in the spotlight of the Western press. In 2008, the artist had a romance with musician Joe Jonas, a member of the Jonas Brothers. However, the relationship with the charming heartthrob lasted only three and a half months.Joe contributed to writing several songs for "Folklore" and "Evermore" under the pseudonym William Bowery. Their relationship ended in the spring of 2023. Neither Taylor nor Joe publicly shared reasons for the breakup.
After that, Taylor had a relationship with The 1975 frontman Matty Healy, which lasted only a couple of months. However, in September, her romance with Travis Kelce began. It all started in July 2023, when Travis attended Taylor's concert as part of the Eras Tour in Kansas City. He had a plan: he wanted to give her a friendship bracelet with his phone number.
From that moment, media frenzy ensued. Taylor began regularly attending Chiefs games, drawing huge attention each time. She befriended the wives and girlfriends of other team players, especially Brittany Mahomes, the wife of quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
A particularly touching moment came in January 2024, when after a victorious Chiefs game, Travis found Taylor in the crowd and gave her a big hug, openly showing his feelings. At the Super Bowl 2024, the whole world watched as Taylor crossed the globe, flying from Tokyo to support Travis in the most important game of the season.
Taylor Swift Now
2024 began with another surprise from Taylor: at the Grammy Awards, she not only received her fourth Grammy for Album of the Year, becoming the first female artist to achieve this, but also announced the release of her new album, "The Tortured Poets Department," on April 19. At the start of the year, she also continued her international Eras Tour, captivating stadiums worldwide. Each concert remained an event, drawing tens of thousands of fans and creating a unique sense of unity through music. The tour grossed over $2 billion, spanned six continents, and lasted 21 months, with over 10 million attendees across 149 concerts.Taylor Swift: latest news and articles
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4 Sep 2024Taylor Swift`s Father Accused of Attacking an Australian Journalist
27 Feb 2024Dressed in an Off-the-Shoulder Gown with a Bold Slit, Taylor Swift Graces the Grammys
5 Feb 2024Travis Kelce Plans to Propose to Taylor Swift
8 Dec 2023
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