I Can’t Sleep - Taylor Swift | Gentle Bedtime Reading for Sleep

Episode Date: January 1, 2024

Unwind with this calm bedtime reading as Benjamin explores the life and career of Taylor Swift, helping you relax and ease insomnia. You’ll learn about her journey as a songwriter and performer, her evolution through different musical styles, and her influence on popular culture. Benjamin’s soothing cadence turns even the busiest details of fame into a peaceful rhythm that reduces stress and quiets the mind. This is not whispering or hypnosis—just gentle, fact-filled storytelling designed to guide you into restful sleep. Press play, let go of the day, and drift into slumber. Want More? Request a Topic: https://www.icantsleeppodcast.com/request-a-topic Ad-Free Episodes: https://icantsleep.supportingcast.fm/ Shop Sleep-Friendly Products: https://www.icantsleeppodcast.com/sponsors Join the Discussion on Discord: https://discord.gg/myhGhVUhn7 This content is derived from the Wikipedia article on Taylor Swift, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. Read the full article: Wikipedia – Taylor Swift. Happy sleeping! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to a Glassbox media podcast. What if I told you that most of the modern day self-help advice you've been hearing could actually make you worse? The key to a better life isn't about feel-good gimmicks that sound catchy. The Mentally Stronger Podcast gives you access to a licensed therapist who shares science-backed tools that will actually change your life. Hi, I'm Amy Morin, psychotherapist, mental strength trainer, and international best-selling author. In each episode, we cover research-back strategies, like how to stop relying on willpower and start creating habits for lasting change. And the five mental strength-building exercises you can do from your couch.

I also speak to world-class experts like Dr. Nicole Kane, who shares how to permanently heal anxiety by addressing the root cause. With over 200 episodes in our catalog, this podcast is for you if you're ready to crush self-doubt, conquer challenges, and become stronger than ever with therapist-approved strategies that can change your life. Listen to Mentally Stronger with Therapist Amy Morin, wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast, where I read random articles from across the web to bore you to sleep with my soothing voice. I'm your host, Benjamin Boster. Today's episode is from a Wikipedia article titled Taylor Swift.

Taylor Allison Swift, born December 13th, 1989, is an American singer-songwriter. Her songwriting artistry and entrepreneurship have influenced the music industry in popular culture, and her life is a subject of widespread media coverage. Swift began professional songwriting at age 14 and signed with Big Machine Records in 2005 to become a country singer. She released six studio albums under the label, four of them to country radio, starting with Taylor Swift, 2006. Her next, Fearless, 2008, explored country pop, and its singles, Love Story, and You Belong with Me, catapulted her to mainstream fame. Speak Now, 2010, infused rock influences, while Red, 2012, experimented with, electronic elements and featured Swift's first Billboard Hot 100 number one song.

We are never ever getting back together. She departed from her country image with 1989, 2014, a synth pop album supported by the chart-topping songs, Shake It Off, Blank Space, and Bad Blood. Media screwed knee inspired the hip-hop-flavored Reputation 2017, And it's number one single, Look What You Made Me Do. Swift signed with Republic Records in 2018. She released the eclectic pop album, Lover, 2019, and autobiographical documentary Miss Americana 2020.

Embraced indie folk and alternative rock on 2020 albums, Folklore and Evermore. Explored understated pop styles on Midnights, 2020. and released four re-recorded albums subtitled Taylor's version after a dispute was Big Machine. These albums spawned the number one songs, Cruel Summer, Cardigan, Willow, Anti-Hero, All Too Well, and Is It Over Now? The Eres Tour, her 2023-20204 concert tour, and its accompanying concert film both became the highest grossing grossing ever in their respective fields. Swift directed music videos and films such as

All Too Well, the short film, 2021. One of the world's best-selling musicians with 200 million records sold, Swift has earned 117 Guinness World Records and received the Global Recording Artist of the Year Award three times from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. She is the highest grossing female touring act, the most streamed woman on Spotify and Apple Music, and the first billionaire was music as the main source of income. The 2023 Time Person of the Year, Swift has appeared on lists such as Rolling Stones' 100

greatest songwriters of all time, billboards, greatest of all time artists, and the world's 100 most powerful women by Forbes. Her accolades include 12 Grammy Awards, including three album of the year wins. One Primetime Emmy Award, 40 American Music Awards, including Artist of the Decade, 2010s, 40 Billboard Music Awards, and 23 MTV Video Music Awards. Swift is a philanthropist and an advocate for artists' rights and women's empowerment. Taylor Allison Swift was born on December 13, 1989 in West Reading, Pennsylvania. She is named after singer-songwriter James Taylor.

Her father, Scott Kingsley Swift, is a former stockbroker for Merrill Lynch, and her mother, Andrea Gardner Swift is a former homemaker, who previously worked as a mutual fund marketing executive. Taylor has a young brother, actor Austin Swift, and is of Scottish, German, and Italian descent. Their maternal grandmother, Marjorie Finlay, was an opera singer. Swift spent her early years on a Christmas tree farm that her father had purchased from one of his clients. She is Christian. She attended preschool and kindergarten at Alvernia Montessori School, run by Bernadine-Francans sisters, before transferring to the Wincroft School. The family moved to a rented house in the suburban town of Wyoming, Pennsylvania, where Swift attended Wyoming-Missing Area Junior

Senior High School. She spent summers in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, until she was 14 years old, performing in a local coffee shop. At age nine, Swift became interested in musical theater and performed in four Burke's Youth Theater Academy Productions. She also traveled regularly to New York City for vocal and acting lessons. Swift later shifted her focus toward country music inspired by Shania Twain songs, which made her want to just run around the block four times and daydream about everything. She spent weekends performing at local festivals and events. After watching a documentary about Faith Hill, Swift felt she needed to move to Nashville, Tennessee

to pursue a career in music. She traveled there with her mother at age 11 to visit record, labels and submitted demo tapes of Dolly Parton and Dixie Chick's karaoke covers. She was rejected, however, because everyone in that town wanted to do what I wanted to do. So I kept thinking to myself, I need to figure out a way to be different. When Swift was around 12 years old, computer repairman and local musician Ronnie Kramer taught her to play guitar. Kramer helped with her first efforts as a songwriter, leading her to write Lucky You.

In 2003, Swift and her parents started working with New York-based talent manager Dan Dimtrow. With his help, Swift modeled for Abercrombie and Fitch as part of their Rising Stars campaign, had an original song included on a Mabelian compilation CD, and met with major record labels. After performing original songs at an RCA record showcase, Swift, then 13 years old, was given an artist development deal and began making frequent trips to Nashville with her mother. 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 to Hendersonville, Tennessee. Swift attended Hendersonville High School before transferring to Aaron Academy after two years, which better accommodated her touring schedule through homeschooling. She graduated one year early.

In Nashville, Swift worked with experienced music row songwriters such as Troy Virges, Brett Beavers, Brett James, Mack McCannily, and the Warren brothers, and formed a lasting working relationship with Liz Rose. They began meeting for two-hour writing sessions every Tuesday afternoon after school. Rose called the session some of the easiest I've ever done. Basically, I was just her editor. She'd write about what happened in school that day. She had such a clear vision of what she was trying to say,

and she'd come in with the most incredible hooks. Swift became the youngest artist signed by the Sony ATV Tree Publishing House, but left then BMG owned RCA Records, later bought by Sony Music at the age of 14, due to the label's lack of care and them cutting other people's stuff. She was also concerned that development deals can shelve artists and recalled,

I genuinely felt that I was running out of time. I wanted to capture these years of my life on an album while they still represented what I was going through. At an industry showcase at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe in 2005, Swift caught the attention of Scott Boccetta, a DreamWorks Records executive who was preparing to form an independent record label, Big Machine Records. She had first met Burchetta in 2004. She was one of Big Machine's first signings, and her father purchased a 3% stake in the company for an estimated $120,000. She began working on her eponymous debut album with producer Nathan Chapman,

with whom she felt she had the right chemistry. Swift wrote three of the album's songs alone and co-wrote the remaining eight with Rose, Robert Ellis Oral, Brian Mayer, and Angelo Patraglia. Taylor Swift was released on October 24, 2006. Country Weekly critic Chris Neal deemed Swift better than previous, aspiring teenage country singers because of her honesty, intelligence, and idealism. The album peaked at number five on the U.S. Billboard 200, on which had spent 157 weeks, the longest stay on the chart by any release in the U.S. in the 2000s decade.

Swift became the first female country music artist to write or co-write every track on a U.S. Platinum Certified debut album. Big Machine Records was still in its infancy during the June. 2006 release of the lead single Tim McGraw, which Swift and her mother helped promote by packaging and sending copies of the CD single to country radio stations. As there was not enough furniture at the label yet, they would sit on the floor to do so. She spent much of 2006 promoting Taylor Swift with a radio tour and television appearances. She opened for Raskal Flats on select dates during their 2006 tour as a replacement for Eric Church.

Farchetta said that although record industry peers initially disapproved of his signing a 15-year-old singer-songwriter, Swift tapped into a previously unknown market, teenage girls who listen to country music. Following Tim McGraw, four more singles were released throughout 2007 and 2008. Teardrops on my guitar, our song, Picture DeBurn, and should have said no. All appeared on Billboard's Hot Country Songs with Our Song and Should Have Said No, reaching number one.

With Our Song, Swift became the youngest person to single-handedly write and sing a number one song in the chart. Teardrops on my guitar reached number 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Swift also released two EPs, the Taylor Swift Holiday Collection, in October 2007, and Beautiful Eyes in July 2008. She promoted her debut album extensively as the opening act for other country musicians tours in 2006 and 2007,

including those by George Strait, Brad Paisley, and Tim McGrath and Faith Hill. Swift won multiple accolades for Taylor Swift. She was one of the recipients of the Nashville Songwriters Association's songwriter artist of the year in 2007, becoming the youngest person to be honored with the title. She also won the Country Music Association's Horizon Award for Best New Artist, the Academy of Country Music Awards top new female vocalist, and the American Music Award's favorite country female artist honor. She was also nominated for Best New Artist at the 50th annual Grammy Awards. In 2008,

she opened for Rascal Flats again and dated singer Joe Jonas briefly. Swift's second studio album Fearless was released on November 11, 2008 in North America, and in March 2009 in other markets. Critics lauded Swift's honest and vulnerable songwriting in contrast

to other teenage singers. Five singles were released in 2008 and 2009. Love Story, White Horse, You Belong With Me, 15, and Fearless. The first single peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one in Australia. It was the first country song to top Billboard's pop songs chart. You Belong With Me was the album's highest charting single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number two, and was the first country song to top Billboard's all-genre radio songs chart.

All five singles were Hot Country Songs top ten entries, with Love Story and You Belong With Me topping the chart. Fearless became her first number one album on the Billboard 200 and 2009's top-selling album in the U.S. The Fearless Tour, Swift's first headlining concert tour, grossed over $63 million. Journey to Fearless, a documentary miniseries, aired on television and was later released on DVD and Blu-ray. Swift also performed as a supporting act for Keith Urban's Escape Together World Tour in 2009. In 2009, the music video for You Belong With Me was named Best Female Video at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. Her acceptance speech was interrupted by rapper Kanye West. an incident that became the subject of controversy, widespread media attention and internet memes.

That year, she won five American Music Awards, including Artist of the Year and Favorite Country Album. Billboard named her 2009's Artist of the Year. She won Video of the Year and Female Video of the Year for Love Story at the 2009 CMT Music Awards, where she made a parody video of the song with rapper T. Payne called Thug Story. At the 52nd annual Grammy Awards, Fearless was named Album of the Year and Best Country Album, and White Horse won Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Swift was the youngest artist to win album of the year. At the 2009 Country Music Association Awards, Swift won album of the year.

Swift won album of the year for Fearless and was named Entertainer of the Year the youngest person to win the honor Swift featured on John Mayer's single Half of My Heart and Boys Like Girls Two is Better Than One The latter of which she co-wrote

She co-wrote and recorded Best Days of Your Life with Kelly Pickler And wrote two songs for the Hannah Montana The Movie soundtrack you'll always find your way back home, and crazier. She contributed two songs to the Valentine's Day soundtrack, including the single, Today was a fairy tale, which was her first number one on the Canadian Hot 100, and peaked at number two on the U.S. Hot 100.

While shooting her film debut Valentine's Day in October 2009, Swift-dated co-star Taylor Lautner, In 2009, she made her television debut as a rebellious teenager in a CSI crime scene investigation episode. She hosted and performed as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live. She was the first host ever to write their own opening monologue. In August 2010, Swift released Mine, the lead single from her third studio album, Speak Now. It entered the Hot 100 in number three. Swift wrote the album alone and co-produced every track.

It was released on October 25, 2010, opening atop the Billboard 200, with over 1 million copies sold. It became the fastest-selling digital album by a female artist, with 278,000 downloads in a week. Critics appreciated Swift's grown up perspectives. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone wrote, In a mere four years, the 20-year-old Nashville Firecracker has put her name on three dozen or so of the smartest songs released by anyone in pop, rock, or country. Back to December, Mean, The Story of Us, Sparks Fly, and Ours became subsequent singles, was the latter two reaching number one on the hot country songs, and the first two peaking in the top ten in Canada. She dated actor Jake Gyllenhaal in 2010. At the 54th annual Grammy Awards in 2012,

Swift won Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance for Mean, which she performed during the ceremony. Swift won other awards for Speak Now, including Songwriter Artist of the Year by the Nashville's Songwriters Association, 2010 and 2011. Women of the Year by Billboard, 2011, an entertainer of the year by the Academy of Country Music, 2011 and 2012,

and the Country Music Association in 2011. At the American Music Awards of 2011, Swift won artist of the year and favorite country album. Rolling Stone named Speak Now amongst its 50 Best Female Album of All Time, 2012, writing, She might get played on the country station, but she's one of the few genuine rock stars we've got these days

with a flawless year for what makes a song click. The Speak Now World Tour ran from February 2011 to March 2012 and grossed over $123 million, followed up by the live album Speak Now World Tour Live. She contributed two original songs to The Hunker Games soundtrack album, Safe and Sound, co-written and recorded with the Civil Wars and T-Bone Burnett, and Eyes Open. Safe and Sound won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media and was nominated

for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. Swift featured on B-O-B's single, Both of Us, released in May 2012. She dated Connor Kennedy that year. In August 2012, Swift released We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, the lead single from her fourth studio album, Red. It became her first number one in the U.S. and New Zealand, and became the fastest selling single in digital history.

Other singles from the album were, Begin Again, I knew you were trouble, 22, everything has changed, the last time, and Red I knew you were trouble reached the top five on charts in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK

and the U.S. Begin again, 22 and Red reached the top 20 in the U.S. On Red, released on October 22nd, 2012, Swift worked with Chapman and Rose, as well as the new producers

Max Martin and Shalbeck. It incorporated many pop and rock styles, such as Heartland Rock, Dubstep, and Dance Pop. Randall Roberts of Los Angeles Times said Swift strives for something much more grand and accomplished, was Red. It opened at number one on the Billboard 200, with 1.21 million sales, making Swift the first female to have two million selling first weeks.

Red was Swift's first number one album in the UK. It earned several accolades, including four. nominations of the 56th annual Grammy Awards 2014. Swift received American Music Awards for Best Female Country Artist in 2012, Artist of the Year in 2013, and the Nashville Songwriters Association Songwriter Artist Award for the fifth and sixth consecutive years. The Red Tour ran from March 2013 to June 2014 and grossed over $150 million. becoming the highest grossing country tour ever.

Swift was honored with the Pinnacle Award, making her the second recipient of the accolade after Garth Brooks. During this time, she briefly dated English singer Harry Stiles. In 2013, Swift recorded Sweater than Fiction, a song she wrote and produced with Jack Antonoff for the One Chance soundtrack. The song received a best original song, nomination at the 71st Golden Globe Awards.

She provided guest vocals for Tim McGrath's song Highway Don't Care, also featuring Keith Urban. Swift performed, as tears go by, with Rolling Stones at Chicago, Illinois, as part of the band's 50 and counting tour, and joined Florida Georgia Line at their set at the 2013 Country Radio Seminar to sing Cruise. Swift voiced Audrey in the animated. film The Lorax, 2012, made a cameo in the sitcom New Girl, 2013, and had a supporting role in the dystopian film The Giver, 2014. In March, 2014, Swift began living in New York City. She hired Tree Paine as her publicist and worked with her fifth studio album, 1989, with producers Jack Antonoff, Max Martin, Shellback, Imogen Heap, Ryan Teter,

and Ali Payami. She promoted the album extensively, including inviting fans to secret album listening sessions. 1989 was released on October 27, 2014, and opened atop the Billboard 200 with 1.28 million copies sold. Its singles, Shake It Off, Blank Space, and Bad Blood, reached number one in Australia, Canada, and the U.S. The first two making Swift the first woman,

to replace herself at the Hot 100 Top Spot. Other singles include style, wildest dreams, Out of the Woods, and New Romantics. The 1989 World Tour 2015 was the highest grossing tour of the year, with $250 million in total revenue. Prior to 1989's release, Swift stressed the importance of albums to artists and fans. In November 2014, she removed her entire catalog from Spotify, arguing that the streaming company's ad-supported free service undermined the premium service, which provides higher royalties for songwriters. And a June 2015 open letter, Swift criticized Apple music for not offering royalties to artists during the streaming services free three-month trial period and stated that she would pull 1989 from the catalog. The following day, Apple Inc. announced

that it would pay artists during the free trial period, and Swift agreed to let 1989 on the streaming service. She then returned her entire catalog, plus 1989 to Spotify, Amazon Music, and Google Play, and other digital streaming platforms in June 2017. Swift was named Billboard's Woman of the Year in 2014, becoming the first artist to win the award twice. At the 2014 American Music Awards,

Swift received the inaugural Dick Clark Award for Excellence. On her 25th birthday in 2014, the Grammy Museum at LA Live opened an exhibit in her honor in Los Angeles that ran until October 4, 2015, and broke museum attendance records. In 2015, Swift won the Brit Award for International Female Solo Artist, the video for Bad Blood won video of the year, and Best Collaboration at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.

At the 58th Grammy Awards, 2016, 1989, won album of the year, and Best Pop Vocal Album, Making Swift the First Woman and Fifth Act overall to win album of the year twice. Swift dated Scottish DJ Calvin Harris from March 2015 to June 2016. They co-wrote the song, This is What You Came for. featuring vocals from Barbadian singer Rihanna. Swift was initially credited under the pseudonym Nils Stroberg. After briefly dating English actor Tom Hiddleston,

Swift entered a six-year relationship with English actor Joe Alwyn in September 2016. She wrote the song Better Man for Country Band Little Big Town, which earned her the Song of the Year Award at the 51st CMA Awards. Swift and English singer Zane Malick released the joint single I Don't Want to Live Forever for 50 Shades Darker, Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2017. The song reached number two in the U.S. In August 2017, Swift successfully countersued David Mueller,

a former radio jockey for K-YGOFM, who sued her for damages from his loss of employment. four years earlier she informed Mueller's bosses that he had sexually assaulted her by groping her at an event. After a one-year hiatus from the spotlight, Swift cleared her social media accounts and released, Look What You Made Me Do as the lead single from her sixth album, Reputation. The single was Swift's first UK number one single, hit top charts in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the U.S. reputation released on November 10th, 2017, Incorporated Heavy Electropop,

along with hip-hop, R&B, and EDM sounds. Reviews praise Swift's mature artistry, but some denounced the themes of fame and gossip. The album opened atop the Billboard 200 with 1.21 million sales, making Swift the first act to have four albums sell one million copies in a week in the U.S. The album topped the charts in the UK, Australia, and Canada,

and sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide as of 2018. It spawned three more singles. Ready for it? End Game, featuring Ed Sheeran and rapper Future, and Delicate. Reputation was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album and the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in 2019. At the American Music Awards of 2018, Swift won four awards, including Artist of the Year and Favorite Pop Rock Female Artist. Swift had garnered collected 23 AMAs in her career, becoming the most awarded female musician in the show, surpassing Whitney Houston.

In April 2018, Swift featured on country duo Sugarlands, Babe. She embarked on her Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018. It broke many records, such as the highest grossy North American concert tour in history, with $345.7 million revenue worldwide. It was followed up with an accompanying concert film on Netflix. Reputation was Swift's last album under Big Machine. In November 2018, she signed a new deal with the Universal Music Group, Her subsequent releases were promoted by Republic Records.

Swift said the contract included a provision for her to maintain ownership of her masters. 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. Vox called it a huge commitment from Universal, which was far from assured until Swift intervened. Swift released her seventh studio album, Lover, on August 23, 2019. Besides Jack Antonov, Swift worked with new producers, Louis Bell, Frank Dukes, and Joel Little. Lover made Swift the first female artist to have a six consecutive album sell more than 500,000 copies in one week in the U.S.

Critics commented the album's free-spirited mood and emotional intimacy. The lead singer, Me, peaked at number two on the Hot 100. Other singles from Lover were the U.S. top 10 singles, You Need to Calm Down, and Lover, top 40 single, The Man, and Cruel Summer, which became a resurgent success in 2023, and reached number one on the Hot 100. Lover was the world's best-selling album by a solo artist of 2019, selling 3.2 million copies, and along with its singles earned nominations at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards in 2020.

At the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, Me won best visual effects, and you need to calm down one video of the year and video for good. Swift was the first female and second artist overall to win video of the year for a video that they directed. While promoting lover, Swift became embroiled in a public dispute with talent manager Scooter Braun and Big Machine over the purchase of the masters of her back catalog. Swift said she had been trying to buy the masters, but Big Machine would only allow her to do so if she exchanged one new album for each older one under a new contract, which she refused to sign. Swift began re-recording her back catalog in November 2020. Besides music, she played Bombolurana in the film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd-Weber's musical, Cats, 2019, for which she co-wrote and recorded the Golden Globe-nominated original song, Beautiful Ghosts. Critics panned the film, but praised Swift's performance.

The documentary Miss Americana, which chronicled parts of Swift's live, and career, premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, and was released on Netflix that January. Swift signed a global publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group in February 2020, after her 16-year-old contract with Sony ATV expired. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Swift released two surprise albums, folklore on July 24th, and Evermore on December 11th, 2020. Both explore indie folk and alternative rock with a more muted production compared to her previous upbeat pop songs. Swift wrote and recorded the albums with Jack Antonoff and Aaron Destiner from The National as producers.

Halwyn co-wrote and co-produced select songs under the pseudonym William Bowery. The albums garnered widespread critical acclaim. The Guardian and Vox opined that folklore and evermore emphasized. Swift's work ethic and increased her artistic credibility. Three singles supported each of the albums, catering the U.S. mainstream radio, country radio, and triple A radio. The singles in that order were Cardigan, Betty, and Exile from folklore, and Willow, No Body, No Crime, and Coney Island from Evermore.

Swift became the first artist to debut a U.S. number one album, album and a number one song at the same time with Folklore's Cardigan and Evermore's Willow. Folklore was 2020's best-selling album in the U.S. with 1.2 million copies. It won album of the year at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, making Swift the first woman to win the award three times. At the 2020 American Music Awards, she won three awards, including Artist of the Year for a record third consecutive times. According to Billboard, she was 2020's highest paid musician in the U.S. and the world's highest paid solo musician. Following the master's dispute, Swift released re-recordings of her first six studio albums, beginning with Fearless Taylor's Version and Red Taylor's Version in April and

November 2021, respectively. Both releases peaked atop the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever re-recorded albums to do so. Fearless, Taylor's version was preceded by Love Story, Taylor's version, which made her the second artist after Deli Parton to have both the original and re-recorded versions of a song reached number one on the Hot Country Songs chart. Red, Taylor's version was supported by All Too Well 10-minute version, which became the longest song in history to top the Hot 100. The song was accompanied by a short film, which won a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, and Swift's record third MTV Video Award for Video of the Year. Swift's 10th studio album Midnights was released on October 21, 2022.

Characterized by an understated electropop and synth pop sound, the album was dubbed by Rolling Stone Critics as an instant classic. The album was her fifth. to open atop the Billboard 200 with first week's sales of over 1 million copies and broke various sales and streaming records, including

the most single-day streams and most single-week streams on Spotify. Its tracks, led by single anti-hero, monopolized the top 10 of the Hot 100, making Swift the first artist to do so. Two other singles,

Lavender Hayes and Karma, peaked at number two, on the Hot 100. Swift won nine awards at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year, anti-hero, for a record fourth time, and received six nominations at the 66 annual Grammy Awards, including a record seventh for Song of the Year, Anti-hero. In March 2023, Swift embarked on the Eros tour, a retrospective tour covering all her ten, and studio albums. Media outlets extensively covered the tour's cultural and economic impact,

and its U.S. leg broke the record for the most tickets sold in a day. Ticketmaster received public and political criticisms for mishandling the tour's ticket sales. The ERA's tour became the highest grossing tour in history, collecting over $1 billion. Its concert film released to theaters worldwide on October 13, 23rd. became the highest grossing concert film ever, with over $250 million earned worldwide, and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Cinematic and Box Office achievement.

Swift continued releasing her re-recorded albums during the ERAs tour. Speak Now, Taylor's version, released on July 7, 2023, made Swift the woman with the most number one albums, 12, and Billboard 200 history, surpassing Barbus Tristan 1989

Taylor's version released on October 27th 20203 became Swift's record extending six album to sell one million copies in a single week in the U.S. and the best-selling album of

2023. It surpassed Midnights for her career's largest album sales week. Hit single Is It Over Now? Debut atop the Billboard Hot 100 replacing her own cruel summer.

Swift's music releases touring and related activities culminated in an unprecedented height of popularity post-pandemic. Music business worldwide remarked that she entered a new stratosphere of global career success in 2023. Swift was the most dreamed artist of 2023 on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, the first act to play number one on the year-end billboard top artists list in three different decades, 2009, 2015, and 2023, and the first living artist to simultaneously chart five albums in the top ten of the Billboard 200. Beyond her albums, Swift featured on five songs from 2021 to 2023, Renegade and Birch by Big Red Machine,

a remix of gasoline by Haim, The Joker and the Queen by Ed Sheeran and the Alcott by the National For the soundtrack of the 2022 film Where the Croddhead sing She recorded Carolina Which received nominations for best original song At the Golden Globes

And Best Song Written for Visual Media at the Grammy Awards Outside of music, Swift had a supporting role in the 2022 period comedy film Amsterdam and as of 2022, has signed to direct an upcoming feature film for Searchlight Pictures. She began dating American football player Travis Kelsey in 2023. One of Swift's earliest memories of music is listening to her maternal grandmother, Marjorie Finlay, sing and church. As a child, she enjoyed Disney film soundtracks. My parents noticed that once I had run out of words, I would just make up my own.

Swift said she owes her confidence and fascination with writing and storytelling to her mother, who helped her prepare for class presentations as a child. Swift was drawn to the storytelling aspect of country music, introduced to the genre by female country artists of the 1990s, Cheny Twayne, Faith Hill, and the Dixie Chicks. Twain, both as a songwriter and performer, was her biggest musical influence. Hill was Swift's childhood role model, and she would often imitate her. She admired the chick's defiant attitude and ability to play their own instruments

and was also influenced by older country stars like Patsy Klein, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, and Dolly Parton, the last of whom she believes is exemplary to female songwriters. As a songwriter, Swift was influenced by Joni Mitchell's emotional and autobiographical lyrics, highlighting Mitchell's album, Blue, as a favorite because it explores somebody's soul so deeply. She also spoke of influence from 1990s songwriters such as Melissa Etheridge, Sarah McLaughlin, and Alanis Morissette, and Alt-Country artists like Patty Griffin and Laurie McKenna. Various pop and rock artists have also influenced Swift. She lists Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen,

Emileau Harris and Chris Christofferson as her career role models. 1989 was influenced by some of her favorite 1980s pop acts, including Peter Gabriel, Annie Lennox, Phil Collins, and Madonna. She also cited Keith Urban's musical style and Fallout Boys' lyrics as major influences. Swift is known for venturing into various music genres and undergoing artistic reinventions, having been described as a music chameleon. She self-identified as a country musician until 2012, when she released her fourth studio album, Red.

Her albums were promoted to country radio, but music critics noted wide-ranging styles of pop and rock. After 2010, they observed that Swift's melodies are rooted in pop music, and the country music elements are limited to instruments such as banjo, mandolin, and fiddle and her slight twang. Some commented that her country music identity was an indicator of her narrative songwriting rather than musical style. Although the Nashville music industry was receptive of Swift's status as a country musician,

critics accused her of abandoning her roots in favor of crossover success in the mainstream pop market. Red's eclectic pop, rock, and electronic styles intensified the critical debate. To which Swift responded, I leave the genre labeling to other people. Music journalist Jody Rosen commented that by originating her musical career in Nashville, Swift made a bait and switch maneuver, planning roots in Lomi country soil, then pivoting to pop. She abandoned her country music identity in 2014 with the release of her synth-pop fifth studio album, 1989. Swift described it as her first documented official pop album.

Her subsequent album's reputation, 2017, and Lover, 2019, have an upbeat pop production. The former incorporates hip-hop, trap, and EDM elements. Midnights, 2022, on the other hand, is distinguished by a more experimental, subdued, and amorphous pop sound. Although reviews of Swift's pop albums were generally positive, some critics lamented that the pop music production indicated Swift's pursuit of mainstream success, eroding her authenticity as a songwriter nurtured by her country music background, a criticism that has been retrospectively described as raucist. Musicologist Nate Sloan remarked that Swift's pop music transition was rather motivated by her need to expand her artistry.

Swift eschewed mainstream pop in favor of alternative folk and indie rock styles, with her 2020 studio albums, folklore, and Evermore. Clash said her career has always been one of transcendence and covert boundary pushing, reaching a point at which Taylor Swift is just Taylor Swift, not defined by any genre. Swift possesses a medza soprano vocal range and a generally soft but versatile timbre. as a country singer her vocals were criticized by some as weak and strained compared to those of her contemporaries swift admitted her vocal ability often concerned her in her early career and has worked hard to improve reviews of her vocals remained mixed after she transitioned to pop music with 1989 critics complained that she lacked proper technique but appreciated her usage of her voice to communicate her feelings to the audience prioritizing intimacy over power and nuance. They also praised her for refraining from correcting her pitch with autotune.

The Los Angeles Times remarked that Swift's defining vocal features her attention to detail to convey an exact feeling, the line that slides down like a contended sigh or up like a raised eyebrow. With reputation, critics noted she was learning how to use her voice as a percussion instrument of its own, swapping her signature expressive vocals for cool, conversational detached, cadences and rhythms similar to hip-hop and R&B styles. Alternative press stated that her evocative vocal stylings are more reminiscent of pop punk and emo genres. Reviews of Swift's later albums and performances were more appreciative of her vocals, finding them less nasal, richer, more resonant, and more

powerful. With folklore and evermore, Swift received praise for her sharp and agile yet translucent and controlled voice. Pitchfork described it as versatile and expressive. With her 2021 re-recorded albums, critics began to praise the mature, deeper, and fuller tone of her voice. An eye review said Swift's voice is leeks better now with her newfound vocal furniture. The Guardian highlighted yo-yoing vocal yelps and passionate climaxes as the trademarks of Swiss voice and that her country twang faded away. Midnights received acclaim for Swift's nuanced vocal delivery. She ranked 102nd on the 2023 Rolling Stone list of the 200 greatest singers of all time. In a review of the Aeros tour, the New Yorker critic Amanda Petrusich praised the clarity and tone of Swift's live vocals.

Musicologist Alyssa Barnas said that Swift's timbre is breathy and bright in her upper register, and full and dark in the lower. Swift has been referred to as one of the greatest songwriters ever by several publications. English-language scholars like Jonathan Bate and Stephanie Burt have noted that her literary and melodic sensibility and verbal writing style are rare amongst her peers. Swift's bridges are often underscored as one of the best. aspects of her songs, earning her the title, Queen of Bridges from Time. Mojo described her as a sharp narrator with a gift for the extended metaphor.

In The New Yorker in 2011, Swift said she identifies as a songwriter first. I write songs and my voices just a way to get those lyrics across. Her personal experiences were a common inspiration for her early songs, which helped her navigate life. Her diaristic technique began with identifying an emotion, followed by a corresponding melody. On her first three studio albums, love, heartbreak, and insecurities from an adolescent perspective were dominant themes. She delved into the tumult of toxic relationships on Red, and embraced nostalgia and post-romance

positivity on 1989. reputation was inspired by the downsides of Swift's fame, and lover detailed her realization of the full spectrum of love. Other themes in Swift's music include family dynamics, friendships, alienation, self-awareness, and tackling vitriol, especially sexism. Her confessional lyrics received positive reviews from critics, who highlighted their vivid details and emotional. engagement, which they found uncommon in pop music. Critics also praised her melodic compositions. Rolling Stone described Swift as a songwriting savant

was an intuitive gift for verse chorus bridge architecture. NPR Deb Swift, a master of the vernacular in her lyrics, remarking that her songs offer emotional engagement because the wit and clarity of her engagements turned them from standard fare to heartfelt disclosures. Despite the positive reception, the New Yorker stated she was generally portrayed more as a skilled technician than a Dylan-esque visionary.

Tabloid media often speculated and linked the subjects of her songs with her ex-lovers, a practice reviewers and Swift herself criticized as sexist. Aside from clues and album liner notes, Swift avoided talking about the subjects of her songs. On her 2020 albums, folklore, and Evermore, Swift was inspired by escapism and romanticism to explore fictional narratives.

Without referencing her personal life, she imposed emotions onto imagined characters and story arcs, which liberated her from tabloid attention and suggested new paths for her artistry. Swift explained that she welcomed the new songwriting direction after she stopped worrying about commercial success. According to Spin, she explored complex emotions with precision and devastation on Evermore. Consequence stated her 2020 albums convinced skeptics of her songwriting prowess, noting her transformation from teenage Wunderkind to a confident and careful adult.

Swift divides her writing into three types, Quill lyrics, referring to songs rooted in antiquated poeticism, fountain pen lyrics, based on modern and vivid storylines, and glitter gel pen lyrics, which are lively and frivolous. Critics note the fifth track of every Swift album as the most emotionally vulnerable song of the album. Awarding her with a songwriter Icon Award in 2021, the National Music Publishers Association remarked that

no one is more influential when it comes to writing music today than Swift. The Week deemed her the foremost female songwriter of modern times, and the Nashville Songwriters Association International named her songwriter artist of the decade in 2022. Swift has also published two original poems, why she disappeared and, if you're anything like me. Thank you.