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By: Gargi Rakhade and Sneha Bhale
Once a country artist who made a swift transition into mainstream pop, Taylor Swift has defied great odds in the music industry. Over the last decade in the industry, Swift has garnered over 11 Grammys wins along with her being the youngest person to win Album of the Year. She was also named Billboard’s Woman of the Year, won the Award for Excellence at the American Music Awards, and has a special 50th Anniversary Milestone Award from the CMAs.
What is her background?
Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13, 1989, in Reading, Pennsylvania, marking 13 as her lucky number. Her grandmother had been a professional opera singer, and Swift soon followed in her musical footsteps. By the age of 10, Swift was singing at a variety of local events, including fairs and contests. She sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at a Philadelphia 76ers basketball game at the age of 11, and began writing her own songs and learning guitar at 12 years old. Noting her dedication, Swift and her family moved to nearby Hendersonville, Tennessee, in an attempt to further Swift's career. She began performing at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville and one stellar performance helped her get a contract with Scott Borchetta's Big Machine Records. She released her first single, "Tim McGraw," in 2006, and the song became a Top 10 hit on the country charts. It also appeared on her self-titled debut album in October of that same year, which went on to sell more than 5 million copies. Swift also received critical praise for her debut effort. She won the Horizon Award from the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM) Award for Top New Female Vocalist in 2007.
What have been her contributions to the new wave of feminism?
Up until 2018, Swift had stayed fairly quiet about her social and political opinions to refrain from causing controversy. However in 2018, Taylor publicly supported a democratic senator in Tennessee, one of the reasons being women's rights. This was the beginning of Swift's outspoken opinions on politics and feminism and although she received her fair share of backlash for her views, she continues to stand by them. In her documentary, Miss Americana, she indicates some of her opinions towards core concepts of third wave feminism, most specifically the idea of being able to be a feminist, and feminine at the same time, a concept that previous waves of feminism have largely ignored. Swift has been scrutinized about white feminism in the past, especally about a twitter argument she got into with Nicki Minaj, however, since then has apologized and further educated herself of intersectionality within the feminist movement. In her “Lover” album, she included the song, “The Man”, a upbeat feminist song about the how disenfranchisement and systematic sexism has made being a women a battle throughout society for an incredibly long time. Furthermore, Swift has announced that she is rerecording her first 6 albums, but in something called “Taylors version”, while also including never before released song from her ‘vault’, and she claims on of the biggest reasons why she is doing this is for herself, to be able to be proud of the music she puts out, and has wanted to put out. By doing so she reclaims the idea that women can be both feminists and write love songs; the two can coexist, and her advocacy of this is just one more step forward for the new feminist movement.
Her first Album; an in depth analysis.
Taylor Swift came out when the artist was just 16 years old, and the album immediately took the world of country music by storm and put her on the map. The album was fully produced by Nathan Chapman and it was distributed by Big Machine Records, the label that would go on to work with Taylor for her next five albums. From the very beginning, Swift was known to put calculated clues on her future music in her albums. The Taylor Swift album liner was our first taste of the singer’s notorious love for easter and easter eggs. She hid the meaning of the songs in the lyrics, using only lower-case letters for the text except for some strategic capitals. The capital letters spelled out a clue to the song’s inspiration. “Tim McGraw” came out as the album’s lead single, immediately catapulting Swift to a level of success that few ever achieve. The song, along with the next four singles off the album, went certified platinum.The album’s next two singles were “Teardrops on My Guitar” and “Our Song.” “Teardrops” went double platinum and “Our Song” went quadruple platinum, and this album was only the beginning of how much fame and prominence would follow for Swift.
Fearless; an in depth analysis.
After the booming success of her first album, Swift wanted to get more action in the behind the scenes of her music so she co-produced all her songs on the Fearless album alongside Nathan Chapman. Fearless was named the most awarded album in the history of country music, earning Taylor Swift her first “Album of the Year” Grammy among many other accolades. It also performed extremely well commercially, achieving certified diamond status.
Fearless just furthered Swifties obsession of Swift’s tales on love, heartbreak, and fantasies. Her tales of heartbreak became part of her reputation as all of the songs on Fearless achieved at least certified platinum status. The first single from Fearless was “Love Story,” which plays off themes from Romeo & Juliet. The music video marked a new breakthrough on Youtube with his view and like count. It begins with Taylor Swift looking at the boy she likes at school, and ends with her in a princess gown locked in an epic love affair with the same boy. Her ability to write relatable songs and connect with the teen population just furthered her transition from country to pop. “You Belong With Me,” the album’s next single, became a legend for all the wrong reasons. While Taylor Swift was accepting the MTV Video Music Award for “Best Female Video,” Kanye West infamously interrupted her on stage to say that “Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time.” This incident went on to ignite a on-again/off-again feud between the two stars that has lasted over a decade. But this just showed her resilience towards men attempting to steal the spotlight and how to navigate self doubt. In her documentary, Miss Americana, she stated that the Kanye incident faltered her confidence but making more music and proving herself worthy in the eyes of her fans helped her get over it.
Speak Now; an in depth analysis.
This album incorporated the same country-pop theme but touched on more meaningful messages like bullying and harassment. That being said, Speak Now also featured plenty of Taylor Swift’s signature storytelling and fantasy with her singles “Enchanted,” and “Never Grow Up,” as well as the anti-bullying anthem, “Mean,” and one of Swift’s most pointed and deliciously petty efforts to date, “Better Than Revenge.”
Speak Now included a whopping six singles, all of which went at least certified platinum. Because of the raging success of Speak Now, Swift later went on a world tour adding 3 more songs explicitly for the tour version.
Red; an in depth analysis.
The album, Red, shows Swift’s transition to pop and features a more mature adult side of her side. Earlier, in the previous albums, the music spoke to the younger teen population as they navigated boys and the struggle of heartbreak but this album has a different audience target. The album is about love that’s red that is fiery, passionate, consuming, and strong. The album blends genres from track to track, creating an incredibly strong collection of hits that almost any music fan could appreciate. Red was also co-produced by Taylor Swift and Nathan Chapman, and it was her most “pop” forward album to date. That being said, songs like “Red,” “Holy Ground,” and “Begin Again,” keep the album grounded in the star’s country roots. With this album, Taylor Swift reached a greater depth in her songwriting and storytelling than ever before.Swift closed out the Red era with two collaborations. The adorable “Everything Has Changed” music video, featuring Ed Sheeran and two kids playing younger versions of the two besties, and The Last Time featuring Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody. It became clear that she was growing up and beginning to experience things in a more adult and nuanced way, with her music getting bigger and better as a result.
1989; an in depth analysis.
In the album, 1989, Swift dives more into the pop side of her music, and includes many hidden messages throughout its songs. Overall, 1989 is about Taylors’ move to New York during a broken ill-timed relationship, where all eyes were on. The album starts with the song, “Welcome to New York”, which can also in fitting fashion be seen as the beginning of her journey of some self-discovery, as most of her albums have this overarching message placed in them. One of her most popular songs on the album, “Blank Space”, is implied to be a satirical view on the rumors spread about her throughout her career. ANother one of her most popular songs, “Shake it Off”, was a staple to this album, and was a hit among adults and kids. Her final song on the album, “Clean”, was about her losing the guy, but finding herself, and ultimately deciding that was enough for her.
Reputation; an in depth analysis
After red, Swift took a 3 year hiatus and took a break from social media due to mental health reasons. But knowing Swift’s extravagant signature, she announced her new album Reputation by reviving her instagram and posting videos of snakes. This album has a theme of the old taylor being made and she launched a new version of herself music wise. After the initial two Reputation singles, Taylor Swift softened things up quite a bit. Next, she released “End Game” which featured Ed Sheeran and Future, and followed it up with “New Year’s Day,” “Gorgeous,” “Delicate,” and “Getaway Car,” which all have her typical themes of love (with some added lust) and loss. Of these singles, videos were only made for “End Game” and “Delicate.” This album was surprising to most fans but the theatrics and dramatic song writing was exactly as expected.
Lover; an in depth analysis
Taylor Swift’s seventh studio album, Lover, is her sweetest and happiest yet. She aimed to create an album that was about all of the things she loved, and she certainly achieved that with this acclaimed effort. Swift is notorious for her perspectives on love and heartbreak but she wanted to display a new side to her personality- the happy side, and fans were overjoyed. Lover is Taylor Swift’s first album with her new record label, Republic Records. Under her new contract, she owns the rights to all of the master copies of her music. She has been very vocal about her regret in not having that option when she first signed with Big Machine, who recently sold the rights to her masters to Scooter Braun, a man whom Taylor Swift has had “bad blood” with in the past. The first was “ME!” which visually took the snake from the Reputation era and exploded it into pastel butterflies. The video, which features Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie, are all colors and cats and cowboy boots, things that represent Swift. With the next Lover single, “You Need to Calm Down,” Taylor Swift expanded on her first ever political statement, relating to the Equality Act. The video featured exclusively LGBTQ+ stars, tells haters that they “need to calm down,” and urges viewers to sign the Equality Act. Swift admitted that she was unsure about the vision of this album but after tremendous success for a wider audience, she was happy to step out of her comfort zone.
Folklore; an in depth analysis.
One of Taylors’ most recent albums, Folklore, was released on July 24, 2020, and can be seen as a large turning point in Swift's career. Folklore not only did not follow Swift's typical two year timeline of album release, as it dropped 11 months after her previous album, Lover, but it also was a huge surprise to fans, as no teasers or marketing was done prior to the release, as she announced it a day before its drop. Furthermore, the album's musical style, temp, and lyrical choices, wipe away Swift's popstar reputation, and replace it with more delicate and confessional singing and melodies, and delves into the realm of alternative folk-pop. We get to see more of Taylors self in her Folklore album, as she worked with many of her musical role models, such as Justin Vernon from the band Bon Iver; this choice allowed listeners to get a perspective int Taylors’ world, and the vulnerability of the songs allowed the audience tot truly feel the emotions presented throughout the piece. Some of her most popular songs from the album, “cardigan”, “exile”, and “seven”, depict incredibly raw emotion through her lyrical and instrumental choices that have made these songs fan favorites. Overall, Folklore completely remade Swift's brand and musical reputation into more of a vulnerable and melodious one, replacing her previous up-bet pop reputation. Although all her works have been incredible in their own ways, Folklore has really allowed for fans to get a better view of who Taylor really is as an artist, and a person.
Evermore; an in depth analysis
2020 seemed like the girl where one thing went wrong after the other but there was light at the end of the tunnel: the most recent Taylor Swift album. Taylor Swift struck again when she released evermore on December 11, 2020, with less than 24 hours notice, two days before her 31st birthday. Swift described evermore as “folklore’s sister record,” and it’s certainly deserving of the title. In terms of featured artists, evermore is Taylor Swift’s most collaborative album to date. Her long-time gal pals, the HAIM sisters, joined her for “no body, no crime,” which sounds like Taylor’s take on “Goodbye Earl,” by The Chicks. Bon Iver returned to feature on “evermore,” and Dessner brought his band to lend The National’s talent to “coney island.” Also, Marcus Mumford of Mumford and Sons contributed some vocals to “cowboy like me!” The lyrics, the serene forest aura, calming effects, and Swift’s sweet voice is exactly what we needed to get through 2020.
Overall, Taylor Swift has made her mark in the music industry with her booming success. But what separates her from the rest is her compassion and passion to speak on womens right and gay rights all over America. Her resilience, drive, and creativity makes her the perfect role model for young girls and aspiring musicians all over.
Discussion Questions:
In what ways can Swift be more active in the feminist movement?
Will Swift ever run for politics in Tennessee?
What will be the next most important step in Swift's musical career?
Sources Used/Further Reading:
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