Taylor Alison Swift is a singer-songwriter born on December 13, 1989, in West Reading, Pennsylvania,
on a Christmas tree farm with her parents. At age 9, Swift started taking vocal and acting lessons
in New York City and later decided to shift her focus toward country music, inspired by Shania Twain
and Faith Hill. When the rising star was around 12 years old, a computer repairman named Ronnie Cremer
taught her to play guitar and helped with her first efforts as a songwriter, leading Taylor to write
"Lucky You", her first song ever.
In 2003, with the help of a family friend manager, she modeled for
Abercrombie & Fitch and had an original song included on the show's compilation CD. With it, came the opportunity to attend
meetings with major record labels. To help Taylor's break into country music, her father transferred
his job to an office in Nashville when she was 14, and the family relocated to Hendersonville,
Tennessee, where Taylor attended high school. Two years later, she transferred to Aaron Academy to
better accommodate her touring schedule through homeschooling. She graduated high school a year early
because of that.
We begin our introduction to Taylor Swift's eras with her eponymous album Taylor Swift, also known
as Debut. Released in 2006, when Swift was 16, it's a country album that was released with five singles.
This was Swift's era of tight curls, a classic smokey eye and nude lip, cowboy boots and floaty summer
dresses.
She became the youngest person to be honored with the BMI Songwriter of the Year title in 2007. She won awards at the
CMAs, ACMs and AMAs while also securing a nomination for Best New Artist at the 50th Grammy Awards.
Fearless was Taylor Swift's second studio album, released on November 11, 2009 when Swift was 18.
In her second era, she veered to the border of country and pop. The album won Album of the Year at
the Grammys in 2010.
We know Fearless era for its gold, sparkly fringe dresses, big Romeo and Juliet style ballgowns
and Swift painting her lucky number 13 on the back of her hand. She often put her hands
together in the shape of a heart in the concert (something she continued in the Fearless section
of the Eras Tour).
Speak Now was released on October
25, 2010, when Swift was 19. Speak Now was created as a concept album covering all
the moments in life when she wanted to say something, but didn't.
Speak Now's era saw Swift in vintage dresses, slightly looser curls, and a more glam approach
to makeup. The Speak Now tour began in February 2011 and went around the world, with a lyric
from Swift inscribed on her arm every night, alongside the 13 on her hand.
The album sold a million copies within the first week and was at number one on the Billboard
200 for the first six weeks. Speak Now is also an entirely self-written album, a feat Swift
wanted to accomplish with her third output.
The "Red" era saw Swift exploring new sonic territory, incorporating elements of pop
and rock into her music. The album's title track, "Red," became an anthem for heartbreak
and longing, while tracks like "22" and "I Knew You Were Trouble" showcased Swift's
ability to write infectious pop hooks. The "Red" era also marked Swift's transition from
country to pop, setting the stage for her subsequent albums.
Despite the album being a mix of country and pop, Swift's Red album has one of the most
consistent aesthetics among her albums. Besides the obvious color threading it together,
the singer's love for all things vintage was evident throughout all of her looks.
High-waisted shorts, '50s dresses, and her now-iconic red lip and bangs combo were all
essentials of the Red era.
Influenced by 1980s synth-pop, Swift severed ties with the country sound
of her previous albums, and marketed 1989 as her "first documented, official
pop album". The album was released on October 27, 2014 and sold 1.28 million
copies in the US during the first week of release, debuting at the top of
Billboard 200 chart.
This album was full of pop anthems and brought Swift
to a new level of fame. She cut her hair short, into a straight bob with a f
ringe and frequently wore crop tops and short skirts in fun colours. She also
famously bleached her bob for the 2016 Met Gala. There was a lot of glitter and
sparkle in this era, with Swift beginning her shimmering tour in May 2015.
After disappearing from social media and the public eye during most of
2016, Swift executed one of the most successful comebacks in history
with her sixth studio album, reputation. “Look What You Made Me Do” was
released as the albums's lead single and its music video broke the
record for the most views in the first 24 hours of release.
The album was released on November 10, 2017 and incorporated a heavy electropop
sound, with hip hop, R&B and EDM influences. The Reputation Stadium Tour
started in May 2018 and was a lot darker than others with snake motifs
and her famous wavy lob. Reputation was Swift's final album under Big
Machine Records and was part of the masters that were sold to producer
Scooter Braun. Reputation (Taylor's Version) has not yet been released.
Taylor Swift's seventh era and studio album Lover was released on
August 23, 2018, when Swift was 28. The album debuted at the top of
the Billboard 200, her sixth consecutive album to do so, and it was
the best-selling album of the year.
Drastically different from Reputation, Swift's Lover album was the
rainbow after the storm. Butterflies replaced snakes and pastel pinks,
blues, and purples took over the dark color palette of the past.
While this era was cut short by the pandemic, the colorful
celebration of love was fun while it lasted.
In November 2018, Taylor signed a new multi-album deal with Universal
Music Group and her subsequent releases would be promoted under the
Republic Records imprint. The contract included a provision for her
to maintain ownership of her masters recordings. Lover became the
first studio album owned by Swift.
On July 23, 2020, Swift surprise-announced she would be releasing
her eighth studio album, folklore, at midnight. The album debuted
at #1 on the Billboard 200 and became the year's longest-running
no. 1, with 8 non-consecutive weeks at the top of the chart. The
album's lead single “cardigan” also debuted at #1.
Made in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, folklore was the result of
a collaboration with long-time musical partner Jack Antonoff, Aaron
Dessner, from The National, with whom Taylor had never worked before,
and Bon Iver who are featured in one of the album's tracks.
On December 10, 2020, Swift once again surprised her fans with the
announcement of her ninth studio album and folklore's sister record,
evermore. Both evermore and its lead single “willow” debuted atop of
the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 charts. Having both sister albums achieve
this feature, Swift became the first artist to debut at the top of both
the singles and albums charts simultaneously twice.
Folklore and Evermore embrace an indie folk and alternative rock production, a
departure from Swift's previous upbeat pop releases. Both albums sold
over one million units worldwide in its first week and folklore broke
the record for first-day album streams by a female artist on Spotify.
Midnights was released on October 21, 2022 when Swift was 32.
It is a concept album covering midnights in her life when she
was up (either happily in love or haunted by the ghosts of her
past). It's her tenth studio album and was also released under
Republic Records. It was released originally in a 13-track album
but has been released in multiple versions since then, including
the '3am Tracks' and 'Til Dawn Edition'.
For Midnights, Swift returned to her dark colour palette, in
midnight blues, purples and many sparkles and jewels. She's been
wearing her hair long and straight, with a fringe, and her classic
red lip.
At the 2024 Grammy Awards, Swift announced an upcoming album, titled The Tortured Poets Department. The album was released on April 19, 2024, and just a few hours later, Swift dropped the anthology edition of the collection, which was almost double the original in duration. The album is characterized, in Swift's own words, by a sense of "female rage" following several public heartbreaks. Although many songs followed her previous relationships, other tracks dove into the star's sense of identity as a public figure, her struggle with depression, and reflections on her self-esteem, marking this latest album as her darkest yet—both aesthetically and thematically.
