TIME Taylor Swift
TAYLOR SWIFT A MAGICAL ERA
A VERY GOOD YEAR • Through the blockbuster Eras Tour, the continued success of Midnights, and seismic-like activity in Seattle, Taylor Swift has outdone herself. Again.
IT’S TAYLOR SWIFT’S ERA • Wherever the superstar goes—and in 2023, that included 24 venues in 24 cities on 66 nights—her fans will follow.
1 BECOMING TAYLOR • At 15, she landed a record deal. By 16, she was a fixture on the country scene. And at 24, with the release of 1989, Taylor Swift hit next-level fame as America’s powerful crossover princess.
AN ALL-AMERICAN VOICE • With the release of the 2014 album 1989, Swift crossed over from country fame to pop superstardom.
‘This Is Risky’ • Back in 2014, the singer discussed Spotify, timid managers, and female role models.
LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO • Unpacking a viral video, snake GIFs and all.
2 QUEEN OF THE EASTER EGGS • Among her many commercial and artistic talents, Taylor Swift has mastered how to bury messages about her IRL travails and dramas in her songs and videos.
DIGGING INTO LOVER • The 2019 album was meaty, gossipy, and packed with up-tempo electropop.
FOLKLORE: A PANDEMIC EXPERIMENT • While the world was in lockdown, Swift hit the drawing board.
FINDING MEANING IN EVERMORE • The sister album to Folklore was a cozy, poetic throwback to simpler times and high school crushes gone awry.
MIDNIGHTS AND SLEEPLESS NIGHTS • Late at night, the singer says, she dwells on personal terrors and insecurities. So she poured her angst into 13 tracks, recruited her celeb pals for some videos, and produced her biggest release yet.
SINGING WITH THE STARS • Swift is not only one of the most powerful entertainers in the world—she has collaborated with a who’s who of the music business.
3 A WOMAN IN FULL • In the male-dominated music industry, Swift doesn’t hesitiate to stand up for herself—and her music. That’s made Swifties love her even more.
WHEN TAYLOR TOOK ON APPLE • In a 2015 blog post read ’round the music world, the 25-year-old star demanded action—and she got it.
An Unlikely Duo • Once Swift and Apple Music made up in 2015, they joined forces to collaborate on a documentary, a commercial, and more.
‘I Was Angry’ • In 2017, the pop star talked with TIME about her sexual assault testimony earlier that year.
TAYLOR’S REAL LIFE • The 2020 documentary Miss Americana: Taylor Swift was an intriguing but incomplete sketch of an icon in transition.
MASTER OF HER MUSIC • In the wake of a fight with her old label, Swift is rereleasing her back catalog—and reaping the artistic and financial benefits.
Record-Breaking Rerecordings • How Swift’s first three (Taylor’s Version) albums compare to the originals.
TIME Taylor Swift
CREDITS
TROPHY COLLECTOR • Fans always hope to see Swift at the VMAs, but given that the star has been performing dozens of three-hour-plus arena shows on her Eras Tour, they would have understood if she’d sat out the 2023 event. What was never in doubt for Swifties: that she would win in multiple categories. They were excited to see her take home 9 of the 11 awards she was up for, including best pop video for “Anti-Hero,” which was presented—along with some friendship bracelets—by a reunited NSYNC.
LOVE STORY • Taylor Swift has been reaching her legion of fans in powerful ways for years. And now, on stage, on screen, and in so many hearts, she is outdoing herself. Again.