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Hunt, Helena. Taylor Swift In Her Own Words. Agate Press, 2019

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Taylor Swift was born on December 13, 1989 in West Reading Pennsylvania. She lived on a Christmas Tree Farm up until the age of 14 with her mom Andrea, dad Scott, and younger brother Austin.

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"I grew up on a Christmas Tree Farm, and I just remember having all this space to run around and be a crazy kid with tangled hair. And I think that really had a lot to do with me being able to have an imagination and become obsessed with, like, little stories I created in my head. Which then, later in life, led to songwriting."

- Rehearsals for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards

January 31st, 2010 (11)

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Taylor- 8 years old, getting her first guitar

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At a young age, Taylor learned the guitar, performed at barbecues and Boy Scout events and delivering demos to Nashville music executives while still being in junior high. Her earliest songs such as The Outside, one of her first songs she finished, describes the isolation and bullying she expirenced in junior high. Yet the hard work and bad times, turned to sucess when she got her first big gig at 12 years old. Where she preformed the national anthem at a Sixers Game on April 5, 2002.

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"I wrote [The Outside] about the trouble I was having at school when I was younger. You know, I'd go to school some days and not know if I was gonna have a conversation with anybody. I mean, I was really sort of an outcast and spent a lot of time on the outside looking in. And I think, you know, this song is really sort of the basis on why I started to write songs, because I was at a point in my life where I just kind of said, "You know what? People haven't always been there for me, but music always has."

- Unplugged at Studio 330 December 5th, 2006 (14)

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At 14, the determined Taylor convinced her parents to move to Nashville Tennessee. Her first hit was Our Song which she originally wrote for her high school talent show in 9th grade. As the lyrics say in her song, she truthfully "grabbed a pen and an old napkin and I wrote down our song" Although the young songwriter caught the attention of fellow classmates, her goal was to reach a bigger audience, and with that she had to find someone in the music industry to help put her out there. Taylor, being The Lucky One that she is, did indeed find that someone, Scott Borchetta. After discovering her at The Bluebird Cafe, he offered to sign Swift to his yet to be created lable, Big Machine Records. Without a thought she agreed, later on though, she would realize the consequences to come.

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"I had this showcase at The Bluebird Cafe, ironically the place where Faith Hill got discovered. And I played my guitar and sang a bunch of songs that I had written. There was one guy in the audience named Scott Borchetta. So he came up to me after the show and he said, "I want you on my record label, and I want you to write all your own music." and I was so excited. And I get a call from him later that week and he goes, "Hey, so, good news is I want you on my record lable. Bad news is that I don't actually have a record label yet."

- Taylor Swift: Journey to Fearless

October 22nd, 2010 (23)

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Her self titled alblum, Taylor Swift, released in 2006 holds 15 songs, and is 53 minutes long straight forward. During the time when her Debut album was put out into the world, Taylor was just 17. At the age of 17, she was just starting her career that, 17 years later, would make her a billionare and well known to all. Her first single, Tim McGraw as well as her album made it onto the country charts, which got her a lot of attention from awards shows and grew her fanbase at rapid levels. She worked relentlessly to promote her music, and as time went on, her hard work payed off. Today, Our Song has 213M views on Youtube. Due to her big dreams, the young teen girl went from a joke, writing songs about ex boyfriends and middle school bullies to someone who had the ability to relate to her audience, she created music that those who had or were going through the same things as her could feel safe listening to. (Taylor Swift performed her debut single Tim McGraw at the 2007 Academy of Country Music Awards in front of Tim McGraw himself) That same year she was deemed one of the recipients of the Songwriter/Artist of the Year, which then led her to become the youngest person to be honored with the title.

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"Tim McGraw is really about how people can be affected by country music. It's about a couple who falls in love, and their song's a Tim McGraw song. And even when they're apart, every time they hear that song it takes them back to that place, and it almost haunts them."

- Yahoo! video, October 24, 2006 (99)

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Her second alblum Fearless (2008) was her first alblum to win an award. The alblum has 13 songs and 53 minutes long. During that era, she was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammys, and won the Academy of Country Music Awards; Top New Female Vocalist, the American Music Awards Favorite Country Female Artist honor, and the Country Music Association‘s Horizon Award, which she accepted through tears while saying, “This is definitely the highlight of my senior year.” To this day Fearless holds the title of the most awarded alblum in country music history. Fearless won Album of the Year at both the CMA Awards and the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2009, and it won Alblum of The Year and Best Country Alblum at the Grammy Awards in 2010.

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"One of my favorite songs that I've ever put out is called "Fifteen." And it's about my freshman year of high school, and it kind of chronicles my best friend, Abigail, and me and the way that we went through our freshman year of high school and the lessons we learned. And that's kind of how I like to tell a story, is from the point of view of really knowing what you're talking about and knowing where you're coming from because you were there."

- Youtube Presents, September 1, 2011 (22)

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Her second alblum Fearless, was Taylors first ever concert tour. On January 30, 2009, she announced 52 dates for the Fearless Tour which occured in the US. In mid 2009, she announced two shows in England. A London show in June, a Manchester show in August. And on September 30, 2009, a Febuary 2010 Australia leg was announced. A week later she announced 37 additional shows in North America. Which were scheduled for March-June. In January 2010, she announced a show in Tokyo for Febuary. The last US show was held on June 5, 2010 at Gillete Stadium in Foxborough Massachusetts.

The Fearless Tour also visited the Bahamas and, in total, covered 118 shows over the span of 15 months, until July 10, 2010. The set list consisted mostly of songs from the alblum but also some from her Debut alblum as well. The tour attracted 1.2 million people in attendence and about $66.5 million.

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"I made an alblum called Fearless that ended up being kind of the breakthrough record that was the first time I had songs on pop radio and, like, worldwide hits and things like that. And so Speak Now chronicled my life after that and adjusting to that, and low and life and priorities and balancing things and all the feelings that go along with that and being 19 and 20 at the time."

- Rehearsals for the 54th Annual Grammy Awards Febuary 9, 2012 (101)

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Speak Now, (2010) 14 songs, with a total duration of 1 hour and 7 minutes. In Speak Now, the topics of bullying and heartbreak are the same as Taylor Swift but are elevated to the level that is beyond high school. Her love interests are no longer football team captains or the boy next door, they are celebrities in their own right. The Speak Now tour ran from February 9, 2011, to March 18, 2012, and covered 110 shows across Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Oceania. On several US shows, she invited special guests to perform duets onstage with her. Multiple US shows were recorded for her concert film and live album, both titled Speak Now World Tour Live which was released on November 21, 2011. At the end of 2011, the tour was placed fourth on the magazine's annual Top 25 Worldwide Tours list. The tour brought in $104.2 million from 100 shows which mad it the highest grossing female solo tour of 2011.

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"Speak Now was inspired by one of my friends who was telling me about her childhood sweetheart crush guy who, you know, they were kind of together in high school and then they went their seperate ways. And it was kind of understood that they were gonna get back together. And then so she one day comes in and tells me, "He's getting married."...

Later on I just was wrapping my mind around the idea of how tragic it would be if someone you loved was marrying somebody else. And then later I had a dream about one of my ex boyfriends getting married, and it just all came together that I needed to write this song about interrupting a wedding."

- Speak Now commentary, Speak Now (Big Machine Radio Release Special), December 13, 2018 (103)

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Her next alblum Red, took a major step away from her old country taste and more so toward pop. Red was the first album that she wrote in her 20s, and majority of the songs dwell on heartbreak with Jake Gyllenhaal. The pop songs in this alblum include; We Are Never Getting Back Together, I Knew You Were Trouble, and 22. Over the time of her relationship with Gyllenhaal a lot occured, and brought us what is All Too Well. Released in 2012, the song was originally 5 1/2 minutes, but 9 years later she wrote a 10 minute version all revolving around what she delt with throughout the relationship with Jake. Swift directed a short film to go along with the storyline of the 10 minute long song, the film starred Sadie Sink who played a younger version of Taylor and Dylan O'Brien who portrayed Gyllenhaal. Throughout the course of their relationship, Swift was about 9 years younger than him, she even referenced the age gap in the song when saying, “You said if we had been closer in age maybe it would have been fine.” The 10 minute long song and film helps to narrate all and what Taylor went through in the span of nearly 3 months.

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"I love the color red for the title because, if you corelate red with, you know, different emotions, you come up with the most intense ones. On this side you've got, like, passion and falling in love, and that intrigue and adventure and daring. And the on the other side youve got, like nager and jealousy and frustration and betrayal.

- MTV News UK, October 6, 2012 (105)

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Entry 8 Outside Source All Too Well: The Short Film 

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Entry 8 Outside Source All Too Well: The Short Film 

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Taylor Swift - All Too Well: The Short Film

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1989, her fith studio alblum released October 27th 2014 was deemed a pop album. A shift from her country roots entirely and in some ways, a gamble. On the alblum she breaks free off a relationship, (Clean) ates serial dating rumors, (Blank Space) ignores gossip and critisism (Shake It Off) and makes major decisions that she wants and not what others want for her (Welcome To New York) 1989 was met with huge amounts of succes, selling 1.287 million copies in the first week, and winning bestselling album of 2014 in the US. Taylor followed her own influences and took a stand when those around her told her no, proving that she, and not a label, the media or the music industry had control of her career and her image. Although the alblum had great coverage and lots of success, Taylor was secretly going down a spiral. As her presence grew, so did the hate. Comments and posts were made, pictures were taken and as time went on, she would starve herself. In one of the most candid and unexpected sequences in her documentary that came out in 2020, Miss Americana, she said that she would starve herself to the extent that she felt as if she might pass out during live performances. (Relating to the 1989 tour) During the 1989 tour Taylor was 24 years old, at that point in her life she would preform a 2+ hour long show with no breaks and at the end of the night be exhausting. It was revealed later that she would be so exhausted, not only because of the effort put into singing for 2 hours straight, but because of the fact that she wasn't taking care of herself. Behind all the success of 1989, no one saw the girl behind the mic.

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"When somebody criticizes you or says something behind your back, those words that they said about you, it's like you feel like those words are written all over your face, all over you. And then those words start to become echoes in your own mind. And then there's a real risk that those words could become a part of how you see yourself. The moment that you realize that you are not the opinion of somebody who doesn't know you or care about you, that moment when you realize that is like you're Clean."

- The 1989 World Tour Live, December 20, 2015 (208)

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As Swifts 1989 era concluded, the past crept back to the present. A few years after the 1989 release, the controversy that would inspire the next move in her career. Flashback to the 2009 VMAs where Kanye West rudely stole Taylors moment after winning Best Female Music Video for You Belong With Me. Where Kanye appeared on stage and stole the mic and brought all attention to Beyonce. After his bit, the 19 year old Taylor was left on stage with booing coming from all around her. "At the time, I didn't know that they were booing him, I thought that they were booing me" After that, Swift and West had some sort of unsaid alliance, that is until Kanyes song Famous, where he stated that he asked her if he could mention the lines, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex." and "I made that bitch famous" However, after the song was released, Swifts campaign said that they had never approved of the word bitch. He Said She Said ensued when Kim Kardashian ( West's wife) released a recording of Swift approving the song and asking to be excluded from the narrative all in all. The innocent, curly haired teen girl was gone, yet as always, Taylor was ready, with a new image, a new alblum, and a new way to be perceived that addresed the rumors. Late 2017, she wiped all of her social media accounts. A few days later, she posted a series of videos showing a coiled snake. (During the Kardashian/West bit, many began to call Taylor a snake) Soon after, she announced her upcoming alblum Reputation.

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"When this alblum comes out, gossip blogs will scour the lyrics for the men they can attribute to each song, as if the inspiration for music is as simple and basic as a paternity test. There will be slideshows of photos backing up each incorrect theory, because it's 2017 and if you didn't see a picture of it, it coudln't have happened right?...

There will be no further explanation.

There will just be reputation."

- Reputation magazine, November 10, 2017 (180)

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November 10, 2017 Taylor released her 6th studio alblum Reputation. Before the release, she wiped all her social media platforms clean, which brought in a widespread of media attention. The lead single Look What You Made Me Do topped charts worldwide, along with the single Delicate that topped US airplay charts, and the Reputation Stadium Tour became the highest grossing US tour of all time. As time went on, Reputation gained more worldwide attention in many manners, the Reputation Tour visited the U.S., England, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. On October 6th, 2018 the show at AT&T Stadium in Arlington Texas, the Reputation Stadium Tour was filmed and released as a Netflix original concert film on December 31st, 2018. Each show would have one surprise song, that would be played only once from every other show. During this time Taylor was dating London Boy Joe Alwyn she was her happiest. After the Kardashian/West incident not only did Taylor take back her Reputation, she took back her name.

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[Reputation is] Legitimately an alblum about finding love throughout all of the noise. And so it starts with the noise and how that all makes you feel, and how it makes you feel when people are saying things about you that you feel like aren't true, and living your life sort of in defiance of that, in defiance of your reputation."

- Taylor Swift - Road To Reputation, September 28, 2018 (121)

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On June 20th of 2019 the unthinkable happened. Scott Borchetta sold Taylors musical rights and her songs/albums all together to the wicked Scooter Braun. Big Machine announced via social media that the label group had been acquired by Braun; meaning that all the money and all the rights to her self written songs now belonged and were owned buy Scooter. 14 years together and Scott betrayed Taylor. Her new plan; to rerecord each album she had created, Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation as her own, as Taylors Version. One year later she came out with Lover. The 7th studio alblum conists of 18 original songs. And Swift made sure that she had all ownership to it. Although there was no tour for Lover, a documentery was made throughout the process of creating the love struck titled alblum. Miss Americana was released January 31st of 2020 on Netflix.

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/ CBS News

You might say Taylor Swift's happy place is at the piano in her Nashville home. "There have been so many songs that were written at this piano," she said.

"And it's often the middle of the night?" asked correspondent Tracy Smith.

"It's usually in the middle of the night," she replied. "Or if I'm trying to get to sleep and I can't and then I get an idea. And I'm, like, 'Well, I'm not tired anyway!' And then kind of wander over here."

It's kind of a rare sight, not just because "Sunday Morning" was there ("I haven't serenaded someone in a while, hope you know that!"), but because, for the moment, Taylor Swift was actually sitting still.

I promise that you'll never find another like Me-e-e,
Ooh ooh ooh ooh
I'm the only one of me
Baby, that's the fun of me
- "Me!" by Taylor Swift, Joel Little and Brendon Urie

And there never really has been another like Taylor Swift. After only 13 years in the business, she's become a musical force of nature, with an armload of #1 hits, more Grammy Awards than The Rolling Stones, and (according to Forbes) the distinction of being the highest-paid celebrity on the planet.

By any measure, she's an amazing young woman. But there were times, she says, that being young, and a woman, worked against her.

"You're always gonna have people going, 'Did she write all her own songs?'" she said. "Talking about your personal life, talking about your dating life.

"There's a different vocabulary for men and women in the music industry, right?"

"Gimme an example," asked correspondent Tracy Smith.

"Okay. A man does something, it's 'strategic'; a woman does the same thing, it's 'calculated.' A man is allowed to 'react'; a woman can only 'over-react.'"

And it seems her usual reaction is to get to work. Swift writes or co-writes all of her songs. And what's more, her music videos are all her vision, from the pastel wonderland in "Me!":

...to the giant dollhouse in her latest video, "Lover."

That's also the title of her critically-acclaimed new studio album, her seventh. She wrote "Lover" on her piano at home, and polished it up in the studio. And once she recorded the music, Swift (accompanied by and her cats) went to Hollywood to make the music video, and she invited Smith along to watch.

There's a love story here, and like a lot of Swift's work, it's an echo of her real life.

Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, Swift discovered her love for music as a toddler. She set her sights on a career in country music, and eventually her parents and younger brother moved to Nashville to help her do it.

"My brother's a real bro for doing that," Swift said.

"Yeah, they all upended their lives," Smith said.

"For sure."

"It worked out well!"

"Yeah, I buy 'em lots of presents," she laughed.

The rest reads like a fantasy: Swift became a country music phenomenon, and, in the last few years, a pop icon. But the superstar is, by her own admission, as emotionally fragile as any other 20-something, "I'm still someone who is the first to apologize when I'm wrong," she said. "But I think I'm better at standing up for myself when I've been wronged. So, that's something that I think also comes with growing up."

Which brings us to Scooter Braun. Earlier this summer, Braun, a talent agent with whom Swift says she has a contentious relationship, acquired the rights to her previous recordings - her masters - when his company bought Scott Borchetta's Big Machine Label Group for a reported $300 million. Borchetta, who worked with Swift for years, says she and those close to her (including her dad, who was an investor), knew about the deal in advance, and that Swift had previously been offered the chance to buy her own masters.

She remembers it differently, and told Smith she didn't see it coming: "I found out when it was online, like, when it hit the news."

"Nobody in your inner circle knew?" Smith asked.,

"Nobody knew."

"And you didn't smell it?"

"No. I knew he would sell my music; I knew he would do that. I couldn't believe who he sold it to, because we've had endless conversations about Scooter Braun. And he has 300 million reasons to conveniently forget those conversations."

With the sale of the masters to her first six albums, there has been speculation that Swift might re-record her back catalog, in order to control the recordings of her songs.

Smith asked, "Might you do that?"

"Oh, yeah," Swift replied.

"That's a plan?"

"Yeah, absolutely!"

Scooter Braun may not agree with her side of the story, but he did reach out to Swift in a tweet last week, calling her new album "brilliant."

It's clear that Swift wants to control her music: When it's time to release one of her new songs, she does it personally, talking to her fans live on Instagram. This personal connection has earned her a loyal following. But her openness comes at price: She's followed just about everywhere she goes these days, by people who are crazy about her - or just plain crazy.

Smith asked, "Where is home for you now?"

"It's a very good question," she said. "I try not to ever really say where I am the most, because since all my addresses are on the internet, people tend to show up uninvited. Like, you know, dudes that think we have an imaginary marriage."

"And you mentioned that you keep wound dressing with you?"

"Yeah. I've had a lot of stalkers show up to the house, armed. So, we have to think that way."

And she's come under attack in other ways: You need only glance at the tabloids to see some very well-publicized feuds, and she often hits back at her haters through her music. For instance, in "You Need to Calm Down," she calls out anti-gay protesters and online trolls:
You are somebody that we don't know
But you're comin' at my friends like a missile
Why are you mad?
When you could be GLAAD?
Sunshine on the street at the parade
But you would rather be in the dark ages ...
Control your urges to scream about all the people you hate
'Cause shade never made anybody less gay
- "You Need to Calm Down" by Taylor Swift and Joel Little

Smith asked, "I'm curious, because I feel like almost every album, you have a song where you address the haters, at least one song. Sometimes more than one song."

"I probably do have that habit. I imagine that I might have that habit, yeah."

"Why is that? Why sing to the haters?"

"Well, when they stop coming for me, I will stop singing to them," Swift replied. "You know, people go on and on about, like, you have to forgive and forget to move past something. No, you don't. You don't have to forgive and you don't have to forget to move on. You can move on without any of those things happening. You just become indifferent, and then you move on."

"Do you believe in forgiveness?"

"Yes, absolutely, like, for people that are important in your life who have added, you know, who have enriched your life and made it better, and also there has been some struggle and some bad stuff, too. But I think that, you know, if something's toxic and it's only ever really been that, what are you gonna do?"

"Just move on?"

"Just move on. It's fine."

Taylor Swift's music is always personal, sometimes intensely so. "There's one song on the album called 'Soon You'll Get Better' that it's, I can't even really hear. I can't even listen to it."

She won't talk specifically about her inspiration, but it comes at a time when her mother Andrea, who was battling cancer, suffered a relapse.

Swift said, "It's really interesting because I don't think I have written a song quite like that before. And it's just sort of, like, it's just a tough one."

"I can imagine. But I can also tell you, having listened to it, that it's universal."

"It's just not something that we deal with until we have to, until we see it, until we experience it, until someone close to us is going through something like that. And so, writing about it was really emotional. And I'm just gonna stop talking about it now."

She's more comfortable plunging into her work. On the Hollywood set, a large glass tank will become a symbolic fish bowl in the "Lover" music video.

"I very oftentimes remark that my life is like a fish bowl, and that, like, if I were to, like, fall in love, you know, somebody's choosing to be in that fish bowl with me. To jump into the fish bowl with me and live in that world just with me - it's not as depressing as it sounds, I promise! It's just symbolic!"

Talk about fish bowls: she's been dating British actor Joe Alwyn for three years. Seems he's up for a swim.

At the moment, Swift is, well, fully immersed in today. Beyond that, she says she doesn't know ... and doesn't really want to.

Smith asked her, "Do you think about, you know, 'What am I gonna do in 20, 30 years?'"

"No, 'cause that puts me into what I call a panic spiral," Swift replied. "Like, I cannot do that. I've never been able to do that."

Why? "It just freaks me out. When I zoom out too far, I freak out. Do I know where I'm gonna be or even wanna be in 20 years? Absolutely not. Like, not taking a single day for granted."

"So, how far ahead do you look?"

"Six months. Just 'cause I have to plan shows and stuff. But I don't know what I'll do after this album. And I think that's great. I tell myself, like, it's actually really ungrateful to just assume that you have 20 years. Like, be stoked that you have today."

For more info:
Story produced by John D'Amelio. More

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The 10-time Grammy-winner - the highest-paid celebrity on the planet - opens up about songwriting, family, critics, the sale of her back catalog, and the quality of forgiveness

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"Me! Is a song about embracing your individuality and really celebrating it and owning it. And, you know, I think that with a pop song we have the ability to get a melody stuck in people's heads and I just want it to be one that makes them feel better about themselves, not worse."

- NFL Draft 2019, April 25th, 2019 (125)

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Track 5 of Lover; Miss Americana And The Heartbreak Prince. This song is both a love story and political. “The song is about disillusionment with our crazy world of politics and inequality, set in a metaphorical high school.” Taylor Swift said in her storyline explanation on Spotify. “I wanted it to be about finding one person who really sees you and cares about you through all the noise.” Her documentary is not only about her in love, it is about she is no longer afraid to share her options; politically and standard. In the documentary she talks about her love with English actor Joe Alwyn. She says how serene and nice it is to live with someone with a "totally normal life" She contracts that phrase in correlation with her own life, and how different their lives are. The film focuses a big portion on Taylors political and social opinons, a segment of it is her talking about how her home state is trying to be controlled by a women that is practically "Trump in a wig" Clearly showing that she is a Democrat. That is something she has never shared before; because as a women and as a celebrity she thought that no one would tolerate her after she showed her true self. Her political outstanding even hit the president himself. When asked what he thought of the 30 year old worldwide phenomenon involving herself in politics he responded with, "Lets say that I like Taylor's music about 25% less now, Ok?" The overall message of Miss Americana was to show people the real side of herself; no more hiding her options because she was afraid of being cancelled, no more dismissing the press, and no more being silenced.

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Taylor Swift's endorsement of two Democrats for the upcoming US mid-term elections has sparked a huge response - including from President Donald Trump.

Mr Trump has told reporters he likes "Taylor's music about 25% less now".

The singer-songwriter, 28, had previously deliberately steered clear of politics, but said events in "the past two years" had changed her mind.

Her latest comments were praised by many - but also sparked a fierce backlash from Republican supporters.

Swift broke her silence on politics on Sunday, publicly endorsing two Democrats in Tennessee, her home state, in a post on Instagram, where she was 112m followers.

"In the past I've been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now," she wrote.

She particularly criticised Republican Senate nominee Marsha Blackburn for her voting record on gender equality.

"Her voting record in Congress appals and terrifies me," Swift wrote, citing the politician's votes against equal pay and domestic violence legislation.

Speaking on Monday, Mr Trump said Ms Blackburn was "doing a very good job" in Swift's home state.

A really simple guide to the US mid-term elections

Four reasons Swift's assault case was significant

"She's a tremendous woman. I'm sure Taylor Swift doesn't know anything about her," he said.

In previous tweets posted in 2012, the US President had described Swift as "fantastic" and "terrific" and thanked her for taking a picture with him.

Image Copyright @realDonaldTrump @realDonaldTrump Report

Image Copyright @realDonaldTrump @realDonaldTrumpReport

Swift's post has been liked more than 1.6m times since she shared it on Sunday, including by model Chrissy Teigen, singer Katy Perry and actress Reese Witherspoon.

However, she has attracted criticism from conservative commentators and Republicans.

"What I used to love about Taylor Swift is she stayed away from politics," Charlie Kirk, founder of the conservative student organisation Turning Point, told Fox News on Monday.

Meanwhile, the National Republican Senatorial Committee criticised her "attitude", and said Swift had "[come] down from her ivory tower to tell hardworking Tennesseans" how to vote.

Image Copyright @GovMikeHuckabee @GovMikeHuckabee Report

Image Copyright @GovMikeHuckabee @GovMikeHuckabeeReport

Image Copyright @PhilBredesen @PhilBredesen Report

Image Copyright @PhilBredesen @PhilBredesenReport

Swift did not publicly back any candidate in the 2016 election when other stars like Beyonce and Lady Gaga hit the campaign trial on behalf of Hillary Clinton.

In 2012, Swift told Time magazine she didn't talk about politics "because it might influence other people".

"I don't think that I know enough yet in life to be telling people who to vote for," she said at the time.

Swift has previously been criticised for avoiding discussion about politics - and a top Google search around the time of the 2016 elections was "Who is Taylor Swift voting for?"

Observers have argued that her political neutrality helped her popularity with country music fans.

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Kanye defends pro-Trump sentiments

Meanwhile, many online have pointed out that Swift wading into politics in support of the Democrats puts her again at odds with US rapper Kanye West - a vocal supporter of President Trump and frequent wearer of a Make America Great Again hat.

West and Swift have been in an on-off public feud since the rapper famously interrupted an acceptance speech she made at the 2009 MTV Music Video Awards.

Tennessee, a Republican-leaning state, is set to vote on 6 November in an election that could frustrate the US president's legislative agenda for the rest of his two-year term if his party loses its majorities in Congress.

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Taylor Swift's endorsement of two Democrats for the upcoming US mid-term elections has sparked a huge response - including from President Donald Trump. Mr Trump has told reporters he likes "Taylor's music about 25% less now". The singer-songwriter, 28, had previously deliberately steered clear of politics, but said events in "the past two years" had changed her mind.

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"In the past I've been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now. I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent."

- Instagram post, October 7th, 2018 (191)

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The Coronavirus began on March 11th, 2020. 5 months later Folklore was released. Folklore is entirely fictional, 17 songs and one love triangle. The characters; Betty James and Augustine (August) all have their own song to walk through their stories. Cardigan is sung from the point of view of Betty. She is left heartbroken after she finds out that her boyfriend (James) left her and has been seeing another girl. “Chase two girls, lose the one.” August is sung from the point of view of Augustine, James’ summer fling. She reminisces about her time with James and the romantic feelings she develops for him over the summer. Although she has such strong feelings for him, she recognizes that they were never in a serious relationship. There is nothing she can do about it: “August slipped away into a moment in time because you were never mine.” Betty is sung from the point of view of James. He sings to Betty, asking for her forgiveness for essentially cheating on her with Augustine. “In the garden would you trust me if I told you it was just a summer thing?” He tells her that he’s sorry and that he missed her all summer long. After being away from her, he knows that she’s the one for him. “I’m only seventeen. I don’t know anything, but I know I miss you.” Later that year she published Folklore The Long Pond Studio Series which was filmed in a secluded cabin in the woods. The series showed the making of Folklore and what Taylor felt while writing one of the two sister albums.

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"There is a tendency to block out negative things because they really hurt. But if I stop feeling pain, then I'm afraid that I'll stop feeling immense excitement and epic celebration and happiness, which, I can't stop feeling those things. So, I feel everything. And I think that keeps me who I am."

- USA Today auido interview, October 27th, 2010 (218)

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Less than 5 months after the release of Folklore came the sister alblum Evermore which sold a whopping 1 million copies within the first week. Prior to December 11th, 2020 Taylor posted 9 pictures on Instagram of her back, with her hair in a braid with her body facing a forest. The Albulm 15 songs and a duration of 1 hour long consists one special song that holds the heartstrings a little more than any other of her songs. Marjorie; Taylors grandmothers name. Is a song about how she misses her grandmother and the things they would do, she regrets the things she never said and never did. The alblum is typically seen as a woodsy fall type of vibe to most. Being almost the complete opposite to its sister alblum in that way. Folklore is more so the mellow yet Summertime alblum whereas Evermore is seen as a sadder Autumn alblum.

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"There are elements of darkness in our everyday life. There are elements of kind of these darker emotions, and we have to just figure out how to get through them or shine a light on them or look at them a different way, just in order to survive and be happy and be content. But in my songwriting, a lot of the time I'll have kind of a darker message with a lighter, happier beat or melody and just juxtapose them because I like the way that that feels."

- Big Morning Buzz live, October 27, 2014 (108)

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Announced at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards, Midnights; 20 songs with a grand total duration of 1hr and 9 minutes was released on October 21st 2022. Her 10th alblum and 32 years old. Midnights was deemed the best selling alblum of 2022 and 2 years later it won a Grammy for best pop vocal alblum and alblum of the year in 2024. "This is a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams," Swift wrote. "The floors we pace and the demons we face. For all of us who have tossed and turned and decided to keep the lanterns lit and go searching — hoping that just maybe, when the clock strikes twelve… we'll meet ourselves." Five years ago, Reputation achieved the biggest ever US sales week by traditional album sales with 1.216 million copies sold. Midnights topped this record in just four days. Each day up to the release she would post behind the scenes looks at the making of the album all the way to nightly “Midnights Mayhem With Me” TikToks where she revealed track titles one by one. Lavender Haze, Maroon, Anti-Hero, Snow On The Beach (feat. Lana Del Rey), You're On Your Own Kid, Midnight Rain, Questioin...?, Vigilante Shit, Bejeweled, Labyrinth, Karma, Sweet Nothing, Mastermind, The Great War, Bigger Than The Whole Sky, Paris, High Infidelity, Glitch, Would've Could've Should've, and Dear Reader

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"I've been very optimistic and enthusiastic about the state of the music industry, and thankfully so have my fans. And they proved that they're ready and willing to invest in music and pay their hard earned money to buy music. And I thinkn it made an incredible statement, especially in this time in music."

- Good Morning America, November 11, 2014 (152)

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Nearly 2 weeks after the release of Midnights the astonishing singer songwriter announced the biggest tour of the decade. The Eras Tour. A 3.5 hour long live preformance that would flip through each and every era of Taylor Swift. The Eras Tour began in Glendale, Arizona, on March 17, 2023. Taking on 150+ shows across 5 continents to the end of 2024. The Eras Tour became the first tour to surpass $1 billion in revenue, making it the highest grossing tour of all time. She first announced 27 shows across 20 US cities, beginning in March 2023 in Glendale AZ, and ending in August 2023 in Inglewood CA. Many countries such as Canada and Chile wanted the tour to be brought to them but with dismay they were not on the second leg of the tour announcement. Ticketmaster was the app that launched the ticket sales to each and every show, both a devil and a gift. A few memorable dates during the tour so far include; July 7th-Announcement of Speak Now Taylors Version, and August 9th- Announcement of 1989 Taylors Version. Easter eggs were everywhere and no one saw it coming until she came out in a blue version of the Suprise Song dress. Suprise songs; Each show Taylor would play 2 songs, acoustic and piano that she had not played at any other show. Over the span of The Eras Tour, alblums have been released, outfits have been added, and memories have been made. After all it had been a long time coming.

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"Performing Live, I usually go through all the emotions that I went through when I was writing the song onstage because that's the state of mind you have to be in. And so sometimes it does get really emotional onstage.... It's really wonderful to feel those feelings in front of an entire crowd of people who you feel like have your back because you know the reason they're there is they've felt that way too."

- Rachael Ray Show, January 3, 2011 (131)

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The Eras Tour Setlist In Order

1. Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince

2. Cruel Summer

3. The Man

4. You Need to Calm Down

5. Lover

6. The Archer

7. Fearless

8. You Belong With Me

9. Love Story

10. No Body No Crime *

11. 'Tis the Damn Season

12. Willow

13. Marjorie

14. Champagne Problems

15. Tolerate It

16. Ready For It?

17. Delicate

18. Don't Blame Me

19. Look What You Made Me Do

20. Enchanted

21. Long Live *

22. 22

23. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

24. I Knew You Were Trouble

25. All Too Well (10-Minute Version)

26. The 1 *

27. Betty

28. The Last Great American Dynasty

29. August

30. Illicit Affairs

31. My Tears Ricochet

32. Cardigan

33. Style

34. Blank Space

35. Shake it Off

36. Wildest Dreams

37. Bad Blood

38. Lavender Haze

39. Anti-Hero

40. Midnight Rain

41. Vigilante Shit

42. Bejeweled

43. Mastermind

44. Karma

+Suprise Songs

** = sometimes played

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Every outfit on The Eras Tour

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Taylor Swift, American singer songwriter, known to all, loved by most. Travis Kelce(87), football played for the Kansas City Cheifs. Who would have thought the two would become intertwined by what was most definitely an invisible string. On night 2 of The Eras Tour in Kansas City, the Chiefs main tight end made an appearance at Taylors show in the VIP tent. Later on after the show, he attended the podcast him and his brother Jason Kelce, Philadelphia Eagles player. On the podcast Jason mentioned his younger brother attending The Eras Tour, then Travis mentioned how he was hoping to meet up with Taylor after to give her a friendship bracelet. During September of 2023, they were seen together going on dates, but later it was said that they had been seeing each other much earlier, and that they had been keeping their private life private. Within this time, Taylor began to go to his football games. Each game their would be a quick camera shot on her in the box with his or her family. When the Cheifs made it to the Superbowl, many were wondering if Taylor would be in time to make it considering she had her last show in Tokyo the day before. As well as the major notice that the Super Bowl would be her 13th game to watch. Luckily all worked out well and she made it back to Las Vegas for the Superbowl. The Chiefs ended up winning 25-22 against the San Fransisco 49ers. And by the end of the night Taylor was on the field and the most coverage was on the heartfelt moment between popstar and Superbowl champion. Recently, Swift had put her shows on hold, in order for her lead guitarist to have time with his newest son. This being said, pictures were shot of Taylor and Travis in the Bahamas. Enjoying their month long vacation and break from the consistency of show after show. Night after night. After all 87 + 13 =100. You'll be 87 I'll be 89.

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"13 is the day I was born in December, and ever since then, it's kind of shown up around good times. Like, when good things are about to happen I'll see a 13 everywhere I go, and, you know, [at] award shows I'll see a lot of 13s and then I'll end up winning. It's a really good sign."

- Acesso MTV, September 17, 2012 (45)

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On Febuary 4th 2024, history was made. Taylor Swift, won her 13th Grammy for Midnights earning Best Pop Vocal Alblum. Which during her acceptance speech for winning the Grammy, she announced her brand new alblum The Tortured Poets Department that will come out on April 19th. To end the 66th Grammys night Mindights also won Alblum of the Year.