Taylor Swift is one of the world’s best-selling artists, a billionaire and a record breaker. And she’s only 34 years old.
With his 11th studio album – The Tortured Poets Department – out today (his follow-up to 2022’s Grammy-winning Midnights), the buzz around the singer is at its peak.
Updates:
What do his new words mean?
Swift reveals ‘secret double album’
Fans can expect 16 new tracks (addressing the five stages of grief) and collaborations like Florence + The Machine and Post Malone.
With a history of writing about her exes (you know who you are, Joe Jonas, Harry Styles, Jake Gyllenhaal and John Mayer), there’s a lot of interest in whether any songs will reference her English ex-boyfriend, actor Joe Alwyn with whom she dated. for six years until their separation last year.
There’s a strong suggestion that track number five (the place she always gives to her most meaningful songs) – So Long London – might do just that.
And the album’s very title may be a reference to a WhatsApp group previously created by Alwyn with fellow actors Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal, called The Tortured Man Club.
When talking about it in 2022, the cast joked that they didn’t use it much since they were less tortured. Four months later, news of Swift and Alwyn’s split emerged.
Meanwhile at boyfriend current newsSwift’s latest boyfriend – Travis Kelce – says he’s listened to parts of the album and says it’s “amazing”.
The American star’s rise from teenage country pop singer to global phenomenon was – indeed – rapid.
We take a look at Taylor Swift’s unstoppable rise.
Analysis:
Marriage, babies, breakups – breaking down the album
Moving forward while reclaiming your past
She started with Taylor Alison Swift, who was born in Pennsylvania and named for singer-songwriter James Taylor.
Inspired to become a country singer after watching a documentary about Faith Hill (one of the genre’s best-selling stars), her parents decided to move to Tennessee in 1993 to help forge her music career, and Swift landed his first recording contract at the age of just 13.
A musical chameleon, she has changed genres several times since then, moving from country to pop to alternative to folk.
And in addition to moving forward artistically, she has literally reappropriated her past, re-record your old catalog since 2021 to reclaim his music following an argument with a talent manager Scooter braunwho bought his former label Big Machine Records.
Earlier this year, Swift made Grammy history when she became the first person to win album of the year four times with Midnights.
She’s come a long way since then. Kanye West infamously stormed the stage at the 2009 VMAs as Swift accepted her award for Best Video Directed by a Female Artist, a move he later claimed in lyrics. “made this asshole famous“.
Since then, her fame has continued to grow, reaching the peak of Swift in recent years.
Billionaire status
Swift is a billionaireaccording to Forbes magazine, racking up $1.1 billion (£875 million), based on earnings from his Eras tour and the value of his pop music catalog.
This makes her the first musician to reach 10-figure status based solely on her songs and performances.
Following the start of her Eras Tour, which began in March 2023, she became the first artist to surpass $1 billion (£800 million) in revenue, breaking the Guinness World Record for longest-running music tour. profitable.
Additionally, she was the world’s best-selling recording artist in 2023, breaking another record by topping the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) World Artist Rankings for the fourth time.
In 2023, Swift was classified as Spotify’s Most Popular Artistand she became the first female artist to have four albums in the Billboard top 10 simultaneously.
His Eras Tour – which began with 53 shows playing across the United States before expanding to 78 international dates – sold out stadiums across the world, with ticket sales estimated at $900 million a year latest, according to Billboard.
This tour is expected to become the highest-grossing tour in history by the end of this year, which is expected to push Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour into second place.
Additionally, Swift’s magic touch boosted the local economies her tour passed through.
An economic angel who has the power to shake cities
Its seven sold-out concerts in Sydney and Melbourne in Australia in February were credited by the Australian Bureau of Statistics with an increase in spending on clothing, merchandise, accessories and restaurants during the month.
Six nights near Los Angeles added $320 million (£257 million) and 3,300 jobs to the region, according to the California Center for Jobs and the Economy.
And not content with ruling the music world or fixing the economy, she’s also conquered the big screen, with a film version of her concert tour. take over $250m (£200m) in ticket sales.
The film generated the highest ticket sales at the UK and Ireland box office on its opening day, according to Vue International.
And did I mention it can also cause minor natural disasters?
In July 2023, a Swift concert in Seattle was reported to have triggered a nearby seismometer, recording the equivalent of a magnitude 2.3 earthquake.
She’s also interested in politics and sports – and other celebrities love her
Without ever telling her fans who to vote for, Swift encouraged voter registrationVote.org reporting 35,000 registrations after Swift urged her 282 million Instagram followers to vote in the Super Tuesday primaries across the United States in March.
And put the super in the Super Bowl, her highly publicized relationship with Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce was credited with attracting more viewers to American football. In fact, sales of Kelce jerseys jumped 400% in one day, according to online seller Fanatics.
Although she never went to college herself, many American colleges offer courses on her, including Harvard, Stanford and Bentley, while a Belgian university offers a Swift-inspired literary course. Avoiding the hassles of the study years, in 2022 she received an honorary doctorate of fine arts from New York University.
And earlier this year, the Victoria And Albert Museum recruited for a Advisor to Taylor Swift Superfans to help develop future Swift-themed programming.
It’s no surprise that Time magazine named her Person of the Year 2023.
Known for her dedication to her fans – inspirational friendship bracelets, handmade signs and all kinds of memorabilia – she also has a legion of famous fans, including Jennifer Lopez, Julia Roberts and Adam Sandler.
And good news for British fans: it will be coming soon to a city near you.
This summer she will play 15 shows in the UK as part of her Eras tour, which kicks off on June 7 in Edinburgh before heading to London on June 21. His extended run in London will end at Wembley Stadium on August 20.