This week, Her Campus Emerson has decided to highlight influential women of the modern era. These women have all made an impact on our writers in one way or another, and they have all chosen to highlight their work and recognize them for their achievements. Thank you for taking the time to learn about the women who inspire our writers!
First things first, let’s get something straight. Miss Swift is a badass and deserves recognition as such. Not only is Swift an incredible musician, but she is also a strong business woman who is trying to better the community at large. I decided to focus on Taylor because I think that it’s important to note the impact that she has had on the community and because the love she has for all of her fans is, in my opinion, unmatched.
Music and Awards:
Taylor Swift is a multi-award winning musician born on December 13, 1989. She started her career in Nashville as a country singer before she turned 16, where her first single, “Tim Mcgraw,” got high praise. She went on to produce a self-titled album in 2006, which featured songs like “Our Song,” “Teardrops on My Guitar,” and “Should’ve Said No” (recently featured on Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour). She won the Horizon Award from the CMAs later that year in addition to the ACM award for Top New Female Vocalist in 2007. After the success of her first album, Swift went on to release her Sounds of the Season holiday album before continuing her career with her second studio album, Fearless, in 2008.
Swift was nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist and won the ACM Female Vocalist of the Year award. The Fearless era is most noteworthy for chart-topping hits, “You Belong With Me” (Recently featured on Taylor’s Reputation Stadium Tour), “Love Story” (Also, recently featured on Taylor’s Reputation Stadium Tour), and “White Horse” among others. During this era, Swift was able to win awards for both Video of the Year and Female Video of the Year, both of which were for “Love Story” at the ACM Awards. Swift was the first country singer to win a VMA, which she won for Best Female Video, for “You Belong With Me.” Swift proceeded to go on her first tour (all over the world) during this era, booking out arenas around the country. As a personal anecdote, Swift played one single stadium on this tour, which just so happens to be Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA, which JUST so happens to be my hometown stadium and where I have seen Swift perform on multiple tours. Swift sold out Gillette Stadium, and to this day, tells the story at every single Gillette Stadium tour show (because it is one of her favorite places to perform). So, yeah, Taylor and I are close. Swift also became the youngest artist to win a Grammy for Artist of the Year for this album.
After Fearless, Swift’s concert tickets started selling out in less than 2 minutes. After this tour, Swift proceeded to record her third studio album, Speak Now, which released in 2010, and featured songs like “Back to December,” “Dear John,” “Sparks Fly,” “Long Live” (recently featured on Taylor’s Reputation Stadium Tour), and “Ours.” The album (and my––tied-for-first-place with reputation––personal favorite) was a hit and topped the Billboard Top 200 chart, selling over 1 million copies in the first week. Swift also went on a world tour for this show. At 19, Swift wrote the album completely on her own, and I, at 20, have just learned how to properly construct a thesis statement in an essay (maybe). Clearly, I’m giving Taylor a run for her money, I mean, the comparison is uncanny.
In 2012, Swift went on to release her fourth album, Red. Red, though not my favorite album of Swift’s, does contain one of the world’s greatest songs, and quite possibly my favorite song of all time. To this day, this song STILL makes me emotional, and of course, it is “All Too Well.” In addition to “All Too Well,” Red also contained the hit song, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” which is truly one of the most wonderful songs (please, take Tay’s advice and stop calling your Ex). One of my other favorite songs is also on this album, and contrary to popular opinion, “STARLIGHT” DESERVES BETTER. All of that being said, Taylor’s Red Tour was wonderful and brought along up and coming artist and friend Ed Sheeran to perform with her. This was my first Taylor show, and it was one of the best nights of my life––and now there is no going back.
Per the year of her birth, Swift’s fifth Studio Album was entitled 1989. This album featured songs like “Bad Blood” (recently featured on Taylor’s Reputation Stadium Tour), “Blank Space” (also, recently featured on Taylor’s Reputation Stadium Tour), and “Shake It Off.” Taylor’s disregard for the media’s feelings created this beautiful spectacle of freedom and fun, which the singer fully embraced for the world tour. I also had the chance to go to the 1989 World Tour, which was super exciting! Each show featured a different guest performer, and her tour performance of (Hailey, this one’s for you!) “Out of the Woods” is, to this day, one of the most amazing performances I’ve ever seen. While literally this entire tour was amazing, I also have to acknowledge Swift’s performance of “New Romantics” and her “Wildest Dreams”/”Enchanted” mashup. Not only were the performances amazing, but Taylor brought light-up bracelets (that synced to her music) for every single person who was in attendance. She explained at the show that she decided to light up the crowd, so that she could see each and every one of her fans while she was on stage. She always makes it a point to acknowledge everyone in attendance, from the people in the front row all the way up to the people in the nosebleed seats. Not only was the show unforgettable, but the album went on to win a Grammy for both Best Music Video and Best Pop Vocal Album as well as, Album of the Year. Swift was the first woman to win this award twice.
As we all know, Swift dropped off the face of the earth not long after the 1989 era, only to resurface after a year of silence by deleting all of the content on her social media accounts. With that, Swift dropped her first song from her sixth studio album reputation, “Look What You Made Me Do.” The album contains hits such as “Delicate,” “Call it What You Want,” “New Year’s Day,” “Don’t Blame Me,” and “…Ready For It?” reputation is my (tied-for-number-one-with-Speak Now) favorite album. The way that Taylor somehow makes soft, intimate songs, while also portraying a new, cold exterior, is probably why I love this album so much. It speaks to the two sides of my personality. Having realized that I deserve more, as a person, than being treated like I’m not good enough by people I thought cared about me, I cut a lot of toxic people out of my life (ironically about 2-6 months before the album came out). I really embraced the roughness of this album, and then I embraced the more soft songs later (they truly got better with age). This album reminded me that you can be strong and…delicate… at the same time. You shouldn’t let people take advantage of you, but you can still be kind and loving to the people who stand by you. I think that really spoke to me more so than some of the other albums did, and when I listen to the songs on this album, I’m reminded of how important it is to be both strong and soft. Reputation continued its success despite the criticisms saying that Swift wouldn’t be as successful and was losing support. Swift countered this by embracing the hate, and going on a worldwide stadium-only tour, many legs of which sold out, complete with light-up bracelets for everyone in the stadium yet again. Not only did she go on a full stadium tour, she broke countless records for the stadiums she performed in AND did so with a giant inflatable cobra named Karyn to back her up (and two other giant inflatable snakes on both the B-stages, who are unnamed to this day). Talk about a comeback. I won’t go into the fact that I thought this show blew her other tours out of the water, but if you’re interested in a review, check out my concert review article here!
Along with her achievements in music, Swift also met success in other areas, as highlighted below!
All facts sourced from Biography.com.
Sexual Assault Trial and Politics:
During her break from the spotlight, Swift counter-sued David Mueller in her sexual assault case for $1.00 (the dollar, makes an appearance in Swift’s LWYMMD music video at 0:35). Swift accused Mueller of groping her during a photo session in 2013, and in response to the accusation, Mueller sued Swift for ruining his career with her accusation, but the judge ruled in favor of Swift. Additionally, Swift is also credited for the amount of times the word “ass” was said in court. (All facts sourced from Biography.com.)
Also during the reputation era, Swift got political. She used her platform to encourage people to register to vote, and to vote for the candidate, regardless of party, that best aligns with their viewpoints. Vote.com reported that after Swift’s post, they had 65,000 people register to vote (USA Today)! This newfound political voice is important after Taylor’s silence in the 2016 election, and leading into the 2020 election, we can expect to hear some more or Swift’s political stances, and we can’t wait!!
All facts sourced from Biography.com.
Charities
Taylor is notorious for being one of the nicest and true-to-self mega-stars by everyone who meets her, but that isn’t all Swift does. During her earlier years, Taylor’s record label bought her a pink pickup truck, which Taylor immediately decided to donate to charity. Not only that, but Swift also gave fans checks (for $1,989) to help them pay for college and other expenses (obviously during the 1989 era). Swift is also known for hosting her “secret sessions” at all of her homes, and in other countries for dedicated fans so that they can hear the album before anyone else does (Taylor, I’m totally free to pop by your RI home any time you want to hang!). Also, In addition to all of the listening parties, Taylor also shows kindness to all of her fans on tour by thanking them all during the show for coming to spend the night with her. It is truly an amazing feeling to be thanked and acknowledged. Even if it isn’t personally, you can really tell it’s genuine, and each show is a unique experience that you get to share with Taylor. Not only does she do that, but she also holds free meet and greets for dedicated fans both before and after the shows at every single show.
Taylor has also been known to support a variety of charities. Over the years of her career, Swift has been known to support all of the following organizations, among others (LookattheStars.org):
Other Endeavors
Not only has Taylor won the hearts of millions, she has started taking part in projects she is excited about, rather than just firing out album after album. While she made her acting debut in 2006 in her music video for “Tim Mcgraw.” She has recorded a multitude of music videos since then, including her most recent win at the I Heart Radio Music Awards on 3/14/2019 in the category of Best Music Video for “Delicate.” In addition to starring in her music videos, Swift has also had a few TV appearances, including one-off roles in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and New Girl. Swift also starred in the movie Valentine’s Day, and had a role in The Giver. Taylor will also be playing Bombalurina in the CATS movie adaptation due later this year. In addition to her acting, Swift is credited with 175 soundtrack appearances, 32 composer credits, 7 writer credits, and 5 producer credits. Taylor also has 2 credits in directing and the music department alike, as well as one credit in miscellaneous crew.
Facts credited to IMDb.com.
While I could go on and on about why Taylor is one of the most powerful, strong, and influential women alive today, I think the facts speak for themselves. Taylor is a wonderful person, and I hope that I get to meet her one day to thank her for all of the strength and inspiration she has given me throughout the years.