Building a reputation
There are many sides to Taylor Swift. Fans love her sweet disposition. Detractors find her fake and petty. Whatever the case, one can’t deny the singer’s unstoppable power. We take a look at the evolution of the 27-year-old – from shy country singer to a
1 Tim McGraw (2006)
Her debut single was probably Swift at her countriest. The sentimental love song about reminiscing her time with a past lover is a classic country ballad that’s perfect to slow dance to. And lyrics-wise, what better way to launch a career than by referencing the name of a big country star to arouse curiousity?
2 Teardrops On My Guitar (2007) Way before her famous exes made it to her song, Swift wrote about her high school crush Drew Hardwick in the guitar-driven number about unrequited love. The song gave Swift her first breakthrough pop hit, peaking at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Two years after the song’s release, Drew showed up at Swift’s house out of the blue. Too late, Drew! 3 Love Story (2008)
Written in a story format, Love Story offered a fairy tale, idealistic look at romance. And because who doesn’t want a happily ever after, the world took notice. Love Story gave Swift her first international hit, climbing music charts in Europe and Australia besides the United States.
4 You Belong With Me (2008)
We saw the beginnings of a music juggernaut in the massive earworm that is You Belong With
Me. The uptempo hit alone, about liking someone who already has a girlfriend but she doesn’t treasure him, gave Swift three nominations at the Grammys, including Song Of The Year in 2010.
5 Innocent (2010)
Although Innocent was never released as a single, it addressed the shocking and painful moment when Kanye West interrupted her during her MTV VMAs acceptance speech in 2009. He said: “Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you and I’mma let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!” In Innocent, Swift forgave him and graciously sang “who you are is not what you did”.
6 Mean (2011)
At first glance, Mean seems like a song for everyone who’s ever been bullied by the cool kids in school. But Swift actually wrote the song after a critic questioned her vocal abilities. She put her frustrations into songwriting and won herself a Grammy for Best Country Song in 2012. 7 We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (2012) Can you believe Swift only got her first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts six years after she debuted? It was the toe-tapping chorus of We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together that finally did it.
8 Shake It Off (2014)
Besides waving off her detractors in Shake It Off, she officially waved goodbye to her country roots. The song became her second No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. 9 Blank Space (2014)
With the media painting her as a player, due to her long list of celebrity exes, Swift makes fun of herself in Blank Space. It doesn’t matter because at the end of the day, this track proved she’s a real player in the music game, scoring her third No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100. 10 Bad Blood (2015)
Bad Blood definitely thrived on the famous feud between Swift and Katy Perry, but it also resonated with anyone who ever had a close friend who turned on you. And let’s not forget its music video which featured Swift and her girl squad Selena Gomez, Cara Delevingne, Ellen Pompeo, among others. It also started a conversation about female friendship.