Taylor Swift was born December 13, 1989 in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Her father, Scott Kingsley Swift, was a financial consultant, and her mother, Andrea Gardner Swift, was a housewife, formerly a head of marketing. The singer has a younger brother, Austin.
Taylor Alison Swift's Creative Childhood
Swift spent the first years of her life on a Christmas tree farm. She attended preschool at the Alvernia Montessori school run by Franciscan nuns. And then she moved to Wyndcroft School.
The family then moved to a rented house in the suburban town of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. There she attended Wyomissing Area High School.
At the age of 9, Swift became interested in musical theater and performed in four productions of the Berks Youth Theater Academy. She also regularly traveled to New York for vocal and acting lessons. Swift later focused on country music, inspired by the songs of Shania Twain.
She spent her weekends performing at local festivals and events. After watching a documentary about Faith Hill, the singer was convinced that she needed to go to Nashville, Tennessee to continue her musical career.
At 11, she and her mother moved to Nashville. There she presented a demo with covers for karaoke by Dolly Parton and Dixie Chicks. However, she didn't surprise anyone. She was told that there were many like her.
Taylor Swift's first recordings
When Taylor was about 12 years old, local musician Ronnie Kremer, a computer repairman, taught her how to play the guitar. It was after this that she was inspired and wrote Lucky You. In 2003, Swift and her parents began working with New York music manager Dan Dimtrow.
With his help, Swift wrote several songs, and they attended meetings with major record labels. After performing songs on RCA Records, Swift signed a contract, often traveling to Nashville with her mother.
To help Taylor understand country music, her father moved into an office at Merrill Lynch in Nashville. She was 14 years old when the family moved into a lakeside home in Hendersonville, Tennessee.
Swift attended public high school but transferred to Aaron Academy two years later. Thanks to home schooling, she graduated from the academy a year early.
A confident step towards a dream
The singer was interested in music at an early age. She quickly moved from roles in the children's theater to the first performance in front of thousands of people. When she was 11, she sang Star Banner before a basketball game in Philadelphia. The following year, she took up the guitar and began writing songs.
Drawing inspiration from country music artists such as Shania Twain and the Dixie Chicks, the artist created original material that reflected her experiences of teen alienation. When she was 13, her parents sold the farm in Pennsylvania. Then they moved to Hendersonville, Tennessee so that the girl could devote more time to the label in nearby Nashville.
A development agreement with RCA Records allowed the singer to meet record industry veterans. In 2004, at the age of 14, she signed with Sony/ATV as a songwriter.
At venues in the Nashville area, she performed many of the songs she wrote. At one of these performances, she was noticed by executive director Scott Borchetta. He signed Taylor to the new Big Machine label. Her first single Tim McGraw was released in the summer of 2006.
16 years old - first album
The song was successful. They worked on the single for eight months, it ended up on the Billboard chart. When she was 16, Swift released her self-titled debut album. She went on tour introducing the Rascal Flatts.
Taylor Swift's album was certified platinum in 2007. Sold over 1 million copies in the United States. Swift continued her rigorous touring schedule, opening for artists such as George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. In November of the same year, Swift received the Horizon Award for Best New Artist from the Country Music Association (CMA). She became the most notable young country music star.
Taylor Swift's second album
With her second album, Fearless (2008), she demonstrated a sophisticated pop sensibility, managing to captivate a pop audience.
With sales of over half a million copies in its first week, Fearless peaked at number 1 on the Billboard 200. Singles such as You Belong with Me and Love Story were also popular worldwide. The last single had over 4 million paid downloads.
First awards
In 2009, Swift embarked on her first headlining tour. She performed at small venues around North America. In the same year, she dominated the awards competition. Fearless was voted Album of the Year by the Academy of Country Music in April. She topped the Best Female category in the You Belong with Me video at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) in September.
During her VMA acceptance speech, Swift was put on hold by rapper Kanye West. He stated that the award should have gone to Beyoncé for One of the Best Videos of all Time. Later in the program, when Beyoncé accepted the Best Video of the Year award, she invited Swift on stage. She concluded her speech, which caused a storm of applause for both performers.
At the CMA Awards, Swift won the four categories in which she was nominated. Her recognition as CMA Artist of the Year made her the youngest recipient of the award. And also the first female artist to win since 1999.
She started 2010 with an impressive performance at the Grammy Awards, where she won four awards, including Best Country Song, Best Country Album, and Album of the Year Grand Prize.
Acting and third album
Later that year, Swift made her feature film debut in the romantic comedy Valentine's Day. She was appointed as the new spokesperson for Cover Girl cosmetics.
Swift has not spoken about her personal life in interviews, but she has been outspoken about her music.
Her third album, Speak Now (2010), was littered with allusions to a romantic relationship with John Mayer. And also with Joe Jonas ("The Jonas Brothers") and with Taylor Lautner ("Twilight").
In 2011, Swift received the CMA Artist of the Year award. And the following year, she received a Grammy Award for the best solo performance in the country. Also for Best Country Song Mean, a single from the album Speak Now.
Swift continued her acting career by voicing her role in the animated film Dr. Seuss Lorax (2012). And then released the album Red (2012).
The singer remained focused on young intrigues in love. This slightly influenced the change in style, and she began to perform more pop hits.
In its first week of release in the United States, Red sold 1,2 million copies. This was the highest single-week figure in the past 10 years. In addition, her first single We are Never Ever Getting Back Together became a hit on the Billboard pop singles chart.
"1989" and Shake It Off
In 2014, Swift released another album, 1989. It is named after her year of birth and inspired by the music of the time. From that moment on, Swift admitted that she was going to move away from country style, and this was evident on the single I Knew You Were Trouble.
The second single Red was also in a new genre (combined with dance music). She called this album her first "official pop album".
Without hesitation, the singer began working on her second pop album, Shake It Off. Its first week sales surpassed those of the Red album.
It went on to sell over 5 million copies in the United States. Swift received her second Grammy for Album of the Year. In 2014, the singer also played a supporting role in the film Thegiver, an adaptation of Lois Lowry's dystopian novel for young readers.
One of Swift's best works is Style. With this bewitching composition, the singer performed at the Victoria's Secret show in New York. And then there was a video clip.
Singer Taylor Swift in 2019-2021
In 2019, Taylor expanded her discography with her seventh studio album. The collection was called Lover. The compilation was released on August 23, 2019 under the auspices of the label Republic Records and the singer's own label Taylor Swift Productions, Inc. The album contains 18 tracks in total.
In 2020, video clips were released for a number of tracks of the seventh studio album. Some of the concerts that were supposed to take place this year, the singer was forced to cancel.
At the end of 2020, the popular singer Taylor Swift expanded her discography with the LP Evermore. The compilation featured guest artists Bon Iver, The National and Haim.
Fans did not expect such productivity from their idol. Not so long ago she recorded the album Folklore. The singer herself says:
“I couldn't stop. I write a lot. Perhaps the high productivity is due to the fact that in 2020 I really do not tour much ... ".
At the end of March 2021, the presentation of two singles of the singer took place at once. We are talking about musical compositions You All Over Me and a remix of Love Story. Taylor revealed the secret: both tracks will be included in the new LP Fearless (Taylor's Version). The release of the album is scheduled for April 9th.
2021 has been the most productive year for Taylor Swift. At the beginning of July 2021, together with the Big Red Machine team, she presented a joint work. We are talking about the track Renegade. On the day of the premiere of the song, the premiere of the video clip also took place.
At the beginning of February 2022, a presentation of a joint single and video took place Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift The Joker And The Queen. This is a new version of the song, which was included in Sheeran's solo performance in his latest album "=".
