By Taylor Swift, often referred to as the “Queen of Pop,” is a global superstar who has left an indelible mark on the music industry. With her extraordinary talent, versatility, and songwriting prowess, Swift has captivated audiences worldwide, earning numerous accolades and a dedicated fan base. This article explores the interesting facts about Taylor Swift, one of the most influential artists of this time.
1. Taylor’s birthplace and early years
Swift was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, on December 13, 1989, to Scott Kingsley Swift and Andrea Gardner (Finlay) Swift. She was named after James Taylor, a well-known singer and entertainer. The singer claimed in a 2014 media interview that she grew up on a Christmas tree farm from the age of five to ten. “It was such a weird place to grow up. But it has cemented in me this unnatural level of excitement about fall and then the holiday season,” she told the publication. In 2019 she even released a Christmas song called “Christmas Tree Farm” and the video is comprised of clips from her childhood.
2. Early indications of creativity
Taylor, 33, revealed in a 2016 interview with Vogue that her mother wished for her to become a horseback rider. Swift rode competitively until she was 12 years old as a result of this. She eventually confessed to her mother, however, that she did not share her mother’s interests. Taylor, in addition to her riding career, wrote a novel titled ‘A Girl Named Girl’ when she was 14 years old. While her parents appear to own the last copy, it provides insight into Swift’s creative creativity.
Taylor’s guitar skills were developed around the age of 12. Her debut song, ‘Lucky You,’ was written when her neighborhood computer repairman turned musician, Ronnie Cremer, taught her how to strum a few chords. The first song she learned to play was ‘Kiss Me’ by Sixpence None the Richer. during the age of 11, she sang ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ as well as the national anthem during a Philadelphia 76ers game. In the same year, she won a local talent competition singing LeAnn Rimes’ “Big Deal.”
3. The trade’s failing side
Many listeners are unaware that Taylor’s first attempts to break into the country music business were futile. In an interview with American Songwriter in 2011, the musician claimed that when she was 11, she traveled to Nashville with her mother and sent Dolly Parton and Dixie Chicks covers to record labels, but was turned down by all of them. “Everyone in that town wanted me to succeed.” So I kept telling myself that I needed to find a way to be different,” she told the outlet.
Only at an event in Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe in 2005 did the aspiring singer catch the attention of Scott Borchetta, a record executive who was preparing to launch Big Machine Records, an independent record company. Her father purchased a three percent stake in the company, making her one of the company’s first signings.
4. Taylor’s songwriting talents
While several of Swift’s multi-platinum albums have been attributed to her songwriting abilities (think ‘Bad Blood,’ ‘Back to December,’ and ‘Our Song,’ it is only her album, ‘Speak Now,’ that she exclusively composed and co-produced from beginning to end. Taylor admitted to Rolling Stones in 2014 that she is frequently driven to write lyrics that “burn.” “Sometimes the lines in a song are lines you wish you could text-message somebody in real life,” Swift articulated, adding “I would just be constantly writing all these zingers — like, ‘Burn. That would really get her.”
Taylor Swift revealed in Vogue’s 73 Questions interview with Taylor Swift back in 2016, that ‘Blank Space’ took the least amount of time to write, “cause [she’d] written a lot of the lines down already in the year preceding the session,” but ‘All too Well’ took the longest to write. “It’s a really emotional song, I kept putting it down for months on end,” Swift explained.
5. Writing for other artists
The songwriter has penned songs for Little Big Town, including “Better Man,” and for Hannah Montana, including “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home.” Taylor Swift has even written under pseudonyms – Swift’s publicist revealed to People in 2016 that “Taylor Swift wrote ‘This Is What You Came For’ under the pseudonym Nils Sjoberg.” The song was written for her ex-boyfriend, artist Calvin Harris.
6. Film and TV appearances
If you thought Taylor’s only claim to fame was her singing career, think again! The singer has appeared in nine films and television shows, including CSI as a grunge-haired victim, Hannah Montana as a small-time musician, and Valentine’s Day (2010) as Taylor Lautner’s irate lover. Other films in which he has appeared include The Lorax (2012), New Girl (2013), This is Rosemary (2014), Cats (2019), All Too Well: The Short Film (2021), and Amsterdam (2022).
7. A few of Taylor’s obsessions
She’s “obsessed” with Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Friends. Swift told Entertainment Weekly of her passion for Fleabag, “She makes you laugh, shocks you, and breaks your heart all in the span of a few minutes in that show.” She told GQ in 2015 that after performing and seeing so many admirers, she likes to go home and have a Friends mini-marathon.
She also prepared her own monologue for her appearance on Saturday Night Live in 2009, which is unusual for celebrity guests. Swift’s composition, ‘Monologue Song’ (La La La), certainly impressed the team.
