Breaking (and making) records has become the modus operandum for Taylor Swift, yet as she looks to celebrate two decades in the lens, the American is now just as revered as a style icon and a force for fairness in society.
Take Swift’s 18-month-long Eras tour, which kicked off in March 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. Comprising a colossal 149 shows, it was played out across six continents, generating ticket sales that surpassed $1bn.
Not even The Beatles, in their pomp, could have played out a project of such longevity and scale. Yet it wasn’t always like this.
“Oh, I had a real big crowd for the Nashville Rubber Duck Race when I was 14 years old,” begins Swift, laughing, when quizzed on the sheer magnitude of promoting her music live. “I’d rather put that behind me as I’m obviously something of a big deal, now, apparently.
“In all seriousness, if anyone tells you they’ve only ever played in front of big crowds, they’re lying,” says the 34-year-old. “Almost all of us start from nothing. We go through the times of performing in front of nearly empty rooms, but then, hopefully, it gets better, and we build confidence… and a fanbase!”
Taylor Swift, for all her scale – as a musician, a style icon, an influencer – comes across as impossibly grounded. She is as much about helping out those behind her in the queue (and it’s a long queue) as she is preening and posturing her way to even greater riches, both financial and metaphorical.
“I look on my role as someone who can entertain, sure; but also a person who can reach out and advise the next generation of singer, or songwriter, or whatever.
“So much of what people achieve in any industry is down to self-belief and confidence. It’s a very simple formula to follow, but also so easy to find yourself overpowered by the challenges.”
From teenage country music prodigy to a global pop sensation, Swift’s eponymous debut album was released in 2006, aged just 16. Nine albums have followed.
“In the early days when, on social media, I saw my face on murals, it was perhaps a little disconcerting. It is strange to go from a very simple world into something so big.
“I’m glad though that we live in an era now where anything goes,” the 13-times Grammy winner states. “If you didn’t wear what everyone else was wearing, you might be a goth, or a metal head, or an indie kid, or an emo, or something else. Now it’s all cool – it’s about feeling comfortable and confident… in your clothes and in your own skin.”
