The Taylor Swift Effect On The World
Everyone’s talking about Swiftonomics and Taylornomics, not to mention The Swelce Effect. Even the University of Melbourne has published a paper called Ready for It? How Taylor Is Changing Modern Society. And what an effect it is, a modern phenomenon that’s got the big business all hot under the collar and marketing executives looking at what she’s gonna do next.
One thing is for sure; whatever it is, if they could bottle and sell it, they would. In fact, Taylor had a range of perfumes now discontinued with jaunty names like Wonderstruck, Wonderstruck Enchanted, Taylor, Taylor Made of Starlight, and Incredible Things. The Taylor smell was not a big seller ten years ago, but right now, if Tay hums it, the Swifties hum right back.
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Taylor Cutey in Booties
Taylor Alison Swift is a typical Sagittarius, born on the 13th of December 1989. Sagittarian traits mean people born under the sign are passionate, smart, lively, and way more philosophical than their happy-go-lucky vibe hints at. Being born in December has mixed blessings; you likely get only one present, a combination of birthday and Christmas presents, and what’s more, you have to wait all year to get it.
The good news is that December is party season, so birthdays are fun and completely go with the Sagittarius’s need to socialize, entertain, and be entertained not for one day but to party for an entire month. A side note on the name Alison – Alison translates to “noble” or “exalted.” With a name like Alison and being born in December, baby Swift has the tools to maintain her confidence and protect her honor for her entire life. So far, so good.
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The Swifts and The Keystone State
Taylor was born in Pennsylvania: West Reading, in fact. Interestingly, ‘The Keystone State’ gave America 16 Nobel Prize winners, two presidents, and over 35 pro footballers in the Hall of Fame. To say Pen breeds talent is an understatement. Famous singers include Daryl Hall, Billie Holiday, and now Taylor Swift. West Reading was unremarkable; it was a dense suburban town with plenty of bars, shops, and restaurants; now, it’s the go-to place to pay homage to Pennsylvania’s most famous celebrity.
Growing up on a Christmas tree farm may have inspired Taylor’s love of life, but it was more likely her stint in musical theater at the age of nine. As the Swifts were relatively well off, they could fund regular singing lessons, a vocal coach, and an acting lesson. Taylor, aged nine, inspired by Shania Twain and Faith Hill, took to country music like a duck to water. Spending all her free time performing, the Swift family knew that this was Taylor’s love and likely to be her career, so next came a move to Nashville.
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Welcome to Nashville
Nashville is always going to be on your mind if you’re an aspiring country music singer, and Taylor was no different. Taylor and her mother traveled to Nashville regularly to promote her musical talents, buying her first property in Music Row in Nashville (of course!) at age 20. Nashville remains Taylor’s home today; the Northumberland Estate is one of her main residences and contains a top-notch recording studio.
The real musical breakthrough came when Ronnie Cremer taught Taylor to play guitar. Cremer was not a guitar teacher but a computer technician who was called to Swift’s house to fix their computer. It has been widely reported that this turn of events changed the course of Taylor’s musical career, a chance meeting that led to a complete change of direction and one that might never have happened if computers in 2001 were more reliable. Cremer is credited with the song “Lucky You.” The first line of the song is an indication of things to come:
There’s a little girl in this little town
With a little too much heart to go around
Live forever, never say never
You can do better, that’s what she says.
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Taylor’s an Abercrombie & Fitch Brand Model
Aged 15, Taylor became an Abercrombie & Fitch brand model in its highly successful ‘Stars on the Rise’ campaign. Back in 2003, Abercrombie & Fitch was the face of young America; everyone wanted to be an A&F model, and many made it (many didn’t). Famous names include actress Jennifer Lawrence, Irish actor Jamie Doran, Channing Tatum, and Heidi Klum. For the Rising Stars campaign, a very young Taylor is pictured in a white dress, almost unrecognizable. The usual topless pose that A&F is famous for was reserved for Ashton Kutcher.
As marketing campaigns go, the ‘Stars on the Rise’ featured in A&F Quarterly was hugely successful, and many will tell you A&F was an aspiring brand in the mid to late 90s and early 00. However, A&F Quarterly was no more after a particularly racy Christmas issue in 2003 that had “Group Sex” written on the front cover. Shooting itself in the bank balance seems to be common practice for Abercrombie & Fitch when it released the ill-fated tee-shirt ”#more boyfriends than t.s.’ – talk about a fail. This one will go down in failed marketing history along with Cosmo’s branded yogurt.
Photo Courtesy of Abercombie and Fitch on Pinterest.
Developing Taylor Swift
In 2005, 14-year-old Taylor moved with her family to Hendersonville, Tennessee, full-time, and things really took off. While most 14-year-old girls were playing Marble Blast or learning to type with Mavis Beacon, Tay is already an RCA recording artist with original songs released on a Maybelline compilation CD (remember them). Taylor Swift is now a pop star with a development deal under her stetson.
In the next five years, Tay hones her songwriting skills with Nashville songwriting legends such as Brett Beavers, Troy Verges, Brett James, the Warren Brothers, and Mac McAnally and forms a long-lasting working partnership with mentor and country music songwriter – Liz Rose. Taylor will release six studio albums with Big Machine Records, with singles ‘Love Story’ and “You Belong with Me” (2008), catapulting her to mainstream fame with the album Fearless. Liz Rose is on the credits for 17 Swifty songs, including ‘You Belong with Me.’
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Taylor and The Bluebird Cafe
The Legendary Bluebird in Green Hills, Nashville, is probably the most famous music venue in Tennessee, receiving over 70,000 visitors annually. This unassuming cafe where food and drink take a back seat is located along a small strip out of downtown Nashville; the 90-seat venue has played host on The Bluebird Stage to some of the most significant singer-songwriters ever! The legendary Carole King, Garth Brooks, The Carpenters, Kris Kristofferson, Keith Urban, Faith Hill, Vince Gill, Kathy Mattea, and the deceased Townes Van Zandt, to name just a few.
Featuring in every episode of the hit TV series Nashville, The Bluebird Cafe (TBC) is almost as famous as Tay – almost. Here’s a potted history. TBC is the brainchild of Amy Kurland. It started back in 1982 when a small inheritance from her grandmother turned into a music venue that has seen more talent in one place than the MTV Awards. A late-night ‘writers’ night turned the cafe into a hub for creative talent, with women in the forefront after female songwriters noted that most of the singer-songwriters were male.
Around the time of Fearless, Taylor’s first album in 2008, The Bluebird, was purchased for posterity by the Nashville Songwriters Association International and remains today your best hope of a country music recording contract. Watch out for Katie Cole, the keyboard player for the Smashing Pumpkins. Katie debuts at The Bluebird this month.
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Taylor Hooks and More
With an incredible natural talent, Taylor Swift goes from strength to strength. It’s a little-known fact that TS loves an easter egg, but not the chocolate kind. An “easter egg” is a hidden feature that only becomes visible or audible when you get to that part in the song or read that sentence in the lyrics. For instance, she would disguise liner notes in the lyrics of the songs written in her CD booklets. In Fearless, the lyrics were lowercase, and the message could be deciphered through the letters in capitals.
In a recent interview featured on YouTube, Taylor tells Jimmy Fallon (TV host) how she wants her fans to read the lyrics so by giving them a mystery to solve, they become more engaged and in tune with her way of thinking. Tay tells Jimmy, ‘I think the first time that I started dropping cryptic clues in my music was when I was 14 or 15.’ Is it clever marketing or just smart?
Famous hooks include the chorus of Right Where You Left Me,’ I know places and the bridge of daylight,’ hinting at daytime rendezvous, or I can go anywhere I want, anywhere I want, just not home. So many and all with meaning, apart from oh-oh-oh-ohhh, goddamn (just saying). Earworm aplenty Tay is every teenage girl’s storyteller.
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Billboards Aplenty
2012 was the first of many appearances on the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.’ From the RED album, the song is about Swift’s frustration with an ex-lover who wants to rekindle their doomed relationship – Connor Kennedy or Harry styles were in the frame, and this sounds like an HS move to us. Tay must have seen those jumpsuits coming and thought it’s the ‘Little Things’ I don’t like.
Departing from country music to pop, the next 1989 album included hit tracks such as ‘Shake It Off’ and ‘Bad Blood.’ Taylor has won 40 Billboard Music Awards, 23 MTV Music Video awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Not to mention that Tay became the youngest artist to sign at the Sony/ATV Tree publishing house. With so many awards, we forgot to mention that 11 TS songs have topped the Billboard Hot 100, and she owns the most Billboard 200 number-ones written by a woman. She has more Billboards outside Tennessee than Frances McDormand has outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Courtesy of VOX – Kanye West and Taylor Swift attend the 57th Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in 2015, in Los Angeles, California. Original Larry Busacca/Getty Images
Taylor vs. Kanye
Skipping back slightly to 2009, to one of the most memorable spats in MTV Music Award History (apart from the Will Smith and Chris Rock slap about). Taylor’s acceptance speech for the Best Female Video award with ‘You Belong with Me ‘was rudely interrupted by eccentric singer-songwriter, rapper, and entrepreneur Kanye West.
Widely reported at the time, West stole the mic from a shy 17-year-old Swift, shouting, ‘Yo Tay, I’m really happy for you, but Beyonce has one of the best videos of all time.’ Repeating that line, ‘One of the best videos of all time!’ He then walked offstage, leaving a stunned Beyonce and an even more visibly emotional Taylor. The audience booed, and history was made, but not for the right reasons.
Kanye has apologized many times, on the night and during 2009, withdrew the apology in 2013, and apologized profusely in 2015. In 2016, written in the song ‘Famous,’ from the album The Life of Pablo, is a dig at Tay; he says, ‘I made that bitch famous.’ He also says, ‘We might have sex’ (wishful thinking, Kanye). Following a Swift backlash, Kanye took to X (then Twitter) to say he had got permission to name-drop TS following an hour-long phone conversation. A later video released by his ex-wife KK reveals while a conversation took place, TS NEVER gave Kanye permission to call her a ‘b*tch.’ The rift rumbles on and on and on…
Rumors are rife in 2024. According to Brandon Marshall (former Miami Dolphins NFL player), Kanye picked a seat in front of TS and her entourage at the Allegiant Stadium, knowing the cameras would be on her, so like any disrespected woman would do, she had him removed. TS has not confirmed or denied this, but we love it – as the old saying says, ‘Be careful who you grab the mic from on your way up, as you will almost certainly meet them on your way down.’ Revenge is a dish best served icy or, in this case, Texan Hot!
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Hannah Montana and TS
Hannah Montana was a successful American sitcom for teenagers created by Barry O’Brien, Michael Poryes, and Rich Correll that aired on Disney Channel (No 52) between 2006 and 2011 for four seasons. It’s about a teenage girl called Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus), who lives a secret life as the pop singer Hannah Montana. The episodes deal with Miley’s everyday struggles to cope with adolescence’s social and personal issues while maintaining the added complexities of her secret identity.
Taylor wrote two songs for The Movie soundtrack – HM ‘You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home’ and ‘Crazier.’ It’s easy to tell these are TS-written lyrics with lines like the chorus:
You can change your hair, and you can change your clothes
You can change your mind; that’s just the way it goes
You can say “goodbye,” but you can say “hello”
But you’ll always find your way back home.
Mixed with a killer line from Crazier – ‘I’m lost in your eyes. You make me crazier.’ Typical Nils Sjoberg. Except Nils hadn’t been invented yet. Don’t know who Nils Sjoberg is? Keep reading Twizzle fans, and you will.
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Nils Sjoberg Pseudonym
Many people write under pseudonyms; it’s a way to freely express yourself without hurting or enhancing your reputation. Famously, JK Rowling wrote many books under the name Robert Galbraith or musically, The Beatles; Paul McCartney is also known as Bernard E. Webb. Elton John uses Ann Orson, and the late great Prince fancied himself as Alexander Nevermind or Joey Coco. So when TS revealed to Rolling Stone magazine that she uses the fake name Nils Sjoberg, we were not surprised.
Why Nils, though? No great mystery or secret lover the reason is – Nils and Sjoberg are two of the most popular names for Swedish men. We thought it was Benny and Björn, but no, it’s Nils Sjoberg – who knew? TS obviously!
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This Is What You Came For Calvin!
Apart from co-writing ‘This Is What You Came For,’ with ex-Calvin Harris, Tay also produced a simple version of her track ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ under her pseudonym for the British TV series Killing Eve. The TV version was recorded by Jack Leopards & The Dolphin Club, and in another pseudonymous twist, it is speculated that her brother Austin Swift and Jack Antonoff (friend and collaborator) sing the vocals. We know this is what you came for, so unpicking the Taylor Swift Effect means we must address her love life.
Taylor Swift and the Loves of Her Life
We want to say a person’s love life is their business, but when you’re TS, and you write about your love life, heartbreak, and everything in between, you can only surmise that it’s love that makes her who she is. A person is more than the sum of her parts, and in Taylor’s case, this means that she is better than you would expect from the individual parts of her personality because the way they combine adds a different and superior quality.
Misogynists take note; this is not a dig at TS; many have tried and failed; look at A&F and its misguided Tee-shirt design, but a celebration of a woman’s freedom to have as many boyfriends as she wants (and can handle). Successful male celebrities can change their women with their underwear, and they do, so why not women? In reality, Tay has had no more boyfriends than most young millennial women; the difference is that everyday relationships are way less public.
What’s more, it’s also well known that celebrity relationships rarely last. Constant demands of fame can take their toll on a couple’s privacy, leaving them feeling a lack of identity and breaking down their solidarity. With all these factors in mind, let’s timeline the relationships of Taylor Swift.
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TS loves Joe Jonas
From July to October 2008, TS dated the former Jonas Brothers band member Joe Jonas. The four-month relationship was Taylor’s first celebrity boyfriend and more-than-public breakup. Fans say ‘Forever and Always’ and ‘Last Kiss’ were written by TS about her breakup with Jonas. In typical teenage fashion, Joe ended it with Tay with a 25-second phone call (at least it wasn’t by text). TS later told the media JJ was cheating with Camilla Belle. After four months, you can’t really say they were in a relationship, and looking back, TS told Ellen DeGeneres that she was ‘too much.’
If you can’t be too much at 18, when can you be? JJ married Sophie Turner in 2019, only to split up in 2023 – Point made! Next!
Courtesy of Hello Magazine 2019
Lucas Till loves Taylor
Another very brief relationship followed; between March and April 2009, Tay dated Lucas Till, Lucas who? You may ask. Well, he’s an actor born in 1990. This Teen Choice Award winner met Taylor on Hannah Montana: The Movie (she wrote the soundtrack, keep up!), starring in the ‘You Belong with Me’ music video as her next-door neighbor and love interest; Till took his part seriously (for a while). Reading between the lines, they were friends, and no songs have been written about him, so love interest or not, Till is in until he’s out, and he was out in record time.
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Taylor Loves Taylor
2009 was an eventful year for Taylor Swift. Taylor Lautner was linked to TS in 2009, around the end of her relationship with Tills. Taylor and Taylor became a thing, an item and another lot of material for a breakup song. The ill-fated relationship never really got going; TS’s inside circle said at the time that ‘TL likes TS more than she likes him.’ Girl/boy problems are often because one is more into the relationship than the other; this resembles a typical case of unrequited love.
At the time and when speaking about the break, TS says the song she wrote about the breakup, ‘Back to December,’ had a different theme than her other breakup songs – ‘I haven’t really felt like I really needed to apologize until now.’ Swift writes, ‘You gave me roses, and I left them there to die.’ ‘Standin’ in front of you sayin’ I’m sorry for that night.’ Lautner was less understanding; when asked about the breakup song, he just shrugged and said about the lyrics ‘That’s just what she does,’ bitter much?
Photo From @johnmeyer on Instagram
Mayer the Player
The man who has dated over 500 women to date deserves his title and probably enjoys the monocle, but back in 2009, things were slightly less jaded, and he was a tad more gallant (only a tad). Mayer has dated Vanessa Carlton, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Simpson, Reena Hammer, Renee Zellweger, Shenae Grimes, Kim K, and Katy Perry (exhausting or what?). We are not finished yet – Rashida Jones, Cameron Diaz, and Scheana Marie, but not in that order.
Mayer was 33 when he dated 19-year-old Taylor. Mayer should have seen ‘Dear John’ coming. You can’t break Tay’s heart and get away scot-free. No, no! ‘Dear John’ features TS sounding off with lyrics like, ‘Don’t you think 19 is too young to be played by your dark and twisted games when I loved you so?’ Boom! That’s a broken heart for sure, and we speculate this heartbreak is the first and real. Sorry, Joe, Lucas, and Taylor, you were just the warm-up act.
Things have suddenly got real in the heartbreak stakes for Tay. Mayer, the Player, meanwhile, is more than friends with Rachel Green. Same time, no coincidence. Tay, you got a lucky escape.
Taken from @Glee Official on Instagram
Cory Monteith, Glee Actor
Monteith, a former Glee actor, died in 2013; three years earlier, in happier times, he briefly dated TS. The teen award actor does not feature heavily in Tay’s love life list; just a brief mention. Taylor and Cory were never officially dating, but it was rumored because the two were photographed together many times, and this is where this relationship rumor starts and ends.
Although while being interviewed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, TS blushes furiously, if you’re a true Tay fan, you know she blushes all the time, so this is no real evidence of a relationship.
In a tweet on the day of Cory’s death, Taylor said she was ‘Speechless. And for the worst reason.’ So sad and so avoidable. Cory died in his room at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel. He was a 31-year-old drug addict who, according to the autopsy, had codeine and morphine in his system; he was found with drug paraphernalia, including a used spoon and a hypodermic needle, as well as two empty bottles of alcohol. Death is sad but death due to drug misuse is a tragedy.
Photo from @jakegyllenhall on Instagram
Taylor Swift and Jake Gyllenhaal
This year-long relationship marks a turning point in TS’s relationship history. Now 20, Taylor is in the most formative part of her life. With nine years between them, Swift and Gyllenhaal were said to be a couple in October 2010. After several well-documented splits, the pair reportedly called it quits in early 2011.
TS confirmed commentators’ suspicions that ‘All Too Well’ was about her romance with the Nightcrawler star in the sleeve notes of Red’s original release. In her signature easter egg within the song’s lyrics, spelling the word ‘Maple Lattes,’ which the couple indulged in more than once. Tay mentions her lover’s ‘sweet disposition,’ which coincidentally (or not) is the title of a song by Temper Trap, reportedly Gyllenhaal’s favorite band.
This leads us to the red scarf debacle and the subject of the breakup song. Nothing is as simple as to say, ‘I want my scarf back’ Oh no! In the aforementioned track ‘All Too Well,’ Swift writes about spending time with a BF and leaving a scarf at his sister’s home, but she never got it back. Is this a metaphor for the man, or is this actually about a lost piece of clothing? The line that says, ‘You kept it cause it reminds you of innocence and it smells like me,’ is poignant and a bit of a kick in the age gap. He missed her 21st birthday party – no, that’s the real reason they broke up – rude, and we don’t like that.
Gyllenhaal has been photographed wearing Taylor’s scarf, much to the amusement and confusion of TS and her Swift fans. We say too little too late, Jakey Boy!
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MySpace’s Adam Young
Musician Adam Young released his first album on MySpace (remember that?) from his parent’s basement. He is talented and good-looking, but he never dated Taylor (officially), and their romance never escalated past some early messaging (probably on MS Messenger) and an in-person meeting. Taylor was ‘Enchanted’ with him, so she did what she does best and wrote about him.
Tay writes: ‘All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you.’ Adam later did a cover version of the song ‘Enchanted’ when he realized the song was about him. Cute but not marriage material. Today, Young is a member of Owl City and formerly with Swimming With Dolphins and Windsor Airlift. Young cringes at any mention of MySpace.
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Chord Overstreet, the Lovers That Never Were
Tay and Chord only went on one date, but there are pictures, and they look cute together, so naturally, he gets a mention. Close, but no cigar. This relationship could have worked; Chord is a former Glee actor from Nashville who writes songs. So far, so good. They are the same age, and he’s not too shabby-looking.
So why no relationship? Chord dated British actress Emma Watson (Hermione Granger in Harry Potter) in 2018. There’s no answer; sometimes people don’t click, and we think this was one of those times.
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It’s Not a Date
Another rumor that didn’t make the grade is British actor Eddie Redmayne. Reports in 2012 say Tay and Eddie dated in New York when she auditioned for Eponine in Les Miserables. Unsurprisingly, the pair were seen together while the auditions were taking place. Yet another rumor and unlikely match – we think the language barrier got in the way. Tennessee English and Etonian English are as far apart as French and Spanish.
Zac Efron and Taylor Swift only have to talk to each other, and the media say they’re in a relationship. The Disney Channel sweethearts reportedly dated for a few months while promoting their movie The Lorax. We are sure this was a PR set-up, and the two have denied a romantic tryst. However, they wrote a song together rejecting the dating rumors through a humorous piece of writing, ripping off Foster the People’s ‘Pumped Up Kicks.’ Another scoop for Ellen DeGeneres and her show.
Is it, isn’t it? Photo from @calvinharris on Instagram
Calvin Harris and Tay
As romance goes, TS and Calvin Harris shared a long and intense romance (length is relative). The relationship is TS’s most well-documented. TBH, the relationship never really stood a chance, with low-brow social media sites saying Calvin wanted to leave TS so regularly that the inevitable had to happen. The mega couple regularly appeared at events together and posted their in-love images to social media pages. Multiple reports claim that the hit ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ was about Calvin.
The timeline works, but it could equally be about Gyllenhaal, Meyer, Young, or the guy who served her in her favorite fast food joint. No one knows what goes on behind a celebrity’s closed door, and if they do, it’s probably illegal and subject to a gagging order.
Photo courtesy of The TV Series The Night Manager – fifthseason.com
The Night Manager, Tom Hiddleston
Actor Hiddleston and Taylor Swift was the love story that caught the media’s attention (2016 must have been a slow year). The couple met in NYC and then took their romance on a road trip (Rhode Island, Rome, Melbourne, and London, to name a few stops). Also known as Hiddleswift (not as good as Swelce). But sadly, two months after Tom was photographed in an ‘I 😍T.S.’ tee-shirt, the couple was finished – never ever getting back together, EVER!
Photo @joe.alwyn on Instagram
Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn
The relationship you have all been waiting for. With Tay’s longest relationship record set at 12 whole months, things are about to get serious. The couple were a match, a swipe right, first photographed together in 2017, enjoying coffee on a hotel balcony in Nashville. Love is grand right up to 2023, but before we move on to the inevitable, let’s enjoy the bits in between.
In song terms, ‘Ready for It?’ has us divided over whether it’s about Alwyn or Harry Styles. But, in a Tumblr post (Tumblr, another blast from the past), TS breaks down the lyrics, pointing to the words to ‘Ready for It?’ being about Joe. Tay’s track ‘Gorgeous’ is all about Joe. True fans
pick up on a song from Reputation named Dress, which references the first time she met humble Joe; the track refers to two lovers meeting, and bleached hair is mentioned.
While TS could be singing about her hairdresser in Dress, it’s more likely the track is about their meeting in 2016 at the Met Gala. The lockdown couple collaborated on Taylor’s albums Folklore and Evermore, with Alwyn using his pseudonym, ‘Bill Bowery.’ Talking about the collaboration during her Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions film, Tay says: ‘I was like, this could be really weird, but because we’re in quarantine and there’s nothing else going on, could we just try to write this song together?’ Nice, the rest of us made banana bread, but why not?
Photo: Unsplash
No Wedding, Just the Death of Love
There were wedding rumors, but no wedding. In early April 2023, the couple had an amicable unfriending or, as Gwenie might say, ‘a conscious uncoupling’. Sources close to the couple said ‘there’s no drama’ (we don’t believe that) and ‘the relationship had just run its course.’
Recently, Tay released the breakup song ‘You’re Losing Me,’ detailing the relationship breakdown, suggesting what friends said is true: the relationship ran its course, with the man (Joe) not wanting to marry her.’ Tay is hard on herself, saying that she ‘wouldn’t marry me either, I’m a pathological people pleaser, who just wanted you to see her,’ Tragically sad but not uncommon.
People pleasers spend so long pleasing others they forget to please themselves, and this repeats over and over until they break the circle. Is Travis Kelce the answer to TS’s romantic needs? – That relationship breakdown will have to wait.
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Let’s talk about Swiftonomics
There’s little doubt that Taylor Swift is a phenomenon that has changed modern culture like no other. Swiftonomics, or The ‘Taylor Swift effect,’ is evidence that the singer has the economic Midas touch, both personally, professionally, and unintentionally. The touch is propelling her to the position of one of the world’s highest-earning and influential entertainers.
Swiftonomics is a term used to explain Tay’s impact on the world far beyond pop music and merch. Swiftonomics means she has an impact on the business world; the phenomenon means Tay can and does create ripple effects in both local and large-scale economics around her through her actions. Basically, Taylor sells; if she likes something, it sells; if she has something, others want it, too. If she says jump, then consumers ask how high.
But why? What’s so special about TS? Why does Taylor Swift have more commercial influence than Kim Kardashian or Beyoncé?
Photo: Unsplash
What’s So Special About Taylor Swift?
This question has been doing the rounds, and it’s not that difficult to answer. She’s an all-American girl next door type, media-friendly, and has the attention of her female audience aged 8-33, which is a lot of women and girls with massive buying power. When asked during an interview on Nightcap, former Denver Broncos tight end Shannon Sharp said about Tay that ‘no other artist, including Beyoncé, is having the same impact on the NFL.’
It’s not just the NFL who has seen its female viewership increase tenfold; it’s trainers as well, and even the Kansas City nail brand Hoopla saw a surge in revenue after TS casually mentioned its products. According to Aljazeera, the ‘Swift bump’ (and that’s not a baby reference) has led to an increase of over 20% in sponsorships. Among teenage girls, NFL viewing has increased by 53%, and the female 18-24 age demographic shows an increase of 24%.
The NFL’s surge in female football fans cuts across different age demographics, giving the sponsors a new revenue stream. The truth is TS and Beyoncé are firm friends and support each other. While it might be tempting to pitch them against each other, the fact is they are true gal pals, and this is mutual. TS spoke to Time Magazine when they featured her as Person of the Year 2023 about their relationship; Tay said about Bey, ‘She’s the most precious gem of a person, incredibly warm and open and funny.’
Ultimately, Swifties and others believe Taylor when she says something, and that’s the bottom line. When honesty is in short supply, people feel that what she thinks and what she supports is genuine and that, my friend, sells!
Photo: Unsplash
Taylor Swift, the Entrepreneur
Many celebs endorse brands, but not many do it to help a brand or product they believe in. Tay has worked with celebrity designers, particularly Stella McCartney, and launched a fashion clothing line with Life Energy Intelligence or l.e.i, a brand that’s popular with teenagers who want style with a hint of attitude, so Taylor Swift. Recently, fashion designer Kristin Juszczyk (wife of Kyle Juszczyk, 49ers fullback) received a licensing deal with the NFL after she designed and made the viral American football jacket with Travis K’s number on the design, and why not? If you can, you should, and TS can make or break a brand.
As for music, this year, she was featured on Billboard’s annual Power 100 ranking of the top music industry execs. Promoting music and everything that surrounds it is not new for TS. In 2014, she became the global ambassador for Record Store Day, which celebrates the culture of independently owned record stores and music businesses and is a leap-pad for new music.
For Taylor Swift, entrepreneurship, social activism, and philanthropy often overlap or combine. For instance, TS is a firm supporter of the arts and a benefactor of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Photo: Unsplash
Charity Starts in TS’s Home
Taylor is a well-known supporter of others, and charity started at home when she gave $75,000 to Nashville’s Hendersonville High School (she’s an alumnus) to boost funds to refurbish the school’s auditorium. In Nashville, she gave over $4m to build a new education center at the museum linked to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Early in her fame, Tay teamed up with the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police (TACP) to campaign to protect children in America, specifically in Tennessee, from online predators. More recently, during the pandemic, she donated money to Feeding America and the World Health Organization (WHO). Privately, she has donated thousands, if not millions, of dollars to fans who need medical help or financial assistance to support their academic expenses. Swift is a giver and this strengthens her influential effect on those she works with and socializes with.
Photo from Instagram @taylorswift birthday bash 2023
Taylor’s Gal Pals
We can’t talk about Taylor without mentioning her squad; in fact, she penned the term squad goals about her large group of personal friends. Girlfriends and gal pals that feature heavily in her life are Gigi Hadid, actress Blake Lively (her oldest gal pal), and Mariska Hargitay, a famous cat lover. Actress Cara Delevingne, Martha Hunt (Victoria’s Secret model), Brittany Mahomes (football wife), Sophie Turner (payback friend), Abigail Anderson Berard (school friend), and Zendaya (although this friendship is on/off), but her all-time bestie is Selena Gomez.
Gomez has publicly suffered from mental health issues and has been supported by Tay through all the good and very bad times. SG and TS were firm friends in 2014 when she was diagnosed with lupus (a condition that causes long-term joint pain, skin rashes, and excessive tiredness). With Tay’s help, SG has since had extensive help in managing anxiety, panic attacks and depression. While many long for celebrity, SG is quick to point out that living under an intense spotlight is not easy. You can say that again.
Photo: Unsplash
Taylor’s Boy Pals
Tay is popular with the boys and not in a lustful way; boys of all ages love her. Yes, she is a gay icon, of course she is, and if you think about it, she’s in good company with Madonna, Cher, Lady Gaga (who is also a gal pal), Hillary Clinton (who knew?), and her mentor Dolly Parton. Being a gay icon is a great privilege, and TS wears it well.
The many boy pal friends Taylor can call include Ed Sheeran; this is an obvious choice; he’s talented (but not attractive), and he collaborated with Tay on her ‘Reputation’ album in 2017. TS was supportive of him when he fought the recent copyright infringement case. TS loves Todrick Hall; she invited him backstage during her 1989 tour, and they remain close friends.
If you skip back to Tay’s romances, we think it’s true to say most of them (Eddie Redmayne, Zac Efron, and Chord Overstreet) were friends and not lovers.
Photo: Unsplash
Taylor Swift for President
Taylor is vocal about many things, but she has been careful to avoid politics. Tay is liberal and supports a pro-choice stance. She advocates gender equality (equal rights for men and women), supports trans rights, and is a vocal supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. TS is extremely critical of racism in all forms, especially white supremacy. Taylor has spoken out against police brutality and condemned the policies of Trump and Republican politician Marsha Blackburn, a senator representing Tennessee.
During an interview and later a Netflix documentary, Taylor spoke about her dismay at the overturning of the Roe v. Wade ruling in 2022. She took to X (Twitter) to repost a tweet from Michelle Obama, saying ‘I’m terrified that this is where we are – that after so many decades of people fighting for women’s rights to their bodies, this decision has stripped us of that.’
Photo: Unsplash
Taylor is Political Like it or Not
Whether Taylor likes it or not, what she thinks matters, and her political endorsement has become the holy grail in what is a hot political topic right now. With a presidential election on the cards for November 2024, the New York Times has added fuel to the fire by saying that Joe Biden’s re-election campaign management was desperate to get a ‘Swift down.’
While Donald Trump’s team has declared a “holy war” on Swift and her fans (very unwise), saying because of the Super Bowl, he likes ‘Taylor’s music about 25% less,” Fox News commentators and high court judges have urged Swift to stay out of politics, while many rightwingers leaped tin hat first into a litany of conspiracy theories.
Photo: Unsplash
Democrat Fan Base
Taylor is an advocate for fairness, but she hasn’t spoken about her politics. However, the number crunchers have released a report saying 53% of Americans are TS fans (this seems unbelievable), 16% are Swifties or avid fans, and of those avid fans, over 55% are blue (Democrats), and 23% are red (Republicans) a further 23% are don’t knows or independents.
With the presidential race so close, both sides are looking for a lever. Unsurprisingly, academic studies have uncovered a connection between celebrity endorsements and voter activity; this is old news, so old it goes back to forever. In the 2020 presidential campaign, the following celebrities endorsed Joe Biden: actors Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt, and Alec Baldwin, and actresses Amy Poehler, Brook Shields, and Hillary Swank.
Meanwhile, the Trump team rolled out actresses Kirstie Alley and Rosanne Barr and actors Dennis Quaid and Jon Voight, to name a few. Business leaders who stood up for Trump included Jordan Belfort, former stockbroker and author of The Wolf of Wall Street.
Photo: Unsplash
Miss America
If you really want to know what Tay thinks, then a good place to start is the Netflix documentary, Miss America – Netflix says the doc exposes sides of Taylor we’d never seen before. The documentary shows her using her power as she opens up about her politics and her views on
the pressures of fame being the most heavily scrutinized celebrity in the world.
The documentary focuses on a 2018 IG post about Marsha Blackburn, stating she would vote for two Democratic candidates in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. Later, Swift petitioned the Senate to pass the Equality Act, condemning Trump’s views on the issue. At the same time, TS donated $113,000 to the Tennessee Equality Project, a group dedicated to fighting anti-LGBTQ bills.
The song Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince, which is the namesake of the documentary, is peppered with hidden easter egg political messages masked by lyrics about high school politics and cheerleaders.
Photo: Unsplash
Fake it Until You Make It
The rise of AI and fake media has caused Tay more problems; her team works 24/7 to ensure her rep stays clean. Recently, many indecent AI-generated images have been circulating on Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter). Tay is not the only celeb to suffer; the latest example of the AI-faked porn pics have proved impossible to control.
The TS shots on X attracted over 45 million views, 24,000 reposts, and hundreds of thousands of likes (bad taste, to say the least) before the verified X user who shared the images had their account suspended. The X-rated post was live on X for around less than a day before its removal, allowing many to keep the image for later use.
As X fans began to dissect the viral post, the images spread, reposting across other social media accounts. On some platforms, the term ‘Taylor Swift AI’ appeared as a trending topic, promoting the images to broader audiences and proving the point that being an influencer isn’t all trainers, designer bags, and sports apparel. It’s generally more about fake news in more ways than one.
Next for Taylor. Photo from @taylorswift on Instagram Nov 2023
What Will Taylor Swift Do Next?
Musically, Tay is in the middle of re-recording her first six albums, Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation. Back in 2020, Tay confirmed that she would re-record her early music to take back control of her work after a 2019 dispute with Scooter Braun and Big Machine Records (BMR sold the rights to SB). The fact is it is well documented that TS and SB did not get on; they hated each other, especially after SB sold the recordings to Shamrock Holdings.
Tay has re-released Fearless 2008 into Taylor’s Version, RED (Taylor’s Version) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version), with the final two, Reputation (Taylor’s Version) and Taylor Swift 2006 into Taylor’s Version to debut the debut this year. Legally, with the first six albums, there has to be a five-year time lapse from when any of her music is released to when she can re-record, meaning Reputation (Taylor’s Version) is hot for re-release this year.
Photo: Unsplash
Tours and More
Tay has been on the Eras Tour since last spring (March 2023) with no plans to slow down. After completing the first leg of her United States tour, Tay went on her South American tour. Today, the international leg of the Eras tour will continue, with visits to Asia, Australia, Europe (including London, we know because we are going), and North America (again and why not).
Taylor now streams, announcing a team-up with Disney+ on IG; Tay said, ‘I’m thrilled to find a home for The Eras Tour Concert Film on Disney+.’ Streaming will make any new projects way more accessible. Disney+ will also get a scoop because Tay’s adding five more bonus songs. The Eras project will include ‘Cardigan’ (not scarf), which is featured in the folklore, as well as four more easter egg surprise songs. Keep on doing what you’re doing being the motto here.
If you look at Insta @taylorswift, you get Tortured Poets, Florence and the Machine, tour photos, and an amazing squad birthday photo. TS has a life outside of the Super Bowl.
Photo from Instagram @killatrav – do we need to say more?
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce
As much as we would like to ignore this relationship, we can’t – this romance is new and newsworthy and it seems real but, sadly, not convincing. The romance started in September last year when she publicly supported TK, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, at a home game at Arrowhead Stadium. Taylor says Kelce first openly expressed interest in her after attending her Eras concert. Most people who like Tay don’t get the chance to date her, so there’s more to this story than TK joining the chorus.
Early in Feb, Tay travels from the Japanese leg of the Eras tour to Las Vegas to support TK at Super Bowl 58. The Kansas City Chiefs win in thumb-biting overtime, 25–22 over the 49ers. Swift joins TK on the field, where she is photographed giving him a super dramatic congratulatory smacker, a public display of affection (PDA), and one that seals the deal. Social media goes into overdrive at the after party, with several posts on X talking about the liaison.
TK has let it slip that this relationship, while in its infancy, is LOVE – we hope so, but he also went on to say, ‘As long as we’re happy, we can’t hear anything that’s outside noise,’ and ‘That’s all that matters.’ For now, at least. Our fingers are crossed, but any man who turns up for work in an ugly, shiny, baggy gray suit simply doesn’t have what it takes to be Mr. Swift – we could be wrong, and conspiracy theorists say it’s a set-up and not real but only time will tell and you can be sure TS will tell us in time, in one way or another.
What Taylor Swift Means to the Fans 🙏🙏🙏
‘As someone in the late millennial / early generation z group, we grew up with Taylor Swift. We started listening to her as young teenagers and her music has grown up with us. The re-records haven’t only brought in another generation of Swifties but they’ve reminded us of those earlier times in our lives and how much we’ve grown up since then. She’s also an artist that refreshingly caters exclusively for girls and women and the unique feminine experience. She’s empowering in the way she’s stood up for herself in the industry and I think Swifties feel vindicated that someone who has been sidelined for not being “cool” enough is finally getting her moment in the sun.’
Photo: Unsplash
Oh, one last thing for those in back – $$TSM = N x V x R x C + S$$ …The formula relates to the number of games Tay attended, and it is composed of two factors: the revenue from advertising, which depends on the viewership, the rating, and the cost of ads, and the revenue from merchandise, which depends on the sales of items featuring our happy couple – got it!
