10 years ago today was a start of something magical. In fact, a now legend kicked off a career that would soon turn into a worldwide success. Taylor Swift, country’s princess and pop’s queen released her debut self-titled album on this day 10 years ago.
From the first words that came out of her mouth, you knew she had something. You just weren’t sure what, precisely, and you had no idea who she would become. None of us did. We didn’t know that after her breakout album Fearless she would become a household name, being the youngest female to win Entertainer of the Year and receiving Grammy nods at the age of 18. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into when we fell in love with the song inspired by Tim McGraw.
The girl with blonde curly hair who grew up on a Christmas tree farm in Reading, Pennsylvania up and moved her life to Nashville, embarking on the greatest adventure of her life. Nashville had no idea that a young teenage girl was about to be greatest thing they had ever know. Sure, her self-titled debut was successful, but as time would go on, she would fine new ways to redefine what that word means.
Swift is known for being hard working, and it seems that she’s always been that way since the beginning. Once she made her move to Nashville, she hit the ground running, not wasting anytime in making her name well known in Music City. The debut peaked at No.5 on the Billboard 200, and it went on to produce her first of many top 40 hits, beginning with the lead single ‘Tim McGraw’. Soon after, Swift blossomed into country music’s princess and America’s sweetheart. Sure, she was an excellent storyteller, and those in Nashville knew it. But there was something else that gave Swift the broad appeal to those outside of the genre. Although country, she had the ability to send a handful of songs to pop radio, and of course, they were successful.
Perhaps it was country music that made her famous or maybe it was the way she relates to her audience in a way that no artist has done before. Whatever it may have been, her pop music inspirations would eventually help her in becoming the most popular and highest earning celebrity in the world.
Fearless, Swift’s sophomore release took the mega-superstar to the next level. Songs like ‘Love Story’, ‘You Belong With Me’ and ‘White Horse’ were crafted so beautifully that pop radio caught on, while the fans wanted to hear more. The album debuted at No.1, sold millions and scored a Grammy for Album of the Year. Swift was a rising star, and indeed, was the one that we wanted to stay.
A few years later, Swift crafted and wrote an entire album by herself entitled Speak Now. The album alone showcased the genius of Swift’s artistry in songs like ‘Dear John’, ‘Last Kiss’, and the leading single for the album ‘Mine’. Speak Now debuted at No.1 and sold over a million copies in the first week, claiming to be the most successful in Swift’s career.
Then things had changed dramatically. Two years later during mid-October, Swift released an album that broke genre barriers like no other. RED, the purest form of artistry and most underrated album of Swift’s career was the beginning of the end for country music. Sure, she was nominated for awards, won some she proved to be most successful in the pop genre with singles ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ and ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’. She was evolving, and her fans were evolving with her.
After the RED era, the world speculated what Swift would do next, and of course, she took the world by storm by doing the unthinkable. ‘Shake It Off’ was released and the world was floored. 1989 was released shortly after, and it was then that world knew who Swift was and that she was a force to be reckoned with. 1989, like her past albums debuted at No.1, sold 1.287 million copies in the first week (selling more than the Frozen soundtrack), was played on country radio, and went to win 4 Grammy awards, including Album of the Year.
![FOR USE WITH 10/27 USA TODAY COVER STORY Taylor Swift will release a new album, "1989" on Oct. 27, 2014. CREDIT: Sarah Barlow [Via MerlinFTP Drop]](https://www.beyondthestagemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/IMG_7316.jpg)
People are listening – seemingly the entire American public. The numbers are staggering when it comes to her success. Not only is she the only artist to have three albums sell more than a million copies in a week, each album has sold at least 4 million units. She’s the youngest to ever win the Album of the Year Grammy, and the only one to win it twice and has 10 more Grammy placed on her shelf at each of her homes.
In 10 years, Swift isn’t just America’s biggest pop star. She is the biggest pop star of this generation and nothing is going to stop her and her adoring fans from taking over the world one song at a time.
Here’s to 10 more years of incredible artistry.
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