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Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is a Grammy Award winning American singer, songwriter and actress.

She dated Harry Styles for four months, starting in 2012. They split in early January 2013. She collaborated with Zayn Malik on the single "I Don't Wanna Live Forever", released in December 2016.

Background

Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13, 1989, to bankers Scott and Andrea Swift in Reading, Pennsylvania.

At 14, Taylor convinced her parents to move to Nashville, Tennessee, so she could pursue her dreams of becoming a country singer. Taylor's first record label wanted her to wait until she was 18 to begin writing and releasing her own material. She instead signed with then upcoming independent label Big Machine Records, as it was being founded. As of 2019, Swift is signed to Universal Music Group after a volatile split from Big Machine. The labelhead, Scott Borchetta, refused to sell Swift's music to her before she left, stating instead that she could create a new album in exchange for each previous one. Swift did not accept this and walked. Borchetta then sold her music catalog to manager Scooter Braun, who had bullied Swift in 2016 as she fell out with rapper turned Neo Nazi Kanye West. Swift currently owns her 2019 album Lover, her re-recorded 2008 album Fearless (released in 2021), and her two 2020 albums, Folklore and Evermore.

With her first three albums, Swift initially established herself as a country artist but gradually transitioned into pop music as of her fourth album, Red, which blended country and pop. Her fifth album, 1989, marked her complete crossover into pop. 1989 became one of the biggest selling albums of all time. Swift's sixth album Reputation (stylized as reputation) made her the best selling artist of 2017 in the US. Her seventh album Lover was the best selling album of 2019 in the US. Swift surprise released two albums in 2020, Folklore in July and Evemore in November. Both albums debuted at #1 as did their lead singles, Cardigan and Willow. Folklore attained global critical and public acclaim, primarily for Swift's songwriting. Due to the 2020 pandemic, promotion was minimal, with Swift performing Folklore album track "Betty" once for the 2020 Country Music Awards (in an empty arena). Swift eventually performed the entire Folklore album for a pre-recorded studio session titled "The Long Pond Sessions" with producers Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, which can be streamed on Disney Plus. Both Cardigan and Willow received music videos directed by Swift. In November, Folklore was nominated for five Grammys including Album of the Year. Swift revealed her boyfriend, Joe Alwyn (under the pseudonym William Bowery), co-wrote and played piano on several tracks across both albums - Exile, Betty, Champagne Problems, Coney Island and Evermore. Swift collaborated with Bon Iver on both records, and The National and HAIM on Evermore. Folklore was made entirely during quarantine, with Dessner and Antonoff sending Swift instrumental tracks to write to, while Swift recorded her vocals in a makeshift home studio. Swift said Evermore came from the momentum built during the Folklore sessions and that she simply "couldn't stop writing songs".

Swift is one of the best selling artists of all time and has won eleven Grammy Awards. In 2016, she became the first female artist to win the Album Of The Year Grammy twice. In 2021, she broke her own Grammys record, winning Album of the Year a third time, for Folklore. In 2019, she was the recipient of the American Music Awards Artist of the Decade award and the Billboard Woman of the Decade award.

Relationships

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Swift dated Jonas Brothers singer Joe Jonas from July to October 2008 and famously publicized his 20-second break-up with her over the phone. Swift and Jonas repaired their friendship in 2015. Swift dated actor Taylor Lautner from October to December 2009, after starring in the film Valentine's Day together. She dated musician John Mayer in late 2009, and allegedly addresses their emotionally abusive relationship in her song "Paper Doll". Mayer denied the song was factual and allegedly released "Paper Doll" as a response. Swift dated actor Jake Gyllenhaal from October to December 2010. It is alleged her songs "I Knew You Were Trouble", "The Moment I Knew", "Babe" and "All Too Well" were about Gyllenhaal. Swift dated political heir Conor Kennedy from July to September 2012, then dated Harry Styles from October 2012 to January 2013.


Swift did not date anyone in 2013 or 2014, citing an unwillingness to deal with negative media attention, which increased considerably from 2012. Swift has spoken numerous times against her media reputation as a man-eater claiming it was largely sexist commentary, and further deconstructed the commentary surrounding her private life in her 2014 hit 'Blank Space' and her 2019 track "The Man".In 2015, Swift dated Scottish DJ/producer Calvin Harris. In June, they were ranked as the richest celebrity couple by Forbes, with combined earnings of over $146 million. They split in June 2016. Harris eventually spoke about the split, stating "For both of us it was the wrong situation. The aftermath of the relationship was way more heavily publicized than the relationship. We were very careful for it not to be a media circus. She respected my feelings, in that sense. I'm not good at being a celebrity. [But] when it ended, all hell broke loose."[1] Two weeks after their split, photographs surfaced of Taylor kissing British actor Tom Hiddleston[2]. Swift and Hiddleston had danced together at the Met Gala the previous month. Through July 2016, "Hiddleswift" conducted a whirlwind series of public dates around the world, sparking media mayhem wherever they went. Media and fans speculated whether the relationship was carefully orchestrated publicity designed to build Hiddleston's profile in America. Some media also criticised the nine year age gap. In early September 2016, their split was made official[3]. Hiddleston addressed the relationship a year later, stating: "I only know the woman I met. She’s incredible. But, man, all those cameras. A relationship always takes work. A relationship in the limelight takes work. And it’s not just the limelight. It’s everything else. We wanted a regular relationship, so we decided to go out for dinner, we decided to travel.”[4] Swift referenced the relationship in her 2017 music video for "Look What You Made Me Do", with back-up dancers wearing "I Heart T.S" shirts, a shirt Hiddleston was publicly derided for wearing during their 2016 Fourth of July party. Swift sold t-shirts bearing the slogan as official merchandise. The song "Getaway Car", on her 2017 album reputation, confirms the relationship as a rebound after her split from Harris. It has been speculated her 2019 song "Cruel Summer" also details her split from Hiddleston.

Swift has been dating British actor Joe Alwyn since September 2016. Songs on reputation, Lover, Folklore and Evermore detail their relationship including "...Ready For It?", "Call It What You Want", "King Of My Heart", "New Year's Day", "Dress", "Dancing With Our Hands Tied", "Lover", "Paper Rings", "False God", "The Archer", "Cornelia Street", "London Boy", "Invisible String", "Peace", "The Lakes", "Willow", "Cowboy Like Me", "Long Story Short" and "Evermore". Swift and Alwyn have lived together in London since January 2017. The two keep their relationship extremely private and were initially unknown to be dating until mid 2017. Several of Alwyn's co-stars from The Favourite told press they had no idea he was dating Swift while shooting with him. The pair eventually became more relaxed about going public, attending the 2020 Golden Globes and the 2020 NME Awards together. Footage of the two embracing after Taylor's first reputation tour concert was shown in her 2020 Netflix documentary, Miss Americana. The documentary showed various home videos of the pair, though Alwyn was mostly off-screen. During the Long Pond Sessions for Folklore, Swift revealed Alwyn's creative involvement in the album, co-writing "Exile" and "Betty" under the fake name William Bowery. Fans had speculated for months as to who Bowery was, with Alwyn being the primary guess (other guesses included Harry Styles, Paul McCartney and Halsey). Swift explained Alwyn is musically talented and often plays melodies on piano or sings around their house. He collaborated with Swift again on Evermore, co-writing "Champagne Problems", "Coney Island" and "Evermore", the latter of which he played piano for. Swift publicly thanked Alwyn in her acceptance speech for the 2021 Album of the Year Grammy Award.

Personal Life

Taylor relocated from Nashville to New York City in 2014. After beginning a relationship with British actor Joe Alwyn in late 2016, she partially relocated to London while keeping her house in New York. She owns three cats, Olivia Benson, Meredith Grey and Benjamin Button. Olivia can be seen in the "Blank Space" music video. Benjamin was adopted by Swift in 2019 after he was hired for her "ME!" music video, and also appears in her "Lover" music video. Swift owns homes in Rhode Island, Nashville, New York, London and Los Angeles. Taylor is close friends with British singer Ed Sheeran. Sheeran was her opening act for the "RED" world tour. They collaborated on "Everything Has Changed" from 2012 album "RED" and "End Game" from 2017 album "reputation". A previously unreleased collaboration with Sheeran, titled "Run", will feature on Swift's re-record of RED. She is friends with many female celebrities including Selena Gomez, Cara Delevingne, Hayley Kiyoko, Halsey, Olivia Rodrigo and Gigi Hadid.  

Connections to One Direction

Swift originally met One Direction at the Kids Choice Awards on March 31, 2012. Media speculated there was mutual romantic interest between Swift and Harry Styles. However in July, she began dating Conor Kennedy. In November 2012, a month after her split from Kennedy, Taylor was photographed wearing a paper airplane necklace identical to the one Harry wore at the time. Fans reported meeting Harry and Taylor at the same time. Taylor and Harry were photographed by paparazzi while on dates in New York City. Swift attended the afterparty for One Direction's sold-out Madison Square Garden concerts, along with mutual friend Ed Sheeran. The pair visited each other's hometowns and went on a skiing vacation that month. During the trip, they were involved in a snowmobile accident that left Harry with stitches in his chin. Swift references the crash in her 2015 single "Out Of The Woods". To end 2012, the couple shared a New Years Eve kiss in Times Square at midnight. In January 2013, Swift and Styles split during a vacation, as Taylor flew home alone and tweeted "Til you put me down"; a lyric from her 2012 single "I Knew You Were Trouble". Harry returned to the United Kingdom on January 7, 2013 and their split was confirmed. Neither have elaborated on the reason for their split but Swift has referred to their time together as "full of anxiety and roadblocks".

Harry and Taylor posed for a picture together later that year, with Ed Sheeran at the 2013 MTV VMAs. In 2014, Taylor confirmed songs from her fifth album, 1989, would detail her relationship with Harry, specifically Style and Out Of The Woods. Style heavily implied the pair had secretly reunited after their split and Swift explained it was about "someone you're never really finished with". The album's hidden message talks of a former lover returning. When asked, Harry said he did not mind being written about, as it is to be expected of songwriters. Harry would go on to co-write Perfect with Louis Tomlinson in 2015, featuring the lyric "If you're looking for someone to write your break-up songs about", which many took as a reference to Swift. It is also speculated, but unconfirmed, that Harry penned One DirectIon's song "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and his solo single "Two Ghosts" about his break-up with Swift.

In December 2016, Taylor surprise released a duet with former One Direction member Zayn Malik, titled "I Don't Wanna Live Forever", for the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack. The single was a worldwide hit, peaking at #2 in the US and #5 in the UK. In 2017, Zayn and Taylor won the MTV VMA Award for Best Collaboration and the song was nominated for a Grammy Award.

On 18 April 2017, in a Rolling Stone interview, Harry addressed his relationship with Swift for the first time. When asked to comment, Styles stated: "When I see photos from [their December 2012 dates], I think...relationships are hard, at any age. Adding in that you don't really understand exactly how it works when you're 18, trying to navigate all that stuff didn't make it easier. I mean, you're a little bit awkward. You're on a date with someone you really like. It should be that simple, right? It was a learning experience for sure. But at the heart of it, I just wanted it to be a normal date. I don't know if [Style and Out Of The Woods] are about me or not, but the issue is, she's so good, they're bloody everywhere. I write from my experiences; everyone does that. I'm lucky if everything [we went through] helped create those songs. That's what hits your heart. That's the stuff that's hardest to say, and it's the stuff I talk least about. That's the part that's about the two people. I'm never going to tell anybody everything. She doesn't need me to tell her the [songs] are great. They're great songs. It's the most amazing unspoken dialogue ever. Certain things don't work out. There's a lot of things that can be right, and it's still wrong. In writing songs about stuff like that, I like tipping a hat to the time together. You're celebrating the fact it was powerful and made you feel something, rather than 'this didn't work out, and that's bad.' And if you run into that person, maybe it's awkward, maybe you have to get drunk ... but you shared something. Meeting someone new, sharing those experiences, it's the best shit ever. So thank you[5]."

On 22 June 2018, Niall Horan was Taylor's special guest during her Reputation Stadium Tour in London. They performed his single "Slow Hands" together. Horan referred to Swift's single "Lover" as one of the best songs he had ever heard.

Swift's 2020 album track "Coney Island" appears to briefly reference Harry with the lyric "When I got into the accident/The sight that flashed before me was your face". Other surrounding lines appear to reference three other exes of Swift's leading to the speculation this line is referencing Styles and Swift's snowmobile accident in 2012. Swift was seen talking to Harry at the 2021 Grammy Awards.

Awards and Achievements

Swift has received many awards and honors, including 10 Grammy Awards, 19 American Music Awards, 11 Country Music Association Awards, 8 Academy of Country Music Awards, 22 Billboard Music Awards, 1 Brit Award and 1 Emmy . Swift is also the most awarded artist at the Teen Choice Awards, with 25 awards. As a songwriter, she has been honored by the Nashville Songwriters Association and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2016, the Broadcast Music Inc Awards gave her the first ever Taylor Swift Award, based primarily around songwriting[6].

By the beginning of 2016, Swift had sold more than 40 million albums, 130 million single downloads and was one of the top five music artists with the highest worldwide digital sales. Each of Swift's studio albums had sold at least four million units in the U.S. Taylor Swift (5.5 million), Fearless (7.0 million), Speak Now (4.5 million), Red (4.1 million), and 1989 (5.7 million). By 9 June 2017, 1989 had sold over 10 million copies worldwide, and Swift had sold over 100 million singles in the United States. In 2017, Swift became the only artist to have four albums sell over a million copies in first week after releasing her sixth studio album, reputation. The album was 2017's best selling album in the United States. Swift was nominated for two 2018 Grammys, Best Country Song for writing Big Little Town's "Better Man" and Best Song Written For Visual Media for "I Don't Wanna Live Forever".

Trivia

  • She has a younger brother, Austin.
  • She was raised on a Christmas tree farm, and released a single titled "Christmas Tree Farm" in December 2019.
  • She attended her first concert, LeeAnn Rimes, when she was eight years old.
  • After seeing Faith Hill talk about moving to Nashville, Swift begged her parents to do the same. They moved there when she was 11, where Taylor immediately began courting record labels to try landing a deal.
  • She helped pass a law to help keep children safe from online predators.
  • She uses social media to get to know fans, often meeting them after concerts. She has explained how she often takes screen captures of fan blogs and asks her team to find them at shows. She was one of the first artists to utilise MySpace as a platform for communication with fans. She stopped using Twitter in 2016 after public backlash, and stopped using Tumblr in 2020 after a post she liked was edited to express disappointment in her initial reaction to the Black Lives Matter protests that year. Swift has since moved back to Twitter and has started a Tik Tok account as of 2021.
  • She held secret listening sessions for fans at her private homes for the albums Red, 1989, Reputation and Lover.
  • She initially refused to allow her 1989 album to be streamed through Apple Music as they were not going to pay artists during the first three months of the service going online. Swift felt this was unfair to independent artists who were not financially secure. She penned an open letter to Apple, posting it on all her official social media platforms. Within 24 hours, Apple agreed to change their policy based on her stance, and would pay artists their royalties as soon as the streaming service began. Swift announced she would distribute her music with Apple shortly after. Her move was widely considered one of the biggest displays of power and influence from an artist in the entertainment industry.[7] She had a similar disagreement with Spotify during 2014-2017.
  • During an interview with David Letterman, she stated she learns some phrases in every language of every nation she visits, then demonstrated her impressive ability to speak Japanese. [8] She speaks French in her 2019 music video for Me!
  • Fans commonly believed "I Knew You Were Trouble" to be about Harry Styles, particularly because the music video's love interest has a similar ship tattoo to Harry's. However, the song was written before they dated, and he got the tattoo after the video premiered.
  • She can be briefly seen holding Harry's paper plane necklace in the beginning and end of the music video for Style.
  • Swift feuded with American singer Katy Perry from 2013 to 2018. Swift initially stated Perry often sent her mixed messages about whether they were friends or not. In 2013, Katy allegedly rehired dancers working for Taylor, while Taylor was still touring with them. Taylor considered this a diss and wrote her 2015 single "Bad Blood" in response. In 2017, Perry claimed Swift had fired the dancers upon their asking if they could return to Katy. Perry's 2017 single "Swish Swish" serves as her response to "Bad Blood". In May 2018, before Swift's first concert for her Reputation Stadium Tour, Perry sent an apology letter and an olive branch. The term "extend/offer an olive branch" means to signal for peace/the end of a feud. Swift shared video of the gift on her Instagram, stating "This means so much to me, thank you Katy". Katy would later appear in Swift's 2019 music video for "You Need To Calm Down".
  • She wrote Calvin Harris's 2016 hit single "This Is What You Came For" under the pseudonym Nils Sjöberg. Her vocals briefly appear on the track, alongside main vocalist Rihanna. This information was revealed in July 2016, with confirmation from Swift's representatives, and Harris on his official Twitter. A gravestone for Sjoberg can be seen in the Look What You Made Me Do video.
  • In February 2016, American rapper Kanye West released a single titled "Famous" from his album The Life Of Pablo. One lyric crudely references Swift, stating: "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/Why? I made that bitch famous". Initially, Swift's rep released a statement claiming that Kanye didn't call for permission but to ask her to release the song on Twitter, to which Swift refused and warned West against releasing a song with a misogynistic message. West responded saying Taylor had full knowledge and permitted the release. Days later, Swift called out West for the lyric during her historic second Album of the Year win at the 2016 Grammy Awards, addressing "people who try to take credit for your fame". West's wife at the time, American reality TV star Kim Kardashian, later claimed she had an audio recording proving Swift permitted the lyric. She explained on her television series, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, that she did not want her husband to be subjected to more media scrutiny because of Swift, after the global derision he received from interrupting Taylor at the 2009 MTV VMAs. Against her mother's wishes, Kardashian released edited clips of the recording to her official Snapchat in July 2016. Swift could be heard permitting the lyric, thanking Kanye for seeking advanced approval, and planning to tell the media at the Grammy Awards that she was "in on the joke". However the clips do not show Kanye informing Swift he'll be referring to her as a "bitch". Kardashian noted it was National Snake Day in America in reference to Swift supposedly lying, and Swift's social media was subsequently spammed with millions of snake emojis. "TaylorSwiftIsOverParty" was the number one Twitter trend for days. Swift released a final statement saying she had not heard the lyric "that bitch" and claimed "I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative". The statement was also publicly derided. Swift references the feud in the music video for her 2017 single "Look What You Made Me Do" appearing as various media "versions" of herself. One is "2009 VMAs Taylor" from when West interrupted her. She announces "I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative" and the other "Taylor"'s simultaneously yell "Oh, shut up!" in response. The video features Swift surrounded by snakes, and posing as a social media obsessed socialite, stating she's "getting receipts, I'm gonna edit these later". "Getting receipts" is slang for showing "proof". Swift's official merchandise for 2017 included snake themed jewellery and clothing, and she performed "Look What You Made Me Do" with a giant inflatable snake. Swift details her and West's second falling out on "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" from her sixth album, reputation. In 2019, Swift told Rolling Stone that her uncertainty toward West's intentions began at the 2015 VMAs when West, after specifically requesting Taylor present his Vanguard Award, told the crowd that MTV had hired her for ratings. In March 2020, the entire phone call between Kanye and Taylor was leaked, clearly showing both West's and Swift's discomfort with the lyrics, and that, while they did discuss a lyric where he takes credit for her fame, he at no point informed her he'd be using the term "that bitch". Kardashian again attempted to clarify that her "exposing" of Taylor was solely in reference to the initial claim that she had not been called for permission. Taylor's publicist reposted her original statement, which did document that Kanye had called, but not to seek permission, only to ask Taylor to promote the song. Taylor used the press from the leak to direct attention toward her preferred charity for donations to COVID-19 pandemic relief. Her 2020 album track "Peace" features the lyric "There's robbers to the east/clows to the West" with "West" capitalised in lyric videos and Swift rolling her eyes while performing the line in live performances.
  • After a career long silence on the subject, Taylor made her political views clear in 2018 when she praised Democratic candidates and criticised conservative political figures. Her 2019 single "You Need To Calm Down" detailed her allyship for the LGBTQ+ community and explicitly condemns homophobia, misogyny and cyber bullying. She explained her initial political silence as believing her endorsement would do more harm than good for whoever she supported. She elaborated more on the psychology behind celebrities staying silent in her 2020 documentary Miss Americana.
  • She revealed a career long eating disorder in her Miss Americana documentary, stating that paparazzi pictures made her starve herself in the past.Throughout 2019, she criticised unrealistic body standards placed on women and how they are largely unattainable.
  • As of April 2021, Swift is in the process of re-recording all albums prior to Lover, so she can claim full ownership of her music. In 2019, Scott Borchetta sold Taylor's music to music manager Scooter Braun, but re-recording after November 2020 was an option left available to Taylor. Reputation cannot be re-recorded til 2022. Swift released Fearless (Taylor's Version) on April 9, 2021, along with six previously unreleased tracks. Swift surprise released Wildest Dreams (Taylor's Version) - from 2014 album 1989 - on 17 September 2021, as the original track was going viral on Tik Tok at the time. The next re-recorded album will be Red, released on 12 November 2021.

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