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From country girl to megastar

The singer (33, “Shake It Off”) is currently undisputedly the most famous woman globally, with 279 million people following her on Instagram alone. In her career, which has now spanned 17 years, she has made an incredible rise from a blonde, curly, shy country girl from Reading, Pennsylvania, to a music icon who outshines all other superstars.

Taylor Swift is a phenomenon, has sold more than 200 million records to date, and continues to make music history. After the release of her new album "1989 - Taylor's Version," her songs occupied the first six places worldwide "Billboard Global 200 Charts."

Nobody is more popular, prosperous, beautiful, or relaxed than her. And: more normal. The 5 foot eleven star is the perfect mix of a lovely girl next door and a tough entrepreneur.

Millions of “Swifties” want Taylor as a girlfriend. No matter what she wears, says, or wears, they do the same. Why is that?

Taylor with dad Scott.

To understand the rise, change, and hype surrounding the Taylor Swift brand, watch the Netflix documentary “Miss Americana.” Taylor plays the guitar as a young girl, writes her first country songs at ten, wins singing competitions, plays the guitar and piano, and dreams of becoming famous “and remaining a good girl,” she says.

At 15, the daughter of a middle-class family signed her first record deal. She writes her song lyrics, and the “Swifties” love her for it. Because Taylor lets her share her thoughts, worries, and joys, she reports on eating disorders as a teenager and now also positions herself politically against Trump and the Republicans.

“I want to tell my own stories and share them with my fans. I feel like we grew up together. They have been with me from the beginning, understand me, and give me the space to change musically,” she says.

In the studio, when she works through the night with her team, she goes without make-up, wears red sweatpants with little white hearts on them, sometimes a sweatshirt with a cat's head (Taylor loves her three cats), and has short, brightly painted fingernails. Her parents and her closest team are always close by. She trusts them unquestioningly.

Her mother, Andrea Swift, suffered from cancer years ago, and her father, Scott Swift, once worked as a stockbroker and ran a Christmas tree nursery. The parents named their daughter after the singer James Taylor.

Taylor Swift (M.) with her closest confidants: mom Andrea (65) and dad Scott (71)

When her career took off, the family moved from Pennsylvania to Nashville, Tennessee, the center of country music. Taylor has long been singing pop, with some indie, hip-hop, and folklore. She is at home worldwide and owns several apartments and houses all over America.

But only some things always work 100 percent. In 2009, Taylor Swift won Best Music Video at the MTV Awards. Scandal rapper Kanye West stormed onto the stage, took the microphone away from her, and complained that Beyoncé, not Taylor, deserved the award.

He later called her a "bitch" in a song that he wanted to have sex with and claimed she agreed with the lyrics. Taylor defended himself against this and exposed him to the lie. Also, She took on the mega-corporation Apple so that it could pay artists better streaming fees. You can guess who gave in at the end...

In the meantime, Taylor achieves a new superlative almost every day - the last time something like this happened (in smaller forms) was in the 1960s with the Beatles. In just a few weeks, Swift became the first woman to have 100 million monthly Spotify listeners; she has been at the top of the US album charts more times than any other artist, has received more awards than anyone else, and has already earned more money than Madonna, Céline Dion or her close friend Beyoncé.

The singer performs in the largest stadiums.

Her new album “1989 – Taylor Version” was just released and was the most streamed album on a single day this year. In mid-October, the concert film “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” was released in cinemas worldwide and even surpassed the box office success of the blockbusters “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.” It sounds like a fairy tale – almost too good to be true.

The rush for advance ticket sales for Taylor's Eras world tour was so great that it brought down the ticket website.

When the singer performed six nights in a row in Los Angeles over the summer, it brought the city $320 million in additional revenue. Overall, the US concerts in 2023 affected the economy by more than ten billion euros. The “L.A. Magazine” coined the term “Swiftonomies” for the success with and behind the global star.

US media company Bloomberg estimates Swift's net worth is around $1.1 billion. She is the first billionaire to make her fortune solely through music.

The singer and her new boyfriend, Travis Kelce (34

A few days ago, she played her first “Eras” concert in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. Beaming “Swifties” camped out in front of the stadium five months in advance to finally see their Taylor live on stage. By mid-2024, Taylor will play 146 completely sold-out concerts worldwide. She could have quickly sold far more tickets.

By the way, how do you recognize a real “Swiftie”? In their unwavering loyalty to Taylor and the colorful, beaded friendship bracelets they wear. Why?

Taylor sings in her song “You’re on your own, Kid”: “Make friendship bracelets, seize the moment and savor it.” In doing so, she inspired her fans to make bracelets and exchange them with each other at the concerts.

Many of Taylor's (M.) closest friends are stars themselves, such as actress and singer Selena Gomez (31, r.) and ex-soccer player and entrepreneur Brittany Mahomes (28)

The most famous “Swifites” are Taylor's best friends, all US stars: Selena Gomez, Jennifer Lawrence, Sophie Turner, and Jennifer Garner. The girls are a close-knit team.

And yes, there is also a man at Taylor's side: she has been dating Travis Kelce, NFL star of the Kansas City Chiefs, for a few weeks. He has the weekend off from training and wants to visit his sweetheart in Argentina. Taylor has to work.