Taylor Swift, though the Eras. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at all of Taylor Swift’s iconic eras so far.
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00:00 "This is the story we're gonna be telling over and over again in 2010 how we got to
00:04 win album of the year at the Grammys, thank you."
00:06 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today, we're looking at all of Taylor Swift's iconic eras so far.
00:12 "The female artists that I know of have reinvented themselves
00:16 20 times more than the male artists. They have to."
00:20 Debut era
00:23 [Music]
00:29 Though she may now be far from her cowboy boot days, Taylor Swift originally got her start in
00:34 country music. After relocating from her hometown in Pennsylvania to Hendersonville, Tennessee,
00:39 Swift began trying to enter the Nashville music scene.
00:42 "We visited Taylor a year ago at Hendersonville High, when we thought her talent was special."
00:48 [Music]
00:54 It wasn't long until she was discovered by DreamWorks executive Scott Borchetta.
00:58 While performing at the Bluebird Cafe, signing with Borchetta's new label, Big Machine Records,
01:04 Swift quickly got to work on her eponymous debut album. It was heavily influenced by
01:09 the young artist's love of country greats like Shania Twain and the Chicks. At only 16 years old,
01:15 Swift was taking the world by storm, and the best was yet to come.
01:19 "Hey, I'm Taylor. I'm 11. I want a record deal. Call me. You know. And that didn't work,
01:28 obviously. But it did teach me that I needed to be different."
01:32 Fearless era
01:32 [Music]
01:39 In 2008, the Fearless era entered the scene in a sparkly,
01:42 fringy celebration of girlhood and adolescence. Remaining in the country genre,
01:47 Swift explored themes of love, heartbreak, and growing up. The hard work paid off,
01:52 as Fearless earned Taylor Swift her first Album of the Year award at the 52nd Annual Grammys.
01:58 But all that glitters is not gold. On September 13, 2009, Swift was awarded Best Female Video at
02:04 the MTV VMAs. To everyone's surprise, rapper Kanye West interrupted her acceptance speech
02:10 with one of the most infamous lines in award show history. "Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you.
02:17 I'm gonna let you finish. But Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time."
02:25 The moment would go on to permanently mark Swift's career and inspire the
02:28 iconic Saturday Night Live monologue song.
02:31 "But there's nothing more to say, 'cause everything's okay. I've got security lining the state."
02:41 Speak Now era
02:43 "But someday I'll be singing this at the Grammys."
02:49 Coming off the heels of Fearless, the songstress went straight back to work,
02:53 this time to record Speak Now. The country pop album featured influences of pop rock,
02:58 and tracks like "Back to December" and "Dear John," which incited speculation about Swift's exes.
03:03 Oh, and did we mention that she wrote it by herself,
03:07 save for a bonus track that has since been retconned to another era?
03:10 "You wrote the entire thing by yourself?"
03:12 "Yes."
03:13 "Every song?"
03:13 "That's something that makes me really proud of this album, because, I mean,
03:21 it took two years to make this album."
03:23 The album took stylistic chances and worked with enhanced lyricism,
03:27 producing multiple fan-favorite tracks, including the love letter that is "Long Live."
03:31 "Tell 'em how the crowds went wild, tell 'em how I hope they shine."
03:41 From 2011 to 2012, Swift also embarked on a world tour where she began writing
03:46 lyrics down her left arm, which became emblematic of the era.
03:50 "Girl in the dress, rose, oh, soul."
03:58 Red era
03:59 "The loving him was red, all the red."
04:06 The Taylor Swift we know today loves a little experimentation,
04:09 and we can thank Red for much of it.
04:11 For her fourth album, Swift opted to not restrict herself to one genre.
04:16 The result was a hybrid of country, rock, and pop that changed the whole game.
04:20 Inspired by Joni Mitchell's "Blue," Red is distinctly more mature in both its sound
04:25 and lyrics, often reflecting on a previous relationship with an older man.
04:30 It produced multiple hits, including "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"
04:34 and the meme-ified "I Knew You Were Trouble," as well as fan-favorite "All Too Well."
04:39 "Be cruel in the name of being honest. I'm a crumb in the piece of paper.
04:46 Mighty beans, I remember it all, all."
04:51 The era was symbolized by things like heart-shaped sunglasses,
04:54 Swift's signature hairdo, and, of course, a whole lot of Red and vulnerability.
04:59 "They were like, 'We're thinking we're gonna do like maybe bangs, maybe like
05:04 some extensions.' I'm like, 'You know what? Just cut it. This is Vogue. Why not?' So I have bangs now."
05:12 1989 era
05:13 "Clearly lips, crystal skies, I could show you incredible things."
05:19 After the experimentation of Red, many wondered if Swift was leaving country behind for good.
05:24 By early 2014, Swift was single, chopped her long hair, and moved to New York City.
05:29 "Welcome to New York. It's been waiting for you."
05:33 So it was only fitting that she adopted a new sound, too.
05:37 Indeed, Swift made the potentially risky move to fully transition to pop.
05:41 "Cause baby I can feel the castle. All of my friends think you're with me."
05:50 Emulating the sounds of the 1980s, 1989 became an instant commercial success,
05:55 spurring multiple hits like "Blank Space" and "Bad Blood," and earning Swift another
05:59 Album of the Year award. Skyrocketing to pop star status, Swift was the moment,
06:05 but she was unfortunately also at the center of increasingly heavy criticism.
06:09 Everything from her public feud with Katy Perry, to speculation about her ex Harry Styles,
06:15 to her so-called "squad" was scrutinized. Sadly, when it came to a public lashing,
06:20 the worst was yet to come.
06:21 "There are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success,
06:26 or take credit for your accomplishments, or your fame."
06:32 Reputation era.
06:34 "Are you ready for it?"
06:40 To say 2016 was not Swift's year is an understatement. After the release of Kanye
06:45 West's song "Famous," and the edited phone call footage between West and Swift,
06:50 a hate campaign was launched against the songstress. Led by Kim Kardashian,
06:54 people left snake emojis on Swift's posts and tweeted disparaging things under cruel hashtags.
07:00 In response, the star disappeared from the public eye for an entire year.
07:04 "On Monday, she made her return to social media, look at this,
07:07 with this video. It's a silent, 10-second video of a snake slithering its tail. No explanation."
07:14 But in 2017, she returned and dropped Reputation, an experimental electropop album. It is heavily
07:21 satirical and leaned into how Swift was publicly depicted as the villain,
07:24 in tracks like "Look What You Made Me Do."
07:26 "The old Taylor can't come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, 'cause she's dead."
07:34 It also explored her highly private relationship with actor Joe Alwyn,
07:38 which began during her hiatus, through deeply intimate love songs like "Delicate."
07:42 The release signaled the end of a different era altogether, too,
07:46 as Reputation would mark Swift's final album with Big Machine Records.
07:50 "Say I did something bad, it wasn't feel so good."
07:55 Lover era.
07:55 "You're my, my, my, my, lover."
08:03 After Reputation, it was time for a rebirth. With her new label, Republic,
08:07 Swift began teasing her upcoming album in March 2019 with an extensive marketing campaign.
08:13 "I'm lying and I just wanted to let you know that when there's new music,
08:16 you will be the first to know. I love you so much."
08:20 It was clear that the Reputation era was over with pastel colors,
08:23 butterfly motifs, and, of course, more than a few Easter eggs. In April, Swift dropped the
08:29 lead single "Me," with a kaleidoscopic music video that hinted at the title of the album.
08:33 "I promise that you'll never find another like me."
08:36 The era was symbolized by activism, self-empowerment, and radio-ready pop hits
08:42 produced by Jack Antonoff, among others. Unfortunately, the Lover era was cut short
08:47 in early 2020 when the pandemic necessitated the cancellation of the Loverfest tour.
08:51 "I ask the traffic lights if it'll be alright, they say I don't know."
08:56 Folklore era.
08:58 "But I knew you, playing hide and seek and giving me a weekend's hide."
09:04 In March 2020, the world went quiet due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
09:08 With the abrupt hitch in the Lover era, the future of Swift's, well, eras was on pause.
09:14 That is, until July, when she took to social media to announce the surprise drop of Folklore.
09:19 Folklore was a massive departure from her previous sound,
09:22 experimenting with genres like indie folk, as well as more fictional storytelling.
09:27 "Back when we were still changing for the better, once it was enough, for me it was enough."
09:35 Swift worked alongside new collaborators like Aaron Dessner of The National and Justin Vernon,
09:40 as well as her longtime musical partner Jack Antonoff. In November, Disney+ released a
09:46 documentary concert film, recorded at Long Pond Studio, to celebrate the work.
09:50 "Now I'm an exiles in your world, I think I've seen this film before."
09:58 In 2021, Folklore was named Album of the Year at the Grammys.
10:02 "But mostly we just want to thank the fans. You guys met us in this imaginary world that
10:07 we created and we can't tell you how honored we are forever."
10:11 Evermore era.
10:12 "I had a feeling so peculiar, that this pain would be forevermore."
10:21 Thought Swift was done with surprises? Think again.
10:24 It was barely five months after the release of Folklore that she dropped its sister album.
10:29 After Folklore, Swift continued writing and producing collaboratively with the team,
10:34 especially Dessner.
10:35 "I saw a lane for my future that I, it was a real breakthrough moment of excitement and
10:41 happiness and I kind of referred to writing these songs as a flotation device because
10:46 obviously this year is, is hell on earth for everyone."
10:52 The result ultimately became Evermore, which also brought in new collaborators like Haim.
10:57 Another cottagecore album with a folky sound, this one was sonically and lyrically a bit more
11:02 despondent than its predecessor. It notably produced one of the artist's most cathartic
11:07 tracks, "Champagne Problems," as well as the lead single "Willow."
11:11 "Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind. I'd come back stronger than a 90s trend."
11:20 Evermore was given less pomp and circumstance than its sister,
11:23 prompting fans to dub it a "forgotten album,"
11:26 something Swift denounced on the opening Night of the Heirs tour in 2023.
11:30 "Your heart was glass, I dropped it, champagne problem."
11:35 Re-recordings era.
11:37 "Time won't fly, it's like I'm paralyzed by it. I'd like to be my old self again."
11:44 In the midst of all this, Swift entered a new mini-era, or what you might call an
11:49 "eras" era. In 2019, she entered a master's dispute with her former label over the ownership
11:54 of her first six albums, after Scooter Braun purchased Big Machine Records.
11:58 "I made it very clear that I wanted to be able to buy my music. That opportunity was not given to
12:03 me, and it was sold to somebody else. And so I just figured, I was the one who made this music.
12:09 First, I can just make it again."
12:12 After much friction, Swift ultimately heeded Kelly Clarkson's advice, which was to re-record
12:17 her stolen albums. The re-recordings officially kicked off in April 2021 with the release of
12:22 Fearless, followed by Red, Speak Now, and 1989. Each album has been appended by Taylor's version
12:29 and received Vault Tracks, aka previously unreleased tracks. The re-recordings have
12:34 been a fun way for Swifties to revisit old eras, but most importantly represent the importance of
12:39 owning one's own work.
12:41 "And let me just say that the definition of the toxic male privilege in our industry
12:47 is people saying, 'But he's always been nice to me when I'm raising valid concerns about
12:52 artists and their rights to own their music.'"
12:55 Midnight's era
12:57 Just when it seemed Swift couldn't do more, she proved her tireless work ethic and dedication to
13:04 fans again by announcing her new album Midnight's at the 2022 VMAs. Pitched as a concept album,
13:10 it revisited 13 sleepless nights in the songstress' career. The pre-release marketing
13:15 had a distinctly retro, "sad girl" vibe, where the album sound itself was dreamy synth-pop
13:20 produced mainly by Jack Antonoff. The deluxe 3AM edition, meanwhile, also notably featured
13:25 collaborations with Aaron Dessner.
13:27 "I vow not to cry anymore, if we survived the Great War."
13:33 The vulnerable, tongue-in-cheek antihero led the release, followed up by Bejeweled
13:38 and Lavender Haze, each with its own Easter egg-filled music video.
13:42 "It's me, I, I'm the problem, it's me."
13:46 We can't forget to mention hits like "Karma" and "You're On Your Own, Kid," either.
13:50 It was also during the Midnight's era that Swift kicked off the record-breaking Eris Tour,
13:55 a three-and-a-half-hour celebration of her career to date.
13:58 "So you put out like five albums that you haven't done tours for, so what's your plan?
14:02 Like what are you gonna do? You gonna just like do a show with like all, all the albums in it,
14:08 and it'll be like, what, it'll be like a three-and-a-half-hour long show?"
14:12 Plus, this was the album that earned her a historic fourth album of the year Grammy.
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14:33 The tortured poets department era
14:35 "Electro-type writer at my apartment, straight from the tortured poets department."
14:43 With 10 albums and four re-recordings under her belt,
14:46 it's easy to assume Swift is slowing down. Not yet.
14:49 "Till nobody noticed my new aesthetic."
14:55 At the 66th Grammy Awards, Swift hinted something was coming with a coded message on her website.
15:00 That night, she announced her 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department, with a cryptic peace
15:06 sign. "Telling you a secret that I've been keeping from you for the last two years,
15:12 which is that my brand new album comes out April 19th."
15:20 At midnight on April 19th, fans received the new 16-track synth-pop album. But that wasn't all.
15:26 At 2 a.m., Swift surprise-dropped the anthology, which included another 15 tracks with a closer
15:32 sound to folklore and evermore. "Do I have to speak to you about if they can redo the prophecy?"
15:41 The lead single, "Fortnite," features Post Malone, and received a music video with Ethan Hawke and
15:47 Josh Charles from the Dead Poets Society. "I touched you for only a fortnight."
15:54 "I touched you."
15:56 We don't know where this era will take us, but we're excited to follow our chairman into the
16:01 fray. Which Taylor Swift era is your absolute favorite? If you can pick just one, let us know
16:06 what it is in the comments. "I just believe I'm still the jewel. When I walk in the room,
16:11 I can still make the whole day shimmer."
16:14 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
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16:25 [music]