Taylor Swift Insights

Just a girl: An overview of Taylor Swift's evolution as an artist

Taylor Swift began her career as a country artist with relatable songs and was able to differentiate herself in the scene thanks to her relatable lyrics and unique style. Her music is often a reflection of her experiences and perceptions, making her a favorite among fans. With the release of her albums Red, reputation, and Blank Space, Taylor expanded her musical palette and experimented with different styles.

Public Image

Taylor’s highly attentive to her public persona and the way she is perceived by the public. With songs and albums like Blank Space and reputation reflecting this. She frequently acknowledges and critiques her public image and the way she is portrayed in the media. As a result as she became more of a household name, Taylor has grown more cautious about her image and the impact of her high-profile celebrity flings.

If they want to think about maybe who one of my exes is, then that’s fine. And it might not be right, because I’m the only one who knows what these songs are really about. It’s the one shred of privacy I have in the matter.

Political Activism

She's grown more vocal with regard to her politics, she’d developed a bit of a reputation as a "closet conservative" on the internet because of her reluctance to speak out on political issues earlier on. However, she’s increasingly used her music to be more explicit about her politics; popular examples are in the songs "The Man" and "You Need to Calm Down." This shift towards a reluctance to combine her politics and music is a result of her upbringing as a fan of the Dixie Chicks, who effectively lost their career at its peak for speaking out on the Iraq War in the early 2000s.

Taylor remarked on her reluctance to speak out for her values to and why she decided to change that:

These days, with social media, people can be so mad about something one day and then forget what they were mad about a couple weeks later. That’s fake outrage. But what happened to the Dixie Chicks was real outrage. I registered it — that you’re always one comment away from being done being able to make music.

Shifts in Swift’s Storytelling and Music

With her latest album, Folklore, Taylor takes a new approach to her storytelling. Instead of writing solely from her own perspective, she steps back and expands herself creatively by writing from the perspective of others, showcasing her versatility as an artist and her ability to craft compelling stories. In Betty, she writes from the perspective of Jack a lovesick teen pinning after the girl of his dreams Betty. "Betty" and her latest albums are testaments to Taylor's evolution as an artist. She consistently proves she's not afraid to experiment and push the boundaries of her music and what's expected of her. "Folklore” marked a noticeable shift for her, employing less traditional pop elements and experimenting with perspective. In addition, the Spotify data shows a significant dip in speechiness and danceability, two factors that play a large role in pop music for her latest songs. Interestingly enough this is also reflected in her 2021 re-recording of her album Fearless

Reflection

From humble country girl to international pop star, Taylor Swift's capacity to evolve and mature as an artist while remaining true to her roots and remaining relatable while not seeming disingenuous as she grows more and more famous has been the defining features of her musical and personal growth. Taylor continues to be one of the most captivating and current musicians of our day, whether through her relatable lyrics, exploration of new musical genres, or political activity.

On the Project

Looking back, I should've been more obvious about what different colors mean on the “Album Speechiness and Danceability by Year” worksheet. The tooltip gives clarifying labels, but if the dashboard is converted into an image or is printed out, its effectiveness as a tool would be diminished, at least with regard to that chart. I can change it now, but I’ll keep it this way for now just to be honest with myself and my growth. You live and you learn.

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