Are You a Swifty? Trivia Quiz

Taylor Swift signed her first publishing deal with Sony at the tender age of 14; in fact, she was the company's youngest signee at the time. She had begun writing songs and playing the guitar at twelve. She was originally marketed as a country artist, and she even named her first single after Tim McGraw, a country singer and the partner of fellow country singer Faith Hill, one of Swift's early inspirations. She wrote and co-wrote forty songs for the album, eleven of which made the final cut. One of her co-writers, Liz Rose, became a long-time writing partner; she stated that she did not want Swift to become another cookie-cutter country singer.

The singles were 'Tim McGraw' (June 2006), 'Teardrops on My Guitar' (February 2007), 'Our Song' (September 2007), 'Picture to Burn' (February 2008) and 'Should've Said No' (May 2008).

'Fearless' was Taylor Swift's breakthrough album. She wrote most of 'Fearless' while touring in 2007 and 2008. Like her debut, it is more in the country vein, although critics argued that it was more pop than country, and one of her co-writers was singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat, who sang on and co-wrote 'Breathe'. The lyrics of the album are heavily inspired by fairy tale archetypes and high school, and 'Forever & Always' was one of the first of Swift's many break-up songs. 'Fearless' won several awards, including a Grammy for Album of the Year and Best Country Album in 2009, and an MTV Video Music Award for 'You Belong With Me', much to the ire of Kanye West, who invaded the stage to announce that Beyoncé Knowles should have won.

The singles were 'Love Story' (September 2008), 'White Horse' (December 2008), 'You Belong With Me' (April 2009), 'Fifteen' (August 2009), and 'Fearless' (January 2010).

Taylor Swift wrote 'Speak Now' while touring in 2009 and 2010. The name of the album comes from the idea of writing songs about things that Swift had wanted to say to certain people, but hadn't been able to say them. She also wrote it as a take that to people who criticised her songwriting ability. It sold a million copies within a week of being released in the US, and went platinum all over the world; 'Mean' won Grammy Awards for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance. Swift would later re-record the album in 2023, along with 'Fearless', 'Red' and '1989', after a dispute over the ownership of her first six albums with her former label, Big Machine; these albums were all dubbed 'Taylor's Version', and Swift requested that the media use these versions and not the originals for synchronisation purposes.

The singles were 'Mine' (August 2010), 'Back to December' (November 2010), 'Mean' (March 2011), 'The Story of Us' (April 2011), 'Sparks Fly' (July 2011), and 'Ours' (December 2011).

'Red' marked Taylor Swift's transition from country pop to mainstream pop, and after releasing six singles from 'Speak Now', she went one better and released SEVEN singles from 'Red'. Both 'I Knew You Were Trouble' (which is one of my favourite T-Swift songs, incidentally) and 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' were Number One smashes around the world; both songs were co-written with Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears collaborator Max Martin, along with '22'. She duetted with Ed Sheeran on 'Everything Has Changed' and Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody on 'The Last Time'.

The singles were 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' (August 2012), 'Begin Again' (October 2012), 'I Knew You Were Trouble' (November 2012), '22' (March 2013), 'Red' (June 2013), 'Everything Has Changed' (July 2013), and 'The Last Time' (November 2013).

'1989' was named for Taylor Swift's year of birth, and is arguably her most commercial album, inspired by Annie Lennox and Peter Gabriel. 'Shake It Off' was somewhat divisive for the country fans among the Swifties, while some critics claimed that Swift going in a pop direction made her come across as inauthentic. Nevertheless, '1989' was a critical hit, winning Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album in 2016. Singer-songwriter Ryan Adams covered the entire album in 2015. Swift was still working with Max Martin, and also co-wrote 'Clean' with Imogen Heap. Incidentally, it also contains 'Bad Blood', my favourite Taylor Swift song, which had a video featuring a star-studded cast playing Swift's 'squad': these included Jessica Alba (Domino), Zendaya (Cut Throat), Ellie Goulding (Destructa X), and Paramore's Hayley Williams (the Crimson Curse). Kendrick Lamar guested on the single.

The singles were 'Shake It Off' (August 2014), 'Blank Space' (November 2014), 'Style' (February 2015), 'Bad Blood' (May 2015), 'Wildest Dreams' (August 2015), 'Out of the Woods' (January 2016), and 'New Romantics' (February 2016).

'Reputation', styled as 'reputation', was influenced by electropop, R'n'B and hip-hop. Swift had been getting criticised as a 'snake' because of her ongoing feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, with West claiming he 'made that b**** famous' in the song 'Famous', and Kardashian releasing a recording of Swift consenting to another portion of the song, which was later revealed to have been doctored. Some fans also criticised her for her lack of a stance during the 2016 presidential election and Donald Trump's victory. On the music front, 'Look What You Made Me Do' contained an interpolation of Right Said Fred's 'I'm Too Sexy', while Ed Sheeran returned to duet with Swift on 'End Game'. However, the album was not as well-received as its predecessor and was not nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, which was viewed as a snub.

The singles were 'Look What You Made Me Do' (August 2017), '...Ready for It?' (September 2017), 'End Game' (November 2017), 'New Year's Day' (also November 2017), 'Delicate' (March 2018), and 'Getaway Car' (September 2018).

'Lover' was Taylor Swift's first album after leaving Big Machine Records and signing with Republic. 'You Need to Calm Down' was an anti-homophobia anthem, while 'Miss America & the Heartbreak Prince' was inspired by the 2018 midterm elections; Swift endorsed Democratic candidates in her home state of Tennessee. She co-wrote 'Cruel Summer' with Annie Clark, aka St Vincent, who played guitar on the track. The Chicks guested on 'Soon You'll Get Better', while Panic at the Disco! frontman Brendon Urie co-wrote and sang on 'Me!' Deluxe editions of the CD featured Swift's old journal entries and photos; she also collaborated with Stella McCartney on tie-in merchandise.

The singles were 'Me!' (April 2019), 'You Need to Calm Down' (June 2019), 'Lover' (August 2019), 'The Man' (January 2020), and 'Cruel Summer' (June 2023).

Many artists worked on albums in lockdown in the COVID pandemic of 2020, and Swift was no exception. She had cancelled her tour to promote 'Lover' following the pandemic. 'Folklore' was the first of two albums she released that year, coming out in July and recorded in her home studio. It also marked a change of style for Swift, as she opted for a more stripped-down sound that veered towards indie, folk and rock. 'Cardigan', 'August' and 'Betty' depict a love triangle from the viewpoints of the three people involved in it; 'Betty' is from the perspective of a boy called James, 'Cardigan' is from his girlfriend Betty's perspective, and 'August' is about James' unnamed mistress. She also duetted with Bon Iver on 'Exile'. Only a few people in Swift's inner circle knew about the album. Several musicians, including Hayley Williams and Rina Sawayama, later cited it as an influence.

The singles were 'Cardigan' (July 2020), 'Exile' (August 2020), and 'Betty' (also August 2020).

Hot on the heels of 'Folklore', which ended up being the best-selling album of 2020 in the US, 'Evermore' was released only a few months later. Like 'Folklore', 'Evermore' embraced the cottagecore aesthetic, was more indie/folk-oriented and had several songs co-written by Aaron Dessner of The National, who also guested on 'Coney Island'. Bon Iver returned for 'Evermore' and Haim duetted with Swift on 'No Body, No Crime'. 'Evermore' was essentially an extension of 'Folklore' that took on a life of its own, and while 'Folklore' was a spring/summer album, 'Folklore' represented autumn and winter. In the lead-up to her 31st birthday, Swift posted nine photos on Instagram which, when combined, showed the back of her head with her hair in a braid. This was the cover art.

The singles were 'Willow' (December 2020), 'No Body, No Crime' (January 2021), and 'Coney Island' (also January 2021).

For 'Midnights', Swift opted for a more electronic sound. She was still working with Aaron Dessner, and also duetted with Lana del Rey on 'Snow on the Beach'. To promote the album, she used images of a clock on her website and released a series on TikTok called 'Midnights Mayhem with Me', in which she announced names of album tracks in random order. 'Anti-Hero' was not only the best-selling single in the US in 2022, but also made Swift the first artist to have a Number One in the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. 'Midnights' also saw the beginning of the 'Eras' tour, a tour that would go down in history for the 'Swiftonomics' phenomenon, tickets being as difficult to obtain as gold dust (though I know a few people who did), fans swapping beaded friendship bracelets, and gigs lasting for over three hours. It also featured multiple costume changes representing each album. The tour kicked off in Glendale, Arizona.

The singles were 'Anti-Hero' (October 2022), 'Lavender Haze' (November 2022), and 'Karma' (May 2023).

'The Tortured Poets Department' (lack of apostrophe intentional) was released in 2024, and the 'Eras' tour was updated to include a segment for it; Swift wrote it while touring, and recorded it all over the US. Collaborators included Florence Welch of Florence & the Machine on 'Florida!!!' and Post Malone on 'Fortnight'. Within two hours of the album's release, Swift then released a double version, 'The Anthology'. The 'Anthology' tracks are more acoustic than the first set. During the British leg of the 'Eras' tour, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp attended Swift's gig at Liverpool's stadium, Anfield. The 'Swiftonomics' phenomenon also caused minor economic booms in areas where Swift was playing.

On a darker note, a gig in Vienna was cancelled due to a bomb threat from ISIS. A Brazilian fan, Ana Clara Benevides, also died in a crush at Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro, as a result of overcrowding, heat and a ban on water bottles. Swift had noticed people fainting in the audience and sent her team to give them water. Benevides had posted on social media that she was feeling unwell, and fainted before the concert began, dying of cardiac arrest.

The singles included 'Fortnight' (April 2024) and 'I Can Do It With a Broken Heart' (July 2024).