Some Lesser Known Facts About Taylor Swift

• Does Taylor Swift drink alcohol? Yes

• Her parents were Presbyterian Churchgoers so, Taylor used to attend Bible classes in her childhood.

• She won many horse riding races in her childhood. She had a pony named Ginger.

• Her maternal grandmother was an Opera singer and was the host of a TV show in Puerto Rico.

• At the age of nine, she developed an interest in musical theatre and performed for Berks Youth Theatre Academy Productions. She used to travel regularly to New York for her acting classes from Pennsylvania.

• Later, she got inspired by Shania Twain’s songs and shifted her focus towards country music.

• She used to perform at local festivals and events on weekends.

• She decided to move to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue her music career after watching a documentary on Faith Hill.

• When she was eleven, she submitted a karaoke CD of various songs of Dolly Parton, Dixie Chicks, and LeAnn Rimes at Nashville record labels. In an interview, she shared this incident, she said,

It was on spring break, and I was 11 and I had this little demo CD — a karaoke CD of me singing songs by Dolly Parton and the Dixie Chicks and LeAnn Rimes. And I marched up and down Music Row with these demo CDs, and I’d walk in and hand them to the receptionist while my mom and my little brother were parked outside in a rental car.”

• At the age of 12, she started her training in playing the guitar under a computer repairman and local musician, Ronnie Cremer. With his help, Taylor wrote her first song ‘Lucky You.’

• In 2003, with the help of Dan Dymtrow, Taylor worked as a model for ‘Abercrombie & Fitch’ as part of their “Rising Stars” campaign.

• She performed her original songs at RCA Records and received an artist development deal. Later, Taylor was enrolled in ‘Aron Academy’ while continued her education through home-schooling.

• She later worked with the experienced songwriters like Troy Verges, Brett Beavers, Brett James, Mac McAnally, the Warren Brothers, and Liz Rose. Liz Rose said in an interview,

The sessions were some of the easiest I’ve ever done. Basically, I was just her editor. She’d write about what happened in school that day. She had such a clear vision of what she was trying to say. And she’d come in with the most incredible hooks.”

• Taylor left RCA Records at the age of 14, later, she was signed by the Sony/ATV publishing house.

• In 2005, she was performing at Nashville’s Bluebird Café where she grabbed the attention of Borchetta, a DreamWorks Records executive. At that time, Borchetta was planning to form an independent record label with the name, Big Machine Records. Taylor’s father purchased three per cent shares in Borchetta’s company.

• Taylor started working on her first album and released her first album ‘Taylor Swift’ on 24 October 2006 under the music label, Big Machine Records. The album was a great hit and had sold over 7.75 million copies worldwide.

• Later, she released many other chartbuster songs including, ‘Love Story,’ ‘Tim McGraw’,‘Our Song,’ and ‘Teardrops on My Guitar.’

• She was hired as a brand ambassador by many ace brands including Cover Girl, Sony Electronics, and Diet Coke.

• She has many superhit albums to her name including Red (2012), 1989 (2014), Reputation (2017), and Lover (2019).

• Interestingly, some of her songs are dedicated to her ex-boyfriends, some of such songs are “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “Style,” “Mine,” and “Back To December.”

• She has also performed live at musical tours like Fearless Tour (2009-2010), Speak Now World Tour (2011-2012), The Red Tour (2013-2014), The 1989 World Tour (2015), Reputation Stadium Tour (2018), and Lover Fest (2020).

• Apart from singing, she is also a social activist. On 21 September 2007, she launched a campaign to protect children from online predators. She has worked for social welfare organisations like PETA, Red Cross, UNICEF, and Cancer Research Institute.

• In 2010, she launched her own perfume line.

• In an interview with David Letterman, Taylor said that she learns some phrases in the language of every nation she visits.

• In October 2013, she inaugurated a $4 million education centre at the ‘Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’ in Nashville.

• On 24 November 2019, she won six American Music Awards (AMA) including Artist of the Decade Award. She has won a total of 29 AMAs; beating the record of the legendary singer Michael Jackson.

• Taylor’s look-alike girl is April Glorias from Kansas. She is so similar to Taylor that she looks like her identical twin.

• Taylor was named after another singer-songwriter: James Taylor.

• Taylor swift is well versed in playing various instruments like guitars (acoustic, electric, banjo), piano, and ukulele.

• Swift is one of the youngest songwriters that Sony/ATV Music publishing house has ever signed.

• Taylor has more than 600 nominations under her name.

• Taylor sends gifts to her fans and calls it “Swiftmas.”

• Swift single-handedly brought down the iPhone and MacBook giant Apple for paying her the fair amount of royalties within a day.

• She is a cat lover. Two of her pet cats are Meredith and Olivia.

• She considers ’13’ as her lucky number.

• She has featured on the cover page of various/many well-known magazines like Vogue, Time, Billboard, and Elle.

• In January 2020, she booked a gym for her workout session and asked everybody to leave the gym including Justin Bieber, who was already working out in the gym when Taylor arrived there.

• Taylor Swift wore glossy bangles from the Indian jewellery brand Misho Designs for a scene in Karma, a much-loved track from the singer’s Midnights album. The sequence depicts Taylor trapped within a luminous structure, gripping the filament with her hands while singing the lyrics “Ask me what I learned from all those years.” Additionally, the scene showcases a collection of bangles adorning her wrists; the pala bangles are a set of three gold-plated bronze jewelry pieces that are priced at Rs 8,755. [10]Vogue

• In October 2022, she became the first artist ever to simultaneously nab all 10 spots on the top US song chart after the release of her tenth studio album “Midnights.” In July 2023, she created a record for having more number-one albums than any other female artist in history following the release of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version);” the record debuted at the top of the Billboard charts, becoming the pop queen’s 12th number one album and surpassing Barbra Streisand for the most among women. She also became the first living artist in nearly 60 years to have four albums in the top 10 at the same time. [11]Billboard

• Universities in the US and abroad are increasingly recognizing the literary significance of Taylor Swift’s lyrics. In August 2023, Arizona State University introduced a course titled ‘Psychology of Taylor Swift — Advanced Topics of Social Psychology’ for its social psychology students. Meanwhile, Ghent University in Belgium launched a course called ‘Literature: Taylor’s Version.’ Institutions such as New York University, Berklee College of Music, and Rice University have also incorporated Taylor Swift’s work into their academic curricula. [12]CNN