Taylor Swift is hailed as the queen of contemporary pop - and for good reason. Having sold over 200 million records globally, Swift is one of the world's best-selling and most beloved musicians, the most streamed woman artist on Spotify, and the only act to have five albums open with over one million copies sold in the US. Taylor is a prominent cultural icon of the 21st century and has been hailed for her versatility across genres, her singular and moving songwriting, and her ability to reinvent herself with each new 'era'

Hailing from Nashville, Taylor displayed musical prowess and began writing songs since a very young age. At an industry showcase at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe in 2005, Swift caught the attention of Scott Borchetta, who was preparing to form an independent record label, Big Machine Records. She released her debut album 'Taylor Swift' in 2006, for which she won Nashville Songwriters Association's Songwriter/Artist of the Year, becoming the youngest person to do so. Tracks like 'Tim McGraw' and 'Teardrops on my Guitar' became early classics from this album

Released in 2008, "Fearless" was Taylor Swift's second album and a major hit. By its end, it became the U.S.'s bestselling album and won numerous awards, including a Grammy for Album of the Year. At the time, Swift was the youngest recipient of this award until Billie Eilish at 18. The album was rooted in her country music, but the pop undertones for which she would later become synonymous with were visible even as early as in 2008. The album centered around young love and romance, with tracks like 'You Belong With Me' and 'Love Story' truly skyrocketing her to fame. In fact, these songs still induct new listeners into the Swiftie fandom!

Speak Now, released in 2010 was about girlhood, and the pains and tenderness of growing up. It was Swift's most emotionally vulnerable and incisive album at the time, with its songs talking about the transition from childhood to adulthood. All the songs on this album were singlehandedly written by Taylor and the ballads on 'Speak Now' remain 'timeless' to this day (Timeless was later released as a vault track from the album in 2023!)

Released in 2012, "Red" marked a pivotal point in Swift's musical journey, transitioning from country to pop. She collaborated with renowned producers Max Martin and Shellback, known for hits by Britney Spears and P!nk, to embrace a synth-pop sound. Red was also notable for Swift starting to draw inspiration beyond her personal life. And of course, we cannot forget the Holy Grail of the Swiftie fandom - the track 'All Too Well' that delved into her short-lived and intense relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal 

Taylor Swift had proved her impeccable songwriting skills and ability to revamp her musical style and persona time and time again. She truly pulled out all stops for '1989,' undoubtedly the album that put on her the global musical map as a true force to reckon with - not just a musician, but a performer who was here to stay. Released in 2014, 1989 showcased the full range of Swift's pop storytelling - and some of her biggest hits to date, including Bad Blood, Shake It Off and Style were birthed in this album

After a public and nasty feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, the American press largely turned against Swift in 2016-17 - labelling her as an attention seeker and songwriter who could write about nothing more than her petty and short-lived relationships. After disappearing from the public gaze for nearly a year, Reputation in 2017 was possibly one of the greatest musical comebacks of all time 

The album blended darker emotions such as wanting revenge on everybody who had shamed and wronged her, captured in songs like 'I Did Something Bad' and 'Look What You Made Me Do' as well as was paid tribute to finding herself amidst external chaos. Despite being commonly labelled as a 'revenge' album, Reputation was as much an album about the angsty first beginnings of new love, dedicated to her then-boyfriend Joe Alwyn. The 'Reputation' stadium tour also became one of the higest-grossing tours of all time - a testament to the loyalty of the Swiftie fandom

By 2019, rumours about Taylor Swift dating British actor Joe Alwyn had started making the rounds. With 'Lover,' Swift's most light-hearted and bubblegum-pink vibe album to date, Swift confirmed her relationship with her 'London Boy.' 'Lover' paid a tender homage to their fiercely guarded and nurtured relationship of three years and won fans' hearts. We don't know about you but the title track 'Lover' is definitely one of the most romantic songs of all time!

While her concert 'Lover Fest' was cancelled due to the pandemic, Taylor Swift performed a select tracklist from the album in front of a few lucky listeners in Paris. The setlist included live performances of her classic songs Lover and Cornelia Street as well as other tracks like The Archer and The Man

During the pandemic, Taylor Swift surprised her fans with 'folklore' - an autumnal, wintry indie record that gave us an insight into the artist's innermost layers as not just a musician but also a human being. With folklore, Swift expanded her songwriting from beyond her own life to fictional muses - and the album also weaves a story between her characters, James, Inez and Betty. Tracks such as 'seven,' 'cardigan' and 'exile' capture the melancholia that runs as an undercurrent through this album 

Just as Swifties were reeling from folklore, Taylor released its sister album, 'evermore' later in the same year. If folklore is about a young love, evermore harks to wiser souls who have loved and lost but healed in the process. Swift and 'The National's' Aaron Dessner, inspired by their work on 'folklore', continued collaborating after its release. In just five months, they produced 'evermmore', a companion album with similar sounds. Contributors like Jack Antonoff, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, and Swift's boyfriend, actor Joe Alwyn, returned. The album does not compete with folklore's glow, rather extends its stay in the cabin in the middle of the woods

Swifties loved listening to live recordings of the tracks on folklore in Taylor Swift's 'long pond studio sessions,' also released as a documentary, where she talked about the making of these two pandemic-birthed sister albums

A significant chapter in Taylor Swift's history is her public row with Scooter Braun. In 2019, Swift's former record label, Big Machine Label Group, sold her catalog to Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings. This meant Braun now controlled the master recordings of Swift’s first six albums. Taylor was deeply upset and that claimed she was not given an opportunity to buy her masters before they were sold. Swift also had personal grievances with Braun, accusing him of bullying her over the years. In an attempt to regain control of not only her work but her musical narrative, she began re-recording her albums, starting with Fearless

Next, Taylor re-recorded 'Red' and finally released what Swifties had been waiting for since tht original release of the album - the 10 minute version of the iconic 'All Too Well.' She even released a self-directed short film to accompany the full version of the song

And cue Taylor Swift's latest full-length original album, 'Midnights!' Released in October 2022, Midnights is very much a conceptual album. Swift says she treated it like a creative writing prompt and wrote the album based on the multitudes of things that keep her up at night - from falling in love to plotting revenge. The 3 am vinyl version included even more stunning songs such as 'Bigger Than The Whole Sky' and 'The Great War'

Taylor Swift's most recent re-recorded album is 'Speak Now,' where a much older woman and artist lends her voice to girlhood musings, making the album even more memorable. Favourites include Back to December about teenage beau Taylor Lautner, Haunted, Dear John and Enchanted

Most recently, Taylor Swift announced that 1989 Taylor's Version (as she has nicknamed all her re-recordings) will drop in October later this year. She mentioned that she will also release 5 never-heard-before 'From The Vault' tracks - and Swifties cannot keep calm!

Taylor Swift is undoubtedly one of the biggest musical and cultural icons the world has ever seen. Currently, her Eras Tour is in full swing, marking her first live concert tour in five years. Her setlist is packed with her greatest hits across an astonishing discography spanning 12 years as a pop icon. Along with her heavenly vocals and dazzling performances, the artist is treating her fans to quite the fashion show as she jet-sets around the world, with her outfits customized and styled to match the energy of each iconic Taylor Swift era 

If you haven't listened to Swift's music (seriously, though?), there's still plenty of time to catch up before 1989 Taylor's Version drops in October. So what are you waiting for? Dive into her expansive discography and be mesmerized by Swift-verse