Taylor Swift did not become a superstar selling out arenas and theaters overnight like some of the public may think, she has been working to get to this point for 17 years. Beginning at the age of 14; she performed her first self-written song at her school talent show. Since then, she has written and recorded ten albums and her ‘Taylor’s Version’ for four of those albums. Swift originally recorded her music with Big Machine Records, a record company, that she left, but she didn’t get full rights to her music because she signed a deal when she was just 15 years old. Since she no longer owned the master copy of her music the only way to make them her own again was to re-record all six of her “stolen” albums, which is how ‘Taylor’s version’ was created.
Swift has completed five international tours for her albums Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation. She is currently on her sixth international tour and most extensive one yet. It is called the “Eras Tour,” as her show takes her fans through the journey of her many years of music. Swift’s tour will make its way around the globe by the end of 2024. Swift has become a successful entrepreneur in the music industry with her wide range of music speaking to many people and her highly entertaining tour attracting many fans. However, the success she has earned was made through hard work.
Swift struggled with her mental health for many years as she had difficulty seeing herself through a positive lens. She received negative press through the media, specifically toward her body: being called “too skinny” by some and “pregnant” by others. These and other hateful comments seeped into her mind; In her documentary ‘Miss Americana,’ she reveals her internal feelings about these hurtful words, saying that they really got to her, which affected her daily health. She began exercising more than usual and stopped eating for periods to achieve the perfect body depicted by social media, leading to an eating disorder. Eventually, she realized how unhealthy and impossible it was to keep up with such an image, so she learned how to take care of her health and body.
In Swift’s liner notes for her album “Speak Now” she said, “Words can break someone into a million pieces, but they can also put them back together. I hope you use yours for good because the only words you’ll regret more than the ones left unsaid are the ones you use to intentionally hurt someone.”
She also received public disrespect from another singer in the music industry, Kanye West. During the 2009 Video Music Awards, Taylor Swift was on stage receiving an award for her hit music video “You Belong With Me.” West approached her on stage, interrupting her acceptance speech, and speaking into the microphone that Beyonce had the best music video of all time. Many “boos” came from the crowd, and Swift later shared that she thought they were for her; as a young female, new to the industry, this became a defining moment in her career.
This interaction led to a years-long feud between the two singers. Later, Swift was accused by West and his ex-wife Kim Kardashian because of a fake phone call that was created to publicly shame her and accuse her of lying, she disappeared from the public eye and social media for a year before returning with a new album called ”Reputation,” which responded to West and society rejecting and shutting her down. She returned stronger than before, built her reputation back up, and then performed a sold-out tour of her new album.
Since Swift’s return to the public, she has released four new albums, “Lover”, “Folklore”, “Evermore”, and “Midnights,” and had not toured due to the pandemic. With this, she decided to create a tour that spans her 17 years of music and call it her “Eras Tour.” Taylor Swift has been performing nationally on her ‘Eras Tour‘ since March 17, 2023, and has now begun her international leg starting in South America, followed by countries in Europe, Asia, and Australia before heading back to North America for a second leg to conclude her tour. There is such high demand for this almost three-hour-long concert with ticket prices soaring into thousands of dollars, which has made it difficult for many of her fans to get their chance to see this tour. However, there is a way that frantic fans can get a similar Taylor Swift experience, and it’s as easy as heading to your nearest theater. Going to your local theater is an affordable alternative that captures the concert’s greatness while staying local and within your budget. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Film was announced on August 31, 2023, and made its debut on the big screen a couple of months later on October 13, 2023.
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Film is now available in theaters around the globe and is thriving with success, shattering many records in just its first week. On the first day, it became the highest first-day sale in 2023, and in the first week, it surpassed $100 million and became the highest-grossing concert movie of all time, passing Justin Bieber’s concert film: Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.
Before the movie was even released, other films changed their release dates so they didn’t conflict with Swift’s release. The other movie companies knew that this particular movie would have a lot of fans, and they wanted to avoid competing with her fanbase.
In the tweet, Jason Blum the producer of the new Exorcist movie announced that his movie, “The Exorcist: Believer” moved their release date because it clashed with Swift’s release of her film. The tweet includes lyrics from one of her songs, “Look What You Made Me Do,” and ends with a hashtag accepting his defeat.
Swift is such a powerful woman today. She has boosted the economy with her sales and merchandise and she has certainly affected peoples’ lives worldwide by ushering them into the Swiftie lifestyle, inspiring people with her story, and teaching the important lesson not to give up when times get tough. With this tour, she has boosted the economy, bringing many people to cities and jobs to run her tour successfully.
We all know someone who is a “Swiftie.” This is an individual who is a die-hard Taylor Swift fan. They follow everything she does and are invested in her public and music life. These Swifties are people who look up to Swift as an incredible role model and respect what she does. Her message has reached many young Swifties, inspiring them to do anything they want and to always work towards their dreams.
