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Essays on Taylor Swift

Prompt examples for taylor swift essays, the evolution of taylor swift's music.

Explore the musical journey of Taylor Swift. How has her music evolved over the years, and what themes and styles have remained consistent or changed?

Taylor Swift's Impact on the Music Industry

Discuss Taylor Swift's influence on the music industry. How has she reshaped the industry in terms of music distribution, artist rights, and the relationship between artists and labels?

Taylor Swift as a Songwriter

Analyze Taylor Swift's songwriting prowess. What makes her lyrics stand out, and how do they resonate with her audience? Explore the storytelling elements in her songs.

Taylor Swift's Role as a Feminist Icon

Examine Taylor Swift's impact on feminism and gender equality. How has she used her platform to advocate for women's rights and challenge gender stereotypes in the music industry?

Taylor Swift's Influence on Pop Culture

Discuss Taylor Swift's contributions to pop culture. How has she influenced fashion, social trends, and the way celebrities engage with their fans?

The Taylor Swift Fan Community

Explore the strong fan community surrounding Taylor Swift. What is it about her music and persona that fosters such a dedicated and passionate fan base?

Taylor Swift's Reputation and Public Image

Analyze the shifts in Taylor Swift's public image and reputation throughout her career. How have media portrayals and public perception of her changed over time?

Taylor Swift's Philanthropic Efforts

Examine Taylor Swift's philanthropic work and charitable contributions. How has she used her wealth and influence to support various causes and organizations?

Taylor Swift's Impact on the Country Music Genre

Discuss Taylor Swift's early roots in country music and her impact on the genre. How did her transition to pop music affect the country music industry?

The Taylor Swift Documentary: Miss Americana

Analyze the documentary "Miss Americana" and its portrayal of Taylor Swift's personal and professional life. How does the documentary provide insight into her experiences and challenges?

Alliteration in Taylor Swift's Songwriting

Taylor swift's impact on feminism in modern music culture, made-to-order essay as fast as you need it.

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Taylor Swift and Her Social Influence

Taylor swift is my role model, the rise to fame of taylor swift, analyzing taylor swift's song "blank space", let us write you an essay from scratch.

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Understanding of The Song Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift

Reviewing two commercial featuring taylor swift on apple music, review of taylor swifts's collaboration with apple music, the parallel journeys of taylor swift and meghan trainor, analyzing taylor swift's blank space music video.

Born December 13, 1989 (age 32), West Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Taylor Swift is a highly acclaimed and influential American singer-songwriter who has made a significant impact on the music industry. With her distinctive voice, catchy melodies, and introspective songwriting, Swift has amassed a massive following and achieved remarkable success throughout her career. She first gained prominence as a country music artist with her self-titled debut album released in 2006, which featured hit singles like "Tim McGraw" and "Teardrops on My Guitar."

Pop, country, folk, rock, alternative.

11 Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, 34 American Music Awards, 29 Billboard Music Awards and 58 Guinness World Records.

"Love Story", "You Belong with Me", "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", "I Knew You Were Trouble", "Shake It Off", "Blank Space", "Bad Blood", "Look What You Made Me Do", etc.

Taylor Swift has made a significant and lasting contribution to the music industry throughout her career. As a singer-songwriter, Swift's impact has been felt in various aspects of the music landscape. One of her notable contributions is her ability to connect with a wide audience through her heartfelt and relatable songwriting. Swift's lyrics delve into personal experiences, relationships, and emotions, resonating with millions of listeners around the world. In addition to her compelling songwriting, Swift has showcased her versatility as an artist by exploring different musical genres. She started her career in country music, earning critical acclaim and a devoted fanbase. Over the years, she transitioned into pop music, successfully embracing a new sound and expanding her reach to an even broader audience. Moreover, Taylor Swift's impact extends beyond her own music. She has influenced and inspired countless emerging artists, paving the way for new talents in the industry. Her success has also challenged industry norms and stereotypes, empowering female artists to assert their creativity and take control of their careers.

Taylor Swift has been a prominent figure in the media since the beginning of her career. Her portrayal in the media has evolved over time, reflecting the changes in her personal and professional life. Initially recognized as a country-pop singer-songwriter, Swift was often depicted as the innocent, girl-next-door type with her signature curly hair and relatable lyrics. As her career progressed and she ventured into the pop genre, the media's portrayal of Swift shifted as well. She was portrayed as a powerful and independent woman, unafraid to express her emotions and stand up for herself. Swift's public relationships and personal life have also garnered significant media attention, leading to speculation and scrutiny. Despite the ups and downs, Swift has consistently managed to control her own narrative by utilizing social media platforms to communicate directly with her fans and address controversies. She has used her influence to champion causes such as gender equality, artist rights, and charitable initiatives, which has garnered praise and admiration from both fans and media outlets. However, like many celebrities, Swift has also faced negative portrayals and tabloid gossip. She has been the subject of sensationalized headlines and criticized for various reasons. Nevertheless, she has demonstrated resilience in the face of media scrutiny, focusing on her music and maintaining a dedicated fan base.

“People haven't always been there for me but music always has.” “I suffer from girlnextdooritis where the guy is friends with you and that's it.” “No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind.” “Just be yourself, there is no one better.” “If you're horrible to me, I'm going to write a song about it, and you won't like it. That's how I operate.”

The topic of Taylor Swift is important for students due to several reasons. First and foremost, Taylor Swift has had a significant impact on the music industry, showcasing the power of artistry, songwriting, and perseverance. Exploring her journey as a singer-songwriter can inspire students who have a passion for music or are interested in pursuing a career in the arts. Furthermore, Taylor Swift's evolution as an artist provides valuable lessons about adapting to change and embracing personal growth. Students can learn about the importance of staying true to oneself while exploring new artistic directions and challenging societal expectations. Additionally, Taylor Swift's influence extends beyond music. She has used her platform to advocate for important social issues such as feminism, inclusivity, and the rights of artists. By studying her activism, students can develop a greater understanding of the role artists can play in shaping public discourse and promoting positive change. Finally, Taylor Swift's ability to connect with her fan base through social media and engage in meaningful dialogue demonstrates the power of communication and community-building in the digital age. Students can learn valuable lessons about the responsible use of social media and the potential for creating meaningful connections with others.

1. Swift, T. (2019). Lover [Album]. Republic Records. 2. Vander Werff, E. (2017). How Taylor Swift became pop's ultimate auteur. Vox. https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/11/14/16625342/taylor-swift-reputation 3. Gundersen, E. (2019). Taylor Swift owns up to mistakes, empowers others on 'Miss Americana'. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2020/01/23/taylor-swift-doc-miss-americana-opens-sundance-film-festival/4557157002/ 4. Sheffield, R. (2019). Taylor Swift: Lover. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/taylor-swift-lover-869271/ 5. Caulfield, K. (2020). Taylor Swift's 'Folklore' album debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 chart. Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9428110/taylor-swift-folklore-number-one-billboard-200

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So what exactly makes taylor swift so great.

Taylor Swift performs during the “Eras” tour.

AP Photo/George Walker IV

Christina Pazzanese

Harvard Staff Writer

Experts weigh in on her fanbase loyalty, skills as songwriter, businesswoman as her albums, tours break financial, popularity records

Whether you’re a fan of Taylor Swift or not, it’s hard to deny the cultural and financial juggernaut the pop superstar has become this year. Her album “Midnights,” released in late 2022, was the year’s top-seller at 1.8 million copies, twice that of the second-biggest by Harry Styles. Her latest, “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” debuted in July at No. 1, giving Swift her 12th in the top spot, surpassing Barbra Streisand for the most No. 1 albums by a woman artist.

Swift’s 131-date “Eras” world tour, currently packing stadiums across the U.S., is on track to be the highest-grossing concert tour of all time, at $1.4 billion, when it ends next year. Analysts estimate the tour will also have a total economic impact from tour-related spending of $5 billion on host cities. Even the Federal Reserve noted the effect her tour is having on regional economies.

To better understand the Swift phenomenon, the Gazette asked some Harvard and Berklee College of Music faculty to assess her artistry, fan base, the tour’s economic impact, and her place in the industry. Interviews have been edited for clarity and length.

‘Very few people have her songwriting talent’ Stephanie Burt, poet and Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Professor of English

Gazette: How good is Swift as a songwriter?

Burt: She has a terrific ear in terms of how words fit together. She has a sense both of writing songs that convey a feeling that can make you imagine this is the songwriter’s own feelings, like in “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” and a way of telling stories and creating characters. She can write songs that take place at one moment, and she can write songs where the successive verses give you a series of events, like in “Betty” or “Fifteen.”

She has a lot of different gifts as a songwriter, both at the macro level, how the song tells a story or presents an attitude, and at the micro level, how the vowels and consonants fit together, and she’s able to exercise that range, along with quite a lot of melodic gifts, and in a way that does not make her seem highbrow or alienate potential audience members. I would not be surprised to discover that her body of songwriting altogether had a larger number of words than any body of comparable hit songs by a comparable songwriter, except for someone like Bob Dylan.

One of the things that’s really remarkable for me about her is that harmonically, she’s not usually that interesting. It’s pretty normal pop chord progressions and pretty standard varieties of pop arrangement. Her great genius and her innovations and her brilliance as a songwriter is melodic and verbal. And, of course, she’s also very good at singing, which is not to be sneezed at. But she’s able to do that within the fairly tight constraints of existing, easily recognizable chord progressions and rhythmic setups.

She’s able to create verbal hooks, “I’m only 17. I don’t know anything, but I know I miss you.” They stick in your mind, and you spin stories out from them. That’s just being a good writer. She’s a celebrity with a complicated personal life that has been lived in the public eye for quite some time, and so, people speculate about the meanings of her songs, both because they are complex and meaningful works of art, and because some of them do speak to public facts about her life outside the songs.

“Fifteen,” which is a terrific song, gains resonance if you know that it’s about a real person and they’re still friends. But no one would care if it weren’t a brilliantly constructed song. Take something from “Speak Now”: It’s nice to know that “Dear John” is about John Mayer, who really had no business dating a 19-year-old, but it’s also a song about a pattern [of behavior], and it works in itself.

There’s all kinds of celebrity gossip about pop stars who maybe have her level of vocal talent and performing talent but happen not to have her level of songwriting talent. Very few people have her songwriting talent.

Gazette: Which songs would you count among your very favorites?

Burt: There’s so many good songs. I find the ones that speak to me the most are the ones whose topics are closest to my own life. I’m a queer lady. She writes wonderful songs about falling in love or falling out of love with various guys. Those are not, by and large, my favorites even though they’re some of her biggest hits. “Fifteen,” “Betty,” “seven,” “It’s Nice to Have a Friend.”

I actually really like “The Last Great American Dynasty.” The two indie folk albums [“Folklore” and “Evermore”], almost everything on them is amazing. It’s so hard to sustain that level of success artistically while changing that much. Few can do it. “Nothing New” is amazing. “Anti-Hero,” which is the big hit from “Midnights,” is an absolutely fantastic and extraordinarily self-conscious song about being the kind of celebrity that she’s become.

4 albums in Billboard top 10

Taylor Swift is the only living artist to have four albums in the Billboard top 10 at the same time since Herb Alpert in 1966. Following his death in 2016, Prince had five albums in the top 10. (Swift is the only woman with four albums in the top 10 at the same time since the Billboard 200 was combined from its previously separate mono and stereo album charts into one all-encompassing list in August of 1963.)

Source: Billboard

‘Strong social and emotional bond that people feel with her’ Alexandra Gold , clinical fellow in psychology at MGH and Harvard Medical School

Gazette: Swift appears to have a devoted fan base who feel intensely connected to her and her music. Why is that?

GOLD: There is a strong social and emotional bond that people feel with her. And in general, when people become super fans or part of the fandom, it’s often because there’s something about the object of that fandom, the public figure or celebrity, that does connect back to their identity in some way. That’s often the link.

In the case of Taylor, there’s a couple of things going on. The first piece is relatability. Even though there’s aspects of her that maybe don’t feel very relatable — she’s a celebrity and lives a very different life from her fans — what she is singing about — the lyrical content as well as the emotions that underlie the lyrical content — are very relatable to a lot of people. There’s something that is very common to the human experience.

Another piece is a lot of Millennials, as well as Gen Z now, are fans of Taylor Swift. With the Millennials, a lot of people grew up alongside her. When they were having some of these first experiences, maybe with relationships or entering adulthood, she was doing that at the same time and singing about that. Her life story mapped onto their life story, in some way.

For Gen Z, during the pandemic, there was a lot of TikTok content about her, she was putting out many albums, so a new generation discovered her, and they’re also having similar experiences. Overall, she’s been really important for identity development and growth for a lot of people.

@taylorswift That’s my whole world 💕 #tstheerastour #swifttok ♬ So it goes x Miss Americana – 🪩

A third piece is aspirational. She is a role model. She is a great example of someone who sticks to their values and shows their fan base that they can reach their goals, whatever those might be. For instance, she’s claiming ownership of her work and has been successful in putting out re-recordings [of her older albums] and doing that despite barriers or obstacles that might be in the way. Seeing someone do something like that could be inspiring for a lot of young people.

And then, lastly, the fan community is a big part of this. People often form their identity around relationships not just with a celebrity, but also with other fans. The fan community that Taylor has around her, people meet their friends through it and people become part of something bigger than themselves. That is really important for them as they grow up and as they go through life.

Gazette: Swift has had to tell some fans to stop harassing people she once dated. Where’s the line between fan and fanatic?

GOLD: I think fandoms are, overall, very positive. That is an important message, that being a fan is a very positive thing. It’s important to be aware of when it’s interfering in other aspects of one’s life — not engaging in other areas that might be important, other relationships, whether time spent online is causing anxiety or stress or negative feelings for people. Trying to defend Taylor against other celebrities, for instance, that’s when it maybe goes into a category of “OK, let’s take a step back and think about what we can do to bring this back to a place where it feels more positive.” Recognize while this is a relationship that’s important to you, it’s not a friendship. And so, if someone starts to feel like there’s a two-way relationship when there’s no evidence that’s happening, that’s also something to be aware of.

‘The kinds of gains you see in an event like a Super Bowl’ Matthew Andrews , Edward S. Mason Senior Lecturer in International Development at Harvard Kennedy School

GAZETTE: You and some colleagues examined the effects on cities and regions hosting mega events. The total economic impact to host cities of Swift concerts on her current tour is expected to hit $5 billion. Does that sound plausible?

ANDREWS: Those numbers, I think, are completely accurate. I would be in agreement with those numbers because those are the kinds of gains you see in an event like a Super Bowl. The thing that is so amazing about the Taylor Swift concert, in particular, is that it goes from city to city, and you see the same kind of impact in city after city. You do see it with some other musicians, as well. But this is something that’s on a scale and a consistency that we haven’t really seen before.

Swift’s 131-date “Eras” world tour, currently packing stadiums across the U.S., is on track to be the highest-grossing concert tour of all time. Pictured is a June show at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.

Benjamin B. Braun/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP

Gazette: Which industries typically benefit when a major concert tour or sporting event takes place?

ANDREWS: The main beneficiaries in the private sector are people involved in tourism and the support network around the entertainment industry, so it is going to be hotels, restaurants, tourism agencies. It’s going to be anything to do with transportation hubs. They are going to be the primary beneficiaries.

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The costs to the public sector can be quite significant. And the cost for people in these areas who are not directly benefiting can be quite significant in terms of congestion, use of roads, just wear and tear, in terms of policing. This is a really important one — the cost of public order. Unless the government really thinks this through and charges for this as part of its permitting process, the government can end up on the short end after these kinds of events.

The other thing about these events that is increasingly attracting attention, from a public policy perspective, are climate change concerns. You have many, many people transporting themselves to a small area and a lot [are] coming through the air and through vehicles. This is something we worry about a lot more with prolonged mega events like a World Cup than with something like a Taylor Swift concert, but you do need to think about what those costs are.

‘Standing up for … rights and doing good business’ Ralph Jaccodine , assistant professor of music business/management, Berklee College of Music

GAZETTE: What are the factors that make Swift a successful performer from an industry perspective?

Jaccodine: First of all, if you’re going to talk about Taylor Swift, you’ve got to talk about the power of great songs. It all starts with the power of great songs. That’s why we’re still listening to The Beatles, and Bob Dylan, and Frank Sinatra. And like Bowie and Gaga and Dylan, she’s not afraid to stretch. She’s not afraid to bring her audience for a ride. We’ve seen her grow up in real life, from a young girl to a woman with power, and she’s owning it.

Number two, and this is really important: You’ve got to be great live. My students come to me and say, “We have 53 likes on this video, and we’re not selling tickets.” They don’t understand the power of going in front of people and blowing them away. In my business, as a manager, 80 percent of the income comes from live performances, so I want them to change lives live. I’m a massive Springsteen fan. I’m going to be seeing Springsteen at Gillette. I’ve seen him 12 times. I don’t need to see Bruce anymore. I’m an old guy, but I’m still going to rock concerts for artists to change my life. Taylor Swift’s songs, combined with how great she is live, is a powerful combination.

She’s always had a good team around her, smart people around her, good publicists, and good management. When you’re that good, you have the best in the industry. Her team is great: They build anticipation; they create a buzz about things. She’s imprinted her fans in such a way that they want everything about her. The day before a big stadium show, the T-shirt stand is open and there’s thousands of people in line. They hang on to every word of her social media posting, look at all the pictures. They share it; they talk about it; they have groups. That’s really hard to pull off.

GAZETTE: Has her advocacy for better artist compensation from streaming platforms and record labels and her fight to reclaim control of her back catalog made a difference?

Jaccodine:   Absolutely. First, in the awareness of these topics. The general music fan isn’t aware of streaming revenues or master rights or re-recording rights. They don’t know or really care, but she shines a light on all these things. She shines a light on management contracts and what labels are or what labels aren’t. The whole master recordings topic has been spotlighted by Taylor. She had the budget and the resources and the talent to re-record things. The whole exercise was done in public; the whole exercise was reported on. So now, students are studying that, and they’re questioning that for the first time.

I do know she’s empowered and imprinted serious numbers of people that are fans of music or musicians themselves because of her influence. I look at Rihanna; I look at Beyoncé; I look at Taylor Swift. These are the biggest artists on the planet. They’re all women that are empowering girls and standing up for their rights and doing good business. I love it; I love it.

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Taylor Swift’s Depiction in Genre, Culture, and Society Essay

Introduction, reference list.

Taylor Swift is one of today’s most well-known and influential people. As a singer-songwriter, fashion icon, and philanthropist, she has amassed millions of fans worldwide. This essay examines Taylor Swift’s depiction in the media and society and how her image has influenced how people see her. Taylor Swift is depicted in the media and everyday life as a personable, down-to-earth individual who connects with a diverse range of individuals (Aguirre, 2019). Her prominence bolsters this portrayal as a fashion icon and socially concerned advocate, which positions her as an inspiration to her fans.

Taylor Swift is typically regarded as a personable and genuine person who connects with many admirers, both young and elderly. She is well-known for her narrative songs, many of which are inspired by her own experiences and relationships (Jensen, 2019). Hence, she has earned a reputation as a musician who can connect and engage with her audience on a human level. For example, Taylor Swift’s image in the media includes her standing as a fashion star. Swift is well-known for her particular style, which combines old and new elements. She has worked with several fashion firms, including Louis Vuitton and Stella McCartney, and has appeared in several fashion magazines (BillboardStyle, 2022). This fashion icon portrayal has helped to cement her status as a likable personality who is not afraid to experiment with her appearance.

Taylor Swift’s advocacy and kindness are other examples of how she is regarded in society. Swift has been vocal about various social and political issues, including LGBTQ rights and education. She has also been involved in several charitable activities, such as attempts to alleviate hunger and assist disaster victims (Rice, 2020). This portrayal of her as a socially conscious and committed celebrity has contributed to her standing as an inspiration and role model for her fans.

In conclusion, in the media and society, Taylor Swift is portrayed as an approachable, genuine person who connects with various people. Her status as a fashion icon and socially conscious activist solidifies this portrayal and positions her as an inspiration to her followers. Taylor Swift has received recognition not only for her status as a socially conscious campaigner and fashion icon but also for her philanthropic activities and support of numerous non-profit organizations. Her dedication to using her position to improve the world has bolstered her reputation as a role model and an inspiration to her supporters.

Aguirre, A. (2019) ‘ Taylor Swift on sexism, scrutiny, and standing up for herself ‘, Vogue , Web.

BillboardStyle, B. (2022) ‘ Taylor Swift’s style evolution, from 2006 to now ‘, Billboard, Web.

Jensen, E. (2019) ‘ Dwayne Johnson, Taylor Swift, Gayle King, more cover time’s 100 most influential people issue ‘, USA Today: Time magazine. Gannett Satellite Information Network. Web.

Larocca, C. (2019) ‘ Taylor Swift is the artist of the Decade ‘ , Insider, Web.

Rice, N. (2020) ‘ Taylor Swift promises to ‘always advocate’ for rights of the LGBTQ community: I’m ‘grateful for this ‘, People, Web.

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IvyPanda. (2024, February 6). Taylor Swift’s Depiction in Genre, Culture, and Society. https://ivypanda.com/essays/taylor-swifts-depiction-in-genre-culture-and-society/

"Taylor Swift’s Depiction in Genre, Culture, and Society." IvyPanda , 6 Feb. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/taylor-swifts-depiction-in-genre-culture-and-society/.

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IvyPanda . 2024. "Taylor Swift’s Depiction in Genre, Culture, and Society." February 6, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/taylor-swifts-depiction-in-genre-culture-and-society/.

1. IvyPanda . "Taylor Swift’s Depiction in Genre, Culture, and Society." February 6, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/taylor-swifts-depiction-in-genre-culture-and-society/.

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Why I Love Taylor Swift by Vincent A. '17

I finally explain the reason...or at least try to...

June 6, 2017

• in Art, Literature, Music ,
• People & Identities

Right before an exam at MIT, I usually spend ten minutes walking down Mass Ave, from Random Hall to wherever the exam will be held. A lot of times, it’s an exam I’m nervous about. In past years, the class average was probably something like a 50% (I’m looking at you 6.046). There’ll be a great time constraint on difficult problems, and an attendant pressure building in my head that goes something like this:

You’ll have to be real creative real fast, or else you can watch your grade plummet.

It’s mostly nerves. Just the brain talking too much, overthinking things, playing out worst-case scenarios. At some point, I learned to just not pay it any attention. In those ten minutes before I’m scribbling away, I put my headphones on and I play some Taylor Swift. My go-to stress-relief jam is usually Shake It Off, and after several hums of “I shake it off, shake it off, I, I, I…”, I’m bobbing my head and feeling better already. It’s largely the lyrics, but it’s also the vehicle of the lyrics–Taylor Swift’s voice.

For at the least the past eight years, Taylor Swift has been my favorite artist (a fact I impress on everybody, family, friends, random stranger standing next to me on the bus). I’m the biggest Swiftie in existence (around the world, pitchforks rise from indignant fans, but I maintain my assertion). I have every song she’s ever released, and dozens she never officially did. I’ve spent an insane number of hours on YouTube watching her music videos, interviews, song mashups. I’ve rocked out to her everywhere, on Rock Band at Alpha Delta Phi, in the shower, while grocery shopping, probably even in my sleep. For the longest time, she’s been one of my role models.

The why is a bit tricky to explain. A lot of it is tangled in details too personal for the blogs, but some of it isn’t, and so I’ll give it a shot.

** I heard my first Taylor Swift song in high school (which in Nigeria runs from grades seven to twelve). It was a boarding high school a few hundred miles away from home, and was quite strict. In particular, most electronic devices were banned–cellphones, laptops, iPods. Which just meant those devices found their way into school anyway. You just had to be really sneaky.

One of my friends snuck in his MP3 player. It had a soundtrack from a Miley Cyrus Disney movie which included the bonus song “Crazier” by Taylor Swift. I was drawn in by the the first line:

I’ve never gone with the wind, just let it flow.

It was a beautiful, laidback song and I was interested in listening to more. But it would be a few more months before my friend had more songs of hers, and in that interval, several things were happening to me. High school gets rough sometimes, especially when bounded by fences and a punishingly familiar routine. Add a sense of awkward self-consciousness and encroaching puberty, and I wasn’t always in the greatest mood.

I was at a point of particular loneliness. The kind that learns to hide its face. I could wear a smile as heavy as dumbbells and carry on with the rest of my day with that poker face, but somewhere inside, I felt isolated from most of my classmates. I spent a lot of time indoors, often perched on the floor writing what would become Sagittarius , an 1800-page all-over-the-place sci-fi series, but when I was out of that world, I didn’t care much for the one my body inhabited.

I had a small group of pretty close friends, and perhaps that should have been enough. For whatever reason, it wasn’t. Part of me was disconnected. On some days, it felt like the world around me was a mirage, illusory somehow. I was a participant, nothing more. These feelings were strange, angsty and pervasive, and in the months between Crazier and the rest of Swift’s material, they persisted.

And when I finally heard more songs from her, they were just…the right songs.

My friend got her first two albums, the eponymous Taylor Swift , released when she was 16, and Fearless, released when she was 18. From that first album, I heard The Outside and for a moment, I was certain that she had dug inside my head, explored my weird mushy state of being, and penned those words for me. Then I heard A Place In This World and Tied Together With a Smile.

These albums also contained a lot of love songs on the spectrum of heartbroken to fulfilled, and I heard those songs at the particular point in time that my wistful yearning for some amorphously defined connection intersected with notions of romance for the first time. I was at a point where I could “get” the appeal of relationships, not just as an abstract thing I recognized when I looked at my parents or any set of couples, but as something I could want and be fulfilled by. I was at the point where, even in my state of mild disconnection, seeing certain people was enough to let my mind wander, run amok, paint rosy images of our shared fairytale, Nameless Soulmate and I.

I think the simpler way to say it is this: at a critical time in my life, growing up, separated from my family and in a high school that could often be alienating, something about her songs provided companionship. I could relate to the descriptions of isolation in songs like The Outside and I could bury myself in an alternate reality, in which a cord bound my heart to someone else’s, in songs like Love Story and Fearless.

There’s something about the way the street looks when it’s just rained; there’s a glow on the pavement, you walk me to the car; and you know I wanna ask you to dance right there, in the middle of the parking lot…

Taylor Swift’s songs came to me for the first time at exactly the right time. A sort of alchemic fusion between her words, her voice, my own ill-defined needs occurred, turning admiration into something quite like idolization, and the more I got to know her (as well as one can hope to know a megastar celebrity anyway), the stronger the fusion grew.

As a kid, she handed out copies of her demos to record labels in Nashville, only to get rejections. She learned how to play the guitar and kept trying. She has a hand in writing every single song she’s ever released. Speak Now , one of my favorite albums ever, possibly my favorite album of anyone ever, had every single song in it single handedly written by Taylor Swift. Swift who would be at a scheduled meet-and-greet with fans and stay for hours beyond the allotted time, just signing autographs and talking to them. Swift who would devote so much time, affection and care to her craft, to her fans, to herself. She became my role model, and still is to this day.

Now, a common rhetoric that arises whenever Taylor Swift comes up is that she’s part of a money-making industry, and ruthlessly cultivates a potentially disingenuous image. That may very well be the biggest flaming pile of nonsense I’ve ever heard. When that much time, effort and affection has been exuded on her part, consistently, day after day, year after year, the image and the person behind the image are virtually indistinguishable. Who people are is often a consequence of what they do, and what she does is write great music, and put real smiles on the faces of millions of people worldwide. She isn’t perfect, but she shouldn’t be expected to be. What she is, is real. Real to me.

Her lyrics have been a formative part of my life since I was 12 and blasting her songs. Often, I’d lock myself in a bathroom in high school, and just play her on repeat. Her voice became familiar and comforting, and so even in songs I couldn’t relate to as much, the vehicle for those songs that was her voice gave them all the power. And years later when I found myself in the United States, at MIT, she would accompany me. On Uber rides. At the T. Before difficult exams. Before sleep.

Sometimes, something would happen. I’d make an awful, stupid mistake and be ridiculously hard on myself. And after a while, I’d come to Innocent, from the Speak Now album, and she would let me know, again and again, that:

I guess you really did it this time Left yourself in your warpath Lost your balance on a tightrope Lost your mind trying to get it back Wasn’t it easier in your lunchbox days Always a bigger bed to crawl into Wasn’t it beautiful when you believed in everything.

And shortly afterward:

Time turns flames to embers You’ll have new Septembers.

When my family was too far away, and sweet memories of them turned into sad reminiscing, I would listen to The Best Day or Never Grow Up . I can’t listen to Never Grow Up for long without tearing up:

Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room, Memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home, Remember the footsteps, remember the words said, And all your little brother’s favorite songs, I just realized everything I have is someday gonna be gone.

Whether it’s lines like “Time is taking its sweet time erasing you” or “You call me up just to break me like a promise, so casually cruel in the name of being honest” from the Red Album or “Shake it off, Shake it OFF” from 1989, Swift’s lyrics find their way into my head all the time.

** I’ve only seen Taylor Swift in person exactly once, and it was as part of the crowd at her 2015 concert in Santa Clara, which played the day after my Los Angeles Internship ended. I took a bus from L.A. to San Francisco, arriving there sometime in the morning. I checked into a cheap hotel room, got some quick breakfast, and made my way to Levi’s Stadium, a good several hours before she was slated to appear.

There were so many Swifties around me, many of them with incredibly sophisticated concert signs. We would talk about everything Taylor Swift, scream alongside the speakers blasting her songs while we waited. After a bit of waiting, we were let into the sitting area, which I got to see slowly fill up.

Vance Joy and Shawn Mendes were the opening acts that night, and as they sang, sunlight bled out of the sky. Night arrived. And with it, extreme excitement from knowing that she was about to spring up on us.

When she did, popping onto that stage, screams filled the stadium, mine joining a thousand others. It must have been enough to rattle the clouds. And right there, in front of us, she sang and danced. I sang and danced along, waving my arms, screaming the words, recording. I was ecstatic.

After the concert ended, the Swifties left the stadium. Finding an Uber took forever, but I eventually made it back to the hotel room, utterly worn out, my voice mostly gone. I passed out instantly, woke up the next day to a screaming alarm clock (I’d been so tired I slept through it and missed my flight to Boston; I was able to catch another one a few hours later though). It didn’t matter though. I’d  seen  Taylor Swift! It’s a night I’ll never forget.

** There’s a certain shamelessness, a certain intensity of affection, that I think we should never constrain for the things and the people we love, things and people, whether it’s Taylor Swift or Superman, that reach into the deepest parts of us and leave their marks there. We love them because they bring that love out of us, somehow, magically, effortlessly.

And there you have it. That’s why I love Taylor Swift.

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The art of studying Taylor Swift: College campuses embrace themed courses

As Taylor Swift became increasingly synonymous with American pop culture, universities around the country have started creating entire courses dedicated to studying her lyricism and impact.

New York University’s Clive Davis Institute was among the first to offer such a class in 2022 , with lectures taught by Rolling Stone’s Brittany Spanos. Others have followed suit in the semesters since.

Some courses focus on Swift as a business and marketing mastermind, while others analyze her storytelling techniques with all the detail and skill of poetry analysis.

Professors teaching Swift-inspired classes at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Florida and the University of California, Berkeley unpacked their motivations for building entire courses around the 12-time Grammy winner and her discography. They shared the learning objectives of their courses and how students can get an A in “Taylor Swift Studies.”

Harvard University

Name of class: “Taylor Swift and Her World”

Professor: Stephanie Burt, a poet, literary critic and professor of English. An avid Swiftie, Burt said she is “grateful” she can’t sing, or she “would have tried and utterly failed” to make a living as a singer-songwriter herself.

What’s on the syllabus? Students taking the course will be tasked with analyzing Swift’s discography as if they were doing a close reading in a poetry class, identifying rhetorical devices and other literary tools employed by Swift in her work. The syllabus also includes works that Burt chose for “thematic connection” to Swift’s music, including poetry about childhood nostalgia or girlhood, novels about being a performance artist, and essays or works of criticism about singing and songwriting. These works include “The Song of the Lark” by American novelist Willa Cather, selected poems by William Wordsworth, and an academic essay about Taylor Swift and “nostalgic girlhood” by Margaret Rossman. Burt said she intentionally selected work about “being looked at and having to incarnate femininity” that also engages with societal expectations women face to “be hot for men, love yourself and make your own decisions.”

Amount of Swiftie knowledge required: Burt said she expects more people taking this course to come in with some knowledge of Swift’s work than she does when she teaches a George Eliot course, for example. However, she asserts that you do not have to be a Swiftie to take the course or to succeed in it. Burt said this was the “first time” in her academic career that one of her favorite musical artists was also so widely impactful that Harvard’s resources would be well-spent dedicating a course to their discography, not to mention popular enough that students would be compelled to sign up.

How you’d get an A: Students taking the course will have to demonstrate their ability to write “skillfully and concisely” through a series of essays, said Burt. The first paper must be about a Taylor Swift song or an event in Swift’s career, the second about another literary work studied in the class, and the topic of the third paper is up to the discretion of each student. Burt said she hopes students develop a greater appreciation for Swift’s discography and “how it works on people who love it,” as well as a “more nuanced and useful toolkit for literary, cultural and musical analysis” that they can then apply to other topics they think are important or want to talk about.

Name of class: “The Taylor Swift Songbook”

Professor: Elizabeth Scala, a medievalist by training who specializes in the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, particularly “The Canterbury Tales.” She called her Swift class a “contemporary turn” in her academic work and created an  Instagram account  to document the course. Her daughter, who is a “huge Swiftie,” gave her the idea to develop a class on Swift’s work during the pandemic.

What’s on the syllabus? Scala said she designed the course around the “formal techniques and literary devices” Swift uses in her music. The beginning of the class focuses on an analysis of several Taylor Swift songs, so that students can “get used to thinking about them structurally,” Scala said. This involves discussing the “anatomy” of a Taylor Swift song, where students have to go through the song slowly and talk about its component parts. This enables students to develop formal language to discuss her storytelling techniques, such as identifying a “repeated feature of the chorus” that changes the third time she sings it and discussing what that might signify. The course subsequently pairs analysis of Swift’s work with “analogous” literary works; for example, Scala pairs “...Ready for It?,” the opening track from “Reputation,” with a Christopher Marlowe poem, “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love.” Students are tasked with comparing the two works, both of which employ a “fantastical situation,” like the metaphorical robber/heist scenario in Swift’s track.

Amount of Swiftie knowledge required: Though it is certainly not a requirement, Scala expects many of her students to be Swifties from the get-go. Swift’s popularity, she said, makes her work an accessible entry point for developing the critical analysis necessary to succeed in college-level English courses. Scala adapted the course from a class she used to teach at UT Austin about the “Harry Potter” books, which served a similar purpose of using a familiar and popular work to introduce students to literary analysis.

How you’d get an A: Succeeding in the course will require students to develop fluency when discussing and writing about the function of poetic structure in Swift’s work and the complementary literary material. “They’re carrying her music around on their phone all the time, with earbuds in listening to it. … I hope it gives validation to what they like so much about her writing and it’s not just a good song because they like it,” she said. “It’s a good song because it does this and it plays with language in these ways.”

University of Florida

Name of class: “Musical Storytelling With Taylor Swift and Other Iconic Female Artists”

Professor: Melina Jimenez, an English professor at UF with a background in linguistics. She is not a Swiftie herself, but said seeing her students engage in “deep discussions” about Swift before and after class spurred her to create the course.

What’s on the syllabus? Throughout the 13-week course (Swift’s lucky number!), students will explore Swift’s discography and the storytelling tools that make her work so compelling. Jimenez will ask them to pay particular attention to themes like “old flames, infidelity, aging, and double standards” in Swift’s music and discuss criteria for how popular music is “evaluated and situated in current historical context.” The course will also touch on Swift’s musical influences, examining works like “Jolene” by Dolly Parton and “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” by Kitty Wells, which Rolling Stone called “the Fifties equivalent of a modern-day diss track.”

Amount of Swiftie knowledge required: Many fans of Swift will be drawn to the course, but Jimenez said she “wants to learn what makes Swift so interesting for young people.” “And hopefully introduce students to artists that they might not have heard of before, or hadn’t given much thought to because they hadn’t spent the same amount of time with their lyrics.” Non-Swifties may have some catching up to do, but won’t be at too much of a disadvantage.

How you’d get an A: Students will be assessed through discussion board posts and responses, class discussions, and a group project instead of formal essays. They will also annotate two or three songs each week, which will inform class discussions. At the end of the semester, students will work in small groups on a final project, identifying themes in Swift’s discography and devising a project of their choosing. Jimenez said the course is “interested in how Swift and other songwriters construct narratives in their songs,” and successful students will be able to “synthesize common themes” in Swift’s work.

UC Berkeley

Name of class: “Artistry & Entrepreneurship: Taylor’s Version”

Professor: Crystal Haryanto, a Cal economics graduate, formulated the class and will co-teach it with current students. She graduated from Berkeley in spring 2023 after studying economics, cognitive science and public policy. A dedicated Swiftie, Haryanto’s favorite album is “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).”

What’s on the syllabus? The course is a DeCal, or a student-led course undergraduates can enroll in for credit. “It will be a cross section of literature, economics, business and sociology and I think that we’re studying her impact as an artist, as a whole,” Haryanto told NBC Bay Area. The upcoming course has generated so much interest that the course leaders introduced an application process to determine enrollment. Prospective students will have to answer a few questions to make the cut, including, “If you could have a 10-minute version of any Taylor Swift song, what would it be and why?” In addition to exploring her lyricism, the syllabus also includes sections on Swift’s business and marketing strategies, cultural impact, and the success of the “Eras Tour.”

Amount of Swiftie knowledge required: “You don’t need to be a Swiftie to enroll, but don’t say I didn’t, say I didn’t warn ya. You just might become one!” a disclaimer on the course website said .

How you’d get an A: The objectives of the course include identifying “how art and authenticity create enduring value and a viable enterprise,” according to the site. Coursework will include interactive lectures, readings and a final project. Students will be graded on their ability to engage with performance and interview clips, discuss Swift’s portrayal in the media, and write about the role she plays in society. “We’ll put her under scrutiny, but handle it beautifully,” the syllabus states .

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Listening to Taylor Swift in Prison

By Joe Garcia

The first time I heard about Taylor Swift , I was in a Los Angeles County jail, waiting to be sent to prison for murder. Sheriffs would hand out precious copies of the Los Angeles Times , and they would be passed from one reader to the next. Back then, I swore that Prince was the best songwriter of my lifetime, and I thought Swift’s rise to teen-age stardom was an injustice. I’d look up from her wide-eyed face in the Calendar section to see gang fights and race riots. The jail was full of young men of color who wrote and performed their own raps, often about chasing money and fame, while Swift was out there, actually getting rich and famous. How fearless could any little blond fluff like that really be?

In 2009, I was sentenced to life in prison. Early one morning, I boarded a bus in shackles and a disposable jumpsuit, and rode to Calipatria State Prison, a cement fortress on the southern fringes of California. Triple-digit temperatures, cracked orange soil, and pungent whiffs of the nearby Salton Sea made me feel as though I’d been exiled to Mars. After six years in the chaos of the county jail, however, I could finally own small luxuries, like a television. The thick walls of Calipat, as we called the place, stifled our radio reception, but an institutional antenna delivered shows like “Access Hollywood,” “Entertainment Tonight,” and “TMZ.” I was irritated by the celebrity gossip, but it was a connection to the outside world, and it introduced me to snippets of Swift’s performances for the first time. Here and there, I’d catch her on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” or “Fallon,” and was surprised by how intently she discussed her songwriting. I didn’t tell anyone that I thought she was talented.

Podcast: The New Yorker Radio Hour Listen to Joe Garcia read “Listening to Taylor Swift in Prison.”

In 2013, when my security level was lowered owing to good behavior, I requested a transfer to Solano state prison, the facility with a Level 3 yard which was closest to my family in the Bay Area. I got the transfer, but my property—a TV, CD player, soap, toothpaste, lotion, food—was lost in transit. I shared a cell with someone in the same situation, so, for months, we relied on the kindness of our neighbors to get by. Our only source of music was a borrowed pocket radio, hooked up to earbuds that cost three dollars at the commissary. At night, we’d crank up the volume and lay the earbuds on the desk in our cell. Those tiny speakers radiated crickety renditions of Top Forty hits.

During that time, I heard tracks from “Red,” Swift’s fourth studio album, virtually every hour. I was starting to enjoy them. Laying on the top bunk, I would listen to my cellmate’s snores and wait for “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” to come around again. When it did, I would think about the woman I had lived with for seven years, before prison. I remembered bittersweet times when my sweetheart had visited me in county jail. We’d look at each other through security glass that was reinforced by wire. It didn’t seem fair to expect her to wait for me, and I told her that she deserved a partner who could be with her. But we didn’t use the word “never,” and deep down I always hoped that we’d get back together. When I heard “Everything Has Changed,” I had to fight back tears of exaltation and grief. Swift sings, “All I knew this morning when I woke / Is I know something now / Know something now I didn’t before.” I thought back to our first date, and how we had talked and laughed late into the night. We had to force ourselves to get a few hours of sleep before sunrise.

After several months, my belongings, including my CD player, finally caught up with me. I was getting ready to buy “Red” from a catalogue of approved CDs when I learned that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or C.D.C.R., had placed me on another transfer list. I didn’t want the album to get stuck at the prison after I had been transferred, so I resorted to a country station that regularly featured Swift. Sometimes, hearing Southern drawls and honky-tonk medleys, I’d laugh out loud at myself. But that was the station that played the widest variety of her music, from “Tim McGraw” to “I Knew You Were Trouble.” There was, in her voice, something intuitively pleasant and genuine and good, something that implies happiness or at least the possibility of happiness. When I listened to her music, I felt that I was still part of the world I had left behind.

Hitting a new yard—in this case, the prison known as the California Men’s Colony (C.M.C.)—means finding new friends and allies. Each table and workout area was claimed by a different gang or ethnic group. I’m Asian and Hispanic, and I chose to join the Asians in a cement workout area. When they asked me what kind of music I liked, I confessed that I was anxiously waiting for a Taylor Swift album. Everyone laughed. “Oh, my God, we’ve got a Swiftie on the yard!” Lam, a muscular guy, told me. “You in touch with your sensitive side? Are you gay?” He especially loved to heckle me in front of his buddy Hung, who spoke little and laughed almost silently.

I was waiting for “Red” to arrive when I saw Swift perform “All Too Well” at the 2014 Grammys. That became the song that I played first when I peeled the plastic wrap off the disc, and the song I’d stop at and repeat whenever I spun the album. (Her ten-minute version is even better.) As Swift sang about love’s magical moments, how they are found and lost again, I thought about a time before my incarceration, when I briefly broke up with the woman I loved. She came to my house to return one of my T-shirts. When she hung it on the doorknob and walked away, I was on the other side. I sensed that someone was there, but, by the time I opened the door, she was gone.

When “Red” arrived, I finally found out why Lam had been clowning me in front of Hung. “Red” was the only Swift CD that Hung didn’t own—because he considered it a misguided pop departure from the country greatness of “Fearless” and “Speak Now.” Eventually, Lam outed himself as a Swiftie, too. For six months, the three of us would work out and debate which album was best. Then Hung transferred out of the prison, taking his CDs with him.

Around the time Swift dropped “1989,” I acquired an old-school boom box. Technically, exchanging property and altering devices is against C.D.C.R. rules, but every prison has guys who fill their cells with radios, TVs, and speakers to repair and resell. I looked out for one guy, G.L., when he first hit the yard, and he became one of the best electronic fix-it guys I’ve ever met. He loved reconfiguring different speakers to get the best sound. He rewired the boom box for auxiliary cables and gave it to me. At C.M.C., I had a cell to myself, so I’d turn up the music enough to drown out obnoxious sounds outside my cell. Of course, some people always think that Swift is the obnoxious sound. “What’s up with the damn Taylor Swift?” a neighbor yells out. Another voice chimes in with requests: “Play ‘Style.’ That song’s tight right there.” By the time the song ends, someone new will admit, “That girl’s got jams.”

When you transfer between prisons, you can’t take any undocumented property with you. At the end of 2015, I gave that boom box back to G.L. and left C.M.C. for Folsom prison. After a year, I landed at San Quentin. I started working at the San Quentin News , the in-house newspaper, for a quarter an hour. Around that time, C.D.C.R. started allowing a vender to sell us MP3 players for a hundred dollars. They charged $1.75 per song and ten dollars for a memory card. Eventually, I asked my family to order one and would call my cousin Roxan with requests. “What’s up with all the damn Taylor Swift?” she’d say during phone calls. By the time Swift released her album “Lover,” in 2019, I had almost every song she’d ever released. And, when the MP3 players were restricted because crafty folks were using the memory cards in illegal cell phones, mine was grandfathered in.

One of my homies at San Quentin had a pristine radio that played CDs and cassette tapes. When he earned parole, everybody hounded him for it. He knew how much I’d appreciate such a luxury, but I didn’t join the herd of pesterers making offers, and I think he appreciated that. He gave it to me as a parting gift. I was even able to have it officially documented on my property card. The MP3 player clipped neatly into the cassette door, so now I could see my playlists while I listened. My neighbor, Rasta, was the weed man for the building, so I played Swift to drown out the guys who were lighting up outside. Rasta made fun of me, but the crowd always liked her “Bad Blood” remix, featuring Kendrick Lamar . “That’s the shit right there,” they’d say. “Who would’ve thought?”

Seven months after “Lover” came out, C.D.C.R. shut down all programming because of the COVID pandemic —no indoor group interactions, no volunteers from outside the prison, no visitors. C.D.C.R. brought the coronavirus into San Quentin when it moved some sick guys from another prison in. By the end of June, 2020, hundreds of us were testing positive and getting sick, including me. I lugged all my property to an isolation cell in a quarantine unit, where I shivered and sweated through a brain fog for two weeks. My only human contact came from nurses in full-body P.P.E., who checked my vitals, and skeleton crews of officers—the ones who weren’t sick themselves—who brought us intermittent meals. I followed San Quentin’s death tallies on the local news. Would I die alone in this cell, suddenly and violently breathless? I made a playlist of Swift’s most uplifting songs, listening for the happiness in her voice.

Alone in a prison cell, it’s virtually impossible to avoid oneself. As my body and mind began to recover, I started to question everything. What really matters? Who am I? What if I die tomorrow? I hadn’t been in touch with my sweetheart in more than two years, because she had told me that she was trying a relationship with someone who cared about her. Now, though, I wrote her a letter to see if she was O.K.

A week after I mailed my letter, I received one from her. Prison mail is slow enough that I knew it wasn’t a response—we had decided to write to each other at the same time. “The lockdown has afforded me plenty of time to reflect on all sorts of things,” her letter said. “I’ve been carrying you with me everywhere.” Reading it brought to mind Swift’s lyrics in “Daylight”: “I don’t wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you.” She was single again, and we started talking every week. In lockdown, between paltry dinner trays, I did pushups, lunges, squats, and planks in the twenty-two-inch-wide floor space in my cell. The twentieth year of my incarceration was approaching.

In 2020, the California legislature passed a law that made anyone who served twenty continuous years, and who was at least fifty years of age, eligible for parole. I’m fifty-three, and I’ll get my first chance at release in 2024. I couldn’t help but think of “Daylight” again. “I’ve been sleeping so long in a twenty-year dark night,” Swift sings. “And now I see daylight.”

These days, I call my sweetheart as often as I can. Officers can shut down the phones with the flick of a switch, and technical glitches often take the system offline, so I treat each call as if it were my last. It often feels like she’s waiting to hear from me. She tells me that it’s complicated and confusing for her, speaking to the ghost who disappeared twenty years ago. But, leaning against a wall, next to all the other guys talking with loved ones on the phone, I don’t feel like a ghost. I feel alive. Just recently, she told me, “Talking like this over the phone so much, I think we’ve gotten to know each other way better than before.” We talk about how much we have changed. “You might not even find me attractive anymore,” she tells me. “I’m not the same person I was back then.”

One morning in October, 2022, I had breakfast in the chow hall and made it back to my cell in time for “Good Morning America.” My TV doesn’t have any speakers, so I plugged it into my boom box. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice singing an unfamiliar chorus: “It’s me, hi / I’m the problem, it’s me.” The anchors on the broadcast were giddy to announce Swift’s new album “Midnights,” and play clips from the music video of “Anti-Hero.” Swift appeared as a larger-than-life figure, arguing with different versions of herself. I laughed to myself. Here we go again.

Our MP3 distributor was always slow to release new music, so I spent a couple of weeks hearing about the album on the news, waiting for my chance to listen. Then, out on the prison grounds, I bumped into a volunteer whom I’d known and worked with for years. We were walking through the yard together when they started looking around to make sure no one was watching. After confirming that the coast was clear, they slipped me a brand-new copy of “Midnights” and wished me a happy birthday. The gesture nearly brought me to tears. That evening, after dinner, I peeled off the plastic and brushed a bit of dust out of the boom box’s CD player. “Lavender Haze” played as I read the liner notes. “What keeps you up at night?” Swift writes.

For the past two decades, sleep has not come easily to me. Often, when I get into bed, I think about the day I was arrested at the scene of my crime. Some neighbors called 911 and reported gunshots. I can still see the grieving family members of the man I killed, staring at me in the courtroom at my trial. I’m guilty of more than murder. I abandoned my parents and my sweetheart, too. There’s no way to fix this stuff.

Taylor Swift is currently the same age, thirty-three, that I was when I was arrested. I wonder whether her music would have resonated with me when I was her age. I wonder whether I would have reacted to the words “I’m the problem, it’s me.” Hers must be champagne problems compared with mine, but I still see myself in them. “I’ll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror,” Swift sings, and I think of the three-by-five-inch plastic mirrors that are available inside. For years out there, I viewed myself as the antihero in my own warped self-narrative. Do I want to see myself clearly?

In “Karma,” Swift sings, “Ask me what I learned from all those years / Ask me what I earned from all those tears.” A few months from now, California’s Board of Parole Hearings will ask me questions like that. What have I learned? What do I have to show for my twenty years of incarceration? In the months ahead, when these questions keep me up at night, I will listen to “Midnights.” The woman I love says she’s ready to meet me on the other side of the prison wall, on the day that I walk into the daylight. Recently, she asked me, “If you could go anywhere, do anything, that first day out, what would you want us to go do?” That question keeps me up at night, too. ♦

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‘Dr.’ Taylor Swift has advice for NYU’s Class of 2022: Get comfortable with cringe

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Welcome to New York University, Taylor Swift. It’s been waiting for you.

On Wednesday, the celebrated pop singer-songwriter was one of multiple speakers at NYU’s 2022 commencement ceremony at Yankee Stadium. The Grammy winner , who never attended college, also received an honorary doctorate.

Wearing a black velvet cap and purple graduation gown for the first time, Swift proudly accepted her Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa. The graduating class of 2022 erupted in cheers and applause as the “Folklore” artist took the stage.

“I’m 90% sure the main reason I’m here is because I have a song called ‘22,’” Swift, 32, joked.

Rounding out this year’s honorary degree recipients were trailblazing neuroscientist Susan Hockfield and City University of New York Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez.

Here’s Swift’s full commencement speech, which received a standing ovation.

“Hi, I’m Taylor. Last time I was in a stadium this size, I was dancing in heels and wearing a glittery leotard. This outfit is much more comfortable.

I would like to say a huge thank you to NYU’s Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Bill Berkley and all the trustees and members of the board, NYU’s President Andrew Hamilton, Provost Katherine Fleming and the faculty and alumni here today who have made this day possible.

I feel so proud to share this day with my fellow honorees, Susan Hockfield and Félix Matos Rodríguez, who humbled me with the ways they improve our world with their work. As for me, I’m 90% sure the main reason I’m here is because I have a song called ’22.’

And let me just say, I am elated to be here with you today as we celebrate and graduate New York University’s class of 2022.

Not a single one of us here today has done it alone. We are each a patchwork quilt of those who have loved us, those who have believed in our futures, those who showed us empathy and kindness — or told us the truth, even when it wasn’t easy to hear. Those who told us we could do it when there was absolutely no proof of that.

Someone read stories to you and taught you to dream and offered up some moral code of right and wrong for you to try and live by. Someone tried their best to explain every concept in this insanely complex world to the child that was you as you asked a bazillion questions like, ‘How does the moon work?’ and, ‘Why can we eat salad but not grass?’ And maybe they didn’t do it perfectly. No one ever can. Maybe they aren’t with us anymore. In that case, I hope you’ll remember them today.

If they are in this stadium, I hope you’ll find your own way to express your gratitude for all the steps and missteps that have led us to this common destination I know that words are supposed to be my thing, but I will never be able to find the words to thank my mom and dad, my brother Austin, for the sacrifices they made every day, so I could go from singing in coffee houses to standing up here with you all today, because no words would ever be enough.

To all the incredible parents, family members, mentors, teachers, allies, friends and loved ones here today who have supported these students in their pursuit of educational enrichment, let me say to you now, ‘ Welcome to New York. It’s been waiting for you .’

I’d like to thank NYU for making me, technically, on paper at least, a doctor — not the type of doctor you would want around in case of an emergency. Unless your specific emergency was that you desperately needed to hear a song with a catchy hook and an intensely cathartic bridge section. Or, if your emergency was that you needed a person who can name over 50 breeds of cats in one minute.

I never got to have a normal college experience, per se. I went to public high school until 10th grade and then finished my education doing homeschool work on the floors of airport terminals. Then I went out on the road for radio tour — which sounds incredibly glamorous, but in reality, it consisted of a rental car, motels and my mom and I pretending to have loud mother-daughter fights with each other during boarding so no one would want the empty seat between us on Southwest.

As a kid, I always thought I would go away to college, imagining the posters I would hang on the wall of my freshman dorm. I even set the ending of my music video for my song ‘Love Story’ at my fantasy imaginary college, where I meet a male model reading a book on the grass and — with one single glance — we realize we had been in love in our past lives. Which is exactly what you guys all experienced at some point in the last four years, right?

But I really can’t complain about not having a normal college experience to you. Because you went to NYU during a global pandemic, being essentially locked into your dorms and having to do classes over Zoom. Everyone in college during normal times stresses about test scores. But on top of that, you also had to pass like 1,000 COVID tests.

I imagine the idea of a normal college experience was all you wanted too. But in this case, you and I both learned that you don’t always get all the things in the bag that you selected from the menu in the delivery service that is life. You get what you get.

And as I would like to say to you wholeheartedly, you should be very proud of what you’ve done with it. Today, you leave New York University and then go out into the world searching for what’s next. And so will I.

So as a rule, I try not to give anyone unsolicited advice unless they ask for it. I’ll go into this more later. I guess I have been officially solicited in this situation to impart whatever wisdom I might have, to tell you things that have helped me so far in my life. Please bear in mind that I in no way feel qualified to tell you what to do.

You’ve worked and struggled and sacrificed and studied and dreamed your way here today, and so you know what you’re doing. You’ll do things differently than I did them and for different reasons.

So, I won’t tell you what to do, because no one likes that. I will, however, give you some life hacks I wish I knew when I was starting out my dreams of a career and navigating life, love, pressure, choices, shame, hope and friendship.

The first of which is: Life can be heavy, especially if you try to carry it all at once. Part of growing up and moving into new chapters of your life is about catch and release. What I mean by that is: Knowing what things to keep and what things to release. You can’t carry all things, all grudges, all updates on your ex, all enviable promotions your school bully got at the hedge fund his uncle started.

Entertainment & Arts

Column: Taylor Swift slapped back for all the women who have been told ‘you didn’t write that.’

What did Damon Albarn think was going to happen when he said Taylor Swift doesn’t write her own songs? He picked the wrong woman to mess with.

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Decide what is yours to hold and let the rest go. Oftentimes, the good things in your life are lighter anyway. So there’s more room for them. One toxic relationship can outweigh so many, wonderful simple joys. You get to pick what your life has time and room for. Be discerning.

Secondly, learn to live alongside cringe. No matter how hard you try to avoid being cringe, you will look back on your life and cringe retrospectively. Cringe is unavoidable over a lifetime. Even the term cringe might someday be deemed cringe. I promise you, you’re probably doing or wearing something right now that you will look back on later and find revolting and hilarious. You can’t avoid it, so don’t try to.

For example, I had a phase where — for the entirety of 2012 — I dressed like a 1950s housewife. But you know what? I was having fun. Trends and phases are fun. Looking back and laughing is fun. And while we’re talking about things that make us squirm, but really shouldn’t, I’d like to say I’m a big advocate for not hiding your enthusiasm for things.

It seems to me that there is a false stigma around eagerness in our culture of unbothered ambivalence. This outlook perpetuates the idea that it’s not cool to want it. The people who don’t try are fundamentally more chic than people who do. And I wouldn’t know — because I’ve done a lot of things, but I’ve never been an expert on chic. But I’m the one who’s up here, so you have to listen to me when I say this: Never be ashamed of trying.

Effortlessness is a myth. The people who wanted it the least were the ones I wanted to date and be friends with in high school. The people who want it the most are the people I now hire to work for my company.

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I started writing songs when I was 12, and since then, it’s been the compass guiding my life. And in turn, my life guided my writing. Everything I do is just an extension of my writing, whether it’s directing videos or short films, creating the visuals for a tour or standing on a stage performing. Everything is connected by my love of the craft.

The thrill of working through ideas and narrowing them down and polishing it all up in the end, editing. Waking up in the middle of the night, throwing out the old idea because you just thought of a new or better one, or a plot device that ties the whole thing together.

There’s a reason they call it a hook. Sometimes a string of words just ensnares me, and I can’t focus on anything until it’s been recorded or written down. As a songwriter, I’ve never been able to sit still or stay in one creative place for too long. I’ve made and released 11 albums and, in the process, I’ve switched genre from country to pop to alternative to folk.

And this might sound like a very songwriter-centric line of discussion. But in a way, I really do think we are all writers, and most of us write in a different voice for different situations. You write differently in your Instagram stories than you do your senior thesis. You send a different type of email to your boss than you do your best friend from home.

We are all literary chameleons, and I think it’s fascinating. It’s just a continuation of the idea that we are so many things all the time. And I know it can be really overwhelming, figuring out who to be and when, who you are now and how to act in order to get where you want to go. I have some good news: It’s totally up to you. I have some terrifying news: It’s totally up to you.

I said to you earlier that I don’t ever offer advice unless someone asks me for it. And now I will tell you why. As a person who started my very public career at the age of 15, it came with a price. And that price was years of unsolicited advice.

The reviews are in: Taylor Swift’s fans are loving rerecorded ‘Red’ all over again

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Being the youngest person in every room for over a decade meant that I was constantly being issued warnings from older members of the music industry, media, interviewers, executives. And this advice often presented itself as thinly veiled warnings.

See, I was a teenager at a time when our society was absolutely obsessed with the idea of having perfect young female role models. It felt like every interview I did included slight barbs by the interviewer about me one day running off the rails. And that meant a different thing to every person who said it to me.

So, I became a young adult while being fed the message that if I didn’t make any mistakes, all the children of America would grow up to be perfect angels. However, if I did slip up, the entire Earth would fall off its axis, and it would be entirely my fault. That I would go to pop-star jail forever and ever.

It was all centered around the idea that mistakes equal failure and, ultimately, the loss of any chance at a happy or rewarding life. This has not been my experience.

My experience has been that my mistakes lead to the best things in my life. And being embarrassed when you mess up, it’s part of the human experience. Getting back up, dusting yourself off and seeing who still wants to hang out with you afterward and laugh about it — that’s a gift.

The times I was told no or wasn’t included, wasn’t chosen, didn’t win, didn’t make the cut — looking back, it really feels like those moments were as important, if not more crucial, than the moments I was told yes.

Not being invited to the parties and sleepovers in my hometown made me feel hopelessly lonely. But because I felt alone, I would sit in my room and write the songs that would get me a ticket somewhere else. Having label executives in Nashville tell me that only 35-year-old housewives listen to country music, and there was no place for a 13-year-old on their roster made me cry in the car on the way home.

But then I posted my songs on my MySpace — yes, MySpace — and I would message with other teenagers like me who loved country music but just didn’t have anyone singing from their perspective. Having journalists write in-depth, oftentimes critical pieces about who they perceive me to be made me feel like I was living in some weird simulation.

But it also made me look inward to learn about who I actually am. Having the world treat my love life like a spectator sport in which I lose every single game was not a great way to date in my teens and 20s. But it taught me to protect my private life fiercely.

Being publicly humiliated over and over again at a young age was excruciatingly painful, but it forced me to devalue the ridiculous notion of minute-by-minute, ever-fluctuating social relevance and likability. Getting canceled on the internet and nearly losing my career gave me an excellent knowledge of all the types of wine.

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I know I sound like a consummate optimist, but I’m really not. I lose perspective all the time. Sometimes everything just feels completely pointless. I know the pressure of living your life through the lens of perfectionism. And I know that I’m talking to a group of perfectionists because you are here today, graduating from NYU.

So this might be hard for you to hear: In your life, you will inevitably misspeak, trust the wrong person, under-react, overreact, hurt the people who didn’t deserve it, overthink, not think at all, self-sabotage, create a reality where only your experience exists, ruin perfectly good moments for yourself and others, deny any wrongdoing, not take the steps to make it right, feel very guilty, let the guilt eat at you, hit rock bottom, finally address the pain you caused, try to do better next time, rinse, repeat.

And I’m not gonna lie, these mistakes will cause you to lose things. I’m trying to tell you that losing things doesn’t just mean losing. A lot of the time, when we lose things, we gain things too.

Now, you leave the structure and framework of school and chart your own path. Every choice you make leads to the next choice, which leads to the next, and I know it’s hard to know which path to take.

There will be times in life where you need to stand up for yourself, times when the right thing is actually to back down and apologize. Times when the right thing is to fight, times when the right thing is to turn and run. Times to hold on with all you have, times to let go with grace.

Sometimes the right thing to do is to throw out the old schools of thought in the name of progress and reform. Sometimes the right thing to do is to sit and listen to the wisdom of those who have come before us. How will you know what the right choice is in these crucial moments?

You won’t. How do I give advice to this many people about their life choices? I won’t. The scary news is: You’re on your own now. But the cool news is: You’re on your own now.

I leave you with this: We are led by our gut instincts, our intuition, our desires and fears, our scars and our dreams. And you will screw it up sometimes. So will I. And when I do, you will most likely read about it on the internet.

Anyway, hard things will happen to us. We will recover. We will learn from it. We will grow more resilient because of it. And as long as we are fortunate enough to be breathing, we will breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out. And I am a doctor now, so I know how breathing works.

I hope you know how proud I am to share this day with you. We’re doing this together. So let’s just keep dancing like we’re the Class of ’22.”

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Christi Carras reports on the entertainment industry for the Los Angeles Times. She previously covered entertainment news for The Times after graduating from UCLA and working at Variety, the Hollywood Reporter and CNN Newsource.

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College courses about Taylor Swift are popping up. Professors explain why

In recent years, the traditional college course has experienced a significant cultural shift.

College courses about pop sensations like Beyoncé or Rihanna have become somewhat common place, with classes using the musical powerhouses to launch a discourse on race, culture and even Black feminism . Additionally, literature classes, which often focus on 18th century poets, are making the leap into pop culture, thanks to Taylor Swift.

In less than two years, Swift has become a popular subject at various colleges and universities, where students are learning about her song writing and lyricism. Most notably, Harvard is set to launch a spring course called, “Taylor Swift and Her World,” in which students will get to study Swift alongside the famous works of contemporary literature like William Wordsworth and Shakespeare.

Students, who've enrolled or taken the Taylor Swift-inspired courses, are applauding professors for making core classes more relatable and centered on current events instead of focused on historical pieces of literature or "traditional" works.

One of those students is Malia Palmer, 20, a sophomore at University of Texas at Austin, studying sociology, who took one of the first Taylor courses in 2022, “The Taylor Swift Songbook,” before it became a trend.

In an interview with TODAY.com, Palmer speaks on her appreciation for the course which she says didn't center solely on Sylvia Plath and other type of "stodgy" literature she'd grown accustomed to.

She also talks about how taking an English course, which used Swift as a subject for lectures when studying classic works like Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," made class more interesting.

Palmer says Swift's 2008 hit track "Love Story," was studied in relation to the romantic playwright, given her clear reference to the characters in the song.

"That you were Romeo, you were throwin' pebbles / And my daddy said, 'Stay away from Juliet'" TAYLOR SWIFT IN HER 2008 HIT, "Love Story"

With Swift's emblematic catalogue of music, it's not surprising that the singer has become the subject matter at major universities like Rice, NYU, and Stanford.

At Stanford, the course called "The Last Great American Songwriter: Storytelling With Taylor Swift through the Eras," will be taught by second-year undergraduate Ava Jeffs in the spring.

Although Jeff, who is majoring in computer science, is not a professor, her love of Swift prompted her to create a syllabus based on the vocalist so that she could teach other students about the value of her songs in relation to literary works. She says that her interest in introducing Swift to the classroom stemmed from her desire to "challenge" student perceptions of classic literature.

Why are so many colleges offering Taylor courses?

Professor Elizabeth Scala, who teaches English at the University of Texas at Austin talks about her course titled “The Taylor Swift Songbook” that launched in Fall 2022.

Before Taylor courses became popular, Scala recounts her personal experience creating the class, which was taught to first-year college students.

The class, which was first teased as a "secret Harry Potter course," that focused on British literature and medieval literary traditions within J.K. Rowling's popular novels, eventually evolved into a seminar on Swift after Scala discussed Taylor's "All Too Well" with her daughter. This is when she says she discovered that Swift's song had a strong connection to historic literature.

"I want to say the semester before I taught the course I was getting ready to order my books and thought, 'what would it be like if I flipped that Harry Potter course into a Taylor Swift course?'" Scala says.

During an appearance at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022, Swift commented on the metaphors within her song "All Too Well."

The singer stated that the scarf in the 2021 "All Too Well" music video "is a metaphor and we turned it red because red is a very important color in this album, which is called 'Red.'"

As for Scala's thoughts on why so many colleges are jumping on the Swiftie bandwagon, she says, Taylor Swift is both the "hook" and "hard sell" for professors to reignite student's interest in classic literature.

Scala also acknowledges Harvard's recent Taylor Swift addition to its course offerings. She lightheartedly quips, “Now Harvard has stuck its nose in the soup and everybody’s interested. I'm like, guess what people, I was first." However, Scala, who received her PhD from the Harvard, only has good things to say about her former alma mater.

"I love that there are so many courses" centered on Swift, she says before adding that all the courses "uniquely differ."

At Rice University, undergraduate student, Katherine Jeng, a junior studying English and Social Policy Analysis, teaches a 1-credit Swiftie course called "Miss Americana: The Evolution and Lyrics of Taylor Swift."

The class offered to Rice undergraduates is taught in “chronological order” of Swift’s albums from her debut released in 2006 to her most recent album, “Midnights,” released in 2022, Jeng explains.

Like Scala, she too points out the singer's relevance and notes the criticism that comes with starting a course centered on the singer. "Some people believe that her lyrics are just pop hits and that there’s not really any depth to them," Jeng says.

She continues, “I wanted to challenge this notion and highlight her songwriting abilities, while also getting to talk about my favorite artist."

What do students think of the courses?

Students at Rice University and University of Texas at Austin (UT) are also weighing in on what they love about these Swift-inspired courses and their assignments.

Anna Grace Holloway, 20, is a philosophy and government double major in the Liberal Arts honors program at UT. The sophomore undergraduate talks about her "newfound appreciation" for Swift following Professor Scala's course.

"I always knew that she was a great songwriter," but was "most surprised to see the parallels" between both Swift's work and classic literature.

She recalls a noteworthy assignment where the class watched the famous Alfred Hitchcock film, "Rebecca," based on the 1938 Gothic novel by Daphne Du Maurier. The class compared it to Swift's 2020 "Evermore" track, "Tolerate It," which tells a similar story of tragic love, she explains.

In an interview with Apple Music , Swift explained that "Tolerate It" was largely inspired by “Rebecca."

“I was thinking, ‘Wow, her husband just tolerates her. She’s doing all these things and she’s trying so hard and she’s trying to impress him, and he’s just tolerating her the whole time,’” she said. “There was a part of me that was relating to that, because at some point in my life, I felt that way.”

For Holloway the course was especially significant, because out of the 17 students who enrolled in the class at the time of its 2022 launch, Swift's early co-writer, Liz Rose, signed on to teach a session on songwriting. Rose is responsible for penning tracks such as "White Horse" and "You Belong with Me."

The class also got to make "friendship bracelets for [Swift's] "Eras" tour concerts" to conclude a successful semester, and both Holloway and Palmer even got to sport them while attending concerts in Denver and Houston.

Scala herself even got in on the bracelet making fun.

As more classes about the singer continue to pop up, the consensus is clear: Taylor Swift is reawakening curiosity in the classroom. Whether she's being compared to literary works of art, studied as a tool used in politics or to boost the economy , professors and students acknowledge that Swift is a force to be reckoned with.

19-year old Isabella Campos, a sophomore at Rice University studying English and anthropology, agrees, adding that "Regardless of if you’re a huge Swiftie, you can still take a step back and look objectively at her songwriting and lyricism to find something compelling there."

Jennamichelle Merolla is part of the TODAY Page program and graduated with her master's in integrated marketing communication this past December.

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Did Taylor Swift Go To College? Everything To Know About The Pop Star's New Honorary Doctorate Degree From NYU

It was actually the first time she put on a cap and gown.

The singer, 32, joked with Vogue a while ago, saying she really wanted to get an honorary doctorate because Ed Sheeran has one. Enter NYU to save the day!

As she headed off to get her degree, the pop star shared on TikTok that she was “wearing a cap and gown for the very first time - see you soon NYU 🥺🥰🗽 #swifttok #classof2022 ." And also shared images of herself getting ready for the big day.

Taylor received a Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa , BTW. “I’m 90% sure that the reason I’m here is because I have a song called ‘22,'” she joked in her commencement speech.

She continued, “I’d to thank NYU for making me technically, on paper at least, a doctor. Not the type of doctor you would want around in the event of an emergency.” But, she said, she’s a good doctor to have handy if you need a song “with catchy hook and an intensely cathartic bridge section” or “that you needed a person who can name over 50 breeds of cat in one minute.”

Of course, everyone had a lot of questions about her degree and the fact she had apparently never donned a cap and gown before. What diplomas does she have? (Besides, ya know, the diploma of ultra-famous stardom.) Here’s what you need to know.

Did Taylor go to college?

Nope. Her career took off when she was around 15 and it was kinda hard to fit college into the mix then. Understandable.

Taylor did, however, go to high school at Hendersonville High School in Tennessee for two years before transferring to Aaron Academy. The transfer meant she was better able to work around her touring schedule with homeschooling. She graduated a year early. High school diploma: check.

“I never got to have the normal college experience, per se,” she said in her speech. “I went to public high school until tenth grade and finished my education doing homeschool work on the floors of airport terminals. Then I went out on the road on a radio tour, which sounds incredibly glamorous but in reality it consisted of a rental car, motels, and my mom and I pretending to have loud mother-daughter fights with each other during boarding so no one would want the empty seat between us on Southwest.”

But now she can add one more to that list: doctorate.

What is an “honorary doctorate degree”?

An honorary degree is a degree—usually a doctorate like the one Tay just got—that’s given to someone who didn’t go to that school or didn’t complete a similar level of education required to receive the degree. (So, no, Taylor never went to or studied at NYU.) Basically, the school waives all the requirements needed to obtain a specific degree.

Why? It's a way for an institution to honor the accomplishments and contributions an individual has made in a particular field. Like Taylor and the arts.

And supportive boyfriend Joe Alwyn certainly seems to agree that it's a big deal.

"It’s an incredible honor, it’s absolutely amazing," he told Extra in an interview.

Wait, but why is she getting this degree?

Well, NYU has been a big Swiftie for a while now. The school’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music launched a course in January that was dedicated to Taylor’s business and writing practices. It also looked at how fandom, gender, and race come together in the music industry.

NYU had this to say about Taylor in a press release about her degree:

“An 11-time Grammy winner, Ms. Swift is one of the most prolific and celebrated artists of her generation. She is the only female artist in history to win the music industry’s highest honor, the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, three times. Her many awards and distinctions include being the most awarded artist ever in American Music Awards’ history along with being named Artist of the Decade; winner of the BRIT Awards International Female Solo Artist of the Year in 2015 and the Global Icon Award in 2021; and Billboard’s first-ever and only two-time winner of the Woman of the Decade Award."

Whew! That's...a lot.

And what did she have to say in her speech?

Taylor cracked plenty of jokes (see above) but she also gave some really heartfelt words of encouragement to the class of 2022.

“Not a single one of us here today has done it alone,” she said. “We are each a patchwork quilt of those who have loved us, those who have believed in our futures, those who showed us empathy and kindness or told us the truth even when it wasn’t easy to hear. … I hope you’ll find your own way to express your gratitude for all the steps and missteps that have led us to this common destination.”

“I won’t tell you what to do because no one likes that,” she later said, but she did offer up some really great advice. “You can’t carry all things, all grudges, all updates on your ex, all enviable promotions your school bully got at the hedge fund his uncle started. Decide what is yours to hold and let the rest go," she shared. Truth!

So...will she go by “Dr. Swift” now?

Probably only for fun. While she seems really, really stoked about her degree, Tay’s Instagram profile doesn’t make any mention of it…yet.

But Swifties already know she's got a PhD in Making People Feel All The Feels.

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Taylor swift: mastering the art of iconic branding and marketing.

The Power of Taylor Swift's Brand In contrast to Sam Smith and Liam Gallagher, who adhere to conventional marketing and publicity campaigns (Music Week), Taylor Swift has ascended to the status of an iconic legend, boasting an impressive track record of five #1 singles as...

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Contrasting Paths of Taylor Swift and Katy Perry

Introduction Music is one of the most important art that connects people’s feelings and emotions through its melodies and lyrics. Many artists have tried their best to write and produce a perfect song for their fans to listen to and capture the meanings of it....

Three Artifacts: Taylor Swift, Queen and The Handmaid's Tale

Bohemian Rhapsody: Pushing the Boundaries of Rock Bohemian Rhapsody is known as one of the most popular songs nationwide. Written by the legend himself Freddie Mercury and performed by one of the most well-known rock bands Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody is considered one of the greatest...

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Have A Memorable Wedding Day With Taylor Swifts “Fearless”

Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness, of hatred, of jealousy, and, most easily of all, the gate of fear. Weddings are the most memorable event in life. Sometimes, it is an event wherein the family will get together. It is...

Best topics on Taylor Swift

1. Taylor Swift: Mastering the Art of Iconic Branding and Marketing

2. Contrasting Paths of Taylor Swift and Katy Perry

3. Three Artifacts: Taylor Swift, Queen and The Handmaid’s Tale

4. Have A Memorable Wedding Day With Taylor Swifts “Fearless”

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Taylor Swift College Essays Samples For Students

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Do you feel the need to check out some previously written College Essays on Taylor Swift before you begin writing an own piece? In this open-access collection of Taylor Swift College Essay examples, you are given a fascinating opportunity to discover meaningful topics, content structuring techniques, text flow, formatting styles, and other academically acclaimed writing practices. Using them while crafting your own Taylor Swift College Essay will surely allow you to finish the piece faster.

Presenting superb samples isn't the only way our free essays service can aid students in their writing efforts – our authors can also create from point zero a fully customized College Essay on Taylor Swift that would make a genuine foundation for your own academic work.

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The following case deals with the formal introduction of terrestrial radio and its effect on the promotion of new artists and new forms of music. It also talks about the future of internet radio, music and its new art forms.

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Taylor Swift’s NYU Commencement Speech: Read the Full Transcript

The pop star was honored with an honorary doctorate at NYU's Spring 2022 graduation ceremony.

By Hannah Dailey

Hannah Dailey

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If you heard some sort of deafening explosion-type sound emanating from somewhere on the East coast around 12:30 in the afternoon on Wednesday (May 18), don’t freak out — it was merely a stadium full of college graduates cheering with what must have been a record-breaking volume in response to Taylor Swift taking the microphone at NYU’s 2022 commencement ceremony to simply say, “Hi, I’m Taylor.”

Taylor Swift

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The 32-year-old singer-songwriter was the official guest of honor at the university’s spring graduation, taking place this year at New York City’s Yankee Stadium where tens of thousands of newly diplomaed people welcomed Swift with high-decibel cheers. Just a couple beats after accepting an honorary fine arts doctorate, she stepped up to the podium to charge the school’s graduates with a 20-minute speech in which she urged them to not be afraid to be enthusiastic and try hard when it comes to the things they love, before reminding them to accept that they will inevitably make mistakes as they go forward with their post-college lives.  

Taylor Swift Rocks Her First Cap and Gown in NYU Commencement Address Prep Video

And in true Taylor fashion, she also spared a couple moments to poke fun at herself and reference a couple of her most fitting songs.

“Let me just say: Welcome to New York, it’s been waiting for you,” she said with a smirk at the beginning of her address, and at the end: “So let’s just keep dancing like we’re … the class of ’22.”

Read Taylor Swift’s full speech from NYU’s 2022 commencement ceremony, then watch it below, beginning at about the two-hour, 47-minute mark.

Last time I was in a stadium this size, I was dancing in heels and wearing a glittery leotard. This outfit is much more comfortable.    I’d like to say a huge thank you to NYU‘s Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Bill Berkeley and all the trustees and members of the board, NYU’s President Andrew Hamilton, Provost Katherine Fleming, and the faculty and alumni here today who have made this day possible. I feel so proud to share this day with my fellow honorees Susan Hockfield and Felix Matos Rodriguez, who humble me with the ways they improve our world with their work. As for me, I’m…90% sure the main reason I’m here is because I have a song called ‘22’. And let me just say, I am elated to be here with you today as we celebrate and graduate New York University’s Class of 2022.   Not a single one of us here today has done it alone. We are each a patchwork quilt of those who have loved us, those who have believed in our futures, those who showed us empathy and kindness or told us the truth even when it wasn’t easy to hear. Those who told us we could do it when there was absolutely no proof of that. Someone read stories to you and taught you to dream and offered up some moral code of right and wrong for you to try and live by. Someone tried their best to explain every concept in this insanely complex world to the child that was you, as you asked a bazillion questions like ‘how does the moon work’ and ‘why can we eat salad but not grass.’ And maybe they didn’t do it perfectly. No one ever can. Maybe they aren’t with us anymore, and in that case I hope you’ll remember them today. If they are here in this stadium, I hope you’ll find your own way to express your gratitude for all the steps and missteps that have led us to this common destination.    I know that words are supposed to be my ‘thing’, but I will never be able to find the words to thank my mom and my dad, and my brother, Austin, for the sacrifices they made every day so that I could go from singing in coffee houses to standing up here with you all today because no words would ever be enough. To all the incredible parents, family members, mentors, teachers, allies, friends and loved ones here today who have supported these students in their pursuit of educational enrichment, let me say to you now: Welcome to New York. It’s been waiting for you.    I’d like to thank NYU for making me technically, on paper at least, a doctor. Not the type of doctor you would want around in the case of an emergency, unless your specific emergency was that you desperately needed to hear a song with a catchy hook and an intensely cathartic bridge section. Or if your emergency was that you needed a person who can name over 50 breeds of cats in one minute.   I never got to have the normal college experience, per se. I went to public high school until tenth grade and finished my education doing homeschool work on the floors of airport terminals. Then I went out on the road on a radio tour, which sounds incredibly glamorous but in reality it consisted of a rental car, motels, and my mom and I pretending to have loud mother daughter fights with each other during boarding so no one would want the empty seat between us on Southwest.    As a kid, I always thought I would go away to college, imagining the posters I’d hang on the wall of my freshmen dorm. I even set the ending of my music video for my song “Love Story” at my fantasy imaginary college, where I meet a male model reading a book on the grass and with one single glance, we realize we had been in love in our past lives. Which is exactly what you guys all experienced at some point in the last 4 years, right?   But I really can’t complain about not having a normal college experience to you because you went to NYU during a global pandemic, being essentially locked into your dorms or having to do classes over Zoom. Everyone in college during normal times stresses about test scores, but on top of that you also had to pass like a thousand COVID tests. I imagine the idea of a normal college experience was all you wanted too. But in this case you and I both learned that you don’t always get all the things in the bag that you selected from the menu in the delivery service that is life. You get what you get. And as I would like to say to you, you should be very proud of what you’ve done with it. Today you leave New York University and then you go out into the world searching for what’s next. And so will I.   So as a rule, I try not to give anyone unsolicited advice unless they ask for it. I’ll go into this more later. I guess I have been officially solicited in this situation, to impart whatever wisdom I might have and tell you the things that helped me in my life so far. Please bear in mind that I, in no way, feel qualified to tell you what to do. You’ve worked and struggled and sacrificed and studied and dreamed your way here today and so, you know what you’re doing. You’ll do things differently than I did them and for different reasons.    So I won’t tell you what to do because no one likes that. I will, however, give you some life hacks I wish I knew when I was starting out my dreams of a career, and navigating life, love, pressure, choices, shame, hope and friendship.   The first of which is…life can be heavy, especially if you try to carry it all at once. Part of growing up and moving into new chapters of your life is about catch and release. What I mean by that is, knowing what things to keep, and what things to release. You can’t carry all things, all grudges, all updates on your ex, all enviable promotions your school bully got at the hedge fund his uncle started. Decide what is yours to hold and let the rest go. Oftentimes the good things in your life are lighter anyway, so there’s more room for them. One toxic relationship can outweigh so many wonderful, simple joys. You get to pick what your life has time and room for. Be discerning.    Secondly, learn to live alongside cringe. No matter how hard you try to avoid being cringe, you will look back on your life and cringe retrospectively. Cringe is unavoidable over a lifetime. Even the term ‘cringe’ might someday be deemed ‘cringe.’   I promise you, you’re probably doing or wearing something right now that you will look back on later and find revolting and hilarious. You can’t avoid it, so don’t try to. For example, I had a phase where, for the entirety of 2012, I dressed like a 1950s housewife. But you know what? I was having fun. Trends and phases are fun. Looking back and laughing is fun.    And while we’re talking about things that make us squirm but really shouldn’t, I’d like to say that I’m a big advocate for not hiding your enthusiasm for things. It seems to me that there is a false stigma around eagerness in our culture of ‘unbothered ambivalence.’ This outlook perpetuates the idea that it’s not cool to ‘want it.’ That people who don’t try hard are fundamentally more chic than people who do. And I wouldn’t know because I have been a lot of things but I’ve never been an expert on ‘chic.’ But I’m the one who’s up here so you have to listen to me when I say this: Never be ashamed of trying. Effortlessness is a myth. The people who wanted it the least were the ones I wanted to date and be friends with in high school. The people who want it most are the people I now hire to work for my company.    I started writing songs when I was twelve and since then, it’s been the compass guiding my life, and in turn, my life guided my writing. Everything I do is just an extension of my writing, whether it’s directing videos or a short film, creating the visuals for a tour, or standing on stage performing. Everything is connected by my love of the craft, the thrill of working through ideas and narrowing them down and polishing it all up in the end. Editing. Waking up in the middle of the night and throwing out the old idea because you just thought of a newer, better one. A plot device that ties the whole thing together. There’s a reason they call it a hook. Sometimes a string of words just ensnares me and I can’t focus on anything until it’s been recorded or written down.    As a songwriter I’ve never been able to sit still, or stay in one creative place for too long. I’ve made and released 11 albums and in the process, I’ve switched genres from country to pop to alternative to folk. This might sound like a very songwriter-centric line of discussion but in a way, I really do think we are all writers. And most of us write in a different voice for different situations. You write differently in your Instagram stories than you do your senior thesis. You send a different type of email to your boss than you do your best friend from home. We are all literary chameleons and I think it’s fascinating. It’s just a continuation of the idea that we are so many things, all the time. And I know it can be really overwhelming figuring out who to be, and when. Who you are now and how to act in order to get where you want to go. I have some good news : It’s totally up to you. I also have some terrifying news: It’s totally up to you.   I said to you earlier that I don’t ever offer advice unless someone asks me for it, and now I’ll tell you why. As a person who started my very public career at the age of 15, it came with a price. And that price was years of unsolicited advice. Being the youngest person in every room for over a decade meant that I was constantly being issued warnings from older members of the music industry, the media, interviewers, executives. This advice often presented itself as thinly veiled warnings. See, I was a teenager in the public eye at a time when our society was absolutely obsessed with the idea of having perfect young female role models. It felt like every interview I did included slight barbs by the interviewer about me one day ‘running off the rails.’ That meant a different thing to everyone person said it me. So I became a young adult while being fed the message that if I didn’t make any mistakes, all the children of America would grow up to be perfect angels. However, if I did slip up, the entire earth would fall off its axis and it would be entirely my fault and I would go to pop star jail forever and ever. It was all centered around the idea that mistakes equal failure and ultimately, the loss of any chance at a happy or rewarding life.    This has not been my experience. My experience has been that my mistakes led to the best things in my life.    And being embarrassed when you mess up is part of the human experience. Getting back up, dusting yourself off and seeing who still wants to hang out with you afterward and laugh about it? That’s a gift.   The times I was told no or wasn’t included, wasn’t chosen, didn’t win, didn’t make the cut…looking back, it really feels like those moments were as important, if not more crucial, than the moments I was told ‘yes.’    Not being invited to the parties and sleepovers in my hometown made me feel hopelessly lonely, but because I felt alone, I would sit in my room and write the songs that would get me a ticket somewhere else. Having label executives in Nashville tell me that only 35-year-old housewives listen to country music and there was no place for a 13-year-old on their roster made me cry in the car on the way home. But then I’d post my songs on my MySpace and yes, MySpace, and would message with other teenagers like me who loved country music, but just didn’t have anyone singing from their perspective. Having journalists write in-depth, oftentimes critical, pieces about who they perceive me to be made me feel like I was living in some weird simulation, but it also made me look inward to learn about who I actually am. Having the world treat my love life like a spectator sport in which I lose every single game was not a great way to date in my teens and twenties, but it taught me to protect my private life fiercely. Being publicly humiliated over and over again at a young age was excruciatingly painful but it forced me to devalue the ridiculous notion of minute by minute, ever fluctuating social relevance and likability. Getting canceled on the internet and nearly losing my career gave me an excellent knowledge of all the types of wine.    I know I sound like a consummate optimist, but I’m really not. I lose perspective all the time. Sometimes everything just feels completely pointless. I know the pressure of living your life through the lens of perfectionism. And I know that I’m talking to a group of perfectionists because you are here today graduating from NYU. And so this may be hard for you to hear: In your life, you will inevitably misspeak, trust the wrong people, under-react, overreact, hurt the people who didn’t deserve it, overthink, not think at all, self sabotage, create a reality where only your experience exists, ruin perfectly good moments for yourself and others, deny any wrongdoing, not take the steps to make it right, feel very guilty, let the guilt eat at you, hit rock bottom, finally address the pain you caused, try to do better next time, rinse, repeat.  And I’m not gonna lie, these mistakes will cause you to lose things.   I’m trying to tell you that losing things doesn’t just mean losing. A lot of the time, when we lose things, we gain things too.    Now you leave the structure and framework of school and chart your own path. Every choice you make leads to the next choice which leads to the next, and I know it’s hard to know sometimes which path to take. There will be times in life when you need to stand up for yourself. Times when the right thing is to back down and apologize. Times when the right thing is to fight, times when the right thing is to turn and run. Times to hold on with all you have and times to let go with grace. Sometimes the right thing to do is to throw out the old schools of thought in the name of progress and reform. Sometimes the right thing to do is to listen to the wisdom of those who have come before us. How will you know what the right choice is in these crucial moments? You won’t.

How do I give advice to this many people about their life choices? I won’t. 

Scary news is: You’re on your own now.

Cool news is: You’re on your own now.   I leave you with this: We are led by our gut instincts, our intuition, our desires and fears, our scars and our dreams. And you will screw it up sometimes. So will I. And when I do, you will most likely read about on the internet. Anyway…hard things will happen to us. We will recover. We will learn from it. We will grow more resilient because of it.    As long as we are fortunate enough to be breathing, we will breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out. And I’m a doctor now, so I know how breathing works.    I hope you know how proud I am to share this day with you. We’re doing this together. So let’s just keep dancing like we’re…   … the class of ’22.

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Teaching & Learning

Taylor’s version of copyright.

At a Harvard Law School event, an expert in digital exploitation of intellectual property says Taylor Swift singlehandedly shifted composition copyright considerations

When Taylor Swift began re-recording her old albums and releasing the new, improved “Taylor’s Version,” she did more than delight a nation of Swifties. She also opened significant questions about the role of intellectual property in contract law, and possibly tipped the balance toward artists.

According to Gary R. Greenstein , a technology transactions partner at Wilson Sonsini, the Swift affair is one of many that makes these times especially interesting for copyright law. Greenstein’s current practice focuses on intellectual property, licensing, and commercial transactions, with specialized expertise in the digital exploitation of intellectual property. He appeared at Harvard Law School on March 28 for a lunchtime talk, which was presented and introduced by Chris Bavitz , the WilmerHale Clinical Professor of Law and managing director of the law school’s Cyberlaw Clinic. “I have been doing this for 28 years now and there is never a dull moment,” Greenstein said.

Greenstein placed the Swift story in the larger context of music copyrights. In music, he explained, there are always two copyrights. The first is for the musical work itself, and this is usually controlled by the composer/songwriter, or by a publishing company acting on their behalf. The second is the “master,” the recorded performance of the work, and this is usually controlled by the label.

Whenever a song is played in public, one or both of these entities gets paid. In many cases, there are multiple copyright holders — the Bruno Mars hit “Uptown Funk” has six authors — or multiple recordings of the same songs (he noted that Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” has hundreds). “From a licensing point of view, this can be a nightmare,” Greenstein said.

In 2005, a teenaged Taylor Swift signed on to the Big Machine record label and became a global superstar by the time she left the company in 2018. By that time, she’d recorded six albums for the label, all multimillion sellers.

Soon afterward, Big Machine was purchased by her longtime business nemesis — “to Swifties, the hated Scooter Braun,” as Greenstein called him. (The two had longstanding bad blood, and Swift had referred to Braun as a bully and a manipulator). Braun in turn sold Big Machine, including the Swift albums it owned, to another company, Shamrock Holdings, for $420 million. Greenstein said that he was involved in the Big Machine deal but was not free to share details.

Rather than buy into this agreement, Swift announced she would remake the albums. Under her new record deal with Universal Music Group, she’d now own whatever masters she produced. Because she is usually the main songwriter, she would already have rights to the musical works. As the author and owner of her newest masters, Swift now has majority control of her work. Hence, Greenstein said, he’d need to pay Swift royalties if he played one of her songs during the lecture.

No major artist had previously invested the time and energy to re-record their catalogue, but Swift’s move paid off, as the new versions were major commercial and critical successes. When Greenstein asked the class whether they listened to the originals or to Taylor’s Version, most picked the latter.

“Does that sound good to Shamrock Holdings?” he asked, to negative response. “Congratulations,” Greenstein said, “You just passed Contracts 101.”

As a result, he said, Shamrock now owned something far less valuable. They could still sell the original albums, but there is now less demand for them. And because Swift holds licensing rights as the creator of the musical work, she can make sure that the lucrative licensing deals (for movies, television, etc.) go to her own versions rather than Big Machine’s.

Of the six Big Machine albums, the only two she hasn’t yet re-recorded are the first, called “Taylor Swift,” and the last, “Reputation.” Thus, according to one of Greenstein’s slides, “All she has left to recover are her name and ‘Reputation.’”

It’s significant, Greenstein said, that the first Taylor’s Version wasn’t released until she’d been off Big Machine for three years. Until then, she was legally bound not to re-record any of the material, and this time frame was typical of record deals in the past. But this is the part of the equation that Swift likely changed for good.

“For decades, major labels were somewhat rational when it came to the prohibition of re-recordings,” Greenstein said.  “But now they’re going to be asking, ‘What’s the risk of a Taylor’s Version?’”

In response, record companies are now trying to prohibit re-recordings for 20 or 30 years, not just two or three. And this has become a key part of contract negotiations. “Will they get 30 years? Probably not, if the lawyer is competent. But they want to make sure that the artist’s vocal cords are not in good shape by the time they get around to re-recording.”

This, he noted, begged the question of why an artist would even want to sign a record contract in the age of TikTok and Spotify. “Number one, there is the pride involved. If you were The Who in the ’60s, you could trash a hotel room and the label would clean up the mess. Of course it would come out of future royalties, but they would do it. But what you have to ask yourself is, is it worth it?”

This may not be an issue for most artists who sign to record labels — but it likely will be for a select few.

“Very few people have the power of a Taylor Swift, but nobody knows who the next Taylor Swift will be,” Greenstein said. “So, if you are a lawyer, you will represent your client zealously.”

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Taylor Swift ‘1989’ Fan Scholarship

Calling all Swifties and ‘1989’ stans! This scholarship is just for YOU! You voted in Bold.org’s Album of the Year March Madness bracket throughout the month of March and have crowned Taylor Switft’s ‘1989’ as your Album of the Year. 

There may be some bad blood with some other students who voted against Taylor in the bracket, but shake it off because we’re out of the woods and in the clear because Taylor came out on top!

The Swifties are one strong army and are very well deserving of a scholarship made just for them! This is your chance to show off your love for your favorite artist and her best-selling album ever, ‘1989’.

Any student at any education level with any GPA is eligible to apply for this scholarship. The only requirement is that you are a fan of Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’ album!

What is your favorite song on Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’ album and why?

Winners and Finalists

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The application deadline is Aug 1, 2023. Winners will be announced on Sep 1, 2023.

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Award amounts per winner are designated by the donor. Check the award amount for a detailed breakdown.

The winner will be publicly announced on Sep 1, 2023. Prior to the announcement date, we may contact finalists with additional questions about their application. We will work with donors to review all applications according to the scholarship criteria. Winners will be chosen based on the merit of their application.

Award checks will be sent to the financial aid office of the winner's academic institution or future academic institution in their name to be applied to their tuition, and in the name of their institution (depending on the school's requirements). If the award is for a qualified educational non-tuition expense, we will work with the winner directly to distribute the award and make sure it goes towards qualified expenses.

Before we award the scholarship, the winner will be required to confirm their academic enrollment status. Depending on the circumstances, verification of Student ID and/or their most recent transcript will be required.

If you have any questions about this scholarship or the Bold.org platform, just email [email protected] and we’ll get back to you as quickly as we can.

Yes. The terms and conditions for this scholarship can be found here .

Is it okay to quote Taylor Swift in my UC appliaction essay? Answered

I am a rising senior writing my college essays. One of my essay topics for the UC application is "What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?" I am writing about how I volunteered to write the quote of the week on the board before school every Monday in my history class. I did it all year anonymously. In my essay, I talked about a specific quote I wrote and how it is something I actually believe in. It is a Taylor Swift quote.

To conclude my essay, I talked about how I find joy in helping and inspiring people anonymously, or in seemingly small ways. I ended it with another one of my favorite Taylor Swift quotes: "Silence speaks so much louder than screaming tantrums."

I am not sure if that is the best way to go about an essay. Is it appropriate to use quotes from celebrities if they fit the context?

Earn karma by helping others:

I think that your essay idea is creative, and quoting Taylor Swift is definitely fitting for your story. This could be a good essay if executed well.

More importantly than quotes though, this essay will need to explain the power of your impact in detail. Show that your impact was tangible at your school through anecdotes - for example, you could describe hearing someone in your class talking about how happy your quote made them. Hope this helps!

Yes, this does help. Thank you!

Should you use quotes? Yes

Should you use a lot? No

Should you quote a pop star? Unless you are studying music and/or pop culture history and it is relevant, helllll no.

Even though I'm a big Swiftie, quotes should be used sparingly in your college essay. Only include a quote if it had an enormous impact on your life and is extremely relevant to the narrative you are crafting. Since quotes themselves are the focus of your response, I think a quote would be appropriate! However, I would only include one. Too many quotes can seem like a cheap way to meet your word count. Instead, I would focus on how selecting and writing out the quotes you chose impacted you and your fellow students.

I think it would be best not to end with a Taylor Swift quote but instead end it with something that's more personal and shows more about yourself.

While I think your topic is a good one to write about, I do not think college admissions readers will give you more bonus points for quoting a pop star. Rather, I think if you can pull off the essay without dropping celebrity names, you'll be better off. Why? Let's face it 17 and 18-year-old girls might love Taylor Swift but you don't know who your reader is. They might be a 40-year-old single mom of 3 boys or a 55-year-old former history professor. Name dropping does not help reinforce your selfless behavior. Rather, it is unnecessary to tell the story.

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University of Liverpool hosting 'Tay Day' for Swifties to debate Taylor Swift and Eras Tour

• University of Liverpool
• Taylor Swift
• Tuesday 21 May 2024 at 1:05pm

Academics are preparing for Taylor Swift 's arrival by holding a conference - to “debate and deconstruct” the star’s work.

The Shake It Off singer will bring her Eras tour to Liverpool for a three-day run of sold-out shows at Anfield Stadium from 13 June.

In anticipation of her appearances, the University of Liverpool is hosting Tay Day, which it describes as a “symposium for fans, students and academics to engage with the cultural phenomenon that is Taylor Swift”.

The day will culminate in a session of 'Critical Karaoke' - where researchers will perform one-song essays to their chosen Swift track.

The conference is part of a number of Swift-related events being held in Liverpool in the hope of maximising the singer’s boost to the city economy.

Organised by the university’s Institute of Popular Music, Tay Day will take place on 12 June and see academics from across Europe speaking on topics such as Swift’s place in feminism.

Dr Sam Murray and Dr Amy Skjerseth, from the Institute of Popular Music, said: “We’re delighted to be hosting an event to bring together academics, students and fans to debate and deconstruct the work of one of the world’s biggest musical sensations on the eve of her performances in Liverpool.

“The musical, social and economic impact of Taylor Swift is undeniable and that’s why we’re really looking forward to starting a conversation about how Taylor is both Miss Americana and an anti-hero, to understand her style and her wildest dreams and to discuss her reputation.

"We’ll also discuss her reputation for flying private jets, as well as inspiring countless people, whether they’re queer people or young girls, to let them know they can have varied careers."

The University also reached out to the pop-icon herself and, while she's yet to respond, organisers hopes the conference will catch her attention.

Dr Amy Skjerseth said: "We have not heard from her, but we think this week is going to be really important as we start to spread the word. We think that’s going to generate enough buzz that she may find out about it very soon."

Elsewhere in the city in the run-up to the concerts, fans will be able to follow the Taylor Town Trail – made up of 11 art installations, all inspired by a different Era.

The artworks, curated by the city council’s Culture Liverpool team in partnership with social enterprise Make CIC, will include a moss-covered, grand piano to represent the evermore era and giant hearts to depict the Lover era.

Swift-themed craft workshops are also due to be held.

Liverpool City Council’s cabinet member for culture, Councillor Harry Doyle, said: “For more than a year we’ve been watching the impact Taylor has had at every location on her tour date - wherever she goes, an entourage of adoring fans follow, and latest figures show they are traveling from across the globe to enjoy the European leg of the tour.

“We’re a city well-versed in welcoming visitors from across the globe - Eurovision being a prime example - and we wanted to use the unrivalled creative talent in this city to develop a unique trail which will attract people to the city centre, give them an experience they won’t get in any other location and, as a result, encourage them to spend time making the most of our hospitality and leisure offer.

“This is all about using that Team Liverpool approach which works so well and has a tangible impact when it comes to boosting the local economy and supporting local businesses – and even though Taylor may only be in town for a matter of days, we hope the sector feels the impact for months to come.”

The Eras tour, which kicks off its UK leg in Edinburgh on 7 June before going to Liverpool, Cardiff and London, is expected to provide a £997 million boost to the UK economy, according to the Barclays Swiftonomics report published.

Taylor Swift Fans Outraged Harrison Butker Quoted Her Lyrics In Controversial Commencement Speech, Says He Has No Regrets

Swifites   are enraged that Harrison Butker  reverenced Taylor Swift  in  a speech that proclaimed a woman's place is in the home.

The Kansas City Chiefs kicker spoke at Benedictine College in Kansas, and during his commencement speech, he addressed the women of the crowd specifically.

"For the ladies present today, congratulations on an amazing accomplishment. You should be proud of all that you have achieved to this point in your young lives," he said. "I want to speak directly to you briefly because I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you.

Butker continued: "How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world."

The 28-year-old even referenced his own wife, Isabelle, who "would be the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother. I'm on the stage today and able to be the man I am because I have a wife who leans into her vocation. I'm beyond blessed with the many talents God has given me, but it cannot be overstated that all of my success is made possible because a girl I met in band class back in middle school would convert to the faith, become my wife, and embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker."

As the women of Benedictine College sat, waiting to graduate after years of academic striving, they were told in their final moments that, specifically for them, their professional successes do not matter. Their most important role would be homemaker.

Swifties were reportedly offended the Decatur, Georgia, native quoted Swift.

In discussing the role of priests in the Catholic Church, Butker joked, "This undue familiarity will prove to be problematic every time, because as my teammate's girlfriend says, familiarity breeds contempt."

The teammate he was referring to was Travis Kelce , Swift's boyfriend. The lyric referenced is from the singer's hit song " Bejeweled " (2022).She sings, "Familiarity breeds contempt so put me in the basement when I want the penthouse of your heart."

Fans flooded social media with thoughts.

In posting a video of the speech, one Twiter user shared, "I dare Harrison Butker to tell Taylor Swift she has no value unless she is a wife, homemaker, and mother." Another angry fan commented, "He never should have used her lyric. He will regret that."

While considered a phenomenal lyricist by global standards, Swift, 34, did not invent the phrase "familiarity breeds contempt." It's a common expression tracing back hundreds of years. It was first used by Geoffrey Chaucer in year 1300. The statement was reportedly made in jest, meant to lighten the mood in the midst of strong and controversial points.

Furthermore, Swiftes took offense to the Grammy Award winner being described as his "teammate's girlfirend." One commenter wrote: "Reducing her to 'my teammate's girlfriend' is so gross too."

"It is now, over the past few days, my beliefs or what people think I believe have been the focus of countless discussions around the globe," Butker said, according to the Associated Press  Friday. "At the outset, many people expressed a shocking level of hate. But as the days went on, even those who disagreed with my viewpoints shared their support for my freedom of religion."

"It's a decision I've consciously made," he continued. "And one I do not regret at all."

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NFL VP says Taylor Swift did not influence league when making 2024 regular-season schedule

Mike north says the nfl doesn't strategically schedule games around taylor swift tour dates.

Taylor Swift's global dominance is such that the NFL , which will happily overpower other sports on days previously sacred to them -- the NBA on Christmas Day and college football on Black Friday -- has to take Swift into consideration when it comes to her return to the United States to wrap up her "Eras Tour."

NFL vice president of broadcast planning Mike North said last week the league needed to factor in her U.S. tour dates when making the 2024 season schedule on a conference call, per Fox Sports . There's no way a star of her stature is rescheduling her tour for anything less than a natural disaster. 

However, North downplayed his previous comments about Swift's overall influence on the 2024 league schedule. 

"She [Swift] had a bigger influence on my niece Gabby's bat mitzvah last weekend -- it was Gabby's version so there was a lot of Taylor being played at the bat mitzvah. ... She had a bigger influence on the bat mitzvah than she had on our schedule," North  said on "The Adam Schefter Podcast."  

Swift is set to have concerts at Hard Rock Stadium, the home of the Miami Dolphins , three days in a row from Friday Oct. 18 through Sunday Oct. 20. She will then travel to New Orleans for three consecutive days of shows at the Caesars Superdome, the New Orleans Saints ' home field, from Friday Oct. 25 through Sunday Oct. 27. The final leg of her U.S. return wraps up at Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the Indianapolis Colts , from Friday Nov. 1 through Sunday Nov. 3. 

The NFL made sure to send Miami north to Indianapolis to play the Colts in Week 7 (Sunday, Oct. 20), New Orleans out west to Los Angeles to play the Chargers in Week 8 (Sunday, Oct. 27) and Indianapolis northwest to Minnesota to face the Vikings in Week 9 (Sunday, Nov. 3). 

"Look, we know she is touring still, right? So there's a tour date in Miami, Indianapolis, and one more maybe, New Orleans or something like that," North said. "When those teams submitted their scheduling forms at the start, they said, 'Hey, here's everything we want: open at home, close at home, midseason bye, don't give us a three-game road trip.' All the things they normally say, and also 'Our stadium's hopefully not available to you NFL in Week 8 because we have an event going on.' 

"Obviously we knew it was a Taylor Swift concert. As best we could, we try to accommodate whether it's Taylor Swift or Green Day or Billy Joel or Ed Sheeran or Pink or Lady Gaga or anybody else out on tour," North continued. "We know these buildings are used for things other than NFL football. To the extent that the Dolphins, the Saints and the Colts each had one weekend this year where they had hoped to be on the road or [on] bye, Taylor Swift impacted the NFL schedule."  

Swift happens to be in Toronto performing at the Rogers Centre, home of the MLB's Toronto Blue Jays, from Nov. 14 through 16 and Nov. 21 through 23. Coincidentally, the NFL scheduled the two-time Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs to play in Buffalo against the Bills in Week 11 on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS when she doesn't have a concert. That would make it a breeze for Swift to make the just over two-hour drive that separates the Rogers Centre and Highmark Stadium, the home of the Bills, should she want to see her boyfriend and Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce play in person. She did attend Kansas City's AFC divisional round playoff game in Buffalo last season. 

North denied the NFL scheduled the Chiefs vs. Bills showdown in Buffalo for Week 11 to accommodate Swift and her tour.

"Did the NFL strategically try to schedule Chiefs games near her tour dates, so she could attend? I promise you we didn't," North said.  

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