Chart Feature: Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is known as many things. In the past, she has often been called “snake” or “unoriginal” by jealous artists vying for her success in the industry. At one point, she would have been referred to as “boss” when she represented Capitol Records in the past. Nowadays, her fans refer to her as the ‘Supreme’, as she covers this week’s Billboard Magazine issue.
There ain’t no better way to analyse Swift’s supreme powers than to look at her biggest solo hit to date; the #3-peaking ‘Loverboy’ (2015). Swift recalls her feelings about her biggest hit; “Oh gosh, it sure has been a while since I heard that song! When I first wrote it, I actually didn't expect it to be such a huge hit!” ‘Loverboy’ is expected to be certified platinum later this year.
Actually, we lied. There is one song that’s bigger than ‘Loverboy’; a six-way collaboration between female artists that broke boundaries, chart records and Adam Levine’s sanity. Still referenced for its impact on group collaborations today, ‘Rebelle Femme’ sits just a few points away from a diamond certification. Here’s what Swift had to say about her collaborators: "It was such a honor working with all those ladies, I had a lot of fun working with them and I respect each and every one of them so, so much. I actually have another collaboration with one of them on my upcoming album!"
Still, you don’t get to the top without hard work along the way, and for some that comes from humble beginnings. We asked Swift about her first ever single; her feature on OneRepublic track ‘The Lord’. “Yet another song I haven't heard of in a while! I was so thrilled to have been invited to be featured on their song. At that time I was only just writing songs and working on releasing my first ever studio album. My,how times have changed since then”, she says. The track, responsible for getting Swift’s name out there, peaked at #13 on the Hot Singles Chart.
Her first solo single came that Christmas, ‘Blizzard’. Released alongside her holiday album ‘Ice Princess’, Swift managed to peak inside the top five on both major charts. She recalls these releases vividly; “Oh my God, I still remember the day I announced both 'Blizzard' and 'Ice Princess', I was so excited because it was my first ever single and album. I was absolutely thrilled when I found out that both had charted so high. They both hold a very special place in my heart.” In addition, when asked if she would consider releasing another Holiday album in the future, she said: "Certainly! I absolutely enjoy listening to holiday music! It always puts me in a good mood and sometimes serves as inspiration for some of my music writing. I might just work on another one soon. Maybe, I'll make it a duets album. Who knows?"
Swift’s biggest break came with her first studio album; ‘Young Love’. Expected to become the oldest diamond-certified album in history, ‘Young Love’ and its expansion ‘Young Forever’ played a mega role in the impact and success Swift has achieved to date. Swift talked about the record: “Gosh, that album is just filled with a ton of memories. I'm so happy to know that its expected to be certified diamond soon. It's what she deserves”. Spawning the aforementioned ‘Loverboy’ and five other top-five hits, ‘Young Love’ is set to go down in history.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Success is like youth; fleeting and never eternal. Three years later, after an 18-month break, Swift returned to the industry with ‘Daydream’. Talking about it, she says: “I'm a bit embarrassed about this one. I had been going through some stuff at the time of its release and didn't really promote it as much as I did with my other singles. Looking back now I really wish I had put the effort to ensure it made the top 10, but alas, I cannot. A little fun fact: It was actually intended to be on my third studio album, back when I was doing something different before ultimately scrapping it and going a different route. Perhaps one day I'll release that record. Most of the songs for it are recorded anyways". ‘Daydream’ became Swift’s first solo single to miss the top 10 of the Hot Singles Chart, peaking at #14.
Months later, Swift makes another comeback with new records ‘Bittersweet Love’ and ‘Supreme’. An improvement on ‘Daydream’, ‘Love’ marginally missed the top 10 with a number-eleven peak, as ‘Supreme’ marks her sixteenth top-ten single to date. On her newest singles, Swift says “'Bittersweet Love' was also supposed to be in the original concept of my third album before I scrapped the idea and went with this new one. I was going to scrap it, but I loved the song a bit too much to let it go so I recorded it and put on my album anyways. Sort of a new tribute to my original album concept".
As for 'Supreme', it was one of the first songs I wrote when I started writing out songs for the new concept. I was inspired heavily by American Horror Story: Coven and evening sampled a bit of theme song in it! I'm satisfied with both songs' chart placements but it wouldn't hurt to try to bring them up a bit!”. She also reveals that her album title, tracklist and even the third single may just drop this upcoming week. We absolutely cannot wait to follow Swift and her career into the next era.
