Artist of the Decade – Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift is the preeminent artist of the 2010’s. Swift began her career young, writing and performing her own songs from a young age. She experienced early success, becoming the youngest artist to be signed by Sony/ATV Music Publishing at 14 years old. She is the recipient of a plethora of awards and recognitions as the most awarded artist at the American Music Awards in addition to 10 Grammys. Swift also enjoys amazing popularity, with 200 million records sold and 6 consecutive number-one albums on the Billboard 200. Part and parcel of Swift’s success is the remarkable diversity of her talents. After her success as a country artist, Swift crossed over to pop with her 2012 album Red and her first fully pop album, 1989, in 2014. Her projects since have fully embraced pop, with Reputation and Lover enjoying great critical and popular success. Swift has been an influence and a role model for many women and girls, a powerful demonstration of success and independence in an industry often dominated by men.  She has many female firsts to her name with songs including “The Man” projecting a strong message of empowerment and critiques of the patriarchy. Her career has positively shaped the music scene of the 2010’s and the lives of millions of her fans.