Taylor

Taylor Swift was a rarity in pop: she is the only superstar to have crossed from country into the mainstream and then to be a global pop culture icon. Swift left country music like it was another layer and proved that she's possibly the most intelligent pop singer/songwriter of her time. A person who has the ability to tap into the current zeitgeist and make it personal, and be able to perform at the opposite. These skills were evident on her earliest hits especially the Neo-tribute Tim McGraw but her second album in 2008's Fearless showed a writer discovering who she was and, in doing so, gaining a mass audience. Fearless became a worldwide hit and not just in North America (where it earned with six platinum awards for Top Ten Hits Love Story and "You Belong with Me") but in Canada, Australia and the U.K. and other countries. Swift could build on her progress with Speak Now almost two year after. The three albums that followed -- Red 2012, 1989 2014 and Reputation 2017. her success only grew. That was an obvious indication that she was in the new music scene that she could be part of. Even though she had slowed her production with folklore, and Evermore released in 2020, she was leading the way in pop music.