Taylor Swift Timeline
Taylor Swift from her 1989 birth in Pennsylvania through Nashville, twelve studio albums, the re-recordings, the Eras Tour, her masters, and her 2026 wedding to Travis Kelce.
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Key events
Taylor Swift born
Taylor Alison Swift is born in West Reading, Pennsylvania, to Scott and Andrea Swift. She grows up partly on a Christmas tree farm in Berks County.
Family moves to Hendersonville, Tennessee
At 14, Swift and her family relocate to Hendersonville, near Nashville, so she can pursue a country music career.
Signs with Sony/ATV and Big Machine Records
At 15 she becomes the youngest staff songwriter at Sony/ATV and signs to Scott Borchetta's new label Big Machine Records, which will own the masters of her first six albums.
Debut single "Tim McGraw"
Her first single, co-written with Liz Rose, reaches the country top ten and No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Album: Taylor Swift
Her self-titled debut album is released on Big Machine. It becomes one of the longest-charting albums of the 2000s on the Billboard 200.
CMA Horizon Award
Swift wins the Country Music Association's Horizon Award for best new artist.
Single: "Love Story"
The Romeo-and-Juliet-inspired lead single of Fearless becomes a global crossover hit, peaking at No. 4 on the Hot 100.
Album: Fearless
Her second album spends 11 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and becomes the best-selling album of 2009 in the US.
Single and video: "You Belong with Me"
The single peaks at No. 2 on the Hot 100; its video, released in May, wins at the 2009 VMAs.
Fearless Tour
–Her first headlining tour opens in Evansville, Indiana, and closes in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island.
Kanye West interrupts VMA speech
While accepting Best Female Video for "You Belong with Me", she is interrupted by Kanye West, who declares Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time. The incident draws broad backlash against West.
CMA Entertainer of the Year (first)
At 19 she becomes the youngest winner of the CMA's top award, Entertainer of the Year.
AMA Artist of the Year (first)
She wins the American Music Award for Artist of the Year for the first time.
Four Grammys including Album of the Year for Fearless
At the 52nd Grammys, Fearless wins Album of the Year and Best Country Album, and "White Horse" wins Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song. At 20 she is the youngest Album of the Year winner to that point.
Album: Speak Now
Written entirely by Swift alone, Speak Now sells over a million copies in its first US week.
Speak Now World Tour
–The tour opens in Singapore and closes in Auckland, New Zealand, after more than 100 shows.
"Mean" wins two Grammys
At the 54th Grammys, "Mean", her reply to a critic, wins Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song.
First Hot 100 No. 1: "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"
The lead single of Red, produced with Max Martin and Shellback, becomes her first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1.
Album: Red
Red blends country with pop and rock and sells 1.2 million copies in its first US week.
The Red Tour
–Her third tour, opening in Omaha, becomes the highest-grossing country tour to that point.
"Shake It Off" debuts at No. 1
The lead single and video for 1989 mark her official shift to pop; the song debuts atop the Hot 100.
Album: 1989
Her first full pop album sells 1.29 million copies in its first US week, the biggest since 2002.
"Blank Space" single and video
The single replaces "Shake It Off" at No. 1, making her the first woman to succeed herself atop the Hot 100.
Dating Calvin Harris
–A relationship with Scottish DJ and producer Calvin Harris.
The 1989 World Tour
–The tour opens in Tokyo, features a rotating cast of celebrity guests, and is the highest-grossing tour of 2015.
"Bad Blood" video premieres at Billboard Music Awards
The star-studded remix video with Kendrick Lamar debuts; the song becomes her fourth Hot 100 No. 1.
VMA Video of the Year for "Bad Blood"
"Bad Blood" wins Video of the Year, the first of her record five wins in the category through 2024.
Kanye West releases "Famous"
West's song includes a lyric about Swift, which she says she never approved.
Album of the Year for 1989
At the 58th Grammys, 1989 wins Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, and "Bad Blood" wins Best Music Video. She is the first woman to win Album of the Year twice as a lead artist.
Kim Kardashian posts "Famous" phone call
Edited Snapchat clips of a call with West appear to show Swift approving the lyric. The backlash leads her to step away from public life; the unedited call leaks in 2020.
Relationship with Joe Alwyn
–A private six-year relationship with English actor Joe Alwyn, who co-writes songs on folklore, evermore and Midnights under the pseudonym William Bowery.
Wins $1 sexual assault countersuit
A Denver jury finds Mueller groped her and awards the symbolic $1 she sought.
"Look What You Made Me Do" breaks records
After wiping her social media, she returns with the Reputation lead single; its video (Aug. 27) breaks the 24-hour YouTube viewing record.
Album: Reputation
Her darker, electronic sixth album sells 1.2 million copies in its first US week.
Reputation Stadium Tour
–The tour opens in Glendale, Arizona, sets US grossing records, and is filmed for a Netflix concert film released Dec. 31, 2018.
First political endorsement
Breaking years of political silence, she endorses Democrats Phil Bredesen and Jim Cooper in Tennessee's midterms, sparking a voter-registration spike.
Signs with Republic Records / UMG
With her Big Machine contract expired, she signs with Republic Records and Universal Music Group, keeping ownership of all future masters.
Single: "ME!" with Brendon Urie
The Lover lead single jumps to No. 2 on the Hot 100 and is performed at the Billboard Music Awards on May 1.
Scooter Braun acquires Big Machine and her masters
Ithaca Holdings buys Big Machine Label Group, including her first six albums' masters. Swift denounces the deal on Tumblr as her "worst case scenario."
Announces plan to re-record her albums
She says she will re-record her first six albums so she can own new masters.
Album: Lover
Her seventh album, the first whose masters she owns, is a bright, romantic pop record.
AMA Artist of the Decade
Amid a public dispute with Big Machine over performing her old songs, she is named Artist of the Decade and breaks Michael Jackson's record for most AMA wins.
Billboard Woman of the Decade
Billboard's Women in Music event names her its first Woman of the Decade.
Documentary: Miss Americana
Lana Wilson's Netflix documentary, which opened Sundance on Jan. 23, follows her career, eating disorder and political awakening.
Surprise album: folklore
Written and recorded in lockdown with Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff, the indie-folk album is announced only hours before release.
"cardigan" debuts at No. 1
folklore and "cardigan" debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 at the same time, a first for any artist.
Braun sells her masters to Shamrock Capital
Ithaca sells her first six albums' masters to Shamrock Capital for over $300 million; Swift declines to partner with Shamrock and begins re-recording.
Surprise album: evermore
A "sister album" to folklore released five months later; its lead single "willow" debuts at No. 1.
Third Album of the Year for folklore
At the 63rd Grammys she becomes the first woman to win Album of the Year three times.
Re-recording: Fearless (Taylor's Version)
Her first re-recorded album debuts at No. 1, adding six unreleased "From the Vault" songs.
"All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" and short film
The ten-minute song becomes the longest No. 1 in Hot 100 history; she writes and directs the accompanying short film starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O'Brien.
Re-recording: Red (Taylor's Version)
The 30-song re-recording breaks Spotify's record for most-streamed album in a day by a woman.
"Anti-Hero" single and video
The Midnights lead single debuts at No. 1 and spends eight weeks on top; its video wins VMA Video of the Year in 2023.
Album: Midnights
Her tenth album breaks Spotify's single-day streaming record; she becomes the first artist to hold the entire Hot 100 top ten.
Ticketmaster Eras Tour presale meltdown
Overwhelming demand crashes Ticketmaster's Verified Fan presale; the general sale is canceled and the fiasco prompts a US Senate hearing in January 2023.
The Eras Tour
–A three-plus-hour retrospective of her career across 149 shows in 51 cities, it grosses about $2.08 billion, the first tour to exceed $2 billion.
Breakup with Joe Alwyn reported
Reports emerge that she and Alwyn have split after six years.
Re-recording: Speak Now (Taylor's Version)
Announced on stage in Nashville, it debuts at No. 1 with six vault tracks.
Attends first Chiefs game; Kelce relationship goes public
She cheers on Travis Kelce at Arrowhead Stadium against the Chicago Bears, the public start of their relationship and a surge in NFL viewership.
Becomes a billionaire
Bloomberg and later Forbes (April 2024) estimate her net worth above $1 billion, primarily from her music and touring.
Concert film: Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour
Distributed directly through AMC, it opens to $93.2 million domestically and becomes the highest-grossing concert film ever, with over $261 million worldwide.
Re-recording: 1989 (Taylor's Version)
Released on the original album's ninth anniversary, it outsells the original's first week.
Time Person of the Year
Time names her Person of the Year, the first person recognized for achievement in the arts alone.
Record fourth Album of the Year for Midnights
At the 66th Grammys Midnights wins Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, making her the first artist with four Album of the Year wins. She announces The Tortured Poets Department on stage.
Attends Super Bowl LVIII
After flying from her Tokyo shows, she watches Kelce's Chiefs beat the 49ers 25-22 in overtime in Las Vegas.
"Fortnight" with Post Malone
The lead single and its video debut at No. 1; the video wins VMA Video of the Year in September 2024.
Album: The Tortured Poets Department
Her eleventh album arrives with a surprise 31-track Anthology edition two hours later; it spends 15 weeks at No. 1.
Vienna shows canceled over terror plot
Three Eras Tour shows at Ernst-Happel-Stadion are canceled after Austrian police foil a planned terrorist attack.
Endorses Kamala Harris
Right after the presidential debate, she endorses Harris on Instagram, signing the post as a "Childless Cat Lady."
Eras Tour ends in Vancouver
The final show at BC Place closes the highest-grossing tour of all time.
Buys back her original masters
She buys the masters of her first six albums from Shamrock Capital, reportedly for about $360 million, ending the six-year dispute.
The Life of a Showgirl announced on New Heights
After a countdown on her website the night before, she reveals the cover and track list on Travis and Jason Kelce's podcast; the episode tops Apple Podcasts.
Engaged to Travis Kelce
Swift and Kelce announce their engagement on Instagram.
"The Fate of Ophelia" debuts at No. 1
The Showgirl lead single tops the Hot 100 and spends seven weeks atop the Billboard Global 200.
Album: The Life of a Showgirl
Her twelfth album, made with Max Martin and Shellback, moves over 4 million units in its first US week, the biggest in history, and spends 15 weeks at No. 1.
Docuseries: The End of an Era
A six-part Eras Tour docuseries premieres on Disney+ alongside the concert film The Final Show; the finale streams Dec. 23.
Single: "Opalite"
The second Showgirl single reaches No. 1 on the Hot 100 in February.
Toy Story 5 song "I Knew It, I Knew You"
Her song for Pixar's Toy Story 5 debuts at No. 1, her 15th Hot 100 chart-topper, giving her the third-most No. 1s in the chart's history.
Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
She is inducted at the ceremony at the New York Marriott Marquis, aged 36.
Marries Travis Kelce
Swift and Kelce marry at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan before about 1,000 guests; Adam Sandler officiates.
EP: The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore
A four-song deluxe EP ("Patient Zero", "Cleveland!", "Pink Clouding", "Babylon"); "Patient Zero" tops the Hot 100.
2026 VMAs: Video of the Year and Artist Director Honor
"The Fate of Ophelia" wins Video of the Year and "Opalite" wins Best Direction; she receives the first Artist Director Honor, and the "Patient Zero" video with Colin Farrell and Dakota Johnson premieres.
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