Taylor

Taylor Swift was a rarity in pop culture: she was the only superstar to have moved from the country to mainstream, and to become a global pop culture icon. Swift shed her country roots like they were a second skin to reveal that she was possibly the most savvy popular singer/songwriter in her generation someone who was able to harness the mood of the moment and personalize it and just as impressively perform the reverse. These skills were evident on her earliest hits especially the Neo-tribute Tim McGraw but her second album in 2008's Fearless featured a singer-songwriter figuring out the person she really was, and, in doing so, gaining a mass audience. Fearless was a huge success not only in the United States, where six of its singles were declared platinum, on top of Top Ten hit songs Love Story and Belong with Me. But it also performed well around all over the world. Swift's Speak Now album released two years ago was a continuation of her earlier success, and catapulted her into superstardom. With the three subsequent albums -- Red 2012, 1989 2014 along with Reputation 2017 -- Swift's popularity only increased. That was an obvious indication that she was in the new music scene which she was able to fit into. As she cut her style with the stripped-down releases of 2020, folklore and Evermore but she was still at the top. The position was defended through re-recordings of her previous catalog as well as Midnights the synth-based chart-topper 2022 album.