Taylor Swift has been a big star for many years now, and her music has transformed over time just like she has. During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, she created albums that, at first glance, do not fit into the pop singer persona she used at that time. Especially after albums like “1989” or “Lover” that were filled with vibrant pop and dance songs, the dreamy and woodsy feeling of her new releases was a big cut. Still, her albums “Folklore” and “Evermore” remain wildly beloved by many of her fans and mark an important transition in her music career.
Originally, in 2020, Taylor Swift was about to start the tour of her latest album, “Lover,” but life took a complete turn when the world went into lockdown and so did she. At first, neither the creation of “Folklore” nor “Evermore” was on her agenda, but, like the rest of us, she did not have much to do while stuck at home, so she started writing not one, but two whole albums.
Inspired by a lot of different imagery that she wanted to include in her music, she started experimenting with a style completely different from her previous country and pop albums, incorporating folk, indie and alternative elements in “Folklore” and “Evermore.” She showed her songwriting and storytelling abilities more than ever before, even creating her own world within the “Folklore” album. This world consisted of characters she invented herself, which shone through in her creative lyrics. She then continued a similar lyrics style in “Evermore.”
At first, the release of both albums came as a surprise, but they became highly popular and showed a big commercial success, with songs like “Cardigan” and “August” to this day occupying a spot in her most famous songs. “Folklore” even won her the Grammy for Album of the Year.
Fast forward to 2024, Taylor Swift is undeniably the biggest music phenomenon of the century. The Eras Tour has been going on for over a year and has turned out to be the highest grossing tour of all time, further cementing Taylor Swift’s fame and success. Since “Folklore” and “Evermore,” she has released two additional unique albums, trying a synth-pop style with “Midnights” and “The Tortured Poets Department” (TTPD).
However, she has not completely left behind the folk-pop sounds and instead has incorporated many “folklore” -resembling songs in the second half of TTPD “The Anthology.” Both albums were breaking records left and right, not to mention the re-recordings of her previous albums that she has been releasing. Since 2021 she had to rerelease her already existing albums, adding (Taylor’s Version) to the title. These albums contain the same songs rerecorded plus a handful of new songs that were written during the same time of that album but didn’t make the cut. Swift started doing this after her old record label sold her music rights without her consent. The Taylor’s Versions have been very popular and only added to her fame. The Eras tour will soon conclude in December of this year, and we can be excited to see what she has planned next for us.
