Artist Playlists
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The country world feigned surprise when, after three albums of Music Row-indebted songcraft, Taylor Swift formally embraced pop on 2012’s <i>Red</i>. But no one should have been shocked: Any 14-year-old capable of persuading her parents to move from suburban Pennsylvania to Nashville for her career clearly has ambition to burn. And the thrill of following Swift’s rise has been watching her execute it flawlessly, largely because her melodic intelligence is equal to that ambition. Her early, youthful love songs heralded 2010's newly self-possessed <i>Speak Now</i>—which showed off her scathing wit—and evolved into knowing, ironclad pop fare that held its own against boisterous Max Martin production on <i>1989</i>, her fifth album, titled after her birth year. Throughout, her songwriting has blurred the lines between the public and private, burying enough real-life clues (about, say, scarves and Starbucks) to make clear that only Swift can own her narrative, thank you very much, while still retaining a lyrical elegance. Though 2017’s <i>reputation</i> might have been perceived as a gorgeously constructed piece of dramatic theatre—its attendant heroes and villains all real-life characters from Swift's public feuds—all that spectacle proved an attention-grabbing cover for her most romantic album yet. She turned up the romance even more on 2019’s <i>Lover</i>, but it was 2020’s <i>folklore</i> and its companion, <i>evermore</i>—ruminative, relatively lo-fi albums written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic—that earned her the Apple Music Award for Songwriter of the Year. She followed those up in 2022 with <i>Midnights</i>, which she wrote and produced with Jack Antonoff, and described as "the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life." In 2023, Swift undertook one of the most ambitious road shows of all time: the multi-year Eras Tour, which saw her presenting new and classic material across more than 100 locales worldwide. It was just one of many reasons she was named Apple Music's Artist of the Year for 2023. Swift returned to the soft, comfortable, bed-like sonics of <i>Midnights</i> for her 11th album, 2024’s <i>THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT</i>. A study in extremes and heightened emotions, the record—which features guest turns from Post Malone and Florence + the Machine—is her most specific, candid and unsparing work to date. - Taylor Swift’s videos are dramas unto themselves: elaborate, stylised, a little fantastical but intimate, too. As in her music, you get the sense that there’s no image unconsidered, no object out of place. But if the scenes are orderly, it’s only to balance the messiness of the feelings behind them. So forgive her for being perfect: If she can’t control her life (and nobody can), she’ll make up for it in her art.
- Taylor Swift has released <i>four</i> albums since her last full-scale tour, to say nothing of the unearthed trove of Taylor’s Version treasures. Now that her wildly anticipated Eras Tour is underway, explore three-plus hours of career-spanning hits, grouped by, uh, eras. Set lists could change and surprises will abound, but to get a sense of what is in store—and what she’s been performing so far—check out this playlist.
- When Taylor Swift announces an album, the world takes an interest. That’s certainly what happened in the days after she unveiled <i>THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT</i>, as intrepid Swifties began hunting and assembling and pinning clues to digital cork boards, eventually landing on the theory that her 11th studio album is sure to explore the five stages of heartbreak. And when Swifties agree upon a theory, Taylor takes an interest—so, naturally, she’s responded by crafting a series of exclusive playlists, choosing songs of her own that fit each stage. The second stage is anger, and it’s fair to say that some of her best and most beloved songs boast an edge. You’ll find that in abundance here, coursing through the likes of “Vigilante Shit”, “Bad Blood (Taylor’s Version)” and, of course, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (Taylor’s Version)”.
- When Taylor Swift announces an album, the world takes an interest. That’s certainly what happened in the days after she unveiled <i>THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT</i>, as intrepid Swifties began hunting and assembling and pinning clues to digital cork boards, eventually landing on the theory that her 11th studio album is sure to explore the five stages of heartbreak. And when Swifties agree upon a theory, Taylor takes an interest—so, naturally, she’s responded by crafting a series of exclusive playlists, choosing songs of her own that fit each stage. The third stage is bargaining, where we often negotiate—asking questions of the universe and ourselves in an attempt to feel better. Kind of a complicated feeling to capture in song, but Taylor’s got you covered, zeroing in on a selection that includes “Soon You’ll Get Better”, “Say Don’t Go” and <i>folklore</i>’s “this is me trying”.
- Listen to Taylor Swift and you get the feeling she doesn’t do anything halfway. Even her ballads convey the kind of intensity that makes you want to confront limits and meet your best self. Or as Fitness+ HIIT trainer and co-curator Anja Garcia puts it, “Her music is perfect for fitness because it makes you feel like you can take on the world. And when you feel good and powerful like that, it makes you want to work hard.” So take her lead and turn up Taylor’s most inspiring, workout-friendly tunes.
- When Taylor Swift announces an album, the world takes an interest. That’s certainly what happened in the days after she unveiled <i>THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT</i>, as intrepid Swifties began hunting and assembling and pinning clues to digital cork boards, eventually landing on the theory that her 11th studio album is sure to explore the five stages of heartbreak. And when Swifties agree upon a theory, Taylor takes an interest—so, naturally, she’s responded by crafting a series of exclusive playlists, choosing songs of her own that fit each stage. First up is denial, as heard (and felt) in a huge swath of her catalogue, from the love-drunk oblivion of “Lavender Haze” to the starlit collision courses that are “Style (Taylor’s Version)” and “Treacherous (Taylor’s Version)” and beyond.
- In the midst of her history-making Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour, Swift shares a playlist that is Taylor-made for a “Cruel Summer”. Kick off your own summer era with this collection of songs made for sunshine, featuring tracks from her set list and music from her opening acts.
- From precocious teen singer/songwriter to crossover pop supernova, Taylor Swift's meteoric rise has been breathtaking. And through it all, her innate gift for penning heartfelt lyrics still leaves us weak in the knees. This collection brings together Taylor's most touching writing, with honey-sweet songs that sound like they were pulled straight from the pages of her diary.
- Lean back and relax with some of their mellowest cuts.
- When Taylor Swift writes an unabashedly bouncy pop song, you know that she’s pictured herself jotting down its lyrics in glitter gel pen. The third category in her system of organising her songs, Glitter Gel Pen “lives up to its name in every way,” she said during an acceptance speech at the Nashville Songwriter Awards in September 2022. “Frivolous, carefree, bouncy, syncopated perfectly to the beat, Glitter Gel Pen lyrics don’t care if you don’t take them seriously because they don’t take themselves seriously. Glitter Gel Pen lyrics are the drunk girl at the party who tells you that you look like an angel in the bathroom. It’s what we need every once in a while in these fraught times in which we live.” Case in point: the skyward chorus and fizzy romance of 2008’s “You Belong With Me”. On this exclusive playlist, made by Taylor herself, let loose with a handpicked selection of songs that have Glitter Gel Pen written all over them.
- “'Maybe a hundred bad days made a hundred good stories, a hundred good stories make me interesting at parties'—the lyrics of AJR’s '100 Bad Days' pretty much sum it up. Everything that happens to us is just part of a story we’ll tell someday. These songs are the soundtrack to my story at the moment. I love this playlist for kitchen dance parties, long drives home, sun-soaked reflection, or aggressive bopping. All songs have been loved and appreciated by ME!” —Taylor Swift You can tell your own story by uploading your own Playlist By ME!
- When Taylor Swift announces an album, the world takes an interest. That’s certainly what happened in the days after she unveiled <i>THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT</i>, as intrepid Swifties began hunting and assembling and pinning clues to digital cork boards, eventually landing on the theory that her 11th studio album is sure to explore the five stages of heartbreak. And when Swifties agree upon a theory, Taylor takes an interest—so, naturally, she’s responded by crafting a series of exclusive playlists, choosing songs of her own that fit each stage. The fifth and final stage is acceptance, when we fully come to terms with our loss—and maybe even find peace. The mind springs immediately toward songs like “You’re On Your Own, Kid” and “closure” (both in attendance here), as well as a wealth of similarly cathartic material from <i>1989 (Taylor’s Version)</i> (hello, “Now That We Don’t Talk [Taylor’s Version]”) and <i>evermore</i> (so nice to see you again, “long story short”).
- When Taylor Swift announces an album, the world takes an interest. That’s certainly what happened in the days after she unveiled <i>THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT</i>, as intrepid Swifties began hunting and assembling and pinning clues to digital cork boards, eventually landing on the theory that her 11th studio album is sure to explore the five stages of heartbreak. And when Swifties agree upon a theory, Taylor takes an interest—so, naturally, she’s responded by crafting a series of exclusive playlists, choosing songs of her own that fit each stage. The fourth stage is depression, and sadness is something Taylor’s captured in song as well as anyone ever has. Take the radiant longing of “champagne problems”, for example—written and recorded during the global pandemic, when we needed it most. Or what about “We Were Happy (Taylor’s Version)” and “Forever Winter (Taylor’s Version)”, slightly older standbys that are just as comforting and relatable—songs you can fall into, for sure, but songs that can hold you as well.
- Taylor Swift's pop superstardom opened the door for other musicians to get into the Nashville-crossover mood. Upstarts like Kelsea Ballerini and RaeLynn take cues from Swift's honest, romanticism-tinged early work, penning hooky tracks with relatable lyrics. Lady Antebellum and The Band Perry, meanwhile, follow Swift's path of blending country's twangy poetry with pop's charged-up attitude.
- Unlike the period-piece-like details of Quill Pen Lyrics, Fountain Pen songs feel more rooted in the modern day, their lyrics teeming with more familiar narratives and references. They try to “paint a vivid picture of a situation, down to the chipped paint on the door frame and the incense dust on the vinyl shelf,” she said during an acceptance speech at the Nashville Songwriter Awards in September 2022. “Taking a common phrase and flipping its meaning. Placing yourself and whoever is listening right there in the room where it all happened. The love, the loss, everything. The songs I categorise in this style sound like confessions scribbled and sealed in an envelope, but too brutally honest to ever send.” There’s no better example than the searing memories and turns of phrase of 2012’s “All Too Well”, from the forgotten scarf to the charge of a childhood photo album. On this exclusive playlist, made by Taylor herself, dive into more songs that she thinks fit the Fountain Pen description.
- Quill Pen Lyrics are those that Taylor Swift has written with an imaginary quill in her hand, marked by period-piece detail and what she’s described as “antiquated” words and phrasing, like language plucked from a Charlotte Brontë novel. “If my lyrics sound like a letter written by Emily Dickinson’s great grandmother while sewing a lace curtain, that’s me writing in the Quill genre,” she said in an acceptance speech at the Nashville Songwriter Awards in September 2022, citing the stone homes and grieving widow of <i>evermore</i>’s “ivy” as a prime example. “If I was inspired to write it after reading Charlotte Brontë or after watching a movie where everyone is wearing poet shirts and corsets.” On this exclusive playlist, made by Taylor herself, explore more songs that she’s picked out for their Quill Pen Lyrics.
- Given her stature as a performer and pop star, it’s easy to forget that Taylor Swift is, first and foremost, a songwriter—the 2020 Apple Music Awards’ Songwriter of the Year, in fact. Like many great songwriters, her central subject is romance: the torrid, the beautiful, the teary and the heart-swelling. But similar to the work of Cole Porter, Paul McCartney and Shania Twain before her, Swift’s music manages to imbue big sentiments with a sharp, almost painfully intimate eye for detail: She’s not just alone, she’s barefoot in the kitchen; she’s not just trying to process her clashes with exes, she’s sending presents to their newborns. And she’s got a few arrows in the quiver for when you cross her, too. Mixing solo material with collaborations and music written for other performers, here’s a set of tracks that highlight Taylor Swift, songwriter.
- Taylor Swift has made her inspirations plain from the get-go, shouting out country superstar Tim McGraw in her sweetly twangy debut single. But as she's both matured and turned towards pop, her palette has broadened; her music pays homage to the sly confessionalism of Carly Simon, the sweet-and-sour kiss-offs of Linda Ronstadt and the synth-pop splendour of Pat Benatar's “We Belong”.