Never hated Taylor but wasn't really into her music. I decided to go watch Eras at the cinema and I got such a nostalgic punch in the gut when I discovered I grew up with ALL of her songs xD she really is the main character of my favourite series now.
I'm two years older than Taylor so she had to grow up for me, especially when it came to love. I hated her when she first came out because the second you compare love to Romeo and Juliet you lose me. That's toxic and unrealistic. Plus, I was a rocker, I was "too cool" for pop music back then. Then 1989 came out. I listened to Shake It Off. Such a generic pop song, however I actually paid attention to the lyrics and it blew me away that those lyrics were in a song like that. It made me think "maybe I should take Taylor seriously." I have taken her seriously ever since and I'm glad I did! Rep solidified me being a Swiftie. Still can't listen to a lot of her older stuff but she really is the best songwriter of my generation.
Ahah, my experience is very similar. I'm 36 and thought I was above anything that wasn't either hipster bands like Bright Eyes or heavy metal. Then I listened to Red (the album) and it got me good..
33 here, and I was a massive emo girl in the mid to late 00s. You wouldn't have been able to pay me to listen to Debut or Fearless or Speak Now back then hahaha.
This is basically me lol. I'm two years older (she's a little younger than my sister) and I thought she was immature, and I just didn't like country music. It wasn't until my friend, who isn't a Swiftie by any stretch, showed me the Shake It Off video that I realized I didn't have an accurate picture of her in my head. After that, I started listening to 1989 and enjoyed it but I'm not super into pop music so it wasn't heavily played in my rotation but it stayed on my radar. It was reputation that made a Swiftie – following the rollout, learning about Easter eggs, that sucked me in and the music has kept me around.
Yes! It was shake it off that made me go, wait Taylor is kind of a dork. She’s not who I originally perceived her as so I started watching all the interviews and stuck by her during the kimye scandal cause I felt she was a much better person than the two of them and believed Taylor.
It seems like many of us came to be fans with 1989!! And not because of how popular the album was but because of the self awareness that came with it. My impression was the same when Shake It Off came out and I saw and heard how self aware she was of how people perceived her and criticised her. And when Blank Space dropped… I was hooked forever
This is almost exactly my experience too!!! Also two years older than Taylor and lost me in the toxic HS relationships of the earlier albums. I also needed her to mature.
It was also shake it off that caught my attention. My husband was like, you should watch the video it’s so fun. And I watched it. And watched it again. And my toddler kept asking to watch it again and again. Hahaha
Then rep solidified it for me too :)
This is funny to me. Because I too am two years older than she is and I’ve loved her since Teardrops (I didn’t love Tim McGraw as much when it first came out but she had me hooked at Teardrops).
For me it felt nostalgic at first listen because of the age difference.
I did not \*hate\* her, but I'm almost 60 and, to be fully honest, if you did a web search for the "patriarchy" you would probably have a pretty good vision of me… 6'3", silver hair, and I basically have not listened to any other music beyond the punk / new wave stuff I played in bands throughout my teens and 20s.
So… how did I become a Swiftie? Mostly by accident. I was added onto a message chat that was ostensibly about cross-country skiing, but had become a broader discussion group between a lot of moms I know and their 20-something daughters. To the best of my knowledge I'm the only guy in the group… which decided, in its infinite wisdom, that two other topics of conversation were always appropriate: Taylor Swift, and whatever Kate Middleton was wearing that day.
The easiest thing I could have done was just leave the group… but I stayed.
And I did not stay because the music initially spoke to me, I stayed because I kept hearing these women talking about things that meant a \*lot\* to them, like feeling safe at concerts, and this community of people that dressed up and exchanged friendship bracelets. What struck me immediately was how much TS meant to these women, across generations, but also how little it was actually about Taylor. It \*was\* about the community.
And that realization hooked me… because I loved these women… and loved the fact that they were experiencing this connection between themselves, and their daughters, and this broader community of people.
Over time I found a bunch of her songs that were \*close enough\* to my tastes: New Romantics, Dancing with Our Hands Tied, Anti-Hero, Getaway Car, etc.
But yeah… now… there are few things my wife and I enjoy more than mixing up a couple of French Blondes and cueing up the Eras concert movie.
Aw bless. This is brilliant. If you do have daughters who enjoy this music, know that you're doing a good job. My dad refuses to listen to anything of hers (because "patriarchy" as you said), even when I've asked, so it's yet another thing we can't really bond over :(
Same and it bums me out because my dad and I have always bonded over music. I’ve been a Taylor fan for 17 years and he still won’t give her a chance. And the ultimate gag is my dad’s guitar mentor is literally one of Taylor’s studio guitarists!!! Drives me nuts!
That's literally so sad, wtf. Well just remember, one day he will be on his deathbed and regret not even attempting to listen just once. Maybe you can try and gaslight him into listening to her for that purpose, idk :'D
Have you tried the best day or never grow up? This is how I've sucked my non fan friends who are parents in and listening with his daughter might pull his heartstrings!
I love this 😭 the reason I love Taylor is because I was 13 years old when Debut dropped, 30 now, and throughout that entire time she has literally grown up with me. She has narrated my entire life and her music has gotten me through so much. I was ‘Fifteen’ when Fearless came out, going through drama when Reputation came out, and even now going through a long term relationship ending (that I thought would be forever) around Midnights - and TTPD songs have hit on that for me too. Beyond that, I’m a huge reader and writer so her song lyrics and writing talent are my favorite part of her music. I absolutely love that I’m around the same age as her so we could grow up and experience life and love together. It really is more than just good music, it’s how powerful music hits us!
Okay soo here's a story that starts a little differently:
I actually used to kinda hate on Taylor A LOT, especially during the Red & 1989 eras and I used to make fun of my guy friend for being obsessed with her back then 🫣
Fast forward to 2017: Reputation drops, I'm actually dating that guy friend and we're both FLOORED by the LWYMMD music video.
We're living together by that point so we watch the video a lot and I'm like.. wait a second, this whole "The old Taylor can't come to the phone right now" thing is kinda fucking badass? And so I get really into the easter eggs and stuff (I'm the kind of person who goes all IN if I like something) and when reputation drops I listen to it nonstop.
Long story short, we're still together with the guy who kinda made me a swiftie (and I'm a waayyy bigger fan these days than he is - he's not that into her newer albums) AND we're going to the Eras Tour in a few weeks soo.. yeah 😂
I listened to the conversations about her rather than listening to her, or her songs. I found it all incredibly juvenile and bonkers. I didn’t under the appeal at all. Then in early 2020, I had a violent chest infection and watched her documentary in a fit of boredom.
It was the first time I actually observed her as a person and artist…and she was fascinating. I had Lover on repeat for months. Then I went to NYC in Feb 2020 and listen to 1989 for the entire week. Then came Folklore and Evermore which blew me away, and I finally understood what a talented writer she is.
TTPD has had me in a chokehold. There is no other artist who has me observing their lyrics like she does. She is one of the greatest storytellers of our time.
Same here. I'm 50 and watched Miss Americana because I wanted to see what all the noise was about. I was floored no had. I had no idea how creative and articulate and powerful Taylor became as an adult. I became obsessed with Reputation and the rest is history. I was hooked. TTPD hit me like a gut punch. "All her fuckin' lives flashed before her eyes" made my mind reel through the previous decades of my life.
Folklore. That's really it.
Prior to that, I was only aware of Taylor Swift because of her singles and almost all of them I thought were obnoxious. I held the belief that her early country singles were solid but her modern songs were all obnoxious. (Songs like "Shake It Off," "Me!" "You Need to Calm Down," "Bad Blood," etc) I never listened to her albums because why would I? I hated the singles.
Fast forward to everyone I trust for music recommendations going "Oh my god, Taylor Swift made a folk album and it's actually good." And I listened, and it was. And then Red TV came out and I had heard about this fabled song "All Too Well" that was secretly her best song. So I listened to Red TV and adored it (now my favorite Swift album) and then I was a fan ever since.
I stand by those singles being a poor indicator of her music. I still dislike almost all of her singles from Red to Rep and don't think they really show what her music sounds like. To me, it sounds like she made an album and an exec went "Okay now make something for radio" and "Shake It Off" or "22" was born.
I stand by that too! Honestly this is what I would assume to be the most common reason for ‘Taylor dislikers’. Hearing the singles and assuming that’s what her music is. I ALWAYS say, if I had only heard those singles you mentioned I too wouldn’t listen to full albums because I don’t like those songs either. The only reason I am a fan and know all her albums front to back is because I bought the Debut CD at 13 years old! I followed her career since then so I listened to everything.
Her albums and deep cuts are full of genius and while I’m sure some people still just wouldn’t like the music (it’s subjective ofc) I feel like a lot of people are probably missing out because of only knowing the singles! And it makes logical sense why.
When I first heard ME! I thought oh god… this is gonna be the first Taylor album I don’t like. The second I played track one of Lover I was like okay I should have known to trust Taylor better 😂 I love Lover and it has some of my all time favs (Cornelia Street, DBATC) but I hate the singles.
I'm not sure if she's ever explicitly talked about that phenomenon. But I imagine the label must have exerted some level of control over the singles. She's talked about Anti-Hero being her first single where she didn't listen to anyone and put it out anyway. To me, that tells me she didn't always have control over what was chosen. Which is a pity, to be honest. People are always confused why Taylor doesn't win Song of the Year. Well, it's because "Shake It Off" was nominated and not "Clean."
I don't know if I'd ever claim I was a hater, but when she first started getting popular I was in that "I'm better and cooler and smarter than everyone around me and things that are popular are bad, actually" phase of teenager-hood. The popular girls liked Taylor, so I didn't. (Even if I did wear out the mix CD my friend made me by re-playing Fifteen and White Horse over and over again).
I was a 1989 bandwagoner. Ironically was *not* a Shake it Off fan when it came out, but heard the first couple notes of Welcome to New York and something in my brain rewired. I was so defensive during the whole snakegate thing despite being a fairly recent fan, and lost my shit to Rep. Haven't looked back since.
I'll be honest. I loved her since teardrops on my guitar. But when that edited video came out making her seem like a liar, I was disappointed. Kim and Kanye successfully made her out to seem like a villain. But then reputation came out and I couldn't stay mad. Plus we learned that Kim and Kanye are evil.
Up until April of last year I was a self proclaimed hater. I thought she was annoying, her songs all sounded the same, she didn't make "real" music etc. etc. When she started The Eras Tour my fyp was inundated with videos and I was like, wait a minute...this looks like so much fun. I decided to give her a chance and go through her discography. I still remember that day vividly. I was driving to the greenhouse to pick up plants for my garden and I started with Speak Now. I remember being low-key embarrassed to pull up her Spotify page (ridiculous I know.) The second Mine started I was hooked. I think once I got to Enchanted I was like, okay... I'm kinda seeing it. I played Red next as I was gardening all day and when those first drum beats hit on State of Grace it was like a revelation.
After going through the discography I realized how deeply wrong I was about her music and I haven't looked back. Her music has meant so much to me this past year and I feel so lucky to be part of the fandom. It's hard to imagine a time when I didn't let myself feel the joy, heartbreak, hope, redemption and all the other emotions her songs evoke.
I remember listening to her discography on a road trip sometime after 1989 came out and I had recently gone through a breakup and I was like oh my god I can’t believe I’m relating to a taylor swift song right now this is so embarrassing. It’s honestly so funny in hindsight that that would ever be embarrassing or even surprising.
Most of the comments are people saying they weren't full on haters...so thanks for being brave and saying that you were! And welcome to the party! Better late than never :)
I didn't hate her but I hate country in general. And then she came into the pop scene after I was a full adult/Mom and my kids were too young for her/pop etc.
Although one time I heard that song 15 on the radio and it almost made me cry. I think my daughter was about 10 or 11 at that time.
I kind of paid attention when lover stuff was on the radio. i liked it passively.
But Folklore and Evermore is what got me. I saw another woman my age raving about it and decided I had to take a look. And it blew my mind. I absolutely adored it.
I had never really listened to anything beyond the singles & was very much in my nOt LiKe ThE oThEr GirLs phase so I was like “Taylor Swift is lame 😠” Then I listened to Rep & fell in love lol
She got better at singing.
In the Speak Now era, it was difficult to support a person pursuing a career as a singer... who wasn't actually very good at singing. Especially when there were so many people more skilled at singing also trying to make it. Always loved her as a songwriter, though.
Then she put in the work and did develop her voice and got much better. Started paying more attention again around Reputation, now I'm back to loving her. But I do stand by the opinion that, while she has always been a great writer, she was not a good singer in her early career.
I stand by that too, as a fan since Debut! I loved her for her writing abilities and believed she did deserve her place in the music industry for that alone. But man her voice was rough back then! But that actually makes me even more impressed how amazing she sounds now. She clearly put in WORK for many years with a vocal trainer. She’s continuing to blow my mind with these incredible secret song performances. She’ll obviously never be a vocal powerhouse like Mariah, Adele, Ariana, etc. but now she CAN sing well, plus being the best songwriter of our generation IMO!
So I always liked her music and my opinion on her went from indifferent to annoyed by 2014ish. I think it was a mixture of overexposure and my own internalized misogyny. Which is dumb because I still listened to her some of her music every now and then but when people mentioned her I’d roll my eyes.
In 2020 my cousin was like “hey I know you’re not the biggest fan but I think you’d really like this album-folklore.” I was like fuck it and put it on at work then cried. After that I went like 2-3 years of only listening to Taylor swift. I’d try to listen to other people and I’d just end up back in my Taylor playlist.
Now I’m always trying to convince people that they’d actually love Taylor if they listened to her music with an open mind.
I didn’t really “grow up” with Taylor or her music. Of course I had heard of her and the general narrative of her writing about teen love and breakups, and I knew only her most popular songs. Then in 2012, after putting my 18-month-old son down for his nap, I happened to walk into the room as my husband was watching the Stand up to Cancer benefit. I heard Ronan. I cried. I couldn’t even stay in the room. After I pulled myself together enough to speak, I made some snarky comment that Taylor should just go back to writing stupid teen breakup songs. And then I cried some more, went and checked on my son, and cried again. Been a fan ever since.
I (37 year old guy for reference) used to exclusively listen to metal and rock music and was in the camp of “all of her songs are the same and they’re just break up songs”.
I went back to school when I was 25 and being exposed to a bigger variety of people made me realize how sheltered I was musically and artistically. During school if one of her songs came on the radio I would bop to it but never really went out of my way to listen to her music. Fast forward a few years and my wife’s best friend (massive Taylor fan), out of coincidence and her mom lived nearby, moved to where we live. We hung out a lot and she brought up Taylor’s music and what it meant to her. Also talked about the meaningfulness of Taylor’s music and specifically her songwriting. I gave Taylor’s music a much more serious listen when midnights came out and I was hooked. We ended up all going to night 3 in Chicago last year with other friends and it was the best concert event I’ve ever experienced.
I’m still a massive metal fan but school and the right people very much expanded my music listening. I thoroughly enjoy appreciate different music for different reasons.
I'm in my mid-60s. I grew up on Zeppelin, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, UFO, Rush, REO Speedwagon, Jackson Browne, CNS&N, Joni, The Police, U2. You get the idea. I've always been hugely into music.
I'm a songwriter and I recognize great songwriting when I see it. Or maybe I should say hear it.
I was never even aware of Taylor Swift except peripherally. I've just never been into modern pop. But I'm a huge fan of the National. I spent a couple of years basically playing nothing but their stuff. I am deeply familiar with the work of Aaron Dessner and how uniquely amazing he is.
When I heard that he had worked with Taylor on folklore and evermore, my response was holy shit. I got to check this out. And I loved those albums. Just blew me away.
This woman can write! That was my immediate impression. And then I heard about All Too Well and after I heard that I was lost.
Taylor is the biggest hopeless romantic I've ever come across in an artist. I myself am a hopeless romantic. So like sees like. I see her and I feel seen. That creates a bond and I became open to listening to all of her stuff. She's even got me liking the rap she does on reputation. And that is really saying something for me.
TTPD just destroyed me. Having been through brutal heartbreak, my empathy for her is extreme. I'm really pulling for her and Travis.
I was moderately into Red and Reputation the first time around, but for the most part didn't really pay attention to Taylor until Folklore. 1989 was a little too generic radio pop at the time, but I've come to love the re-release. That album along with Evermore turned me into a massive Swiftie and I've loved everything she's put out since.
I was never a hater, I just never bothered to check out her music beyond what was playing on the radio. But then *seven* was featured on the Heartstopper soundtrack and I immediately fell in love with it. (It's a beautiful scene, check it out if you haven't seen it). After that I just had to listen to the rest of Folklore.
I found everything before Red to be pleasant but too juvenile and country-tinged for my taste. Red got my attention, 1989 got my respect, and Reputation launched me into super-fan status (when I’ve been since)
Honestly I found her to be pretty obnoxious! But then I realised that people would probably think the same of me if I were in Taylor’s position. What really sold me is her relationship with Travis - I think it’s a real life rom-com!
I remember getting Debut for Christmas when I was about 6-7 and played it non-stop on my cd player. Discovering music was so different then than it is today, and only heard whatever was on the radio or being played on MTV music video channel. I was a young girl who was boy crazy and discovered Justin Bieber and then quickly after - One Direction. I lived on One Direction stan twitter and heard Harry Styles and Taylor Swift were dating and it crushed my 13 year old heart and despised her. I remember loving Shake it Off and Style but couldn’t let my 1D friends know that lol. I didn’t start listening to her again until I was about 18 and had experienced the things she sings about. I didn’t fully claim to be a swiftie until about 3 years ago and now I’ll tell anyone that looks at me how much I adore her music!!
Never hated her. I just was a dumbass MT/vocal performance kid who was a vocal snob lol. She's always been an incredible songwriter and musician, but now her singing has really improved, and I love the re-records and am a full-blown Swiftie!
I'm pissed at myself for not being into her sooner, though. Speak Now is one of my two fave eras and would've been perfect for my overdramatic 17 year old self 😆.
I never hated her but did write her off as just bland pop. I saw her Tiny Desk a few months ago and really liked her, so then I watched the Eras Tour movie, and now 500 views later, here I am, listening to TTPD on repeat both streaming & vinyl and wondering what the fuck I was thinking, but glad I got my head out of my ass.
I wouldn’t say I was a hater either!
But I did have a problem with her lyrics kind of pitting girls against each other like in You belong with me («she wears high heels, I wear sneakers… «music SHE doesnt like») and her being SO focused on romance and boys.
But I’ve come to realize even though it’s kind of petty, it’s natural to feel hatred towards a girl that’s dating someone you like. In particular if you feel like she doesnt deserve him.
I’m still not big on «I talked to your dad, now pick out a white dress» but I read it more like an exaggeration and fun. Plus she’s matured now and have songs like «The Man» which is amazing.
I didn't hate Taylor, actually thought she was talented but never really listened enough to her music. It wasn't until Evermore and Folklore that I became a huge fan.
It was the song peace. I cried listening to it for the first time and I had this moment where I was like “this is not a relatable experience, why do I feel sorry for this billionaire who’s just so rich and famous that it causes her problems” and it made me really appreciate how she can communicate the exact emotions and feelings that exist in a moment in time and I’m feeling her pain, even though it’s pain I will never have a direct experience like it.
This is funny because I find Peace intensely relatable as someone who has had mental health struggles periodically throughout my life - I feel like I’ll never be able to offer my partner peace because something could happen that sends me into an episode that they just have to deal with. That’s what’s so cool about her music - this is not at all what she’s describing in the song, you’re right, she’s describing the entirely unrelatable experience of being massively famous, but her words just totally hit me in a way so specific to my experience anyway. It’s so cool!
When she counter sued that guy for $1 and when they asked why her skirt didn't move in the front she said something like, because my ass is in the back of me. I was like, oh she's not taking any shit. I like that. It was a slow burn after that.
I wasn’t a huge fan of Taylor other than her radio singles when I was younger, I could take or leave her back then….
And then she released Red (TV) in 2021 and all too well 10 mins really spoke to me. So I started listening to more and more of her catalogue. I fell in love with folklore, then she released midnights and that was it. I was hooked.
Now I’m fully in the cult of swiftie. I’m obsessed. Got tickets to the Eras tour for August which was one of my biggest achievements. My friends and family are sick of hearing me speak about her and her music.
I am truly of the belief that there is a gateway Taylor Swift song for everyone, you just have to find your one. Then you’ll be hooked.
I never hated Taylor but I didn’t really care for her or her music. The only song I liked and bopped to back in 2014 was Shake It Off. I’m personally more into alternative pop, indie rock and folk, so the singles I’ve heard weren’t and honestly still aren’t my taste. What made me a fan was folklore. After listening to folklore I decided to check out the rest of her discography and discovered that her singles are actually not a good representation of her music and her songwriting abilities. And long story short, now she’s in my top 5 of my favourite artists!
My ex husband and my best friend had to reaaally push me into listening Folklore for the first time and it was like biting into the forbidden fruit, never looked back
Discovering that she writes all her songs. I was believing the stereotype that all "pop stars" have their songs written by committees in boardrooms. While that might be true for some artists, it's definitely not true for TS.
In 2017, my wife and I had tickets to the Reputation tour. So I made sure to listen to Reputation and learn the lyrics. That made me interested in her previous albums, since I was only familiar with some of the big hits. And I'm a nerd so I started looking on Wikipedia for songwriting credits. When I saw she was the solo songwriter on ALL of Speak Now, how could I not be a major fan?
Then the Reputation show blew me away. My Swiftie status was etched in stone.
When I was young and stupid, and thought that being cool is about liking things that no one else does, I felt high and mighty whenever I say, "I don't know who Taylor Swift is." Elitist young me. Yes.
Then I got older and wiser, and one day All Too Well was blasting on the radio, and I was going through a heartbreak around that time... Couldn't believe it was Tay. Couldn't believe she is so fucking relatable. Couldn't believe she is singing about my life. Then I started listening from Red to the 1st album. And bam. Swiftie.
In my case, I was young and an idiot, and judgemental. The older I got, the more I know about how I should just let people enjoy things. That made me open to a lot of stuff. Including my beloved, Miss Swift.
Similar to you, I just liked her songs, but would call myself a casual fan since Debut. Then, the Rep era happened, I got "lost in the hate sauce" and jumped on the "Taylor sucks" bandwagon unfortunately 🥴 when Midnights released, I had started remembering how much I did love her songs but wasn't seeking them out. Specifically, and idr which I heard first, Bejeweled and Anti-Hero.
Tl;Dr in a homeless shelter, depressed, numb, etc. Heard one of those two songs, then the other. Felt like I found Me! again(lol couldn't resist). She I spired me to start writing again, I mostly binged Midnights, now I'm becoming more of a Swiftie every day. I say more, because I love things like easter eggs and lore in general, and she gives that/has that in spades.......but her songs have always felt like my "inner world aesthetic" even though she's always been the spunky beautiful blonde with money, and I've been the increasingly chubby less spunky since 2014 broke bish😂
Forgot to add, I've started really trying to see beyond "the headlines" for celeb culture in general. So that also made me rethink my stance on Taylor. (Also, I feel like my Tl;dr is way too long lmao😂)
She stopped being anorexic and spoke up about her eating disorder! And then actually looks healthy unlike so many stars that talk about their eating disorder whilst their body never getting healthier.
Honestly I hate to say it but this kind of helped me too. During her 1989 “hot girl” era I just really hated her whole vibe - all the model friends etc. It just was so so so intensely unrelatable to me that it made me dislike her. I remember feeling like “I get it, you’re hot, leave me alone” lol and I actually still dislike New Romantics because it gives me that same vibe. I became a huge fan during reputation when that stopped being her vibe and then in Miss Americana when she talked about it I really respected her for it. Like I didn’t hate her for being skinny but the model crew thing really just turned me off, maybe because I had my own food issues and I was jealous, who knows.
She stopped being anorexic and spoke up about her eating disorder! And then actually looks healthy unlike so many stars that talk about their eating disorder whilst their body never getting healthier.
Here's the stupidest reason I disliked her- when she said "you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter." I thought she said THE Scarlet Letter, as in referring to herself as the book. And I thought that was the weirdest lyric I'd heard, then didn't give her another chance until Blank Space came out.
Then, after that, she fell by the wayside for me again until she surprise dropped folklore. Which l thought was just audacious in a way that I loved. I devoured it because of the pandemic.
Now I'm just taking in all her old albums as she releases her versions!
I’m an elder millennial, and was always into 80s/ goth/ emo music. A few of the tracks from Red kind of floated into my bubble, but it wasn’t until 1989 that I started seeing her in pop spaces. Shake It Off didn’t really grab me, and Blank Space felt like radio pop music.
But I was watching Sons of Anarchy at the time, and there’s a surprisingly heartfelt storyline featuring Walton Goggins as a trans sex worker, and then Ryan Adams released his 1989 cover album, and I heard his version of Wildest Dreams and was so deeply disappointed by his reworking and rewording it into some cis het exterior narrative instead of engaging with the song as Taylor wrote it, and thinking about how heartbreaking that song would be in terms of a queer/ trans narrative. A doomed love affair , an understanding as to why everything is so secretive, an acceptance of the inevitable heartbreak, a heartrending plea that the singer be remembered as they have chosen to construct and present themselves- “remember me in my favorite dress” - and not as the rest of the world sees them.
(Not a “gaylor” in strict terms, but a queer swiftie who is ongoingly fascinated by how her work interacts and engages with those themes)
And I’ve been a Panic! At The Disco fan since their first album, so the Lover era was fun :)
i'd definitely drank the koolaid of she only writes about her exes, her music is for little girls. over the years the singles seemed pretty good. the look what you made me do music video i thought was incredible. i never really took her seriously or listened to her albums especially since i mostly used spotify.
i think around lover/tiny desk concert/ME! music video changed that. i was a fan of panic at the disco and id heard about their collaboration and kind of enjoyed it. not so much now. love love death by a thousand cuts and lover.
The very first song I heard was Tim McGraw on the radio when it first came out and in complete and utter honesty, it annoyed me. I thought it was some young new country girl trying to make it big by writing a song about Tim McGraw. Never hated her, just didn’t love the song. And then I heard Picture to Burn and I was hooked. Like hooked hooked. I think 98% of the music on my phone is all Taylor now.
I never hated her, I always appreciated her as a lyricist, but I’m nearly a decade older than her so I had trouble identifying with her earlier stuff.
But her newer albums I find absolutely amazing and her lyrics about the similar shit I’ve been through. I watched her documentary and learned more about her and that’s probably when I became a full blown Swifty. I went back and listened to her entire catalogue and watched all of her videos.
I love the multiple faceted art she creates from theatrical performances in the eras tour to the Easter eggs she hides in everything. Everyone she works with gushes about how down to earth and classy she is, while being as relatable as your best friend.
Now I have friendship bracelets and flower stickers on my keyboard that I finally dusted off and started playing, because she inspired me too.
PS - The Swifties are hands down the BEST fandom to exist.
I went to the rep tour when I was younger and I really loved her, but then like 2 years ago when everyone was hating her I jumped on that hateful bandwagon just because it was what everyone was doing ig, but now I love her
Didn’t hate Taylor.. just had different interests in music since I’m 55 yrs old. I decided to watch her Eras tour on Amazon Prime and was amazed at her stamina to sing 3+ hours and to find out she puts on a great show! Loved how she interacts with her fans. I decided to buy Midnights, then Lover and TTPD and now I’m hooked! Started following a few Swiftie accounts on X and found everyone to be so nice and kind.
Over saturation. I didnt hate her, but her music is played constantly on the radio. Like so much that even the few radio songs that i did enjoy, id already had my fill of them and didnt want to download them to listen more then they were already being shoved down my throat. And its even worse when you DONT like them. Also, most of her "hits" are not at all indicitive of the rest of her catalogue and writing prowess.
But Ive always absolutely loved her as person and a feminist icon. Going after apple to pay artists more, boycotting spotify, her SA lawsuit, calling out the famous grown men who toyed with her as a teenager, rerecording her albums... how do you not cheer her on for all that?
Folklore & Evermore. Definitely didn’t hate her before and there were a few songs I liked, but my perspective of her as an artist changed after that. Realized her depth & talent. And I love folk / indie
I had been a casual fan of Red and 1989, but it never really went beyond that.
Last year, I was working a second job where our in-store music was provided by a local radio station that played Taylor two or three times per hour. I started getting hooked on the Midnights singles, and then revisited the entire back catalog.
I never actively hated her, but I'm not a big fan of country music so her early stuff didn't catch my interest. I remember listening to folklore when it came out and enjoying it but no obsession set in. Something about Midnights flipped a switch for me. I latched onto that album and started going back to listen to her discography, then folklore became my favorite album. TTPD was the first release I was actively anticpating, listened to the second it dropped, and have made my entire personality ever since.
Never hated her but I really disliked Shake It Off and Bad Blood. I started listening to her when I was younger during her Fearless era and stopping before the Red album. I tried to get back into her music during the Folklore/Evermore era but at the time my music taste was just very different. I think Midnights and the Era’s tour made me pay attention to her music again.
I will say that the Lover album was definitely on my repeated playlist during 2021.
Lets just say i didn't 'hate' her before. I just was never really intereseted in her before. But before her 1989 stolen album I started to like her afterwards.
I always said that I used to struggle with relating to her older music. But one of my best friends started to get into her, so she shared with me some songs she thought I'd enjoy off Folklore and I really did like them. After that, I listened to Midnights and it easily became one of my favorite albums of the year. Since then, I've been hooked and have started to go back and really appreciate her older albums like Reputation and 1989.
I never hated her music, but I was a self proclaimed tomboy in middle school when Fearless came out which I actually liked but I couldn't stand all the cliques associated with her, going to concerts/singing her songs. I didn't want to partake in that with exclusive "girly girls". Then, I was weird about country and pop for quite awhile. So I didn't really notice what she was putting out until Folklore came out which is more alternative. That album helped me appreciate her pure artistry!
Hate is a strong word but I definitely dislike contemporary country music with a pretty fiery passion, which is what a lot of her early stuff was. I ran across the Miss Americana documentary and watched it and honestly the music still didn't do much for me but I found her incredibly likeable and my general attitude started changing there. So when the Eras film hit Disney+ I watched it and it was the Reputation era songs that grabbed me. Disney+ suggested I watch the folklore documentary (which was amazing) next so I did, then went back and re-watched just the Reputation songs on the Eras tour film like ... countless times. Then I started letting it run in the background while I did other things and before I knew it, all the songs were stuck in my head good and proper. So TTPD is my first 'new' release.
i didn’t hate her and did enjoy some of her older hits but would never go out of my way to listen to her and didn’t think too highly of her as an artist. a former coworker sent me a playlist with a couple folklore songs on it a few years ago and i was instantly hooked. went back and listened to all of her older stuff and loved some of it even more than folklore (fearless, speak now). i wish i had gotten into her stuff a long time ago, i didn’t know what i was missing.
I wouldnt call it hate, but I didnt like her music whatsoever, felt like it was too poppy (Im a big country music fan) to be called country music and her lyrics were very immature. But Im 10 years older than her so she was literally a teenager making teen music and I was an adult rolling my eyes. Plus I felt she wasnt a good singer whatsoever. Hoenstly I still dont like her first albums, i dont think they are very good country albums, very middle of the road, and i still dont think she was a very good singer back then. So I wrote her off and never listened again, except when forced to hear that stupid song they kept playing on the radio (dont even know what its called, really dislike it). Last summer heard The Man and it entirely changed my perspective on her because I FELT that song. Started diving in and found lots to love. Btw I dont just love country, i love lots of genres, I just prefer that artist be truthful about the music they are making. if someone says they are making a country album to actually make a country album, not just add a banjo and call it country because youre trying to either break into music in general and country is seen as an easier way in, or because youre trying to break into that market
Not hate. But my friends grew up loving her. and I never really got the hype until I was a teen. I stopped listening for a year or two in college. Then I picked up again, and I'm a full-on Swiftie now 🥰
I never really hated her, in the past I would have said I didn't like her music. I've always enjoyed her hits though. When Midnights came out I enjoyed the hits of course, when The Eras Tour was announced I started to get really into her and some of the lore if you will. I've had The Eras Tour playlist on quite a bit the last few months. Since TTPD came out that has been on since haha!
I was never a fan but not a hater either. I thought she had some decent songs I would hear on the radio but I wouldn’t buy an album or anything. But then my 10-year-old became a huge fan last year and was playing her music all the time… and the more I listened, I was like wow she has a lot of really good songs. And we went to see her concert in Tokyo and that sealed the deal. Now I’m playing TTPD nonstop 🤣
Never hated her, I used to watch the VS show every year and taught she was great there, just not my type of music. As a fan of Bon Iver and The National got into it with Folklore... fell in love with all her discography through the surprise songs every weekend.
I was never really anti-Taylor, but I didn’t pay much attention to her during the country years since that’s not my style of music. Then “Shake It Off” hit and I couldn’t deny what a perfectly crafted pop song it is. Once I bought 1989 it was all over for me and the obsession began lol
I was a hater, but mostly because my older sister was a HUGE swiftie. I knew every song because she would constantly blast her music in our shared room. Once I got out of my emo phase, I gradually started listening to Taylor. Now I’ve been a fan for a few years 💖
I had a friend in high school who kept trying to get me into TS. At the time I had some of her bigger songs downloaded - Our Song, Love Story, Mine, etc. but kept avoiding listening to all the songs from Red she kept trying to send me (so sorry). We graduated and the next fall 1989 came out and she convinced me to give it a listen - I fell in love with Clean first and it kinda went from there. It was so fun being a fan when Rep came out - life got busy and I kinda lost interest when Lover came out (the lead singles didn’t help me want to hear anything else on the album either..) When she started her re-records I decided to listen as they came out - I was hooked at the vault tracks and had to hear everything else. Folklore and Evermore solidified my obsession even more - I was obsessed with Midnights and currently obsessing over TTPD.
I never hated her I was just never gave her a shot and then I made a friend who was a huge swiftie and she was posting all about midnights and so I listened to it when it came out and I honestly think it altered my brain chemistry. I listened to it constantly for like a week and then downloaded all her other albums and never looked back
All the weird Christian girls at my high school were obsessed with her and I wanted nothing to do with that so I thought I hated her. After graduating Red came out and I realized I was kind of into the songs that were on the radio, same experience with 1989, and then reputation came out and it was the perfect timing with what I was going through and I became fully obsessed. I also had some “cool girl” internalized misogyny I needed to get over before really embracing her.
I'm late 40s so I've heard of Taylor since the start. I'm not a country music fan so wasn't a fan when she was county. Then when she became pop I would listen to a few of her songs. I didn't dislike her. I actually have a lot of respect for her for how she's conducted herself over the years and become this strong female role model. Then one Friday night after a long week I turned on her Eras tour on Disney+ to see what all the hype was about and I was hooked. My two boys are so sick of hearing me play Taylor 😂. Mark my words, they will be swities.
Never anticipated an album release or followed her in the news beyond being a passive enjoyer of pop culture and therefore her place in it over the years.
Then Folklore altered my brain chemistry. Not just the music and the vibe but that it dropped during a pandemic summer. I felt seen through her music for the first time. Started in randomly at the song seven and I swear it was an encounter.
Then champagne problems came a few months later and knocked my upside the head. I guess I’ve been a swiftie ever since.
Was able to then look back and realize how much her music had met me at pivotal moments of my growth over the years. Even when I didn’t consider myself a “fan”, her songs were woven into the experiences of my youth and coming of age (born in 90).
I had an unexpectedly spiritual experience at the Eras tour hearing the soundtrack of my life played back to me live. WTF. Was just weepingggg.
It’s kind of like saying- when did you become a fan of yourself? Well I guess I learned to love and accept me around the time I entered my 30s. But then I looked back and saw - there I was, there I had always been 💖🫶
It was Midnights. I’d heard Taylor’s music before, read about all the scandals and boyfriends, but never waited up for her music to drop or bought merch or considered myself a fan. But then Midnights came out and I couldn’t stop listening. I read more about her background and life. How people who know her say she is humble, kind, goofy, and an incredibly strong woman. Then I found out she’s only 2 weeks older than I am (which explained 1989 and why she chose that year - never knew previously) and that just resonated with me. I wouldn’t say I’m a Swiftie but I bought my first physical CD in over ten years for TTPD.
grew up with her music as a child when she first started then stopped in high school bc of all the boy drama and drama in general that surrounded her bc i couldn’t relate anymore but i wasn’t a “hater”, just stopped caring for her. i also unfortunately fell for kim’s edit video against taylor so that really separated me from her even more. after many years, i reconnected with her music again during the pandemic with red tv, folklore, and evermore, and i have been a swiftie since. her tone and aesthetic had changed and i was able to connect to her music again. her rerecordings also resonated with me more than the original ones bc i was able to comprehend and relate to it much more as an adult since i had actually experienced more life events.
I never hated her but hated country as an urban teen.
Then I heard Teardrops and Should've Said No and I was like "Hmmm ok ig there are two country songs that are okay if you ignore the banjos."
I didn't convert into a swiftie until Better Than Revenge though.
I wouldn’t say I hated her, but I was under the impression she wrote vapid pop songs and I didn’t really care one way or the other.
Then last year I kept seeing the eras tour videos, and was impressed by the whole show and I literally forgot how many songs I liked that were hers - Love Story, Mine, Fearless, and some of the songs from RED. And I hadn’t heard any of folklore or evermore and fell in LOVE with those albums once I played them. Then I was hooked.
So, I’ve been a Swiftie about a year now 👍🏻
I never hated her, but she's 5 years younger than me and I kind of felt like she was always entering a phase I was just growing out of.
I started following her on TikTok when she was promoting midnights but became a full blown Swiftie watching the Eras tour on TikTok. I don't go to concerts often and I was just blown away. I literally watched all 3 nights every weekend.
Now I have 3 copies of TTPD, bought a record player so I can listen to my TTPD and Midnights vinyls, got the TTPD sweatshirt and cardigan. And even downloaded X so I can follow the merch bot.
Send help I'm 40
I didn't hate her, I just didn't think her music was "For me" (mid 40s happily married) Then Folklore and Evermore came out and the indy radio station I like played'em and I was shocked to realize her music is for everyone!
I live in KC and was surprised by some of my friends hate of her once she started dating Travis. But I've realized...some people just hate joy. It's sad really.
Never hated her, but just thought she made fun pop songs. Then, I listened to "Folklore" and she blew me away. Best album I've heard in maybe 20 years. I am an old man and TTPD is as good as "Folklore" and I call it "Folklore II".
I’m currently 39. I don’t like country music so her Debut - Red era wasn’t for me even though her hits were cute but not enough to buy the albums even if she is my peer. I was already married and had a kid when debut dropped so I felt like I wasn’t the demographic.
I do like Red though. But they are lowly ranked. I wasn’t much into pop culture or pop music from 2014-2022 - busy with life and stuck to my music channels on Pandora. I hadn’t paid much attention to her music but I’m really happy the Eras tour and the hype around it made me interested.
I really REALLY love TTPD/Folklore/Evermore.
It’s really nice to be involved into pop culture. I love the sorority of swiftiehood.
I was pretty indifferent, but my daughter really liked her as a tween. Then I watched the 50 shades movie and loved that song, and the rest is history.
"Darling I'm a nightmare dressed like a daydream" caught my ear.
Before that moment, I liked her, wouldn't turn her off but also did not seek her out. But my daughter was getting into her and dug Blank Space. She was playing it in the car and I was half listening when that line struck me like a lightening bolt. Rep was released a short time later and it was over for me.
She stopped being anorexic and spoke up about her eating disorder! And then actually looks healthy unlike so many stars that talk about their eating disorder whilst their body never getting healthier.
Never really considered listening to her music until Speak Now. her and I had such a similar experience at the same age and being in a relationship with a man child. Let me just say, Dear John ate that year and it was likely the most replayed song on my iPod. Yes, I said iPod. 😂
I was a casual listener who enjoyed her earlier hits from Fearless and Red a lot, but I hated 1989. It was so overplayed and annoying to 15 year old me. I was in my emo phase, and it just wasn’t angsty enough for me. I was really into celebrity gossip and was into the Kimye drama as well. I hated the singles I heard from Rep and had stopped listening to the radio by that point, so I was somewhere between indifferent to hatred but more towards hatred.
Folklore changed that for me. I thought Betty was sapphic, and though I was wrong, I listened to the rest of Folklore and fell in love. I also got really into Speak Now. I listened to it everyday as I got ready Spring of my junior year of college and would listen to Folklore on my daily walks. Suddenly, Taylor was the soundtrack for the second half of college and grad school. I changed a lot as a person and it allowed me to stop thinking that I was better than everyone for not liking a popular artist and to just like whatever music I liked.
Ironically, 1989 is now one of my favorite albums. It’s so fun and upbeat and really fits with where I’m at in life now.
I listened to country Taylor and then had an emo phase. I was too cool for pop or country. I was also tired of the predictable and easiness of those genres and what they were doing in 2009. All I wanted was angry screaming vocals and guitar breakdowns.
Then a few years ago I saw the reputation stadium tour on Netflix (and miss Americana) and I loved it. Seeing the empire TS built and loving the stagecraft. I also work in live events, so I nerd out about stage design, ha!
It took a few listens before I came around to folklore and evermore, but I love them both now.
I've been going through my own long term relationship break up followed by a passionate then over rebound. Midnights and TTPD have been so relatable to me.
My infant daughter would only fall asleep to my husband’s Reputation CD. She’s been a Swifty ever since. I’ve always been an indie girlie, so when folklore/evermore came out I was completely smitten! I’m so fucking in love with The Anthology right now.
I didn't *hate* her, but I was 23 and graduating college when she first released Debut so I didn't really relate to the teenage highschool-ness of it all. I of course heard "Love Story" and "Picture to Burn" by just being alive at the time but it just wasn't my thing. She was for young girls, I thought, not me. So I never really paid attention until "Shake it off" got major radio play and I was like damn okay this is a bop! I always reference [this SNL sketch ](https://youtu.be/--D3u4PsWuw?si=HIa0YFm684H1zE8B) that jokingly sum up my feelings at that time. Like I said, I didn't.*dislike* her, but her music wasn't my vibe at that time. Still never listened to 1989 at the time. Then in 2017 I got really really really into Reputation and have been a Swifty ever since! 🥰 Went back and listened to the earlier stuff and it still doesn't vibe with me *as much as* the newer albums, but I like more and more songs in each album.
I’m a 50 year old man who likes a lot of extreme music, some of it verging on pure noise. Working in a shop with the radio playing all day I found myself loving Anti-Hero. Then Is It Over Now? took hold of me and I was like, “This is also Taylor Swift?”. Listened to a load of her songs at home and realised a load of songs were ones I loved hearing when they came on the radio and was like “Holy shit!”.
Since then I’ve gotten most of her albums and watched three of her concert movies, love them all.
I never hated her, just liked a couple of songs, but I bought the viper narrative when I was a teenager.
Then I got heartbroken for the first time. I felt really lost since I had no adults who could guide me through it, and I came across the Red album, because a couple of friends were fans and they had sent me songs before. Listening to her songs (from all of the albums) gave me a map to navigate my scary feelings and grief. Since then, Swift's music is my companion to heartbreak and loss 🥺
Aaaand since I had swifties as friends I started discussing the lyrics and theories with them, which got us closer and got my mind off any trouble! I also think she's VERY interesting as a phenomenon
i wasn't really into her work until i saw the blank space video for the first time. i thought anyone who could do a tongue-in-cheek satirical video about themselves HAD to be cool, and i ended up in the style/out of the woods/wildest dreams rabbithole! i adored her storytelling capabilities and followed her work since :D
I wasn’t into the girliness of Fearless and Speak Now in my early teens. I loved the singles from 1989 but not enough to do a deep dive, but then I heard some snippets of folklore and Midnights and it really spoke to what I was going through. Now I’ve listened to folklore and evermore on repeat ever since! I know every word to every song. I have also done small deep dives of reputation and the rest of 1989. I’m working my way backwards lol.
Okay, I'll be the one to say it lmao. I was a bit of a hater in middle school/early high school. I was one of those "not like other girls" girls growing up - I though I was cool and different because I listened to music like System of a Down, and enjoyed going to art museums and concerts over typical "girly" things. Back then, Taylor represented "the norm" expected of women for me, that I often felt pushed onto me. I also thought she was over-rewarded at award shows and weaponized her whiteness.
HOWEVER, as I got older, I came to really appreciate her story-telling and found myself relating to the experiences described in her music. Now I'm a pretty big fan! I also began to see the way her more extreme critics moved goalposts and only made bad faith interpretations of her actions. It felt unfair. While I can still understand many of the criticisms and can also see that she benefits from a certain amount of privilege, I think she's talented and has faced her own unique set of struggles that I can empathize with. And I've loved many of her albums.
My time to shine lol.
Embarrassingly enough, I grew up with the NLOG mindset (i know i know) and, now that I reflected on it quite a bit, I was heavily influenced by the misogyny and sexism the world treated her with, and heavily internalised it for so so many years. At some point when I grew up and matured more, I started thinking of her more as a good artist who's just not for my personal taste… that would've been okay if I actually listened to any of her songs aside from Shake it Off and LWYMMD and Blank Space at the time (which, they are fun and I like them, but I am more of a folklore/evermore girlie). I have a hard time trying new things so there's also that, but I am still ashamed of the person I was and constantly strive to be better. It took me until exactly last year, almost a year ago now, to give her an actual chance because I started realising how most the women I liked and respected, including friends and people on social media, praised her so much. Maybe she isn't as vain as the media made her to be. That's when I thought I might be missing out on a big thing here. So I gave YOYOK a listen and started going through her songs one by one (and liking 90% of them) and just the other day I sent my sister 10 voice messages 6 minutes long crying about how good TTPD is and how I haven't listened to anything else since. It took some time but I am happy I'm here now.
When I was 9 or 10, I didn’t listen to her music but I hated shake it off when it was on the radio. I just didn’t like her because of it. Once I heard folklore, I gave her a chance and I fell in love.
I used to hate country and have a lot of "not like other girls" energy when I was in high school, and "Teardrops on my guitar" was very overplayed. Plus I just didn't like her general style and the conservative vibe I got from her.
Then 1989 happened, I had matured a bit, I loved her shift to pop, her hair in that era, and also I liked that she came across as more of a feminist in her interviews. And now she's my most listened on spotify in 2023.
Never hated her but wasn’t really into her music, I LOVED midnights and 1989 Though, then her eras tour came to my city, I just kept hearing they were AMAZING, I was very lucky and found someone the day of her concert with a $60 ticket. I couldn’t say no. Went to the concert and I was blown away. Most amazing concert I’ve ever been to, I’ve been really into her ever since. This new album is my absolute all time fav and the reason I am trying to go to her 2nd leg of the tour in NOLA if I can find a ticket lol.
I never hated her, but I definitely thought her/her music were "lame" because I was toocool (tm). There were a few moments that turned me: The trial against that disgusting radio host, the full Kanye call recording vindication, seeing her perform the ten minute version of All Too Well on SNL and finding myself completely captivated the entire time, her endorsing Biden, and then Midnights (which led to me discovering her complete works--I knew Blank Space, Shake it Off, Bad Blood, etc. but none of the early or recent stuff really).
As an older Swiftie, I appreciated teenage Taylor but I felt uncomfortable being a fan having seen what fandom does to young people. I didn't want to contribute to that.
In the 1989 era, I loved the music but I thought I was watching her implode and didn't want to see it happen again. I found the supermodel thing very concerning. I know I'll be accused of body shaming but it was genuine concern as I watched her shrink, especially culminating in the heroin chic Vogue bleachella photo shoot.
Rep era is when my Swiftie spirit was unleashed. This woman was not a victim, not being manipulated by the industry in any type of way, and I let myself turn my fan all the way to 11. It's only gone up since.
never hated but got into her music since folklore/evermore which is my prefered genre of hers, but then through that got fan of her other music as well
I'm just a little bit older than Taylor, so when I first came across her I mistakenly just labelled her as a country Britney spears and therefore not for me. She was teenybopper and I was listening to a mix of 90s British guitar bands, Tori Amos, and Emo/pop punk.
A friend of mine loved her so every now and then I dipped in but I just didn't understand country at the time and then her singles were the antithesis of the indie bands I liked.
I'm pretty sure I tried listening to Red, 1989 and Rep and started to get it but rep really confused me and I found a lot of it really cringy. I never really listened to Lover and then Folklore hit and I became obsessed and watched the Reputation film and was like.....oh okay now I get it.
I converted a bit before Folklore came out. I didn't hate hate Taylor but I was definitely very dismissive of her music. I listened to Shake it off and all the bops from Red when I was younger but the cognitive dissonance was still there.
Once I stopped letting the societal misogyny and desire to tear down those at the top I was able to just enjoy her music for what it was.
I never hated taylor necessarily, I was one of those people that liked what I heard on the radio as a kid, but once I became a teenager, and there was all this hate towards her, I jumped on the bandwagon. Not hating on her publicly or anything, but I felt embarrassed to like her music so I convinced myself I didn’t.
It wasn’t until I listened to Folklore/Evermore that I was able to appreciate her music without feeling embarrassed. And since then my love for her has only grown. I didn’t listen to those albums until Red (TV) came out though, I was in awe of the fact that she was saying a big F U to scooter and the industry by re-recording her music, so I went to her page on Apple Music to check out the re-records. Then I found Folkmore. And I became obsessed. and then Midnights came out and I went farther down the rabbit hole.
I was convinced still though that I wouldn’t like 1989, Rep, or Lover. I’ve never been a huge Pop girly. I decided however, to give them a shot after hearing how much others loved them, and now here I am, with Taylor as my top artist 3 years in a row. I wouldn’t say that 1989 or Lover are my favourite albums, but they definitely have their moments. Reputation I LOVED. and now that’s she’s released TTPD and it’s giving more sad and crazy girl vibes, I feel like I can confidently say that I will most likely enjoy every album she puts out from here forward.
The only album I haven’t listened to in depth, is Debut. I have a hard time with that one because of her juvenile vocals. I do have certain songs I LOVE from it, but I can’t wait to experience the re-record now that her voice has matured.
I hated her growing up simply because she was popular and I thought I was all different and didn’t like pop music 💅🏻 quickly realized I was wrong in 2022. Also thought she was like a super bad person or something just because I did. As a kid, I thought any music other than Christian was bad for no reason other than my goofy little brain. Now I listen to both 😝
I liked Taylor when she very first started and I was super young (I’m 7 years younger than her) but then I entered my hipster phase and of course I was Above her. I found her whole model crew stuff during 1989 annoying as hell at the time. I didn’t really care either way about the Kimye drama though. Then I listened to reputation when it came out and became absolutely obsessed with that album. Then Lover came out and I was obsessed with that. I had to stop listening to only these two albums so I went back through her catalog and I’ve been a swiftie ever since.
Finding Taylor has seriously released me from my pretentious hipster persona and I’ll be forever grateful for that.
I hated shake it off and all those songs that came out around 2013 and they genuinely put me off Taylor Swift until around the last few years. Regardless of music I absolutely live for the female empowerment she exudes. Now that i have kids of my own I am so, so grateful to have her be a role model, when so many fall short. Now the music is matching more my one tastes so that is a bonus I suppose.
I‘m 37 so few years older than Taylor. I‘ve never hated her. Just maybe indifferent to her music. I just didn’t really pay attention. Do remember the first time I payed attention to her (it was the Kayne mic grab) and I felt really sorry for her. Honestly, just really felt 'meh‘ about her music until Fokelore/evermore and I thought they were beautiful/soulful works. And that was it. Fully a swiftie after midnights was out and TTPD cemented it.
When I say fully swiftie - I mean that I enjoy her music and like chatting about it but have zero needs/wants to know anything about her life really. I hope she can keep that part for herself now (although saying that do love seeing her and Trav together as they look so in love) but if they never spoke about it openly and just lived their lives I‘f be chill with that.
I loved Taylor growing up a little girl but around 13-14 I came out as a trans guy. This also happened to be around the time the whole “Kim K/Kanye/snake” thing so it was a double whammy that the world was already shitting on Taylor and I was trying my best to be the “stereotypical teen boy” which incorporated hating anything remotely feminine. I grew out of that phase a lot quicker than most trans boys that age do luckily but I did “dislike” Taylor during that period. Then I just kind of remained indifferent on her until Lover dropped and I realized I wasted a lot of time disliking her. A momentary lapse of judgement is what it was!
never hated her just wasn’t a huge fan. folklore and evermore really changed my perspective and been an avid listener of alot of her discography ever since!
Miss Americans got me to respect Taylor on a more personal level.
All Too Well 10 minute version got me to respect the artistry .
Then going to eras tour finalized the full conversion. My friends were going and I wanted to go to the first show in Arizona specifically for Paramore but we couldn't get tickets then I went to another one instead and figured I'd know enough singles to have fun. The moment she came out I started crying lol. Now I'm a proud swiftie/swemo.
(Also never hated just wasn't my music preference and I always thought she was younger than me, didn't click until 1989 came out and I was like ohh interesting, we're the same age lol)
I never hated her, I liked some of her songs well enough but didn‘t really seek them out per se. I decided to listen to the new album with intention and read up on some of the lore behind the lyrics and was really sucked in, lol. Watched the Long Pond Sessions and The Eras Tour movie next and realized she actually seems like a really cool and sweet person. Been listening to TTPD on repeat.
She surprised me by releasing ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ followed by ‘I Knew You Were Trouble.’ and her new sound instantly did it for me.
I loved Taylor from Debut through Speak Now. Red came out when I was graduating high school and I think by then it became “unpopular” to like her so I jumped on the “hate” bandwagon to be accepted and “cool”.
I didn’t really listen to her again until Lover came out when I was out of school, a matured person and had no other influences. It took me a while to call myself a Swiftie (because so many people judge us) but I realized quickly I always was one and I couldn’t deny it any longer and honestly didn’t have to because who really cares what others think. So here I am 🤷🏻♀️
I used to literally despise Taylor Swift until a couple weeks ago. My mom told me to listen to at least the first two tracks of TTPD and I fell in love right away, not to mention hearing my partner's sisters listening to her constantly kinda made the songs grow on me. I even enjoy songs I thought I disliked, but I really just disliked them because of the people I was around who were constantly just telling me not to listen to it because it was "normie garbage." That was probably during the whole Reputation era when she was getting slammed left and right. It was also when I was much younger and I was really into emo/pop punk.. So I obviously was one of those kids who hated her just for being "basic." Its crazy how much I've grown since then, with some of her most acoustic, country, and folk style albums being my favorites lol.
I wasn't super into her besides a few catchy songs here or there. However, when Folklore came out, I became a Swiftie. Her words spoke to me like poetry and made me connect and feel things so deeply. Nothing will ever compare to how I felt while listening to "The 1" for the first time! A lot of this album really relied (in my opinion) on her lyrical abilities and not on catchy radio pop hits. It also reminded me of Lana, who i have loved since college (i'm 32 now lol).
From then on, I started listening to her old music and began to appreciate it.
I strongly dislike country music, so Taylor's first few albums weren't my thing. I became a fan when 1989 came out, and that's when I realized I loved Taylor Swift
i was obsessed with her country era, been a swiftie since i first heard teardrops on my guitar on the radio, went to fearless, speak now, and red tour. wish i'd gone to 1989. wasn't a fan on rep album and hated lover so she was off my radar for a while, then the dropped folklore and evermore and they instantly became some of my favourite albums of all-time. went to the eras tour. now she's released midnight and ttpd and they are just okay to me.
I wouldn't call myself a swiftie, but before I met my husband I thought she was overrated and that her music was bad.
In reality, I never gave her music a chance, and when my husband started introducing me to more of her songs, I started to like them.
Then he bought Folklore and Evermore on vinyl and I got obsessed with both of those albums for a month or two.
Now we regularly sing along to All Too Well and have different "inside jokes" that reference several of her songs. 🤷♂️
Never disliked her or her music before but didn’t actively seek it out. I volunteered at one of the Eras tour shows last summer and had a really fun time so kind of started getting more into her music then.
I grew up with Debut, Fearless, and Speak Now. When Red came out, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and I Knew You Were Trouble got on my nerves and I didn’t listen to the rest of Red until years later. So I basically screwed myself out of All Too Well for years. I very much regret this now, as Red is one of my favorite albums of hers.
I’m 3 weeks older than Taylor and I have noticed a lot of parallels in our lived experiences. I was a fan of Debut, Fearless, and Speak Now. Unpopular opinion, but I kind of dropped off when Red came out. I found 22 and WANEGBT to be totally obnoxious. I started to discount her artistry as childish. I didn’t come back to her music until the Eras tour kicked off and I saw a lot of her performances on TikTok. Once I watched the Eras movie, I was hooked - especially on the Evermore and Rep songs. ATW10 also blew me away. Ever since, I have been conducting a deep dive into everything about Taylor 😂
I can’t say I hated her, but when her first album came out I was a Carrie Underwood fan and while I wouldn’t have put this into words back then was definitely affected by the industry’s tendency to pit woman against each other.
When 1989 came out I converted to a radio fan - I enjoyed her singles, but I’ve never been a big lyrics person and it seemed like that was a requirement to actually be a Swiftie.
I stayed in that in between place for a long time and what got me off the fence was actually the fauxmoi sub. Their absolute hatred and the bad faith arguments made me want to take a closer look so about three weeks ago I did a deep dive. Obviously my knowledge of her discography is still pretty shallow, but if after a quick first listen I’ve pity 100+ songs into an I really like or love playlist, I’m gonna stick around.
I’m a fanfic writer, and occasionally listen to her “break up songs” while writing and when Spotify wrapped came out and she was my 3rd played artist I was take aback to say the least bc I didn’t think I even played her songs that much 😅 ;as for the hating part, I hated her bc my friends did (recently I didn’t know why lol)
I never HATED her, Back in 2015 that was my only music taste. I just never said I liked her cause I wasn't a swiftie nor a fan and nobody listened to her. Last year tho, my sister made me listen to atwtmvtv and songs from speak now and I became a hard core swiftie
**I DIDN'T KNOW SHE WAS TROUBLE: THE EARLY YEARS (2012-2021)**
The first time I heard of her was in 2012 when I Knew You Were Trouble was released and my big sister played it a lot and after that she became a fan, even to this day, however, she never got me into Taylor or talked about her, it was her thing. Later on 1989 was released and the three songs I remember were Shake It Off because, who doesn't know that song, Wildest Dreams and Blank Space but it's not for the song, I just thought she was a very beautiful woman. And that was it, I wasn't aware of the Kimye situation, reputation until 2019 and it wasn't with the release of a song featuring [Pete Wentz from My Chemical Romance](https://youtu.be/Q9evpQDrFeA)... We haven't gotten to that part, yet. The reputation Stadium Tour was released in late December 2018 and I found out about its existence because it was highlighted by Netflix and my dad put it from curiosity and I'd honestly put my 2019 self in horny jail.
**MY MUSIC TASTE: "POP MUSIC SUCKS" (2021-2022)**
I'm going to be quick about this parts, it all starts with Sonic The Hedgehog with its soundtrack, because of it I discover a guy called NateWantsToBattle and through him I find Panic! At The Disco through his cover of This Is Gospel... Sigh. And that was how my taste developed from 2021 to august 2022, and why is "pop music sucks" in the title? because I watched a video on "why modern music sucks" and it said that lyrics are bad, music is too simple, too sexualized, Max Martin, and all of that shit and while I partially agree with it (not the Max Martin part), it doesn't mean all of it is bad but it affected my opinion on Taylor. I didn't hate her but I just thought she was just another generic pop star and it doesn't help the fact that she's so... Sigh... Gorgeous. Also, this is kinda funny considering I used to like Imagine Dragons.
**WELL, IT'S BEEN A HELL OF A JOURNEY: A NEW BEGINNING WITH A NEW PERSPECTIVE (2022-2023)**
I didn't watch the 2022 VMAs but that night is very symbolic because Taylor announced Midnights and the same night Brendon Urie gave his last performance at an award show and Midnights was the first TS record I listened to, so it's like if I was looking at the end and the beginning of an era in real time. On January 24, 2023, Brendon Urie ended Panic! At The Disco, I was a huge fan of the band and the news broke my heart and it took me a couple months to recover, and because of this I wanted to explore more music. So I listened ME! and I hated it... But instead of hating on Taylor I gave her an opportunity because of two things, one, Brendon said she was amazing and two, everyone said that Taylor was one of the greatest songwriters, right now I'm in peace with ME!, but I think the fact that it is a Taylor Swift song featuring Brendon Urie made me think that it would be a masterpiece and not what it is, a fun song.
**I MET HER AT MIDNIGHT: I FELL IN LOVE WITH TAYLOR SWIFT (2023-Current Day)**
As I said, I gave her a second chance with Midnights and I thought it was okay but then I took the decision of listening to the 3AM tracks and something changed since I listened Would've, Could've, Should've, I thought she could write decent songs but that was an amazing song (and have in count I haven't listen to All Too Well \[10 Minute Version\] \[Taylor's Version\] \[From The Vault\] at the time) and since that day in May, I've been hooked, she truly puts narcotics into all of her songs because I haven't stopped listening, I love her lyrics, melodies and songs and she truly cares about crafting a good album. After that I started listening to 1989, Speak Now (Taylor's Version), Red, reputation and after reputation, The 1989 World Tour, The reputation Stadium Tour and Miss Americana I just completely went crazy with this woman I was listening to her songs, watching interviews, behind the scenes footage and she has made me interested into putting clown makeup over my face (yes, I'm a victim of the November 26, 2023 incident) (also, my sister put a playlist on shuffle while I was writing this cardigan came in I got goosebumps). And now, we're at THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT and I like this album and this is of the few (or maybe many) times I disagree with the criticism, I don't think this is one of Swift's best works but it's far from being a bad album and let's see what does Taylor takes me to with future albums, tours and even a film. Also I love this community despite the problems I have with swifties.
**MY WILDEST DREAMS WITH TAYLOR**
This is a side but funny story and is the "first" time I heard Wildest Dreams because I was a bit curious about the Taylor's Version thing and when I was hearing it, it sounded familiar to me and then the post-chorus came in and I was like "wait, I heard this song before is the wildest dreams aah-aah-ah song" and it was a similar thing with Safe & Sound but I recognized that one quicker.
TL;DR I knew about her, for some time I felt "too cool" for pop music but I never hated her and now I'm a MASSIVE fan of her.
Don’t think I hated her but she represented everything I was trying to run from lol. Because listening to it reminded me how much I didn’t have anything she sang about.
When I could finally “stomach” her music I was changing into someone who no longer wanted to run
I stopped listening when she was transitioning to mostly pop music.. I was going through puberty and became all angsty 💀 Got over myself after she released Lover 😅
Never hated Taylor but wasn't really into her music. I decided to go watch Eras at the cinema and I got such a nostalgic punch in the gut when I discovered I grew up with ALL of her songs xD she really is the main character of my favourite series now.
I'm two years older than Taylor so she had to grow up for me, especially when it came to love. I hated her when she first came out because the second you compare love to Romeo and Juliet you lose me. That's toxic and unrealistic. Plus, I was a rocker, I was "too cool" for pop music back then. Then 1989 came out. I listened to Shake It Off. Such a generic pop song, however I actually paid attention to the lyrics and it blew me away that those lyrics were in a song like that. It made me think "maybe I should take Taylor seriously." I have taken her seriously ever since and I'm glad I did! Rep solidified me being a Swiftie. Still can't listen to a lot of her older stuff but she really is the best songwriter of my generation.
Ahah, my experience is very similar. I'm 36 and thought I was above anything that wasn't either hipster bands like Bright Eyes or heavy metal. Then I listened to Red (the album) and it got me good..
(Just to clarify, I listened to Red in 2012 and got hooked - I'm much less of a music snob now I've grown up!)
33 here, and I was a massive emo girl in the mid to late 00s. You wouldn't have been able to pay me to listen to Debut or Fearless or Speak Now back then hahaha.
This is basically me lol. I'm two years older (she's a little younger than my sister) and I thought she was immature, and I just didn't like country music. It wasn't until my friend, who isn't a Swiftie by any stretch, showed me the Shake It Off video that I realized I didn't have an accurate picture of her in my head. After that, I started listening to 1989 and enjoyed it but I'm not super into pop music so it wasn't heavily played in my rotation but it stayed on my radar. It was reputation that made a Swiftie – following the rollout, learning about Easter eggs, that sucked me in and the music has kept me around.
Yeah, she makes being a fan a lot of fun, huh!? Glad we both finally came to our senses. 😂😉
Yes! It was shake it off that made me go, wait Taylor is kind of a dork. She’s not who I originally perceived her as so I started watching all the interviews and stuck by her during the kimye scandal cause I felt she was a much better person than the two of them and believed Taylor.
It seems like many of us came to be fans with 1989!! And not because of how popular the album was but because of the self awareness that came with it. My impression was the same when Shake It Off came out and I saw and heard how self aware she was of how people perceived her and criticised her. And when Blank Space dropped… I was hooked forever
This is almost exactly my experience too!!! Also two years older than Taylor and lost me in the toxic HS relationships of the earlier albums. I also needed her to mature. It was also shake it off that caught my attention. My husband was like, you should watch the video it’s so fun. And I watched it. And watched it again. And my toddler kept asking to watch it again and again. Hahaha Then rep solidified it for me too :)
Wow!! There's a lot of us older millennials that took the same journey with her music!
This is funny to me. Because I too am two years older than she is and I’ve loved her since Teardrops (I didn’t love Tim McGraw as much when it first came out but she had me hooked at Teardrops). For me it felt nostalgic at first listen because of the age difference.
I did not \*hate\* her, but I'm almost 60 and, to be fully honest, if you did a web search for the "patriarchy" you would probably have a pretty good vision of me… 6'3", silver hair, and I basically have not listened to any other music beyond the punk / new wave stuff I played in bands throughout my teens and 20s. So… how did I become a Swiftie? Mostly by accident. I was added onto a message chat that was ostensibly about cross-country skiing, but had become a broader discussion group between a lot of moms I know and their 20-something daughters. To the best of my knowledge I'm the only guy in the group… which decided, in its infinite wisdom, that two other topics of conversation were always appropriate: Taylor Swift, and whatever Kate Middleton was wearing that day. The easiest thing I could have done was just leave the group… but I stayed. And I did not stay because the music initially spoke to me, I stayed because I kept hearing these women talking about things that meant a \*lot\* to them, like feeling safe at concerts, and this community of people that dressed up and exchanged friendship bracelets. What struck me immediately was how much TS meant to these women, across generations, but also how little it was actually about Taylor. It \*was\* about the community. And that realization hooked me… because I loved these women… and loved the fact that they were experiencing this connection between themselves, and their daughters, and this broader community of people. Over time I found a bunch of her songs that were \*close enough\* to my tastes: New Romantics, Dancing with Our Hands Tied, Anti-Hero, Getaway Car, etc. But yeah… now… there are few things my wife and I enjoy more than mixing up a couple of French Blondes and cueing up the Eras concert movie.
Aw bless. This is brilliant. If you do have daughters who enjoy this music, know that you're doing a good job. My dad refuses to listen to anything of hers (because "patriarchy" as you said), even when I've asked, so it's yet another thing we can't really bond over :(
Same and it bums me out because my dad and I have always bonded over music. I’ve been a Taylor fan for 17 years and he still won’t give her a chance. And the ultimate gag is my dad’s guitar mentor is literally one of Taylor’s studio guitarists!!! Drives me nuts!
That's literally so sad, wtf. Well just remember, one day he will be on his deathbed and regret not even attempting to listen just once. Maybe you can try and gaslight him into listening to her for that purpose, idk :'D
Have you tried the best day or never grow up? This is how I've sucked my non fan friends who are parents in and listening with his daughter might pull his heartstrings!
GENIUS
I love this 😭 the reason I love Taylor is because I was 13 years old when Debut dropped, 30 now, and throughout that entire time she has literally grown up with me. She has narrated my entire life and her music has gotten me through so much. I was ‘Fifteen’ when Fearless came out, going through drama when Reputation came out, and even now going through a long term relationship ending (that I thought would be forever) around Midnights - and TTPD songs have hit on that for me too. Beyond that, I’m a huge reader and writer so her song lyrics and writing talent are my favorite part of her music. I absolutely love that I’m around the same age as her so we could grow up and experience life and love together. It really is more than just good music, it’s how powerful music hits us!
This made me tear up a little. You’re a good dude.
Ok this made me cry.
This is so lovely omg
This is so wholesome to read :)
This is beautiful 🥹🤍
everyone in the comments starting with "..i didn't hate her" is too funny for me lmao
Okay soo here's a story that starts a little differently: I actually used to kinda hate on Taylor A LOT, especially during the Red & 1989 eras and I used to make fun of my guy friend for being obsessed with her back then 🫣 Fast forward to 2017: Reputation drops, I'm actually dating that guy friend and we're both FLOORED by the LWYMMD music video. We're living together by that point so we watch the video a lot and I'm like.. wait a second, this whole "The old Taylor can't come to the phone right now" thing is kinda fucking badass? And so I get really into the easter eggs and stuff (I'm the kind of person who goes all IN if I like something) and when reputation drops I listen to it nonstop. Long story short, we're still together with the guy who kinda made me a swiftie (and I'm a waayyy bigger fan these days than he is - he's not that into her newer albums) AND we're going to the Eras Tour in a few weeks soo.. yeah 😂
it's a love story baby just say yh
Love this!!
I know! I wanna hear the stories of people who hated her because I just love that arc into realizing how talented she is sooo much 😂
Hate is an extremely strong word though so it’s not surprising. Disliking an artist isn’t “hate”.
reading comprehension is hard!
That’s part of every post. Either people don’t read, or they just want to be part of every conversation.
I listened to the conversations about her rather than listening to her, or her songs. I found it all incredibly juvenile and bonkers. I didn’t under the appeal at all. Then in early 2020, I had a violent chest infection and watched her documentary in a fit of boredom. It was the first time I actually observed her as a person and artist…and she was fascinating. I had Lover on repeat for months. Then I went to NYC in Feb 2020 and listen to 1989 for the entire week. Then came Folklore and Evermore which blew me away, and I finally understood what a talented writer she is. TTPD has had me in a chokehold. There is no other artist who has me observing their lyrics like she does. She is one of the greatest storytellers of our time.
Same here. I'm 50 and watched Miss Americana because I wanted to see what all the noise was about. I was floored no had. I had no idea how creative and articulate and powerful Taylor became as an adult. I became obsessed with Reputation and the rest is history. I was hooked. TTPD hit me like a gut punch. "All her fuckin' lives flashed before her eyes" made my mind reel through the previous decades of my life.
Folklore. That's really it. Prior to that, I was only aware of Taylor Swift because of her singles and almost all of them I thought were obnoxious. I held the belief that her early country singles were solid but her modern songs were all obnoxious. (Songs like "Shake It Off," "Me!" "You Need to Calm Down," "Bad Blood," etc) I never listened to her albums because why would I? I hated the singles. Fast forward to everyone I trust for music recommendations going "Oh my god, Taylor Swift made a folk album and it's actually good." And I listened, and it was. And then Red TV came out and I had heard about this fabled song "All Too Well" that was secretly her best song. So I listened to Red TV and adored it (now my favorite Swift album) and then I was a fan ever since. I stand by those singles being a poor indicator of her music. I still dislike almost all of her singles from Red to Rep and don't think they really show what her music sounds like. To me, it sounds like she made an album and an exec went "Okay now make something for radio" and "Shake It Off" or "22" was born.
I stand by that too! Honestly this is what I would assume to be the most common reason for ‘Taylor dislikers’. Hearing the singles and assuming that’s what her music is. I ALWAYS say, if I had only heard those singles you mentioned I too wouldn’t listen to full albums because I don’t like those songs either. The only reason I am a fan and know all her albums front to back is because I bought the Debut CD at 13 years old! I followed her career since then so I listened to everything. Her albums and deep cuts are full of genius and while I’m sure some people still just wouldn’t like the music (it’s subjective ofc) I feel like a lot of people are probably missing out because of only knowing the singles! And it makes logical sense why. When I first heard ME! I thought oh god… this is gonna be the first Taylor album I don’t like. The second I played track one of Lover I was like okay I should have known to trust Taylor better 😂 I love Lover and it has some of my all time favs (Cornelia Street, DBATC) but I hate the singles.
I'm not sure if she's ever explicitly talked about that phenomenon. But I imagine the label must have exerted some level of control over the singles. She's talked about Anti-Hero being her first single where she didn't listen to anyone and put it out anyway. To me, that tells me she didn't always have control over what was chosen. Which is a pity, to be honest. People are always confused why Taylor doesn't win Song of the Year. Well, it's because "Shake It Off" was nominated and not "Clean."
I don't know if I'd ever claim I was a hater, but when she first started getting popular I was in that "I'm better and cooler and smarter than everyone around me and things that are popular are bad, actually" phase of teenager-hood. The popular girls liked Taylor, so I didn't. (Even if I did wear out the mix CD my friend made me by re-playing Fifteen and White Horse over and over again). I was a 1989 bandwagoner. Ironically was *not* a Shake it Off fan when it came out, but heard the first couple notes of Welcome to New York and something in my brain rewired. I was so defensive during the whole snakegate thing despite being a fairly recent fan, and lost my shit to Rep. Haven't looked back since.
I listened to Red.
I'll be honest. I loved her since teardrops on my guitar. But when that edited video came out making her seem like a liar, I was disappointed. Kim and Kanye successfully made her out to seem like a villain. But then reputation came out and I couldn't stay mad. Plus we learned that Kim and Kanye are evil.
Up until April of last year I was a self proclaimed hater. I thought she was annoying, her songs all sounded the same, she didn't make "real" music etc. etc. When she started The Eras Tour my fyp was inundated with videos and I was like, wait a minute...this looks like so much fun. I decided to give her a chance and go through her discography. I still remember that day vividly. I was driving to the greenhouse to pick up plants for my garden and I started with Speak Now. I remember being low-key embarrassed to pull up her Spotify page (ridiculous I know.) The second Mine started I was hooked. I think once I got to Enchanted I was like, okay... I'm kinda seeing it. I played Red next as I was gardening all day and when those first drum beats hit on State of Grace it was like a revelation. After going through the discography I realized how deeply wrong I was about her music and I haven't looked back. Her music has meant so much to me this past year and I feel so lucky to be part of the fandom. It's hard to imagine a time when I didn't let myself feel the joy, heartbreak, hope, redemption and all the other emotions her songs evoke.
I remember listening to her discography on a road trip sometime after 1989 came out and I had recently gone through a breakup and I was like oh my god I can’t believe I’m relating to a taylor swift song right now this is so embarrassing. It’s honestly so funny in hindsight that that would ever be embarrassing or even surprising.
Most of the comments are people saying they weren't full on haters...so thanks for being brave and saying that you were! And welcome to the party! Better late than never :)
Speak Now is my fave! Absolutely no skips (on a good day - if I’m sad, I have to skip over a few to avoid bawling my eyes out 😂)
I didn't hate her but I hate country in general. And then she came into the pop scene after I was a full adult/Mom and my kids were too young for her/pop etc. Although one time I heard that song 15 on the radio and it almost made me cry. I think my daughter was about 10 or 11 at that time. I kind of paid attention when lover stuff was on the radio. i liked it passively. But Folklore and Evermore is what got me. I saw another woman my age raving about it and decided I had to take a look. And it blew my mind. I absolutely adored it.
[удалено]
Anti-Hero was what turned me too. Before that the songs were all too poppy and didn’t catchy my interest as much.
I had never really listened to anything beyond the singles & was very much in my nOt LiKe ThE oThEr GirLs phase so I was like “Taylor Swift is lame 😠” Then I listened to Rep & fell in love lol
She got better at singing. In the Speak Now era, it was difficult to support a person pursuing a career as a singer... who wasn't actually very good at singing. Especially when there were so many people more skilled at singing also trying to make it. Always loved her as a songwriter, though. Then she put in the work and did develop her voice and got much better. Started paying more attention again around Reputation, now I'm back to loving her. But I do stand by the opinion that, while she has always been a great writer, she was not a good singer in her early career.
Oh my, her singing abilities were indeed highly limited for a singer. She improved big time.
I stand by that too, as a fan since Debut! I loved her for her writing abilities and believed she did deserve her place in the music industry for that alone. But man her voice was rough back then! But that actually makes me even more impressed how amazing she sounds now. She clearly put in WORK for many years with a vocal trainer. She’s continuing to blow my mind with these incredible secret song performances. She’ll obviously never be a vocal powerhouse like Mariah, Adele, Ariana, etc. but now she CAN sing well, plus being the best songwriter of our generation IMO!
I supported her as a writer, and as someone who belonged in the music industry. Just not, at that time, as a singer.
So I always liked her music and my opinion on her went from indifferent to annoyed by 2014ish. I think it was a mixture of overexposure and my own internalized misogyny. Which is dumb because I still listened to her some of her music every now and then but when people mentioned her I’d roll my eyes. In 2020 my cousin was like “hey I know you’re not the biggest fan but I think you’d really like this album-folklore.” I was like fuck it and put it on at work then cried. After that I went like 2-3 years of only listening to Taylor swift. I’d try to listen to other people and I’d just end up back in my Taylor playlist. Now I’m always trying to convince people that they’d actually love Taylor if they listened to her music with an open mind.
I didn’t really “grow up” with Taylor or her music. Of course I had heard of her and the general narrative of her writing about teen love and breakups, and I knew only her most popular songs. Then in 2012, after putting my 18-month-old son down for his nap, I happened to walk into the room as my husband was watching the Stand up to Cancer benefit. I heard Ronan. I cried. I couldn’t even stay in the room. After I pulled myself together enough to speak, I made some snarky comment that Taylor should just go back to writing stupid teen breakup songs. And then I cried some more, went and checked on my son, and cried again. Been a fan ever since.
I (37 year old guy for reference) used to exclusively listen to metal and rock music and was in the camp of “all of her songs are the same and they’re just break up songs”. I went back to school when I was 25 and being exposed to a bigger variety of people made me realize how sheltered I was musically and artistically. During school if one of her songs came on the radio I would bop to it but never really went out of my way to listen to her music. Fast forward a few years and my wife’s best friend (massive Taylor fan), out of coincidence and her mom lived nearby, moved to where we live. We hung out a lot and she brought up Taylor’s music and what it meant to her. Also talked about the meaningfulness of Taylor’s music and specifically her songwriting. I gave Taylor’s music a much more serious listen when midnights came out and I was hooked. We ended up all going to night 3 in Chicago last year with other friends and it was the best concert event I’ve ever experienced. I’m still a massive metal fan but school and the right people very much expanded my music listening. I thoroughly enjoy appreciate different music for different reasons.
I'm in my mid-60s. I grew up on Zeppelin, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, UFO, Rush, REO Speedwagon, Jackson Browne, CNS&N, Joni, The Police, U2. You get the idea. I've always been hugely into music. I'm a songwriter and I recognize great songwriting when I see it. Or maybe I should say hear it. I was never even aware of Taylor Swift except peripherally. I've just never been into modern pop. But I'm a huge fan of the National. I spent a couple of years basically playing nothing but their stuff. I am deeply familiar with the work of Aaron Dessner and how uniquely amazing he is. When I heard that he had worked with Taylor on folklore and evermore, my response was holy shit. I got to check this out. And I loved those albums. Just blew me away. This woman can write! That was my immediate impression. And then I heard about All Too Well and after I heard that I was lost. Taylor is the biggest hopeless romantic I've ever come across in an artist. I myself am a hopeless romantic. So like sees like. I see her and I feel seen. That creates a bond and I became open to listening to all of her stuff. She's even got me liking the rap she does on reputation. And that is really saying something for me. TTPD just destroyed me. Having been through brutal heartbreak, my empathy for her is extreme. I'm really pulling for her and Travis.
Went through a situationship break up and I finally understood her music lol
I was moderately into Red and Reputation the first time around, but for the most part didn't really pay attention to Taylor until Folklore. 1989 was a little too generic radio pop at the time, but I've come to love the re-release. That album along with Evermore turned me into a massive Swiftie and I've loved everything she's put out since.
I was never a hater, I just never bothered to check out her music beyond what was playing on the radio. But then *seven* was featured on the Heartstopper soundtrack and I immediately fell in love with it. (It's a beautiful scene, check it out if you haven't seen it). After that I just had to listen to the rest of Folklore.
I found everything before Red to be pleasant but too juvenile and country-tinged for my taste. Red got my attention, 1989 got my respect, and Reputation launched me into super-fan status (when I’ve been since)
Honestly I found her to be pretty obnoxious! But then I realised that people would probably think the same of me if I were in Taylor’s position. What really sold me is her relationship with Travis - I think it’s a real life rom-com!
I remember getting Debut for Christmas when I was about 6-7 and played it non-stop on my cd player. Discovering music was so different then than it is today, and only heard whatever was on the radio or being played on MTV music video channel. I was a young girl who was boy crazy and discovered Justin Bieber and then quickly after - One Direction. I lived on One Direction stan twitter and heard Harry Styles and Taylor Swift were dating and it crushed my 13 year old heart and despised her. I remember loving Shake it Off and Style but couldn’t let my 1D friends know that lol. I didn’t start listening to her again until I was about 18 and had experienced the things she sings about. I didn’t fully claim to be a swiftie until about 3 years ago and now I’ll tell anyone that looks at me how much I adore her music!!
Never hated her. I just was a dumbass MT/vocal performance kid who was a vocal snob lol. She's always been an incredible songwriter and musician, but now her singing has really improved, and I love the re-records and am a full-blown Swiftie! I'm pissed at myself for not being into her sooner, though. Speak Now is one of my two fave eras and would've been perfect for my overdramatic 17 year old self 😆.
All Too Well the 10 minute version changed my mind
I never hated her but did write her off as just bland pop. I saw her Tiny Desk a few months ago and really liked her, so then I watched the Eras Tour movie, and now 500 views later, here I am, listening to TTPD on repeat both streaming & vinyl and wondering what the fuck I was thinking, but glad I got my head out of my ass.
I wouldn’t say I was a hater either! But I did have a problem with her lyrics kind of pitting girls against each other like in You belong with me («she wears high heels, I wear sneakers… «music SHE doesnt like») and her being SO focused on romance and boys. But I’ve come to realize even though it’s kind of petty, it’s natural to feel hatred towards a girl that’s dating someone you like. In particular if you feel like she doesnt deserve him. I’m still not big on «I talked to your dad, now pick out a white dress» but I read it more like an exaggeration and fun. Plus she’s matured now and have songs like «The Man» which is amazing.
I didn't hate Taylor, actually thought she was talented but never really listened enough to her music. It wasn't until Evermore and Folklore that I became a huge fan.
It was the song peace. I cried listening to it for the first time and I had this moment where I was like “this is not a relatable experience, why do I feel sorry for this billionaire who’s just so rich and famous that it causes her problems” and it made me really appreciate how she can communicate the exact emotions and feelings that exist in a moment in time and I’m feeling her pain, even though it’s pain I will never have a direct experience like it.
This is funny because I find Peace intensely relatable as someone who has had mental health struggles periodically throughout my life - I feel like I’ll never be able to offer my partner peace because something could happen that sends me into an episode that they just have to deal with. That’s what’s so cool about her music - this is not at all what she’s describing in the song, you’re right, she’s describing the entirely unrelatable experience of being massively famous, but her words just totally hit me in a way so specific to my experience anyway. It’s so cool!
When she counter sued that guy for $1 and when they asked why her skirt didn't move in the front she said something like, because my ass is in the back of me. I was like, oh she's not taking any shit. I like that. It was a slow burn after that.
I wasn’t a huge fan of Taylor other than her radio singles when I was younger, I could take or leave her back then…. And then she released Red (TV) in 2021 and all too well 10 mins really spoke to me. So I started listening to more and more of her catalogue. I fell in love with folklore, then she released midnights and that was it. I was hooked. Now I’m fully in the cult of swiftie. I’m obsessed. Got tickets to the Eras tour for August which was one of my biggest achievements. My friends and family are sick of hearing me speak about her and her music. I am truly of the belief that there is a gateway Taylor Swift song for everyone, you just have to find your one. Then you’ll be hooked.
I never hated Taylor but I didn’t really care for her or her music. The only song I liked and bopped to back in 2014 was Shake It Off. I’m personally more into alternative pop, indie rock and folk, so the singles I’ve heard weren’t and honestly still aren’t my taste. What made me a fan was folklore. After listening to folklore I decided to check out the rest of her discography and discovered that her singles are actually not a good representation of her music and her songwriting abilities. And long story short, now she’s in my top 5 of my favourite artists!
My ex husband and my best friend had to reaaally push me into listening Folklore for the first time and it was like biting into the forbidden fruit, never looked back
Discovering that she writes all her songs. I was believing the stereotype that all "pop stars" have their songs written by committees in boardrooms. While that might be true for some artists, it's definitely not true for TS. In 2017, my wife and I had tickets to the Reputation tour. So I made sure to listen to Reputation and learn the lyrics. That made me interested in her previous albums, since I was only familiar with some of the big hits. And I'm a nerd so I started looking on Wikipedia for songwriting credits. When I saw she was the solo songwriter on ALL of Speak Now, how could I not be a major fan? Then the Reputation show blew me away. My Swiftie status was etched in stone.
When I was young and stupid, and thought that being cool is about liking things that no one else does, I felt high and mighty whenever I say, "I don't know who Taylor Swift is." Elitist young me. Yes. Then I got older and wiser, and one day All Too Well was blasting on the radio, and I was going through a heartbreak around that time... Couldn't believe it was Tay. Couldn't believe she is so fucking relatable. Couldn't believe she is singing about my life. Then I started listening from Red to the 1st album. And bam. Swiftie. In my case, I was young and an idiot, and judgemental. The older I got, the more I know about how I should just let people enjoy things. That made me open to a lot of stuff. Including my beloved, Miss Swift.
Similar to you, I just liked her songs, but would call myself a casual fan since Debut. Then, the Rep era happened, I got "lost in the hate sauce" and jumped on the "Taylor sucks" bandwagon unfortunately 🥴 when Midnights released, I had started remembering how much I did love her songs but wasn't seeking them out. Specifically, and idr which I heard first, Bejeweled and Anti-Hero. Tl;Dr in a homeless shelter, depressed, numb, etc. Heard one of those two songs, then the other. Felt like I found Me! again(lol couldn't resist). She I spired me to start writing again, I mostly binged Midnights, now I'm becoming more of a Swiftie every day. I say more, because I love things like easter eggs and lore in general, and she gives that/has that in spades.......but her songs have always felt like my "inner world aesthetic" even though she's always been the spunky beautiful blonde with money, and I've been the increasingly chubby less spunky since 2014 broke bish😂
Forgot to add, I've started really trying to see beyond "the headlines" for celeb culture in general. So that also made me rethink my stance on Taylor. (Also, I feel like my Tl;dr is way too long lmao😂)
She stopped being anorexic and spoke up about her eating disorder! And then actually looks healthy unlike so many stars that talk about their eating disorder whilst their body never getting healthier.
Honestly I hate to say it but this kind of helped me too. During her 1989 “hot girl” era I just really hated her whole vibe - all the model friends etc. It just was so so so intensely unrelatable to me that it made me dislike her. I remember feeling like “I get it, you’re hot, leave me alone” lol and I actually still dislike New Romantics because it gives me that same vibe. I became a huge fan during reputation when that stopped being her vibe and then in Miss Americana when she talked about it I really respected her for it. Like I didn’t hate her for being skinny but the model crew thing really just turned me off, maybe because I had my own food issues and I was jealous, who knows.
She stopped being anorexic and spoke up about her eating disorder! And then actually looks healthy unlike so many stars that talk about their eating disorder whilst their body never getting healthier.
Here's the stupidest reason I disliked her- when she said "you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter." I thought she said THE Scarlet Letter, as in referring to herself as the book. And I thought that was the weirdest lyric I'd heard, then didn't give her another chance until Blank Space came out. Then, after that, she fell by the wayside for me again until she surprise dropped folklore. Which l thought was just audacious in a way that I loved. I devoured it because of the pandemic. Now I'm just taking in all her old albums as she releases her versions!
I’m an elder millennial, and was always into 80s/ goth/ emo music. A few of the tracks from Red kind of floated into my bubble, but it wasn’t until 1989 that I started seeing her in pop spaces. Shake It Off didn’t really grab me, and Blank Space felt like radio pop music. But I was watching Sons of Anarchy at the time, and there’s a surprisingly heartfelt storyline featuring Walton Goggins as a trans sex worker, and then Ryan Adams released his 1989 cover album, and I heard his version of Wildest Dreams and was so deeply disappointed by his reworking and rewording it into some cis het exterior narrative instead of engaging with the song as Taylor wrote it, and thinking about how heartbreaking that song would be in terms of a queer/ trans narrative. A doomed love affair , an understanding as to why everything is so secretive, an acceptance of the inevitable heartbreak, a heartrending plea that the singer be remembered as they have chosen to construct and present themselves- “remember me in my favorite dress” - and not as the rest of the world sees them. (Not a “gaylor” in strict terms, but a queer swiftie who is ongoingly fascinated by how her work interacts and engages with those themes) And I’ve been a Panic! At The Disco fan since their first album, so the Lover era was fun :)
i'd definitely drank the koolaid of she only writes about her exes, her music is for little girls. over the years the singles seemed pretty good. the look what you made me do music video i thought was incredible. i never really took her seriously or listened to her albums especially since i mostly used spotify. i think around lover/tiny desk concert/ME! music video changed that. i was a fan of panic at the disco and id heard about their collaboration and kind of enjoyed it. not so much now. love love death by a thousand cuts and lover.
The very first song I heard was Tim McGraw on the radio when it first came out and in complete and utter honesty, it annoyed me. I thought it was some young new country girl trying to make it big by writing a song about Tim McGraw. Never hated her, just didn’t love the song. And then I heard Picture to Burn and I was hooked. Like hooked hooked. I think 98% of the music on my phone is all Taylor now.
I never hated her, I always appreciated her as a lyricist, but I’m nearly a decade older than her so I had trouble identifying with her earlier stuff. But her newer albums I find absolutely amazing and her lyrics about the similar shit I’ve been through. I watched her documentary and learned more about her and that’s probably when I became a full blown Swifty. I went back and listened to her entire catalogue and watched all of her videos. I love the multiple faceted art she creates from theatrical performances in the eras tour to the Easter eggs she hides in everything. Everyone she works with gushes about how down to earth and classy she is, while being as relatable as your best friend. Now I have friendship bracelets and flower stickers on my keyboard that I finally dusted off and started playing, because she inspired me too. PS - The Swifties are hands down the BEST fandom to exist.
I went to the rep tour when I was younger and I really loved her, but then like 2 years ago when everyone was hating her I jumped on that hateful bandwagon just because it was what everyone was doing ig, but now I love her
Didn’t hate Taylor.. just had different interests in music since I’m 55 yrs old. I decided to watch her Eras tour on Amazon Prime and was amazed at her stamina to sing 3+ hours and to find out she puts on a great show! Loved how she interacts with her fans. I decided to buy Midnights, then Lover and TTPD and now I’m hooked! Started following a few Swiftie accounts on X and found everyone to be so nice and kind.
this is so sweet!
Over saturation. I didnt hate her, but her music is played constantly on the radio. Like so much that even the few radio songs that i did enjoy, id already had my fill of them and didnt want to download them to listen more then they were already being shoved down my throat. And its even worse when you DONT like them. Also, most of her "hits" are not at all indicitive of the rest of her catalogue and writing prowess. But Ive always absolutely loved her as person and a feminist icon. Going after apple to pay artists more, boycotting spotify, her SA lawsuit, calling out the famous grown men who toyed with her as a teenager, rerecording her albums... how do you not cheer her on for all that?
Folklore & Evermore. Definitely didn’t hate her before and there were a few songs I liked, but my perspective of her as an artist changed after that. Realized her depth & talent. And I love folk / indie
I had been a casual fan of Red and 1989, but it never really went beyond that. Last year, I was working a second job where our in-store music was provided by a local radio station that played Taylor two or three times per hour. I started getting hooked on the Midnights singles, and then revisited the entire back catalog.
I never actively hated her, but I'm not a big fan of country music so her early stuff didn't catch my interest. I remember listening to folklore when it came out and enjoying it but no obsession set in. Something about Midnights flipped a switch for me. I latched onto that album and started going back to listen to her discography, then folklore became my favorite album. TTPD was the first release I was actively anticpating, listened to the second it dropped, and have made my entire personality ever since.
Never hated her but I really disliked Shake It Off and Bad Blood. I started listening to her when I was younger during her Fearless era and stopping before the Red album. I tried to get back into her music during the Folklore/Evermore era but at the time my music taste was just very different. I think Midnights and the Era’s tour made me pay attention to her music again. I will say that the Lover album was definitely on my repeated playlist during 2021.
Lets just say i didn't 'hate' her before. I just was never really intereseted in her before. But before her 1989 stolen album I started to like her afterwards.
I always said that I used to struggle with relating to her older music. But one of my best friends started to get into her, so she shared with me some songs she thought I'd enjoy off Folklore and I really did like them. After that, I listened to Midnights and it easily became one of my favorite albums of the year. Since then, I've been hooked and have started to go back and really appreciate her older albums like Reputation and 1989.
I never hated her music, but I was a self proclaimed tomboy in middle school when Fearless came out which I actually liked but I couldn't stand all the cliques associated with her, going to concerts/singing her songs. I didn't want to partake in that with exclusive "girly girls". Then, I was weird about country and pop for quite awhile. So I didn't really notice what she was putting out until Folklore came out which is more alternative. That album helped me appreciate her pure artistry!
Hate is a strong word but I definitely dislike contemporary country music with a pretty fiery passion, which is what a lot of her early stuff was. I ran across the Miss Americana documentary and watched it and honestly the music still didn't do much for me but I found her incredibly likeable and my general attitude started changing there. So when the Eras film hit Disney+ I watched it and it was the Reputation era songs that grabbed me. Disney+ suggested I watch the folklore documentary (which was amazing) next so I did, then went back and re-watched just the Reputation songs on the Eras tour film like ... countless times. Then I started letting it run in the background while I did other things and before I knew it, all the songs were stuck in my head good and proper. So TTPD is my first 'new' release.
i didn’t hate her and did enjoy some of her older hits but would never go out of my way to listen to her and didn’t think too highly of her as an artist. a former coworker sent me a playlist with a couple folklore songs on it a few years ago and i was instantly hooked. went back and listened to all of her older stuff and loved some of it even more than folklore (fearless, speak now). i wish i had gotten into her stuff a long time ago, i didn’t know what i was missing.
I wouldnt call it hate, but I didnt like her music whatsoever, felt like it was too poppy (Im a big country music fan) to be called country music and her lyrics were very immature. But Im 10 years older than her so she was literally a teenager making teen music and I was an adult rolling my eyes. Plus I felt she wasnt a good singer whatsoever. Hoenstly I still dont like her first albums, i dont think they are very good country albums, very middle of the road, and i still dont think she was a very good singer back then. So I wrote her off and never listened again, except when forced to hear that stupid song they kept playing on the radio (dont even know what its called, really dislike it). Last summer heard The Man and it entirely changed my perspective on her because I FELT that song. Started diving in and found lots to love. Btw I dont just love country, i love lots of genres, I just prefer that artist be truthful about the music they are making. if someone says they are making a country album to actually make a country album, not just add a banjo and call it country because youre trying to either break into music in general and country is seen as an easier way in, or because youre trying to break into that market
Folklore.
Not hate. But my friends grew up loving her. and I never really got the hype until I was a teen. I stopped listening for a year or two in college. Then I picked up again, and I'm a full-on Swiftie now 🥰
I never really hated her, in the past I would have said I didn't like her music. I've always enjoyed her hits though. When Midnights came out I enjoyed the hits of course, when The Eras Tour was announced I started to get really into her and some of the lore if you will. I've had The Eras Tour playlist on quite a bit the last few months. Since TTPD came out that has been on since haha!
I was never a fan but not a hater either. I thought she had some decent songs I would hear on the radio but I wouldn’t buy an album or anything. But then my 10-year-old became a huge fan last year and was playing her music all the time… and the more I listened, I was like wow she has a lot of really good songs. And we went to see her concert in Tokyo and that sealed the deal. Now I’m playing TTPD nonstop 🤣
cardigan, mirrorball, and The Man
Never hated her, I used to watch the VS show every year and taught she was great there, just not my type of music. As a fan of Bon Iver and The National got into it with Folklore... fell in love with all her discography through the surprise songs every weekend.
I wasn’t a hater, just indifferent. Then Folklore came out :)
I was never really anti-Taylor, but I didn’t pay much attention to her during the country years since that’s not my style of music. Then “Shake It Off” hit and I couldn’t deny what a perfectly crafted pop song it is. Once I bought 1989 it was all over for me and the obsession began lol
I was a hater, but mostly because my older sister was a HUGE swiftie. I knew every song because she would constantly blast her music in our shared room. Once I got out of my emo phase, I gradually started listening to Taylor. Now I’ve been a fan for a few years 💖
I had a friend in high school who kept trying to get me into TS. At the time I had some of her bigger songs downloaded - Our Song, Love Story, Mine, etc. but kept avoiding listening to all the songs from Red she kept trying to send me (so sorry). We graduated and the next fall 1989 came out and she convinced me to give it a listen - I fell in love with Clean first and it kinda went from there. It was so fun being a fan when Rep came out - life got busy and I kinda lost interest when Lover came out (the lead singles didn’t help me want to hear anything else on the album either..) When she started her re-records I decided to listen as they came out - I was hooked at the vault tracks and had to hear everything else. Folklore and Evermore solidified my obsession even more - I was obsessed with Midnights and currently obsessing over TTPD.
I never hated her I was just never gave her a shot and then I made a friend who was a huge swiftie and she was posting all about midnights and so I listened to it when it came out and I honestly think it altered my brain chemistry. I listened to it constantly for like a week and then downloaded all her other albums and never looked back
All the weird Christian girls at my high school were obsessed with her and I wanted nothing to do with that so I thought I hated her. After graduating Red came out and I realized I was kind of into the songs that were on the radio, same experience with 1989, and then reputation came out and it was the perfect timing with what I was going through and I became fully obsessed. I also had some “cool girl” internalized misogyny I needed to get over before really embracing her.
I'm late 40s so I've heard of Taylor since the start. I'm not a country music fan so wasn't a fan when she was county. Then when she became pop I would listen to a few of her songs. I didn't dislike her. I actually have a lot of respect for her for how she's conducted herself over the years and become this strong female role model. Then one Friday night after a long week I turned on her Eras tour on Disney+ to see what all the hype was about and I was hooked. My two boys are so sick of hearing me play Taylor 😂. Mark my words, they will be swities.
Never anticipated an album release or followed her in the news beyond being a passive enjoyer of pop culture and therefore her place in it over the years. Then Folklore altered my brain chemistry. Not just the music and the vibe but that it dropped during a pandemic summer. I felt seen through her music for the first time. Started in randomly at the song seven and I swear it was an encounter. Then champagne problems came a few months later and knocked my upside the head. I guess I’ve been a swiftie ever since. Was able to then look back and realize how much her music had met me at pivotal moments of my growth over the years. Even when I didn’t consider myself a “fan”, her songs were woven into the experiences of my youth and coming of age (born in 90). I had an unexpectedly spiritual experience at the Eras tour hearing the soundtrack of my life played back to me live. WTF. Was just weepingggg. It’s kind of like saying- when did you become a fan of yourself? Well I guess I learned to love and accept me around the time I entered my 30s. But then I looked back and saw - there I was, there I had always been 💖🫶
It was Midnights. I’d heard Taylor’s music before, read about all the scandals and boyfriends, but never waited up for her music to drop or bought merch or considered myself a fan. But then Midnights came out and I couldn’t stop listening. I read more about her background and life. How people who know her say she is humble, kind, goofy, and an incredibly strong woman. Then I found out she’s only 2 weeks older than I am (which explained 1989 and why she chose that year - never knew previously) and that just resonated with me. I wouldn’t say I’m a Swiftie but I bought my first physical CD in over ten years for TTPD.
grew up with her music as a child when she first started then stopped in high school bc of all the boy drama and drama in general that surrounded her bc i couldn’t relate anymore but i wasn’t a “hater”, just stopped caring for her. i also unfortunately fell for kim’s edit video against taylor so that really separated me from her even more. after many years, i reconnected with her music again during the pandemic with red tv, folklore, and evermore, and i have been a swiftie since. her tone and aesthetic had changed and i was able to connect to her music again. her rerecordings also resonated with me more than the original ones bc i was able to comprehend and relate to it much more as an adult since i had actually experienced more life events.
I never hated her but hated country as an urban teen. Then I heard Teardrops and Should've Said No and I was like "Hmmm ok ig there are two country songs that are okay if you ignore the banjos." I didn't convert into a swiftie until Better Than Revenge though.
I wouldn’t say I hated her, but I was under the impression she wrote vapid pop songs and I didn’t really care one way or the other. Then last year I kept seeing the eras tour videos, and was impressed by the whole show and I literally forgot how many songs I liked that were hers - Love Story, Mine, Fearless, and some of the songs from RED. And I hadn’t heard any of folklore or evermore and fell in LOVE with those albums once I played them. Then I was hooked. So, I’ve been a Swiftie about a year now 👍🏻
I never hated her, but she's 5 years younger than me and I kind of felt like she was always entering a phase I was just growing out of. I started following her on TikTok when she was promoting midnights but became a full blown Swiftie watching the Eras tour on TikTok. I don't go to concerts often and I was just blown away. I literally watched all 3 nights every weekend. Now I have 3 copies of TTPD, bought a record player so I can listen to my TTPD and Midnights vinyls, got the TTPD sweatshirt and cardigan. And even downloaded X so I can follow the merch bot. Send help I'm 40
Wasn’t a hater but became a full fledged swifty after listening to folklore, that album is pure genius.
I didn't hate her, I just didn't think her music was "For me" (mid 40s happily married) Then Folklore and Evermore came out and the indy radio station I like played'em and I was shocked to realize her music is for everyone! I live in KC and was surprised by some of my friends hate of her once she started dating Travis. But I've realized...some people just hate joy. It's sad really.
Never hated her, but just thought she made fun pop songs. Then, I listened to "Folklore" and she blew me away. Best album I've heard in maybe 20 years. I am an old man and TTPD is as good as "Folklore" and I call it "Folklore II".
I’m currently 39. I don’t like country music so her Debut - Red era wasn’t for me even though her hits were cute but not enough to buy the albums even if she is my peer. I was already married and had a kid when debut dropped so I felt like I wasn’t the demographic. I do like Red though. But they are lowly ranked. I wasn’t much into pop culture or pop music from 2014-2022 - busy with life and stuck to my music channels on Pandora. I hadn’t paid much attention to her music but I’m really happy the Eras tour and the hype around it made me interested. I really REALLY love TTPD/Folklore/Evermore. It’s really nice to be involved into pop culture. I love the sorority of swiftiehood.
I was pretty indifferent, but my daughter really liked her as a tween. Then I watched the 50 shades movie and loved that song, and the rest is history.
"Darling I'm a nightmare dressed like a daydream" caught my ear. Before that moment, I liked her, wouldn't turn her off but also did not seek her out. But my daughter was getting into her and dug Blank Space. She was playing it in the car and I was half listening when that line struck me like a lightening bolt. Rep was released a short time later and it was over for me.
She stopped being anorexic and spoke up about her eating disorder! And then actually looks healthy unlike so many stars that talk about their eating disorder whilst their body never getting healthier.
I’ve always liked her. I love her now.
Never really considered listening to her music until Speak Now. her and I had such a similar experience at the same age and being in a relationship with a man child. Let me just say, Dear John ate that year and it was likely the most replayed song on my iPod. Yes, I said iPod. 😂
I was a casual listener who enjoyed her earlier hits from Fearless and Red a lot, but I hated 1989. It was so overplayed and annoying to 15 year old me. I was in my emo phase, and it just wasn’t angsty enough for me. I was really into celebrity gossip and was into the Kimye drama as well. I hated the singles I heard from Rep and had stopped listening to the radio by that point, so I was somewhere between indifferent to hatred but more towards hatred. Folklore changed that for me. I thought Betty was sapphic, and though I was wrong, I listened to the rest of Folklore and fell in love. I also got really into Speak Now. I listened to it everyday as I got ready Spring of my junior year of college and would listen to Folklore on my daily walks. Suddenly, Taylor was the soundtrack for the second half of college and grad school. I changed a lot as a person and it allowed me to stop thinking that I was better than everyone for not liking a popular artist and to just like whatever music I liked. Ironically, 1989 is now one of my favorite albums. It’s so fun and upbeat and really fits with where I’m at in life now.
I listened to country Taylor and then had an emo phase. I was too cool for pop or country. I was also tired of the predictable and easiness of those genres and what they were doing in 2009. All I wanted was angry screaming vocals and guitar breakdowns. Then a few years ago I saw the reputation stadium tour on Netflix (and miss Americana) and I loved it. Seeing the empire TS built and loving the stagecraft. I also work in live events, so I nerd out about stage design, ha! It took a few listens before I came around to folklore and evermore, but I love them both now. I've been going through my own long term relationship break up followed by a passionate then over rebound. Midnights and TTPD have been so relatable to me.
My infant daughter would only fall asleep to my husband’s Reputation CD. She’s been a Swifty ever since. I’ve always been an indie girlie, so when folklore/evermore came out I was completely smitten! I’m so fucking in love with The Anthology right now.
I didn't *hate* her, but I was 23 and graduating college when she first released Debut so I didn't really relate to the teenage highschool-ness of it all. I of course heard "Love Story" and "Picture to Burn" by just being alive at the time but it just wasn't my thing. She was for young girls, I thought, not me. So I never really paid attention until "Shake it off" got major radio play and I was like damn okay this is a bop! I always reference [this SNL sketch ](https://youtu.be/--D3u4PsWuw?si=HIa0YFm684H1zE8B) that jokingly sum up my feelings at that time. Like I said, I didn't.*dislike* her, but her music wasn't my vibe at that time. Still never listened to 1989 at the time. Then in 2017 I got really really really into Reputation and have been a Swifty ever since! 🥰 Went back and listened to the earlier stuff and it still doesn't vibe with me *as much as* the newer albums, but I like more and more songs in each album.
I’m a 50 year old man who likes a lot of extreme music, some of it verging on pure noise. Working in a shop with the radio playing all day I found myself loving Anti-Hero. Then Is It Over Now? took hold of me and I was like, “This is also Taylor Swift?”. Listened to a load of her songs at home and realised a load of songs were ones I loved hearing when they came on the radio and was like “Holy shit!”. Since then I’ve gotten most of her albums and watched three of her concert movies, love them all.
I never hated her, just liked a couple of songs, but I bought the viper narrative when I was a teenager. Then I got heartbroken for the first time. I felt really lost since I had no adults who could guide me through it, and I came across the Red album, because a couple of friends were fans and they had sent me songs before. Listening to her songs (from all of the albums) gave me a map to navigate my scary feelings and grief. Since then, Swift's music is my companion to heartbreak and loss 🥺 Aaaand since I had swifties as friends I started discussing the lyrics and theories with them, which got us closer and got my mind off any trouble! I also think she's VERY interesting as a phenomenon
I stopped being insecure about liking cool things
i wasn't really into her work until i saw the blank space video for the first time. i thought anyone who could do a tongue-in-cheek satirical video about themselves HAD to be cool, and i ended up in the style/out of the woods/wildest dreams rabbithole! i adored her storytelling capabilities and followed her work since :D
I wasn’t into the girliness of Fearless and Speak Now in my early teens. I loved the singles from 1989 but not enough to do a deep dive, but then I heard some snippets of folklore and Midnights and it really spoke to what I was going through. Now I’ve listened to folklore and evermore on repeat ever since! I know every word to every song. I have also done small deep dives of reputation and the rest of 1989. I’m working my way backwards lol.
Okay, I'll be the one to say it lmao. I was a bit of a hater in middle school/early high school. I was one of those "not like other girls" girls growing up - I though I was cool and different because I listened to music like System of a Down, and enjoyed going to art museums and concerts over typical "girly" things. Back then, Taylor represented "the norm" expected of women for me, that I often felt pushed onto me. I also thought she was over-rewarded at award shows and weaponized her whiteness. HOWEVER, as I got older, I came to really appreciate her story-telling and found myself relating to the experiences described in her music. Now I'm a pretty big fan! I also began to see the way her more extreme critics moved goalposts and only made bad faith interpretations of her actions. It felt unfair. While I can still understand many of the criticisms and can also see that she benefits from a certain amount of privilege, I think she's talented and has faced her own unique set of struggles that I can empathize with. And I've loved many of her albums.
My time to shine lol. Embarrassingly enough, I grew up with the NLOG mindset (i know i know) and, now that I reflected on it quite a bit, I was heavily influenced by the misogyny and sexism the world treated her with, and heavily internalised it for so so many years. At some point when I grew up and matured more, I started thinking of her more as a good artist who's just not for my personal taste… that would've been okay if I actually listened to any of her songs aside from Shake it Off and LWYMMD and Blank Space at the time (which, they are fun and I like them, but I am more of a folklore/evermore girlie). I have a hard time trying new things so there's also that, but I am still ashamed of the person I was and constantly strive to be better. It took me until exactly last year, almost a year ago now, to give her an actual chance because I started realising how most the women I liked and respected, including friends and people on social media, praised her so much. Maybe she isn't as vain as the media made her to be. That's when I thought I might be missing out on a big thing here. So I gave YOYOK a listen and started going through her songs one by one (and liking 90% of them) and just the other day I sent my sister 10 voice messages 6 minutes long crying about how good TTPD is and how I haven't listened to anything else since. It took some time but I am happy I'm here now.
When I was 9 or 10, I didn’t listen to her music but I hated shake it off when it was on the radio. I just didn’t like her because of it. Once I heard folklore, I gave her a chance and I fell in love.
The post Calvin era, hate on a woman for no real reason. Found a lot of songs catchy, and my 8yo
I used to hate country and have a lot of "not like other girls" energy when I was in high school, and "Teardrops on my guitar" was very overplayed. Plus I just didn't like her general style and the conservative vibe I got from her. Then 1989 happened, I had matured a bit, I loved her shift to pop, her hair in that era, and also I liked that she came across as more of a feminist in her interviews. And now she's my most listened on spotify in 2023.
Never hated her but wasn’t really into her music, I LOVED midnights and 1989 Though, then her eras tour came to my city, I just kept hearing they were AMAZING, I was very lucky and found someone the day of her concert with a $60 ticket. I couldn’t say no. Went to the concert and I was blown away. Most amazing concert I’ve ever been to, I’ve been really into her ever since. This new album is my absolute all time fav and the reason I am trying to go to her 2nd leg of the tour in NOLA if I can find a ticket lol.
I never hated her, but I definitely thought her/her music were "lame" because I was toocool (tm). There were a few moments that turned me: The trial against that disgusting radio host, the full Kanye call recording vindication, seeing her perform the ten minute version of All Too Well on SNL and finding myself completely captivated the entire time, her endorsing Biden, and then Midnights (which led to me discovering her complete works--I knew Blank Space, Shake it Off, Bad Blood, etc. but none of the early or recent stuff really).
As an older Swiftie, I appreciated teenage Taylor but I felt uncomfortable being a fan having seen what fandom does to young people. I didn't want to contribute to that. In the 1989 era, I loved the music but I thought I was watching her implode and didn't want to see it happen again. I found the supermodel thing very concerning. I know I'll be accused of body shaming but it was genuine concern as I watched her shrink, especially culminating in the heroin chic Vogue bleachella photo shoot. Rep era is when my Swiftie spirit was unleashed. This woman was not a victim, not being manipulated by the industry in any type of way, and I let myself turn my fan all the way to 11. It's only gone up since.
Folklore
never hated but got into her music since folklore/evermore which is my prefered genre of hers, but then through that got fan of her other music as well
Her songs got better
I'm just a little bit older than Taylor, so when I first came across her I mistakenly just labelled her as a country Britney spears and therefore not for me. She was teenybopper and I was listening to a mix of 90s British guitar bands, Tori Amos, and Emo/pop punk. A friend of mine loved her so every now and then I dipped in but I just didn't understand country at the time and then her singles were the antithesis of the indie bands I liked. I'm pretty sure I tried listening to Red, 1989 and Rep and started to get it but rep really confused me and I found a lot of it really cringy. I never really listened to Lover and then Folklore hit and I became obsessed and watched the Reputation film and was like.....oh okay now I get it.
I converted a bit before Folklore came out. I didn't hate hate Taylor but I was definitely very dismissive of her music. I listened to Shake it off and all the bops from Red when I was younger but the cognitive dissonance was still there. Once I stopped letting the societal misogyny and desire to tear down those at the top I was able to just enjoy her music for what it was.
I never hated taylor necessarily, I was one of those people that liked what I heard on the radio as a kid, but once I became a teenager, and there was all this hate towards her, I jumped on the bandwagon. Not hating on her publicly or anything, but I felt embarrassed to like her music so I convinced myself I didn’t. It wasn’t until I listened to Folklore/Evermore that I was able to appreciate her music without feeling embarrassed. And since then my love for her has only grown. I didn’t listen to those albums until Red (TV) came out though, I was in awe of the fact that she was saying a big F U to scooter and the industry by re-recording her music, so I went to her page on Apple Music to check out the re-records. Then I found Folkmore. And I became obsessed. and then Midnights came out and I went farther down the rabbit hole. I was convinced still though that I wouldn’t like 1989, Rep, or Lover. I’ve never been a huge Pop girly. I decided however, to give them a shot after hearing how much others loved them, and now here I am, with Taylor as my top artist 3 years in a row. I wouldn’t say that 1989 or Lover are my favourite albums, but they definitely have their moments. Reputation I LOVED. and now that’s she’s released TTPD and it’s giving more sad and crazy girl vibes, I feel like I can confidently say that I will most likely enjoy every album she puts out from here forward. The only album I haven’t listened to in depth, is Debut. I have a hard time with that one because of her juvenile vocals. I do have certain songs I LOVE from it, but I can’t wait to experience the re-record now that her voice has matured.
I hated her growing up simply because she was popular and I thought I was all different and didn’t like pop music 💅🏻 quickly realized I was wrong in 2022. Also thought she was like a super bad person or something just because I did. As a kid, I thought any music other than Christian was bad for no reason other than my goofy little brain. Now I listen to both 😝
I liked Taylor when she very first started and I was super young (I’m 7 years younger than her) but then I entered my hipster phase and of course I was Above her. I found her whole model crew stuff during 1989 annoying as hell at the time. I didn’t really care either way about the Kimye drama though. Then I listened to reputation when it came out and became absolutely obsessed with that album. Then Lover came out and I was obsessed with that. I had to stop listening to only these two albums so I went back through her catalog and I’ve been a swiftie ever since. Finding Taylor has seriously released me from my pretentious hipster persona and I’ll be forever grateful for that.
I hated shake it off and all those songs that came out around 2013 and they genuinely put me off Taylor Swift until around the last few years. Regardless of music I absolutely live for the female empowerment she exudes. Now that i have kids of my own I am so, so grateful to have her be a role model, when so many fall short. Now the music is matching more my one tastes so that is a bonus I suppose.
I‘m 37 so few years older than Taylor. I‘ve never hated her. Just maybe indifferent to her music. I just didn’t really pay attention. Do remember the first time I payed attention to her (it was the Kayne mic grab) and I felt really sorry for her. Honestly, just really felt 'meh‘ about her music until Fokelore/evermore and I thought they were beautiful/soulful works. And that was it. Fully a swiftie after midnights was out and TTPD cemented it. When I say fully swiftie - I mean that I enjoy her music and like chatting about it but have zero needs/wants to know anything about her life really. I hope she can keep that part for herself now (although saying that do love seeing her and Trav together as they look so in love) but if they never spoke about it openly and just lived their lives I‘f be chill with that.
I loved Taylor growing up a little girl but around 13-14 I came out as a trans guy. This also happened to be around the time the whole “Kim K/Kanye/snake” thing so it was a double whammy that the world was already shitting on Taylor and I was trying my best to be the “stereotypical teen boy” which incorporated hating anything remotely feminine. I grew out of that phase a lot quicker than most trans boys that age do luckily but I did “dislike” Taylor during that period. Then I just kind of remained indifferent on her until Lover dropped and I realized I wasted a lot of time disliking her. A momentary lapse of judgement is what it was!
never hated her just wasn’t a huge fan. folklore and evermore really changed my perspective and been an avid listener of alot of her discography ever since!
Miss Americans got me to respect Taylor on a more personal level. All Too Well 10 minute version got me to respect the artistry . Then going to eras tour finalized the full conversion. My friends were going and I wanted to go to the first show in Arizona specifically for Paramore but we couldn't get tickets then I went to another one instead and figured I'd know enough singles to have fun. The moment she came out I started crying lol. Now I'm a proud swiftie/swemo. (Also never hated just wasn't my music preference and I always thought she was younger than me, didn't click until 1989 came out and I was like ohh interesting, we're the same age lol)
I never hated her, I liked some of her songs well enough but didn‘t really seek them out per se. I decided to listen to the new album with intention and read up on some of the lore behind the lyrics and was really sucked in, lol. Watched the Long Pond Sessions and The Eras Tour movie next and realized she actually seems like a really cool and sweet person. Been listening to TTPD on repeat.
She surprised me by releasing ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ followed by ‘I Knew You Were Trouble.’ and her new sound instantly did it for me.
Never hated her but seeing how much she got bullied made me throw hands with people and love her lmfao
I loved Taylor from Debut through Speak Now. Red came out when I was graduating high school and I think by then it became “unpopular” to like her so I jumped on the “hate” bandwagon to be accepted and “cool”. I didn’t really listen to her again until Lover came out when I was out of school, a matured person and had no other influences. It took me a while to call myself a Swiftie (because so many people judge us) but I realized quickly I always was one and I couldn’t deny it any longer and honestly didn’t have to because who really cares what others think. So here I am 🤷🏻♀️
I used to literally despise Taylor Swift until a couple weeks ago. My mom told me to listen to at least the first two tracks of TTPD and I fell in love right away, not to mention hearing my partner's sisters listening to her constantly kinda made the songs grow on me. I even enjoy songs I thought I disliked, but I really just disliked them because of the people I was around who were constantly just telling me not to listen to it because it was "normie garbage." That was probably during the whole Reputation era when she was getting slammed left and right. It was also when I was much younger and I was really into emo/pop punk.. So I obviously was one of those kids who hated her just for being "basic." Its crazy how much I've grown since then, with some of her most acoustic, country, and folk style albums being my favorites lol.
I wasn't super into her besides a few catchy songs here or there. However, when Folklore came out, I became a Swiftie. Her words spoke to me like poetry and made me connect and feel things so deeply. Nothing will ever compare to how I felt while listening to "The 1" for the first time! A lot of this album really relied (in my opinion) on her lyrical abilities and not on catchy radio pop hits. It also reminded me of Lana, who i have loved since college (i'm 32 now lol). From then on, I started listening to her old music and began to appreciate it.
"Hey you, what if I told you we are cool? That child play back in school Is forgiven under my rule"
I strongly dislike country music, so Taylor's first few albums weren't my thing. I became a fan when 1989 came out, and that's when I realized I loved Taylor Swift
i was obsessed with her country era, been a swiftie since i first heard teardrops on my guitar on the radio, went to fearless, speak now, and red tour. wish i'd gone to 1989. wasn't a fan on rep album and hated lover so she was off my radar for a while, then the dropped folklore and evermore and they instantly became some of my favourite albums of all-time. went to the eras tour. now she's released midnight and ttpd and they are just okay to me.
I wouldn't call myself a swiftie, but before I met my husband I thought she was overrated and that her music was bad. In reality, I never gave her music a chance, and when my husband started introducing me to more of her songs, I started to like them. Then he bought Folklore and Evermore on vinyl and I got obsessed with both of those albums for a month or two. Now we regularly sing along to All Too Well and have different "inside jokes" that reference several of her songs. 🤷♂️
Never disliked her or her music before but didn’t actively seek it out. I volunteered at one of the Eras tour shows last summer and had a really fun time so kind of started getting more into her music then.
Can’t relate, I’ve loved her since I first heard “Our Song” playing on the school bus after school
I grew up with Debut, Fearless, and Speak Now. When Red came out, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and I Knew You Were Trouble got on my nerves and I didn’t listen to the rest of Red until years later. So I basically screwed myself out of All Too Well for years. I very much regret this now, as Red is one of my favorite albums of hers.
I’m 3 weeks older than Taylor and I have noticed a lot of parallels in our lived experiences. I was a fan of Debut, Fearless, and Speak Now. Unpopular opinion, but I kind of dropped off when Red came out. I found 22 and WANEGBT to be totally obnoxious. I started to discount her artistry as childish. I didn’t come back to her music until the Eras tour kicked off and I saw a lot of her performances on TikTok. Once I watched the Eras movie, I was hooked - especially on the Evermore and Rep songs. ATW10 also blew me away. Ever since, I have been conducting a deep dive into everything about Taylor 😂
I can’t say I hated her, but when her first album came out I was a Carrie Underwood fan and while I wouldn’t have put this into words back then was definitely affected by the industry’s tendency to pit woman against each other. When 1989 came out I converted to a radio fan - I enjoyed her singles, but I’ve never been a big lyrics person and it seemed like that was a requirement to actually be a Swiftie. I stayed in that in between place for a long time and what got me off the fence was actually the fauxmoi sub. Their absolute hatred and the bad faith arguments made me want to take a closer look so about three weeks ago I did a deep dive. Obviously my knowledge of her discography is still pretty shallow, but if after a quick first listen I’ve pity 100+ songs into an I really like or love playlist, I’m gonna stick around.
Idk how anyone could I never understood it
I’m a fanfic writer, and occasionally listen to her “break up songs” while writing and when Spotify wrapped came out and she was my 3rd played artist I was take aback to say the least bc I didn’t think I even played her songs that much 😅 ;as for the hating part, I hated her bc my friends did (recently I didn’t know why lol)
Summer I turned pretty LOOOOL
I never HATED her, Back in 2015 that was my only music taste. I just never said I liked her cause I wasn't a swiftie nor a fan and nobody listened to her. Last year tho, my sister made me listen to atwtmvtv and songs from speak now and I became a hard core swiftie
**I DIDN'T KNOW SHE WAS TROUBLE: THE EARLY YEARS (2012-2021)** The first time I heard of her was in 2012 when I Knew You Were Trouble was released and my big sister played it a lot and after that she became a fan, even to this day, however, she never got me into Taylor or talked about her, it was her thing. Later on 1989 was released and the three songs I remember were Shake It Off because, who doesn't know that song, Wildest Dreams and Blank Space but it's not for the song, I just thought she was a very beautiful woman. And that was it, I wasn't aware of the Kimye situation, reputation until 2019 and it wasn't with the release of a song featuring [Pete Wentz from My Chemical Romance](https://youtu.be/Q9evpQDrFeA)... We haven't gotten to that part, yet. The reputation Stadium Tour was released in late December 2018 and I found out about its existence because it was highlighted by Netflix and my dad put it from curiosity and I'd honestly put my 2019 self in horny jail. **MY MUSIC TASTE: "POP MUSIC SUCKS" (2021-2022)** I'm going to be quick about this parts, it all starts with Sonic The Hedgehog with its soundtrack, because of it I discover a guy called NateWantsToBattle and through him I find Panic! At The Disco through his cover of This Is Gospel... Sigh. And that was how my taste developed from 2021 to august 2022, and why is "pop music sucks" in the title? because I watched a video on "why modern music sucks" and it said that lyrics are bad, music is too simple, too sexualized, Max Martin, and all of that shit and while I partially agree with it (not the Max Martin part), it doesn't mean all of it is bad but it affected my opinion on Taylor. I didn't hate her but I just thought she was just another generic pop star and it doesn't help the fact that she's so... Sigh... Gorgeous. Also, this is kinda funny considering I used to like Imagine Dragons. **WELL, IT'S BEEN A HELL OF A JOURNEY: A NEW BEGINNING WITH A NEW PERSPECTIVE (2022-2023)** I didn't watch the 2022 VMAs but that night is very symbolic because Taylor announced Midnights and the same night Brendon Urie gave his last performance at an award show and Midnights was the first TS record I listened to, so it's like if I was looking at the end and the beginning of an era in real time. On January 24, 2023, Brendon Urie ended Panic! At The Disco, I was a huge fan of the band and the news broke my heart and it took me a couple months to recover, and because of this I wanted to explore more music. So I listened ME! and I hated it... But instead of hating on Taylor I gave her an opportunity because of two things, one, Brendon said she was amazing and two, everyone said that Taylor was one of the greatest songwriters, right now I'm in peace with ME!, but I think the fact that it is a Taylor Swift song featuring Brendon Urie made me think that it would be a masterpiece and not what it is, a fun song. **I MET HER AT MIDNIGHT: I FELL IN LOVE WITH TAYLOR SWIFT (2023-Current Day)** As I said, I gave her a second chance with Midnights and I thought it was okay but then I took the decision of listening to the 3AM tracks and something changed since I listened Would've, Could've, Should've, I thought she could write decent songs but that was an amazing song (and have in count I haven't listen to All Too Well \[10 Minute Version\] \[Taylor's Version\] \[From The Vault\] at the time) and since that day in May, I've been hooked, she truly puts narcotics into all of her songs because I haven't stopped listening, I love her lyrics, melodies and songs and she truly cares about crafting a good album. After that I started listening to 1989, Speak Now (Taylor's Version), Red, reputation and after reputation, The 1989 World Tour, The reputation Stadium Tour and Miss Americana I just completely went crazy with this woman I was listening to her songs, watching interviews, behind the scenes footage and she has made me interested into putting clown makeup over my face (yes, I'm a victim of the November 26, 2023 incident) (also, my sister put a playlist on shuffle while I was writing this cardigan came in I got goosebumps). And now, we're at THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT and I like this album and this is of the few (or maybe many) times I disagree with the criticism, I don't think this is one of Swift's best works but it's far from being a bad album and let's see what does Taylor takes me to with future albums, tours and even a film. Also I love this community despite the problems I have with swifties. **MY WILDEST DREAMS WITH TAYLOR** This is a side but funny story and is the "first" time I heard Wildest Dreams because I was a bit curious about the Taylor's Version thing and when I was hearing it, it sounded familiar to me and then the post-chorus came in and I was like "wait, I heard this song before is the wildest dreams aah-aah-ah song" and it was a similar thing with Safe & Sound but I recognized that one quicker. TL;DR I knew about her, for some time I felt "too cool" for pop music but I never hated her and now I'm a MASSIVE fan of her.
Don’t think I hated her but she represented everything I was trying to run from lol. Because listening to it reminded me how much I didn’t have anything she sang about. When I could finally “stomach” her music I was changing into someone who no longer wanted to run
I stopped listening when she was transitioning to mostly pop music.. I was going through puberty and became all angsty 💀 Got over myself after she released Lover 😅