Taylor

Taylor Swift was a rarity in pop: she is the only superstar to have moved from the country to mainstream, and to become a global pop culture icon. Swift shed her country roots as though they were part of her skin to reveal that she was arguably the smartest populist singer/songwriter of her generation one who could harness the zeitgeist make it personal and just as impressively perform opposite. Swift's talents were apparent in some of her earliest tracks, notably the Neodue Tim McGraw. But on her second album Fearless which came out in 2008, Swift could identify who she is and find a wide audience. Fearless was a huge success and not just in the US, where six of its singles were certified platinum on the back of Top Ten hit songs Love Story and you Belong with Me. But it also smashed records across all over the world. Swift was able to consolidate her popularity by releasing Speak Now almost two year after. The popularity of Swift only grew through her subsequent three albums - Red (2012) 1989 (2014) and Reputation (2017) -- which saw her move into a realm of pop music where she already belonged. The popularity of her music grew after she reformulated her approach in 2020's more streamlined siblings Folklore (and Evermore) and stayed in the forefront of pop culture.