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96 Facts About Taylor Swift

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Lex	960	Ave Word/.Sent	12	Hi Freq occurs	1819	59.7%	Hi freq	316	32.5%
AR	5.6	Long Sentences	20.8	Low Freq occurs	379	12.4%	Low freq	266	27.3%

THE EARLY YEARS: CHRISTMAS
TREES AND LEANN RIMES CDS
America's Sweetheart
She's the total package. A vocalist of
astounding power and gravitas. A talented
songwriter with a diverse range, she can
create mature, thoughtful compositions as well
as light, frothy pop hits. She's Taylor Swift. Often
referred to as "America's Sweetheart," she's
actually so much more than that.
Maybe you like her early country music
songs or her more experimental albums like
Folklore. Perhaps you dance to "Shake It Off"
when you need to de-stress after a tough day
at school.
But who is Taylor Swift, and how did she get
to be one of the most iconic stars in the history
of popular music? Believe it or not, before all the
glitz and the glamour, she was just a small child
with big dreams.]]
FAST
FACTS
While she's adept at playing the
piano, banjo. and ukulele. Taylor
prefers playing the guitar.
Taylor Swift was named after
singer and songwriter James Taylor.
one of her parents' favorite artists.]]
A Magical Childhood
Taylor Alison Swift was born in Reading,
Pennsylvania, on December 13, 1989. Her father,
Scott. is a stockbroker, and her mother. Andrea,
is a homemaker and a former mutual fund
marketing executive. Taylor's brother, Austin,
was born when she was two years old.
Taylor's childhood was, in some ways, like
something out of a fairy tale. She grew up on her
parents' Christmas tree farm in Reading, where
she rode horses and enjoyed the wide-open
spaces.
But in certain ways, Taylor had a childhood
like any other. True, she was surrounded by
Christmas trees and ponies for the first decade
of her life. But like any other kid, she had to
help out around the house. At the farm, this
meant that it was her job to pick praying mantis
pods off the trees before they were sold to
customers.]]
FACTS
In 2019, Taylor Swift released a
song called "Christmas Tree Farm,"
which was inspired by her childhood.
Taylor Swift believes that thirteen
is her lucky number. She was born on
December 13, her first album went gold
in thirteen weeks, and her first single,
"Tim McGraw," had a thirteen-second
intro.]]
The New Kid in Town
When Taylor was in fifth grade, her family
moved to Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. Because of
the move, she had to change schools. She didn't
know anyone at her new school in Wyomissing,
and she felt awkward and lonely. Taylor was
searching for something that made her feel seen.
She found that "something" in country music. She
was a big fan of many strong, charismatic female
performers in the country music world, such as
the Chicks, Shania Twain, and LeAnn Rimes.]]
FAST
FACTS
LeAnn Rimes was Taylor Swift's
hero when she was growing up. Taylor
got her first LeAnn Rimes CD when
she was six years old.
Taylor won a national poetry
contest after she moved to
Wyomissing. Her winning entry was a
poem called "There's a Monster in My
Closet."]]
Theater Kid
Also around the time she moved to
Wyomissing, Taylor became interested in musical
theater. After performing in a school play, she
began appearing in musicals produced by the
Berks County Youth Theatre Academy.
When she wasn't acting in musicals, Taylor
tried singing like her country music idols. She
soon realized that she liked singing more than
acting. Since LeAnn Rimes started her career at
age thirteen, Taylor thought she'd do that as well.
After all, Taylor was eleven, which was a/most
thirteen!]]
FAST
FACTS
While Taylor was a member
of Berks County Youth Theatre
Academy, she also enjoyed performing
karaoke. In fact, she entered karaoke
competitions every week!
During this period, Taylor had an
acting coach who believed in her so
much, he rented space in a local mall
just so Taylor could perform there,
belting country songs to karaoke
backing tracks.]]
Taylor's parents gave her a gender-neutral
first name so that if someone saw her name
on a business resume when she was an adult,
they wouldn't judge her based on gender bias.
Taylor's zodiac sign is
Sagittarius.
Taylor's ancestry includes Scottish, Welsh.
English, German, Irish, and a bit of Italian.
Taylor's parents, Scott Swift and Andrea
Gardner Swift, first met when Scott was
on a business trip in Andrea's hometown of
Harris County, Texas.
Taylor's parents were married on February
20, 1988, in Houston, Texas.]]
Taylor's parents' Christmas tree
farm was eleven acres wide.
The Christmas tree farm was
located in rural Cumru Township,
in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Taylor's brother's full name is Austin
Kingsley Swift.
Austin was born on
March 11, 1992.
When Taylor was a child, her family would
go away for the summer to a house in Stone
Harbor on the Jersey Shore.]]
Thank-You Notes
"I love writing thank-you
notes. There's something very
nostalgic to me about the feel of a
card and putting pen to paper."
-Taylor on writing thank-you cards]]
If you were to write a thank-you note, who would
you write it to? A family member? Your best friend? A
teacher? On the lines below, write a thank-you note
to the person who's helped you the most during the
past year.]]
Trying New Things
When Taylor moved to Wyomissing, Pennsylvania,
she didn't know anyone there. It was a new town and
a new experience for her. Have you ever tried to
do something you've never done before? Have you
ever moved somewhere new, either temporarily or
permanently? What was that experience like?]]
Quick Quiz: A Swift Childhood
1) What did Taylor's maternal
grandmother, Marjorie Finlay, do for
a living?
a. She was a vampire hunter.
b. She was an opera singer.
c. She was an underwater ventriloquist.
d. She was a turnip collector.
2) Which famous pop group did Taylor
listen to as a preteen?
a. Alvin and the Chipmunks
b. Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem
c. Josie and the Pussycats
d. The Backstreet Boys
3) What grade was Taylor in when she
won a national poetry contest for her
"Monster in My Closet" poem?
a. Pre-K
b. First
c. Fifth
d. Kindergarten]]
4) The music video for Taylor's song
"Christmas Tree Farm" includes what?
a. Footage from home movies shot by
Taylor's parents
b. A cameo by Frosty the Snowman
c. A scene where Godzilla decorates an
enormous Christmas tree
d. Deleted scenes from the film
The Nightmare Before Christmas
5) What private school did Taylor
attend until she was nine years old?
a. Nevermore Academy
b. The Wyndcroft School
c. Xavier's School for Gifted
Youngsters
d. Hogwarts
Check 1 your answers on page 78!]]
RISE TO FAME: LEARNING THE ROPES
Destination: Nashville
When Taylor Swift was eleven years old, she
decided to officially begin pursuing a career as a
professional singer. One day, she saw a Faith Hill
television special in which the singer spoke about
hitting it big in Nashville, Tennessee. From then on,
this was Taylor's goal: to make it in Nashville. the
country music capital of America.
So Taylor spent her spring break taking a
road trip to Nashville with her mom. The two of
them visited the offices of over twenty record
companies and gave out copies of Taylor's
demo tape. One record executive gave her good
advice: Stop recording covers of other people's
tunes. Instead, sing your own original songs. It
was advice that changed Taylor's life. Now she
would focus on what she had to say as an artist.
instead of imitating her musical heroes.]]
FAST
FACTS
When Taylor and her mom took that
spring break road trip to Nashville,
they had Taylor's little brother, Austin,
in the back seat.
These days, Austin Swift is an actor
who also manages his sister's film
projects.]]
Climbing That Ladder
When Taylor was in middle school, she won a
karaoke contest at the Pat Garrett Roadhouse.
The prize was a spot as the opening act for
the Charlie Daniels Band. It was her first
professional gig!
Shortly afterward, her parents moved the
family to Hendersonville, Tennessee, so that
Taylor could be closer to Nashville. That way, it
would be easier for her to pursue her musical
dreams.
Soon, the fourteen-year-old singer was
signed to an artist development deal at a popular
record label called RCA. She also had an original
track featured on a Maybelline compilation album
called Chicks with Attitude, and she appeared
in an Abercrombie & Fitch "Rising Stars" ad
campaign. Which is appropriate since Taylor was
indeed a rising star!]]
FAST
FACTS
An artist development deal is what
a record label offers a recording artist
when they don't feel ready to commit
to a record deal. So they spend time
mentoring the artist and developing
the early stages of their career.
Hendersonville is also where Taylor
met her friend Abigail Anderson, who
is name-checked in Taylor's 2008
song "Fifteen."]]
On Her Own
By age fifteen, Taylor had written over two
hundred original songs. But RCA still wouldn't sign
her to a record contract. However, RCA did set up
after-school songwriting sessions for Taylor, where
she was mentored by experienced tunesmiths like Liz
Rose. Taylor and Liz hit it off, and Taylor appreciated
the advice Liz gave her.
RCA told Taylor that she would be kept in
development and wouldn't be signed to a record deal
until she was eighteen. So Taylor walked away from
the development deal. In the music industry, you're
not supposed to do that unless you have another
record label to go to. But Taylor wasn't getting
anywhere at RCA.
One night in 2005, Liz Rose invited Taylor to sing
at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville.
Entertainment industry executive Scott
Borchetta was in the audience, and he was very
impressed with Taylor. Months later, when Scott
founded Big Machine Records, he signed her to a
record deal. It was finally happening. Taylor Swift
was going to make an album!]]
FAST
FACTS
In May 2004, music publishing
company Sony/ATV Tree signed Taylor
as a songwriter to pen songs for
other recording artists. At fourteen
years old, she was the youngest
songwriter they'd ever signed!
In 2004 and 2005, when she was
an emerging artist in the music world,
Taylor was still a high-school student.
Two subjects she excelled in were
science and English.]]
Her Big Debut
In October of 2006, Taylor Swift released
her first album. She called it Taylor Swift. After
all. she was introducing herself to the world.
People might as well get to know her name! Taylor
might not have been thirteen like her hero LeAnn
Rimes was when she made her debut. But Taylor
was only sixteen, she was still in high school. and
she had an album full of original songs under her
belt. Not too shabby.
Taylor didn't have to wait long for the album
to make an impression. Taylor Swift stayed on
the Billboard 200 chart for 277 weeks straight.
And "Tim McGraw," the first single released off
the album, reached the top ten on Billboard's Hot
Country Songs.]]
FAST
FACTS
One of the songs on Taylor Swift
(titled "Our Song") is a tune Taylor
originally wrote for her high-school
talent show.
All five of the singles from Taylor's
first album have been certified
platinum or multiplatinum.]]
Taylor entered the karaoke contest
at the Pat Garrett Roadhouse every
weekend for a year and a half until
she won.
In April of 2002, a twelve-year-old Taylor
Swift sang 'The Star-Spangled Banner"
in front of twenty thousand people at the
Philadelphia 76ers NBA Finals game.
Around the time Taylor
moved to Hendersonville,
her parents helped her get an
agent named Dan Dymtrow.
Dan Dymtrow helped Taylor get meetings
with big record executives.
Because she'd written "Our Song" for her
high-school talent show, Taylor originally
wasn't even going to put the song on her first
album. Good thing she reconsidered!]]
Taylor's songwriting mentor Liz Rose was
her writing partner for some of the songs on
Taylor Swift
Tim McGraw" was
one of those songs.
Tim McGraw" is
about a woman who's broken up with her
boyfriend, and her best memories of their
relationship are tied to a Tim McGraw song
they used to listen to together.
The specific Tim McGraw song Taylor
referenced in Tim McGraw" is "Can't Tell Me
Nothin'," from the iconic country star's Live
Like You Were Dying album.
Taylor's debut album sold thirty-nine
thousand copies in its first week.]]
Treating People Well
"I've never been more proud to have
come from a community that's so
rooted in songwriting, so rooted in
hard work and in treating people well."
-Taylor's thoughts on Nashville,
where she wrote many songs
during her early career.]]
When you hear the phrase "treating people well,"
what does that mean to you?]]
Role Models
When Taylor was growing up, she thought of LeAnn
Rimes as a role model. Who is your role model? Your
role model could be someone in your family or your
community. They could also be an artist, celebrity.
athlete, or activist you admire. Write about your role
model on the lines below.]]
Quick Quiz: Taylor Finds fame
1) When Taylor performed at the Bluebird
Cafe that fateful night in 2005, which
musical instrument did she play?
a. The guitar
b. The tuba
c. The xylophone
d. The cowbell
2) How long did it take Taylor Swift
and Liz Rose to write the hit song
"Tim McGraw"?
a. Two hours
b. Six hours
c. Three hours
d. Fifteen minutes
3) The song "Stay Beautiful," from Taylor's
debut album, is about a girl who has a
crush on a boy who moves away before
she can tell him how she feels about him.
What is that boy's name?
a.Raphael
b.Leonardo
c. Cory
d. Michelangelo ]]
4) What was the original title for
"Mary's Song"?
a. "Last Friday Night"
b. "Oh My My My"
c. "Firework"
d. "Teenage Dream"
5) Taylor Swift fans are called:
a. The Beyhive
b. Beliebers
c. Swifties
d. Little Monsters
Check your answers on page 78.]]
DEFINING MOMENTS. FROM
FERRLESS TO FOLKLORE
Taylor Gets Fearless
Taylor Swift's career has progressed in phases,
each of which signify that she's about to pivot
artistically. For instance, her second studio album,
Fearless, was released in the United States in
November of 2008. The theme of the album was
high-school romance, a subject her target audience
knew all too well.
The first single from that album, "Love Story,"
sold over eighteen million copies, making it one of
the best-selling singles of all time. The song is a riff
on the William Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet,
about a forbidden love affair. Taylor was beginning to
spread her wings-she was taking cues from classic
literature and embracing different musical genres.
This was equally true in her third album, Speak
Now, which came out in 2010, when Taylor was
twenty years old. This album had a country sound,
no doubt But a fan with a keen ear would notice that
Taylor was pivoting more toward pop music.]]
FAST
FACTS
"Love Story" went on to become
the first song to hit number one on
Billboard's Top Country and Pop
charts.
Speak Now signaled a shift in
Taylor's songwriting style-her songs
were becoming more personal.]]
Seeing Red
Taylor's fourth studio album, Red, dropped
in October 2012. For many fans, this is the
classic Taylor album. But more importantly,
Red catapulted her into the mainstream pop
stratosphere.
The album made naysayers take Taylor more
seriously, because it marked a transition from
songs about silly high-school crushes to more
thoughtful, contemplative songs about painful
subjects, like falling out of love with someone. This
made sense, because Taylor was twenty-two
years old now, and she could look at relationships
through a more mature lens.]]
FAST
FACTS
Red's lead single, "We Are Never
Ever Getting Back Together," was
Taylor's first song to reach number
one on the Billboard Hot 100.
The third single from Red, "I Knew
You Were Trouble," was a look back at
a toxic relationship. This song showed
how Taylor had grown and changed as
an artist.]]
fame and Gossip
In November 2017, Taylor released her sixth
studio album, Reputation. She wanted the world
to know that she was aware of the rumors
circulating around her in the press due to certain
media outlets that were hungry for gossip about
her personal life. And she didn't care what people
were saying.
And as if the message of the album wasn't
crystal clear, the music video for the album's
most lead single, "Look What You Made Me
Do," included a prominent image of Taylor's
tombstone with the words "Here Lies Taylor
Swift's Reputation" written on it. During the
video, a zombie Taylor is seen emerging from the
grave. The message is simple: Taylor has been
reborn.]]
FAST
FACTS
Taylor announced Reputation by
deleting all her old posts on social
media and replacing them with a video
of a hissing snake {a reference to the
fact that some misinformed, gossipy
folks thought of her as a "lying snake).
The fact that Taylor titled this
album Reputation means that she
was fully aware of how she was
being perceived by the public. She
wanted the album to shake up people's
preconceived notions about her.]]
Surprise, Surprise
Most of the songs on Taylor's first seven albums
were inspired by a real person, place, or thing that
had a huge impact on her life. They were at least
semi-autobiographical. Not so for her eighth album,
folklore, which was composed of songs about
completely fictional characters and events.
Another way in which folklore was a departure
is that it was a "surprise" album; its very existence
was a secret until Taylor unexpectedly released it
with no advance publicity in July of 2020, during the
(relatively) early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The same was true of her ninth album, Evermore,
also a surprise release. Evermore dropped in
December of 2020, a mere five months after folklore.
This meant Taylor Swift wrote both albums back to-
back, without taking a break, working remotely
with producers and studio musicians, in the middle of
a global pandemic. Wow. You've got to respect that
work ethic!]]
FAST
FACTS
In 2020, Taylor won the Songwriter
of the Year award from Apple Music
for folklore.
The songs for folklore are
often considered an example of
"cottagecore," a style of art and music
that celebrates an idealized rural
life of cozy farmhouses and tranquil
forests.]]

Subjective Criteria

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Language: Few descriptive words

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Text structure: Formal

Inferences: Some implications

Concepts: Concrete/Simple Social

Headings

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Artists

*Careers

Songs

*Music

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