A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On Oct. 27, 2014, a 24-year-old Taylor Swift released “1989,” which she described as her first “official pop album.”
It turned out to be a blockbuster hit and won the Grammy Award for album of the year.
On the same date in 2023, she released “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” a rerecording of the original.
Back to 2014. The day after her album release, Swift sat down with a group of schoolchildren in New York City to discuss her passion for reading and writing. She seemed barely a kid herself.
Swift started her career as a hip country singer, described as goofy and down-to-earth, as her personality and musical style evolved. At one point, she spent a couple of years as a coach on “The Voice.” She started a legal battle to control her musical catalog.
Then she got serious about taking over the music world. (Only half-kidding).
Consider the accomplishments Swift logged in 2023, according to colleague Sarah Gambles:
- The Eras Tour, which includes 151 shows across five continents, became the highest-grossing tour of all time.
- Swift was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year.
- She broke Elvis Presley’s record for most weeks spent on top of the Billboard 200 charts for a solo artist.
- Apple Music named her Artist of the Year.
- She partnered with Google to drop hints about “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” and her fans crashed the site.
- “Cruel Summer” hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 four years after its release.
- Her appearance at a Kansas City Chiefs game dominated social media and pundits’ talk shows.
- “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert movie became the highest grossing domestic release of a concert movie and also broke the record for highest ticket-sales revenue during a single day.
- Known for her voter activism, an Instagram post of hers in September drove record traffic to Vote.org.
- The Taylor Swift economy came into the popular lexicon, with reports from The Washington Post saying the U.S. tour provided a $5.7 billion boost to the U.S. economy.
And the musical march continued in 2024. Here are some stories from Swift’s career, selected from Deseret News archives:
“Taylor Swift is the new voice that makes country cool”
“Taylor Swift: Growing up and going pop”
“Taylor Swift talks books and music with kids”
“Taylor Swift to coach on ‘The Voice’”
“Taylor Swift made history by winning a Grammy for album of the year for a 4th time”
“Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake it Off’ headed back to court in copyright infringement case”
“Some people think Taylor Swift’s music is anti-Christian. But here’s how it’s supported my faith”