Whatever else 2023 has been, both good and bad, it has undoubtedly been one thing: the Year of Taylor Swift.
Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour catapulted the singer-songwriter into a new echelon. She is quite simply the most popular and influential artist in the world today. I mean, who else could boost NFL ratings simply by attending her boyfriend’s games?
Continuing my ranking of Taylor Swift’s albums…
Taylor Swift’s sophomore effort, 2008’s Fearless, turned her into a major star and remains her best-selling album to date, reaching Diamond status and selling more than 12 million copies worldwide. It was the best-selling album by anybody that year, making Swift the youngest artist in history to achieve that feat.
This album starts off like gangbusters but begins to falter after its midpoint. Five of the first six tracks made the cut for me, but only one of the last seven.
Back in 2008, Taylor Swift was a country artist with major crossover appeal, and her sophomore album Fearless broke every sales record for a country album on its way to being the biggest selling album of any sort that year.
And that was the lowest point of her career to date.
With apologies to Adele and Beyoncé, Swift is no doubt the most successful, landscape-dominating artist recording today. It’s hard to imagine her next album (whatever and whenever it may be) won’t improve on the gaudy numbers of her most recent smash hit, 1989. Talk about a winning streak.
My wife runs an annual talent show at the high school where she teaches and watching it every year is a very stirring experience. It’s wonderful to sit in an auditorium full of 500 screaming kids going absolutely nuts over something my lady put together.
I’m also impressed by the talent onstage, especially the dancers, who perform acrobatic moves and come up with some very clever choreography. The music is mostly hip hop and the crowd knows every song, erupting each time a new beat kicks in. During the most popular songs, the whole room moves like a living thing as hundreds of bodies bounce up and down in unison.
Meet Me In Montauk 