It's the final night of Hanukkah and we've saved one of the brightest (celebrity) lights for the eighth spot on our honorary menorah. She has seven Grammys to her name. Her latest album sold 1.27 million copies in its first week. Oh, and she's the ripe old age of 25. In case you haven't figured it out just yet, we're talking about the incomparable Taylor Swift.
We Celebrate Her Chutzpah: It's not uncommon for songwriters to mine their own relationships and breakups for material, but it is unusual for them to be completely upfront about exactly whom they're writing about (especially when those people happen to be famous too) — and that's what puts Taylor in a class of her own. Sure, she's made mistakes in love, but she uses them to fuel her art.
Putting your pain out there for the whole world to see takes a lot of guts, but so does looking at your past errors thoughtfully enough to learn from them. Somehow Taylor's also managed to master that. Discussing her dating life during an interview for Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People, Swift admitted she's had to change her ways.
"I don't see a scenario right now, the way my life is, in which it could work," she told Walters of being in a relationship. "So I don't think about it because I don't like to think about things that I can't solve."
We Celebrate Her Mitzvoth: There is probably no celebrity on the planet who has done more direct outreach to fans than Swift. Over the last year, she helped mend broken hearts over Instagram, comforted victims of bullying, visited (and serenaded!) sick children in the hospital more times than we can count, dropped in on one longtime fan's bridal shower, and even hosted gaggles of die-hard fans in her own homes (yes, she has multiple residences). But while her various good deeds span the gamut from lifting the spirits of an ill child to celebrating the joy of an upcoming wedding with a future bride, the common thread uniting all of her actions is that she seems to cherish her time with her fans as much as they cherish their time with her.
We Celebrate the Miracle of Taylor: It's pretty hard to argue that 1989 is the album of the year, but more impressive still is the fact that, at 25, Taylor has been at the top of the industry for a whopping 10 years, yet still manages to keep her feet on the ground. Unlike so many of her contemporaries (though we won't name names), Swift has transformed from child phenom into bona fide music superstar… all without any of the troubles that typically plague those who reach such staggering success at such a young age.
"I think the reason I am sane is because I have a really good family who are all very sane, in the midst of all this kind of insanity surrounding my life," she shared with Barbara Walters earlier this year. "That really helps — it really helps — cause I can talk to them about it and they are gonna be very honest with me about it. But always, always really supportive." Swift has mastered the entertainment world, provided remarkable support to fans, conducted herself with class for a decade in the spotlight... and she still gives credit to her family. This sure sounds like a modern-day miracle to us.
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