The Evolution of Taylor Swift From Country Star to Pop Icon

At 14 years old, Taylor was offered a record deal. The aspiring country singer signed with Big Machine Records in 2004.

In 2006, the singer released her self-titled debut album, Taylor Swift. It featured "Tim McGraw," which was her first top 40 hit.

With curly blonde hair, tricked out cowboy boots, and a collection of acoustic guitars, Taylor was a country star who was easy to love. The singer quickly became the genre's hottest up-and-coming artist.

In the span of one year, Taylor managed to make a huge name for herself in country music. The 18-year-old accepted the award for Breakthrough Video of the Year for "Tim McGraw" at the 2007 CMT Music Awards.

In 2008, Taylor released her second studio album to an eager audience. Fearless was even more successful than her first, and was her first No. 1 album.

Taylor looked like a princess in a purple strapless corset ballgown at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. Her nomination for "Best New Artist" made the night even more special.

If this isn't a sign that you've made it, we don't know what is. The country music star wore a sleeveless gold sequin to the annual Met Gala in 2008.

After appearing in a Jonas Brothers music video, rumors swirled of a romance between Taylor and Joe Jonas. She later revealed that he ended their relationship—which ran its course from July to October 2008—with a phone call that lasted less than 30 seconds. Yikes!

Taylor experienced a huge career milestone at the MTV Music Video Awards, when she won the award for Best Female Video for "You Belong With Me." But her acceptance speech was crashed by rapper Kayne West, who yelled, "Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!" The moment led to a lot of bad blood between the stars.

The singer's next public relationship was referred to as "Taylor Squared." She began dating Twilight actor Taylor Lautner in August 2009, but it fizzled by December. Taylor reportedly wrote a song about him on her next album: "Back to December."

At the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, Taylor picked up trophies for Album of the Year, Best Female Country Vocal Performance, Best Country Song, and Best Country Album. She was nominated for four more, too.

Two years after the success of Fearless, Taylor dropped Speak Now. The album included hits like "Dear John," "Enchanted," and "Back to December." The record, which quickly became a fan favorite, also spurred a 15-month world tour.

The singer put down her guitar and stepped in front of the camera for an appearance in Valentine's Day. Her film debut premiered in February 2010, just a few months after she broke up with her costar, Taylor Lautner.

Taylor celebrates winning an American Music Award with her friend, Selena Gomez, in 2011. The singer ended up taking home three awards that evening—including the show's biggest honor, Artist of the Year.

At the Sundance Film Festival premiere of Ethel, Taylor was photographed with Rory and Ethel Kennedy. Soon after, the 22-year-old singer was linked to Conor Kennedy, the son of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (and who "Begin Again" is reportedly about).

Once Taylor Swift started dating Harry Styles, fans couldn't wait to hear what she'd say about him on her next album. She reportedly wrote "I Knew You Were Trouble," about the One Direction star. Years later, she confirmed the obvious: "Style" was also about the British crooner, telling Rolling Stone, "We should have just called [that song] 'I'm Not Even Sorry.'"

Her 2012 album, Red, was her first foray into pop music. The record was an instant hit, featuring hit songs like "All Too Well," "22," and "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together."

In 2013, Taylor got into one of her first public celebrity feuds. The alleged disagreement between her and Katy Perry took place in 2013, but fans weren't aware of it until the following year. When speaking about another star, Taylor told Rolling Stone: "She basically tried to sabotage an entire arena tour. She tried to hire a bunch of people out from under me." But don't worry: They've since made up!

In 2014, Taylor released 1989. The record marked the singer's first full pop album, and sold more than 10 million copies. With her new era came a new haircut—the singer debuted a straight, blonde bob.

That same year, Taylor moved from Nashville, Tennessee, to New York City. The singer purchased a Tribeca pad and was spotted all over the Big Apple.

The singer's friendship with model Karlie Kloss was allso prime news at the time. The two had become friends years before, but fans became obsessed when they saw "Kaylor" on stage together at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

At the end of 2014, Taylor famously pulled her entire back catalogue of music from the streaming app, Spotify. She didn't agree with the concept of music being free, and argued that many up-and-coming artists were being undervalued as a result. It wasn't until 2018 that the singer finally rejoined the service.

While on her 1989 tour, the singer pulled out the big guns—a.k.a. all of her famous friends. She invited everyone from Serena Williams to Gigi Hadid to Cara Delevingne on stage with her.

Taylor first stepped out with Scottish DJ Calvin Harris in 2015. They were linked until 2016, and she later addressed the breakup with the iconic graveyard scene from her music video for "Look What You Made Me Do."

After casting a mirage of celebrities in her "Bad Blood" music video, Taylor's girlfriends were coined as "The Squad." Her famous friends were, naturally, on hand to help her accept the MTV Video Music Award for the video.

After Ed Sheeran opened for Taylor Swift on her Red tour, the English musician became one of the biggest names in music. Here, the collaborators and friends pose together at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards in 2016.

Taylor shocked fans with an edgy new look at the 2016 Met Gala. The singer rocked a black lip, minidress, and platinum blonde bob.

Taylor's relationship with Tom Hiddleston was all anyone could talk about during the summer of 2016—from their airport sightings to their 4th of July shenanigans. The relationship drew plenty of attention, but it was over by September 2016.

There's a lot to unpack in the Kimye-Taylor feud of 2016. It started with lyrics about Taylor in Kanye's song, "Famous," and escalated after Kim Kardashian released a video of Kanye asking Taylor for permission to use the lyrics before the release—and her seeming to agree.

After receiving a lot of backlash following the Kimye scandal, social media users flooded the singer's comments section on Instagram with snake emojis. The feud prompted her to take a major step back from the spotlight.

The pop star returned in 2017 with her sixth studio album, Reputation. Everything about her edgy look and sound was in response to her haters. Songs like "Look What You Made Me Do" and "I Did Something Bad" helped Taylor reclaim her name and, well, her reputation.

Reports of a romance between Taylor Swift and actor Joe Alwyn didn't emerge until 2017, but we now know they began dating in the fall of 2016. The couple have remained super private about their relationship, but are still very much together.

After 13 years with Big Machine Records, Taylor signed a new deal with Republic Records in 2018. The release of her seventh studio album, Lover, was her first at the new label. It sold faster than any other album released in the United States that year.

Once again, Taylor proved she wasn't afraid to stand up for herself when she voiced her disdain when her former record label—and the masters to her first six albums along with it—was bought by Scooter Braun in 2019. She announced plans to re-record her songs in order to legally gain full control and ownership over her life's work.

The singer proudly signed onto the star-studded cast of Cats, a film adaption of the famous Broadway play. The movie was released in 2019.

Taylor attended the premiere of her documentary, Miss Americana, at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020. In the film, the singer looked back on her career and spoke about her own personal experiences and struggles.

Taylor released her eighth studio album in July, and fans were ecstatic. Folklore became the first album to sell one million copies in the U.S. that year and it hit No. 1 on the charts. The singer wasn't done just yet: She released another album a few months later, Evermore.

As a result of Scooter Braun owning the masters to her music, Taylor decided that as soon as her contract allowed—November 2020—she would begin re-recording and releasing her previous albums. She also announced plans to add bonus songs that never made it onto the originals. The singer released Fearless (Taylor's Version) on April 9, 2021, and set a release date of November 12, 2021 for Red (Taylor's Version).

The singer took home a Grammy for Album of the Year in 2021 for Folklore. This was her 11th Grammy win—and it certainly won't be her last.