Taylor Swift timeline: Career highs from 'Tim McGraw' to 'reputation' and everything in between

Dani Golub
·Video Producer, Yahoo Lifestyle

One look at Taylor Swift’s career will prove to any naysayers that she’s no flash in the pan. She’s racked up hit after hit after hit since her debut over a decade ago, and shows no sign of stopping any time soon.

T-Swift first burst onto the scene in 2006 with her single “Tim McGraw.” Her fresh take on country music won over fans of all ages. She quickly followed up the success of “Tim McGraw” with “Teardrops on My Guitar,” but it wasn’t until the release of her third single, “Our Song,” that her career really took off. The song shot to the top spot on the country charts, cementing her place as the reigning princess of country pop.

Despite her rising star, Swift still didn’t have crossover success until her next album, Fearless. With the lead single “Love Story,” Swift’s reach began to extend outside the country world. But the defining moment of her career to this point wouldn’t have anything to do with her music.

The 2009 VMAs turned out to be a milestone in more ways than one for Taylor. After she took home the award for Best Female Video, Kanye West stormed the stage and famously interrupted her acceptance speech. The moment instantly went viral and is to this day one of the most memorable pop culture moments of the last decade. Swift handled it with class — or rather, “style” — and her fans stuck by her side as her “feud” with West escalated over the years.

Swift’s next hit album, Red, was released in 2012. Featuring the totally sing-alongable anthems, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and “I Knew You Were Trouble,” Red became an instant classic.

But it wasn’t until 2014 that Swift went from star to superstar. Her album 1989 featured more hits than anyone could have imagined. From her Katy Perry burn-song “Bad Blood,” to the techno-tinged “Out of the Woods,” 1989 hit all the right notes, becoming the fastest-selling album in a decade. And we can’t talk about 1989 without mentioning — you guessed it — the irresistible, danceable, perfectly crafted pop masterpiece “Shake It off.” The video featured Swift dancing her heart out in a variety of hilarious outfits and styles, and helped it sell a whopping 4.8 million copies.

After a world tour and a little bit of a break, Swifties finally got their wish for some brand-new material when reputation hit the airwaves in 2017. The album was worth the wait, scoring a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album, and selling 1.2 million copies in its first week alone. With a decidedly darker tone than 1989, reputation addressed her various feuds and rumors about her head-on. Featuring lyrics like “Maybe I got mine, but you’ll all get yours” and “I’ve got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined,” Taylor proved she’s bad to the bone and ready to fight back against the haters for years to come.

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