Goodbye, country. Welcome, pop!
In 2014, the world entered the fresh, new era of Taylor Swift with her fifth studio album, 1989. Released through Big Machine, a recording label that had been her home since 2005, 1989 was supported with singles like Shake It Off, Blank Space, Style, and many more. The 9-times-platinum album marked Taylor's departure from her earlier signature country sound to straightforward pop.
"With 1989, I was really putting my neck on the line, because I was the one saying I need to change directions musically," T-Swizz told TIME. "I didn't want people to know the emotional DNA of this album. I didn't want them to see a smiling picture on the cover and think this was a happy album, or see a sad-looking facial expression and think, oh, this is another breakup record."
Debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart with 1.2 million first-week sales, 1989 spent 11 non-consecutive weeks on the top, making it the fourth album along with her Fearless album, Adele's 21, and the Frozen movie soundtrack to spend more than ten weeks at number one. It might have been six years since the album's release, but the album is still worth every listen. Here are some of the facts you might want to know about Taylor Swift's 2014 album, 1989.
12 What Happened In 1989?
So, why 1989? What happened in 1989?
1989 was the year when mother Andrea and father Scott brought Taylor Alison Swift to the world. She was born on December 13, hence her 'lucky' number, in West Reading, Pennsylvania. She was only nine when she found her passion in music and performed in four Berks Youth Theater Academy productions. She has a younger brother, named Austin, as photographed on this picture!
11 Blank Space & Shake It Off Weren't The First Time Taylor Clapped Back At Critics Using Her Song
Taylor's music is mainly built from all the drama in her life, and that's what makes so many people resonate with her music because it's real. Taylor clapped back at critics on Shake It Off, the lead single from 1989, but it wasn't the first time Taylor used her music to counter haters. Speaking to 90 Minutes, Tay revealed the real subject behind her 2011 single Mean was blogger Bob Lefsetz who criticized her Grammy performance with Stevie Nicks back in 2010.
"The things that were said about me by this dude just floored me and like leveled me. And I, I don't have thick skin. I hate reading criticisms. Like you never, you never really like get past things hurting you," she said.
10 The Story Behind All You Had To Do Was Stay
Here's what the singer revealed to TIME about the dream she had that inspired her to write All You Had To Do Was Stay.
She said, "I was having this dream, that was actually one of those embarrassing dreams, where you're mortified in the dream, you're like humiliated. In the dream, my ex had come to the door to beg for me to talk to him or whatever, and I opened up the door, and I went to go say, "Hi," or "What are you doing here?" or something—something normal—but all that came out was this high-pitched singing that said, "Stay!" It was almost operatic. So I wrote this song, and I used that sound in the song."
9 50 Cent Is, Secretly, A Fan Of The Album
Every one of us has a guilty pleasure, even a gangsta rapper like Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson, and admitting it is no sin. Speaking to Larry King, In da Club rapper said that he'd been secretly a fan of Taylor's 1989. He said, "I like Taylor Swift's new (1989) CD." Surprised, the interviewer nodded his head and re-asked him the question, which he firmly answered, "Taylor Swift's new CD."
It wasn't the first time 50 stood up for Taylor and her art, in any case. Following the infamous Kanye West's 'I'ma let you finish' outburst at the 2009 VMAs, 50 sided with the singer.
"At that point, you can't replace it," 50 told MuchMusic, as reported by MTV. "Even an apology can't replace what it feels like for the very first time receiving that award. Now in her head, 'My first award was Kanye West.' And it's damaging. I wish he would come take one of my awards so I can black his eye in front of everybody."
8 Goodbye, Nashville
Not only did Taylor Swift move to a whole new genre with 1989, but she also relocated to New York from Nashville. She even paid homage to the Empire State by titling the album's opener as Welcome to New York. Speaking to E! Online, here's what Tay Tay said about the song, "I approached moving there with such wide-eyed optimism and sort of saw it as a place of endless potential and possibilities. You can kind of hear that reflected in this music and this first song especially."
7 Taylor Swift On Bad Blood: I Was Never Sure If We Were Friends
We all know who's the main subject behind Bad Blood: Katy Perry, even though she tried not to name her on this Rolling Stone interview.
"She would come up to me at awards shows and say something and walk away, and I would think, 'Are we friends, or did she just give me the harshest insult of my life?'" she said. "She basically tried to sabotage an entire arena tour. She tried to hire a bunch of people (dancers) out from under me. And I'm surprisingly non-confrontational – you would not believe how much I hate conflict. So now I have to avoid her. It's awkward, and I don't like it."
Now, however, both parties have raised a white flag and put their beef aside. Last year, Kat was featured on Taylor's You Need to Calm Down music video. Well, it was fun while it lasted.
6 1989 Almost Didn't Happen
"My label and management were the ones saying, "Are you sure, are you positive? This is risky." And I was the one who had to come back every time and say, "No, this is what we're doing," the cat mother of Meredith told TIME.
"Every single element of this album has been called into question," she added. "And I've had to say, "No, this is how we're doing it." And the fact that we came out and did the kind of numbers we did in the first week—you have no idea how relieved I was because it was all on me if this didn't work."
5 One Thing Taylor Wanted To Change From 1989
Even though she denied or refused to say anything about it on several occasions, we all know that Harry Styles was one of the main subjects on the album. If there's one thing Taylor Swift wanted to change from 1989, it's the title of the album's third single, Style. "We should have just called it I'm Not Even Sorry," she told TIME.
4 Harry Styles On TS: She's A Great Songwriter
Many believed Style, All You Had to Do Was Stay, and Out of the Woods were penned with Harry Styles in mind, so, what did the One Direction crooner said about it?
Speaking to Paper Magz in a highly diplomatic way, Harry said that it's flattering. "Even if the song isn't that flattering, you've still spent time on it," he added, "And, ultimately, using Taylor as an example, she's a great songwriter."
3 Taylor Swift Is A Fan Of Kendrick Lamar
Admit it: Taylor Swift and Kendrick 'Welvin Da Great' Lamar collaboration is something we had never seen it coming, but it did. Until May 2020, star-packed Bad Blood music video has gained over 1.4 billion views.
Apparently, Taylor is a fan of the Compton rapper, and he's her go-to whenever she feels 'victimized.' As she revealed to Rolling Stone, she even knows every word to his 2012's Backseat Freestyle from good kid, m.A.A.d city album!
2 1989 Outsold Her Last Two Albums
With that being said, Taylor definitely belongs to pop. As Billboard reported, after 19 weeks of its initial release, 1989 has outsold Taylor's two previous albums, Red (2012) and Speak Now (2010). According to Nielsen Music, 1989 scored a whopping 4.5 million copies sales, while Red sold 4.1 million after 124 weeks, and Speak Now had to spend 228 weeks before making it into 4.4 million sales.
1 Mrs. Money In The Bank
After such a successful transformation to pop music with 1989, it's safe to say that this is well-deserved. Taylor topped Billboard's annual Money Makers rich list with total earnings of $39 million from the album sales, touring, and other miscellaneous pieces, beating Justin Timberlake, Bon Jovi, Beyonce, Maroon 5, and fellow country star Kenny Chesney in the process.
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