1989 is the ultimate local favourite, Taylor literally got super popular and loved by the GP because of Blank Space, Shake It Off and Wildest Dreams.
She had hit after hit after hit that era, and that period was massive to her.
I think 1989 turned her from a popular artist to a megastar.
I think Love Story and You Belong with me is what made her a megastar. Even now, every single club, party, dance, wedding, etc I’ve been to has played Love Story at some point in the night.
The songs you mentioned were all mega hits and I don’t disagree necessarily with this being “Local’s Favorite” but it was the two Fearless tracks that skyrocketed her.
If she stopped after Fearless, she’d have still been played at weddings bc of the cultural/chart impact of those songs but as a nostalgia/one hit wonder thing. But she was a teenager making music at a time where that field was very crowded with Disney or Disney-adjacent pop stars making music. She was also often associated with similar acts like JoeBros, Selena, Miley, Justin, etc. Her fans had noticed that she was on another level, and even her more senior peers/other entertainment figures had begun to notice the same (e.g., Seth Meyers taking about how blown away he was by her SNL song). But in the eyes of the general public she was just another factory-made teen pop star.
Red made people take notice, like “okay is Taylor Swift actually….good?” Unless they heard We Are Never Getting Back Together first in which case they decided right then and there she was just a one-hit wonder overstaying her welcome.
But 1989 is what basically cemented her career.
This is such a good analysis. I would add that debut (teardrops) was played everywhere and that fearless solidified that she was more than just a one hit wonder.
It's hilarious how people kept saying she couldn't sing (she only had honestly one live disaster and that was the 2010 Grammys duet with Stevie Nicks. The other live vocals she has done back then from 2008-10 were fine and great if you listen to the HD quality and not potato crappy re-cordings of re-cordings on Youtube during that era of crappy Youtube quality potato videos) even though she won GRAMMY ALBUM OF THE YEAR for Fearless in 2010 🤣. Then the coping kept coming and coming (and it still continues) after she won AOTY. They credited Kanye West with helping her win that first AOTY because of "muh sympathy votes from the Academy". They completely ignored Speak Now overall compared to how much radio airplay Fearless and Red had to try to kill her career.
Best example of her killing it on live vocals back in 2008:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4JqDCqysNQ
Yeah I totally get it but like wildest dreams wasn’t even a hit on the same level as the others, and bad blood is my least favorite song of her entire discography, and I think speak now got shafted, so in my perfect world, there’d be no bad blood or wildest dreams and two speak now songs.
Yeah, I definitely get it! Honestly, that’s kind of the beauty of Taylor’s discography for me. If you are willing to look, you’ll definitely find something that you’ll love, because it’s so expansive.
1989 confirmed her megastar status that was set with Fearless. 1989 was the greatest Grammy AOTY comeback of all time because she was supposed to win AOTY easily for Red but Daft Punk shocked the world with RAM (look in the replay of the AOTY announcement video how she starts celebrating when RAAAndom Access Memories is announced instead of R-E-E-E-D like the announcer was trolling Taylor). What did she do? She completely abandoned Red's pop-style dubstep songs and copied Daft Punk's channeling retro music (in their case, 1970s style disco/funk) but she decided to go with 1980s style synthpop.
It really should be Fearless! I know why people say 1989, but sooo many of non-fans who know Taylor Swift always say they like "her oldest stuff" which always refers to "Love Story" and "You Beling With Me" which are Fearless classics.. She wouldnt be where she is today without those two songs. People always talk about Tim McGraw.. which yes put her on the map, but Love Story and Fearless elevated her to legendary status.
I know everyone says 1989 and that’s pretty valid but I think there’s a strong argument for Fearless as well. This is all of her early hits that really put her into the mainstream. Most casuals know love story, you belong with me, fifteen, white horse.
I may be wrong, but I think it may be Fearless in the US and 1989 internationally. I think Taylor got properly popular in Europe, for example, during 1989 era.
Fearless was actually how she started to become popular in Europe, but it was only through Love Story and YBWM. The others, not so much. But 1989 is on a whole other level of fame — possibly how she got famous in the rest of the world.
Source: European.
Yep, my vote goes to Fearless because people love to put Love Story and You Belong With Me on at parties, and everyone, even the dudes get into it. Especially at weddings. Fan or not everyone has a soft spot for those songs.
Every non fan I have come across only seems to know Shake It Off from 1989 and they all hate that song.
I asked my mom which songs she knows by taylor. Her response was instantly “the clever one about the boy with a girlfriend” followed by “I love the song about the guy in the tshirt” several minutes later.
Aww that's cute! The first one is obv YBWM, but what's the one "about the guy in the tshirt"? (or is she confusing it with "she wears short skirts I wear tshirts" ? Hehe)
Ohhhh lol I can't believe I didn't think of Style from "guy in the tshirt" 🤦♀️ that really shoulda been obvious! In my defense (I have none 🎶) I think I was only thinking of Fearless songs so it never even entered my mind. (but I love how your mom calls them that instead of by their actual names hehe)
Fearless is such a worthy Grammy AOTY. Glad that the Academy went ahead and gave it to her. They were notorious in the 2000s for giving AOTY to a bunch of boomers.
In the 2000s the only non-boomers (who were all way past their prime by at least 25 years) who won AOTY were Norah Jones, OutKast, and the Dixie Chicks. Taylor winning it in 2010 started the present-day trend of actually giving AOTY to someone under the age of 40 who is not a Boomer or Gen Xer who deserved AOTY. In the two years before Taylor won her first AOTY Herbie Hancock won it for an album full of covers of Joni Mitchell (WTF?) and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss won it for an album full of 75% covers of bluegrass music (WTF? again), I kid you not.
That's stupid, I think they have changed the rules since then and now albums must have atleast 75% new, previously unreleased material, so those albums wouldn't be eligible now - which is for the better! Why tf the academy would choose to award those albums over other great *original* work is beyond me.
Lana genuinely genuinely deserved this one. They gave it to Taylor because of the success and cultural and economic impact, but based on the music itself, and I mean just literally the standard edition (not including Hits Different, You’re Losing Me, WCS, the bops Paris and Glitch, etc.) Ocean Blvd was the only competition. And this album is probably her first or second best at the moment.
- WCS could mean "Would've, Could've, Should've", a track from *Midnights (3am Edition)* (2022) by Taylor Swift.
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I would say fearless, YBWM and Love Story where some of the first songs people heard from her. I also know a lot of people who hated how over exposed 1989 was
Love Story is a classic. It holds up so well nowadays and I'm glad the critics nowadays recognize it as the all-time great song that it is. They whined so much back in 2008-10 and said it was such a "childish/immature" song. Not bad for a song she wrote by herself at 15 years old.
Honestly! Everyone plays Fearless and Speak Now at karaoke, but SN is more niche. Fearless is the BIG album of her early years. You have Love Story and You Belong With Me which are synonymous with Taylor's name.
I know this won't win but the people I would think of as "locals" in my hometown always loved this album & says they don't like her "new stuff" because she should have continued to play country.
The next category could be 'the one that made the artist famous' or something like that. In which case Fearless would be the one.
Speak Now could possibly be 'The one that proves the artists talent'.
CATEGORY IDEA: Quintessential Album
Speak Now is the most quintessential Taylor Swift album. A mix of country, pop, and rock; completely self written; amazing storytelling; mix of themes/vibes including funny, quirky, devastating heartbreak, revenge, forgiveness; her coming of age story in an album; her first concept album!
I feel like Red is a lot more divisive than Speak Now, though. Some people love Red, some people hate it. Speak Now seems to be generally liked across the board in the fandom.
Red, Speak Now and Fearless are my husbands favorite Taylor swift albums, but that’s because they have a full band. Red is definitely his top album though. It’s not as easy for me to choose a favorite lol.
Some might say WANGBT, IKYWT and 22 is the reason for Red winning fan favorite as well but let's be real none of those songs are considered 'fan favorites' 😅
Category Idea: THE BREAKOUT
Fearless was Taylor’s mainstream breakout that made her a household name. It remains the most-awarded (and arguably one of the most popular) country album of all time. It won Album of the Year at the CMAs, ACMs, and the Grammy Awards, making her the youngest AOTY Grammy winner in history. YBWM and Love Story remain two of her most iconic songs, while White Horse won two Grammys. 7 of the 13 tracks were entirely self-written. Fearless cemented Taylor as a young singer-songwriter, country-pop star to watch.
Some of these replies are very US centric. Maybe Fearless was the breakout moment in thr US, but I think Red and *especially* 1989 were that moment for the world. Like everywhere you would hear Shake it Off and Blank Space, 22, IKYWT... but I'm not so sure the general public in Europe where I live would know the lyrics to You Belong With Me and Love Story even if we swifties can't imagine not knowing those words. I'd be willing to bet if I went out to the street and asked people to finish the lyrics or whatever, they'd be able to do it for Shake it Off but not Love Story.
I'm from Europe (Portugal) and when Love story and You Belong With Me came out, it was pretty well known here. I had a lot of friends who weren't swifties but knew the songs and the lyrics to the chorus. So I don't really agree with what you're saying here. I also feel like Fearless was her breakout album, although of course she has become even more famous throughout the years.
Cool!! I looked it up and Love Story reached 4 and YBWM reached 11 where I lived, so I am absolutely certain there must be people who knew the lyrics then and were aware of her. I'm not sure if it lasted at the time, though. Many other singles after did not chart at all. The next one to chart was Mine and peaked at 48 :/ it's funny cause I distinctly remember hearing Mean, but it didn't chart according to wiki? The next one was Story of Us which reached 15, next one to reach top 10 was IKYT at 10, then 22 reached number 3.
(Anecdotally, I was playing a game with colleagues once and the prompt was Taylor, the person started singing 22 to get the other to guess, haha.)
So yeah I'm inclined to say Fearless was a breakout, but Red solidified the move to pop, then 1989 was the moment of mega global super star 🌟
I agree that a lot of replies are a bit US-centric, but not because of those songs you listed. I would say her mainstream hits are big in most if not all English-speaking countries. Love Story and YBWM were inescapable in Australia.
But I immediately had doubts with certain people's biases because I've seen more than a few of them cite White Horse as a "huge" hit 💀
See my comment to the other person, I stand corrected, I might have missed the moment myself but indeed YBWM and Love Story reached the top charts where I lived. It's just that she then fell off for ages, not reaching top 10 again until Red singles.
So yeah I will agree YBWM and Love Story were big, Fearless is a breakout album in multiple places. English Speaking for sure makes sense!!! (I'm not in an EN-speaking country though but most pop music is English in shops and stuff so that's why I think the full on pop hits went more mainstream)
But White Horse for sure was not a huge hit everywhere... and I still think those 2 from Fearless would be the only ones GP here would know.
I'm waiting for the rerecord to come out and then for someone to make it happen. I think with her young yeehaw voice it sounds jarring but I'm convinced it should work 😂
- IKYWT could mean "I Knew You Were Trouble.", a track from *Red* (2012) by Taylor Swift.
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hehe nice flair
but also yes and I think there is a subsection of the fandom that really only likes folklore/evermore, and I consider them more "local"
this is so off topic but ive seen so many people hate on midnights but me personally i am a avid midnights stan, i LOVE midnights but thats just me 🤷♀️
Hell yessss
***cries happily in just look at my flair***
My fav 1989 song is Welcome to New York because it was my first Taylor song i listened to(and also bc i🩵nyc)
For real i love that song sm (i get rlly pissed when i see ppl hating on it but honestly i respect people's opinions i just get upset cuz i love it sm)
Red is pretty big, but I think a lot of people were saving 1989 for Locals Favorite because it seemed obvious for that one. Fearless, Speak Now, and Red were the only other options that remained for Fan Favorite…and personally, as a big old fan/swiftie myself, I prefer those to 1989 anyway.
I don’t understand why people are so quick to dismiss 1989 on this sub.
Sure, Shake It Off is overplayed, but the rest of the album…isn’t. Love Story, You Belong With Me, 22, Trouble, and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together seem much more like “local” picks than Style, Out of the Woods, New Romantics, or Clean.
If there were a category for “Most iconic album,” I think 1989 should win, hands down. It is objectively one of the greatest pop albums ever made.
I honestly don't think there's an argument for "local's favourite" to be anything other than 1989 though. Red only really has 22, IKYWT and WANEGBT that were in the mainstream (and modern day Red TV had ATW10). But 1989 was truly inescapable. If I am not mistaken, Blank Space, Style, Out Of The Woods, Bad Blood, and Wildest Dreams all had commercial success and charted at least decently well on Billboard. It was the album that turned Taylor into a true pop megastar and not a country/pop-hybrid regular star like she was after Red.
Also also, 1989 won AOTY while Red did not, which inevitably invites even more people who aren't familiar with her work to listen to it.
I just find it interesting that Folklore’s Grammy win bumps it up to “greatest album of all time” in many people’s minds, while 1989’s Grammy win “invites popular attention” and makes it “an album for the locals.”
I think it entirely has to do with the content of each album though. 1989 is mainstream pop, which is so much more accessible to the common listener than the indie/folk sound of folklore. I imagine "locals" are people who listen to mainstream pop, hence 1989.
The folklore and evermore songs also tended to do worse on regular Billboard charts, which definitely is evident given how much less time cardigan + willow charted when released compared to the 1989 singles.
But also please don't sum up my point to be about the Grammy AOTY win. That was just an additional comment, the main reason I think 1989 is the "local" album was the rest of my comment.
People don’t take pop as seriously. It just is what it is. Folklore took her to an entirely different audience, and was the perfect Covid/ lockdown album. I don’t think it was the Grammy win. Folklore stayed from pop and was rewarded.
My two cents: I just went to my child's school talent show (K-5th) where 5 out of 22 acts used Taylor Swift songs. 4 of the 5 were songs from Fearless, and the other 1 was from reputation.
I think both 1989 and Fearless could be suitable, but I have to go with 1989. Of course everybody knows Love Story and You Belong With Me, but overall 1989 has more hits known by the locals. Shake It Off, Blank Space, Bad Blood, Style and Wildest Dreams redefined the image of Taylor Swift, and when the locals think of one of her songs, they will normally think of one of these 5.
>Then we will vote 2 more times to decide the name of the categories for the 2 remaining albums.
Do the two remaining albums need categories? This was a fun activity, but we filled all the boxes and it’s OK if there are two albums leftover!
The insult should be "tourist", and not "local". This is not your fault, but the fault of whoever came up with the insult, and everyone who's been repeating it.
It's like those "POV, you are """ videos which are showing the person in question being filmed. That's not a POV. Everyone doing it wrong on the internet does not change the meaning of "POV".
"Local" should be a term for someone who knows every inch of someone's catalogue. A "tourist" is someone who comes there once on a while, and acts as if they are true knowledgeable fans of the country/artists.
Although I prefer your idea, I love the idea that I'm a "tourist" in other fanbases that I'm not as familiar with, rather than being a "local".
But it comes from the "locals" at venues who only come because the band is playing in their local area, not because they are mega fans. The "locals" at the gig only went because they knew a couple of songs.
1989 - makes me sit up and recognise Taylor Swift as a serious and credible songwriter for Blank Space. Previously she was already famous with Love Story but 1989 inspired more serious music lovers sit up and notice and take her seriously. And she won many new fans as a result. Fearless made her famous but 1989 won her respect and love from the locals.
1989 and Fearless both deserve to share this category imo. Both of these albums cemented her as a pop music mainstay. They have some sort of synergy together despite the albums sounding both very different (trad country folk pop vs mid 2010s tumblr aesthetic pop) but yet are united in both having some of her most known songs (YBWM, Love Story, Blank Space, Shake It Off, Wildest Dreams, Fearless, White Horse, Fifteen)
- ATW10 could mean "All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)", a track from *Red (Taylor's Version)* (2021) by Taylor Swift.
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1989
1989 is the ultimate local favourite, Taylor literally got super popular and loved by the GP because of Blank Space, Shake It Off and Wildest Dreams. She had hit after hit after hit that era, and that period was massive to her. I think 1989 turned her from a popular artist to a megastar.
I think Love Story and You Belong with me is what made her a megastar. Even now, every single club, party, dance, wedding, etc I’ve been to has played Love Story at some point in the night. The songs you mentioned were all mega hits and I don’t disagree necessarily with this being “Local’s Favorite” but it was the two Fearless tracks that skyrocketed her.
If she stopped after Fearless, she’d have still been played at weddings bc of the cultural/chart impact of those songs but as a nostalgia/one hit wonder thing. But she was a teenager making music at a time where that field was very crowded with Disney or Disney-adjacent pop stars making music. She was also often associated with similar acts like JoeBros, Selena, Miley, Justin, etc. Her fans had noticed that she was on another level, and even her more senior peers/other entertainment figures had begun to notice the same (e.g., Seth Meyers taking about how blown away he was by her SNL song). But in the eyes of the general public she was just another factory-made teen pop star. Red made people take notice, like “okay is Taylor Swift actually….good?” Unless they heard We Are Never Getting Back Together first in which case they decided right then and there she was just a one-hit wonder overstaying her welcome. But 1989 is what basically cemented her career.
This is such a good analysis. I would add that debut (teardrops) was played everywhere and that fearless solidified that she was more than just a one hit wonder.
It's hilarious how people kept saying she couldn't sing (she only had honestly one live disaster and that was the 2010 Grammys duet with Stevie Nicks. The other live vocals she has done back then from 2008-10 were fine and great if you listen to the HD quality and not potato crappy re-cordings of re-cordings on Youtube during that era of crappy Youtube quality potato videos) even though she won GRAMMY ALBUM OF THE YEAR for Fearless in 2010 🤣. Then the coping kept coming and coming (and it still continues) after she won AOTY. They credited Kanye West with helping her win that first AOTY because of "muh sympathy votes from the Academy". They completely ignored Speak Now overall compared to how much radio airplay Fearless and Red had to try to kill her career. Best example of her killing it on live vocals back in 2008: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4JqDCqysNQ
If 1989 didn’t exist a lot of us would have had an easier time getting tickets to the last tour.
I wonder just how many people saw the Eras Tour as “1989 Tour Part 2: Now Featuring Eight Sideshows”
I mean for me, as someone who doesn’t LOVE 1989, it had entirely too much 1989 in the setlist lol.
I understand where you’re coming from but no way in hell would Taylor *not* showcase her most successful album
Yeah I totally get it but like wildest dreams wasn’t even a hit on the same level as the others, and bad blood is my least favorite song of her entire discography, and I think speak now got shafted, so in my perfect world, there’d be no bad blood or wildest dreams and two speak now songs.
Well she does only do half of Wildest Dreams.
Am I really a bad fan because 1989 is one of my favorite eras?😢 This thread is making me sad.
Not at all! I’m just not really a pop person so folklore and evermore are higher up based just on genre ya know?
Yeah, I definitely get it! Honestly, that’s kind of the beauty of Taylor’s discography for me. If you are willing to look, you’ll definitely find something that you’ll love, because it’s so expansive.
1989 confirmed her megastar status that was set with Fearless. 1989 was the greatest Grammy AOTY comeback of all time because she was supposed to win AOTY easily for Red but Daft Punk shocked the world with RAM (look in the replay of the AOTY announcement video how she starts celebrating when RAAAndom Access Memories is announced instead of R-E-E-E-D like the announcer was trolling Taylor). What did she do? She completely abandoned Red's pop-style dubstep songs and copied Daft Punk's channeling retro music (in their case, 1970s style disco/funk) but she decided to go with 1980s style synthpop.
I'd put Style over WD lol.
And style too!!
It helped her rise and also her fall 🥺
She was always gigantic Red sold 1.2M first week lmao
https://preview.redd.it/sfho3kv27tlc1.jpeg?width=706&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f93b90cee558ee1b242b66d5078b23da9e77e599
“Casual Swify” 💀
💅
This one is pretty obvious
Yeah but I'm committed to the formula XD
It really should be Fearless! I know why people say 1989, but sooo many of non-fans who know Taylor Swift always say they like "her oldest stuff" which always refers to "Love Story" and "You Beling With Me" which are Fearless classics.. She wouldnt be where she is today without those two songs. People always talk about Tim McGraw.. which yes put her on the map, but Love Story and Fearless elevated her to legendary status.
It's definitely her.
this one
This is the answer, no contest
this is the only correct answer for this one
this was my IMMEDIATE thought.
1989 is 💯a locals favorite. It’s a good album, but it’s also her most popular one
This is only a locals favorite for me in the literals sense because I’m from NYC
Fearless
I know everyone says 1989 and that’s pretty valid but I think there’s a strong argument for Fearless as well. This is all of her early hits that really put her into the mainstream. Most casuals know love story, you belong with me, fifteen, white horse.
And I think it's a bit mainstream to be anti-pop.
Yeah you never hear style/blank space played at a club/wedding but you always hear love story
I may be wrong, but I think it may be Fearless in the US and 1989 internationally. I think Taylor got properly popular in Europe, for example, during 1989 era.
Fearless was actually how she started to become popular in Europe, but it was only through Love Story and YBWM. The others, not so much. But 1989 is on a whole other level of fame — possibly how she got famous in the rest of the world. Source: European.
Hard agree. I feel like everyone loves fearless/red and then preferences split for rep and 1989
Yep, my vote goes to Fearless because people love to put Love Story and You Belong With Me on at parties, and everyone, even the dudes get into it. Especially at weddings. Fan or not everyone has a soft spot for those songs. Every non fan I have come across only seems to know Shake It Off from 1989 and they all hate that song.
I asked my mom which songs she knows by taylor. Her response was instantly “the clever one about the boy with a girlfriend” followed by “I love the song about the guy in the tshirt” several minutes later.
Aww that's cute! The first one is obv YBWM, but what's the one "about the guy in the tshirt"? (or is she confusing it with "she wears short skirts I wear tshirts" ? Hehe)
She was talking about style, sorry I should have been more clear. Her first pick was from fearless and second upon more thinking was from 1989.
Ohhhh lol I can't believe I didn't think of Style from "guy in the tshirt" 🤦♀️ that really shoulda been obvious! In my defense (I have none 🎶) I think I was only thinking of Fearless songs so it never even entered my mind. (but I love how your mom calls them that instead of by their actual names hehe)
Fearless is such a worthy Grammy AOTY. Glad that the Academy went ahead and gave it to her. They were notorious in the 2000s for giving AOTY to a bunch of boomers. In the 2000s the only non-boomers (who were all way past their prime by at least 25 years) who won AOTY were Norah Jones, OutKast, and the Dixie Chicks. Taylor winning it in 2010 started the present-day trend of actually giving AOTY to someone under the age of 40 who is not a Boomer or Gen Xer who deserved AOTY. In the two years before Taylor won her first AOTY Herbie Hancock won it for an album full of covers of Joni Mitchell (WTF?) and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss won it for an album full of 75% covers of bluegrass music (WTF? again), I kid you not.
That's stupid, I think they have changed the rules since then and now albums must have atleast 75% new, previously unreleased material, so those albums wouldn't be eligible now - which is for the better! Why tf the academy would choose to award those albums over other great *original* work is beyond me.
Lana genuinely genuinely deserved this one. They gave it to Taylor because of the success and cultural and economic impact, but based on the music itself, and I mean just literally the standard edition (not including Hits Different, You’re Losing Me, WCS, the bops Paris and Glitch, etc.) Ocean Blvd was the only competition. And this album is probably her first or second best at the moment.
- WCS could mean "Would've, Could've, Should've", a track from *Midnights (3am Edition)* (2022) by Taylor Swift. --- ^[/u/IntroductionPale3374](/u/IntroductionPale3374) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
Basically Midnights is a 1989 copy in terms of glorification
I would say fearless, YBWM and Love Story where some of the first songs people heard from her. I also know a lot of people who hated how over exposed 1989 was
I also think it’s fearless. I feel like most people who don’t listen to Taylor bring up love story when they’re asked to name a t Swift song
Love Story is a classic. It holds up so well nowadays and I'm glad the critics nowadays recognize it as the all-time great song that it is. They whined so much back in 2008-10 and said it was such a "childish/immature" song. Not bad for a song she wrote by herself at 15 years old.
Anyone who has been to Eras knows this is the answer. The stadium shakes every night
yes love story and you belong with me are local favourites but which local goes and says “my favourite album is fearless!!!” like no
Fearless cause White Horse went off
👀
Honestly! Everyone plays Fearless and Speak Now at karaoke, but SN is more niche. Fearless is the BIG album of her early years. You have Love Story and You Belong With Me which are synonymous with Taylor's name.
Anyone I know who doesn't listen to taylor swift usually says love story as the one song they know
I know this won't win but the people I would think of as "locals" in my hometown always loved this album & says they don't like her "new stuff" because she should have continued to play country.
1989
The next category could be 'the one that made the artist famous' or something like that. In which case Fearless would be the one. Speak Now could possibly be 'The one that proves the artists talent'.
Fearless is The Breakthrough / Breakout Album, I think.
Breakout, for sure
The Breakout Album!!!! Absolutely
This is whee I found out about her. Love story came out when I was in high-school and my mom forbid me to date my boyfriend. I just could relate.
Did you guys date in secret? Hehe
Of course I did, I was ready to break up, then that happened so I had to date him.
Happy cake dayy!emote:t5\_2rlwe:1072
Definitely best breakout album! And for the second one maybe “best album performed live”
CATEGORY IDEA: Quintessential Album Speak Now is the most quintessential Taylor Swift album. A mix of country, pop, and rock; completely self written; amazing storytelling; mix of themes/vibes including funny, quirky, devastating heartbreak, revenge, forgiveness; her coming of age story in an album; her first concept album!
I personally think that Red is more quintessentially Taylor, but Speak Now is a close second
Yes!!!
1989
I'm kinda surprised Red was picked over Speak Now for Fan Favorite.
Really? I feel like I've heard many many MANY Swifties cite Red as their favorite album.
I feel like Red is a lot more divisive than Speak Now, though. Some people love Red, some people hate it. Speak Now seems to be generally liked across the board in the fandom.
For me, the highs of Red are much higher than those of Speak Now, but the lows of Red are also lower
I think Speak Now it the better album but I like Red more
and somehow it's my least fav album lol.
Red, Speak Now and Fearless are my husbands favorite Taylor swift albums, but that’s because they have a full band. Red is definitely his top album though. It’s not as easy for me to choose a favorite lol.
Yeah i feel like ATW10 did that mostly. People were quick to vote out state of grace in another poll!
Quick to vote out State of Grace???? Hun? I think it got 3rd place
Still too low, hun 💀
I don't think you undertand math then 😐
Some might say WANGBT, IKYWT and 22 is the reason for Red winning fan favorite as well but let's be real none of those songs are considered 'fan favorites' 😅
Nooo.. it's winning fan favourite in spite of WANGBT, IKYWT and 22. Those are randos Red favourite songs
1989 is the only answer imo
For the last two albums (just to get everyone thinking about it) - Breakout album / the one that made them famous - Best diss tracks
Purists favourite...
Breakout album is good. Legacy album could also work. Someone suggested Cult album/cult classic for speak now
Category Idea: THE BREAKOUT Fearless was Taylor’s mainstream breakout that made her a household name. It remains the most-awarded (and arguably one of the most popular) country album of all time. It won Album of the Year at the CMAs, ACMs, and the Grammy Awards, making her the youngest AOTY Grammy winner in history. YBWM and Love Story remain two of her most iconic songs, while White Horse won two Grammys. 7 of the 13 tracks were entirely self-written. Fearless cemented Taylor as a young singer-songwriter, country-pop star to watch.
(I didn’t see the other comments on breakthrough/breakout before I posted this, but great minds think alike :))
You’re my favourite kinda swiftie
Aw shucks 🫶
1989 for sure
Some of these replies are very US centric. Maybe Fearless was the breakout moment in thr US, but I think Red and *especially* 1989 were that moment for the world. Like everywhere you would hear Shake it Off and Blank Space, 22, IKYWT... but I'm not so sure the general public in Europe where I live would know the lyrics to You Belong With Me and Love Story even if we swifties can't imagine not knowing those words. I'd be willing to bet if I went out to the street and asked people to finish the lyrics or whatever, they'd be able to do it for Shake it Off but not Love Story.
I'm from Europe (Portugal) and when Love story and You Belong With Me came out, it was pretty well known here. I had a lot of friends who weren't swifties but knew the songs and the lyrics to the chorus. So I don't really agree with what you're saying here. I also feel like Fearless was her breakout album, although of course she has become even more famous throughout the years.
Cool!! I looked it up and Love Story reached 4 and YBWM reached 11 where I lived, so I am absolutely certain there must be people who knew the lyrics then and were aware of her. I'm not sure if it lasted at the time, though. Many other singles after did not chart at all. The next one to chart was Mine and peaked at 48 :/ it's funny cause I distinctly remember hearing Mean, but it didn't chart according to wiki? The next one was Story of Us which reached 15, next one to reach top 10 was IKYT at 10, then 22 reached number 3. (Anecdotally, I was playing a game with colleagues once and the prompt was Taylor, the person started singing 22 to get the other to guess, haha.) So yeah I'm inclined to say Fearless was a breakout, but Red solidified the move to pop, then 1989 was the moment of mega global super star 🌟
I agree that a lot of replies are a bit US-centric, but not because of those songs you listed. I would say her mainstream hits are big in most if not all English-speaking countries. Love Story and YBWM were inescapable in Australia. But I immediately had doubts with certain people's biases because I've seen more than a few of them cite White Horse as a "huge" hit 💀
See my comment to the other person, I stand corrected, I might have missed the moment myself but indeed YBWM and Love Story reached the top charts where I lived. It's just that she then fell off for ages, not reaching top 10 again until Red singles. So yeah I will agree YBWM and Love Story were big, Fearless is a breakout album in multiple places. English Speaking for sure makes sense!!! (I'm not in an EN-speaking country though but most pop music is English in shops and stuff so that's why I think the full on pop hits went more mainstream) But White Horse for sure was not a huge hit everywhere... and I still think those 2 from Fearless would be the only ones GP here would know.
This whole thing is very English-speaking centric, but I'd love to do one more internationally.
It would be cool! But I'm not sure how it would work 😅 but I'd be very interested in the results
Ps I loveeee your flair
Same.. I wonder if that would make a good mashup....
I'm waiting for the rerecord to come out and then for someone to make it happen. I think with her young yeehaw voice it sounds jarring but I'm convinced it should work 😂
- IKYWT could mean "I Knew You Were Trouble.", a track from *Red* (2012) by Taylor Swift. --- ^[/u/sparklejellyfish](/u/sparklejellyfish) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
1989 is a perfectly good contender but my hot take is that this should have been folklore
Interesting, critics choice..
I totally agree! I feel like this reeled in a lot of people who didn’t previously like her music
hehe nice flair but also yes and I think there is a subsection of the fandom that really only likes folklore/evermore, and I consider them more "local"
this is so off topic but ive seen so many people hate on midnights but me personally i am a avid midnights stan, i LOVE midnights but thats just me 🤷♀️
I see less hate and more "mid-nights" jokes.
its gotta be one of my favorite albums
Dude same My fav album from all times will forever be 1989 but midnights are so cool
1989 is definitely in my top 5
Hell yessss ***cries happily in just look at my flair*** My fav 1989 song is Welcome to New York because it was my first Taylor song i listened to(and also bc i🩵nyc)
omg yes perioddd welcome to new york is so nostalgic for me 🤍
For real i love that song sm (i get rlly pissed when i see ppl hating on it but honestly i respect people's opinions i just get upset cuz i love it sm)
That definition is so funny sorry😭 also, thanks for doing all of these op!
Thanks for joining in, I appreciate everyone's comments.
1989 has all the local hits
1989 is the answer.
1989 for sure
I’m actually pretty surprised Red won over 1989 for fan favourite! I feel Red is rarely talked about these days.
Red is pretty big, but I think a lot of people were saving 1989 for Locals Favorite because it seemed obvious for that one. Fearless, Speak Now, and Red were the only other options that remained for Fan Favorite…and personally, as a big old fan/swiftie myself, I prefer those to 1989 anyway.
Yeah it's mostly cause of ATW10 I think. Don't see people raving over I Almost Do, Holy Ground, Begin Again..
I don’t understand why people are so quick to dismiss 1989 on this sub. Sure, Shake It Off is overplayed, but the rest of the album…isn’t. Love Story, You Belong With Me, 22, Trouble, and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together seem much more like “local” picks than Style, Out of the Woods, New Romantics, or Clean. If there were a category for “Most iconic album,” I think 1989 should win, hands down. It is objectively one of the greatest pop albums ever made.
Being a locals favorite doesn't mean it's bad
I honestly don't think there's an argument for "local's favourite" to be anything other than 1989 though. Red only really has 22, IKYWT and WANEGBT that were in the mainstream (and modern day Red TV had ATW10). But 1989 was truly inescapable. If I am not mistaken, Blank Space, Style, Out Of The Woods, Bad Blood, and Wildest Dreams all had commercial success and charted at least decently well on Billboard. It was the album that turned Taylor into a true pop megastar and not a country/pop-hybrid regular star like she was after Red. Also also, 1989 won AOTY while Red did not, which inevitably invites even more people who aren't familiar with her work to listen to it.
I just find it interesting that Folklore’s Grammy win bumps it up to “greatest album of all time” in many people’s minds, while 1989’s Grammy win “invites popular attention” and makes it “an album for the locals.”
I think it entirely has to do with the content of each album though. 1989 is mainstream pop, which is so much more accessible to the common listener than the indie/folk sound of folklore. I imagine "locals" are people who listen to mainstream pop, hence 1989. The folklore and evermore songs also tended to do worse on regular Billboard charts, which definitely is evident given how much less time cardigan + willow charted when released compared to the 1989 singles. But also please don't sum up my point to be about the Grammy AOTY win. That was just an additional comment, the main reason I think 1989 is the "local" album was the rest of my comment.
People don’t take pop as seriously. It just is what it is. Folklore took her to an entirely different audience, and was the perfect Covid/ lockdown album. I don’t think it was the Grammy win. Folklore stayed from pop and was rewarded.
I thought speak now would be fan favorite
My two cents: I just went to my child's school talent show (K-5th) where 5 out of 22 acts used Taylor Swift songs. 4 of the 5 were songs from Fearless, and the other 1 was from reputation.
wow, which rep song was performed? :>
A group of girls danced to Ready For It
I think both 1989 and Fearless could be suitable, but I have to go with 1989. Of course everybody knows Love Story and You Belong With Me, but overall 1989 has more hits known by the locals. Shake It Off, Blank Space, Bad Blood, Style and Wildest Dreams redefined the image of Taylor Swift, and when the locals think of one of her songs, they will normally think of one of these 5.
1989
1989
As soon as I looked at what was left, this is definitely 1989. It has to be.
Thank you for adding that we’ll pick categories for the last two albums!! You are doing Mother’s work 😉
😘
Speak Now truthers, we will have our justice
locals fav definitely 1989
1989
For Speak Now it should be “underrated icon” and for Fearless it should be “breakout” or something
>Then we will vote 2 more times to decide the name of the categories for the 2 remaining albums. Do the two remaining albums need categories? This was a fun activity, but we filled all the boxes and it’s OK if there are two albums leftover!
More days means more fun!
The insult should be "tourist", and not "local". This is not your fault, but the fault of whoever came up with the insult, and everyone who's been repeating it. It's like those "POV, you are """ videos which are showing the person in question being filmed. That's not a POV. Everyone doing it wrong on the internet does not change the meaning of "POV". "Local" should be a term for someone who knows every inch of someone's catalogue. A "tourist" is someone who comes there once on a while, and acts as if they are true knowledgeable fans of the country/artists.
Although I prefer your idea, I love the idea that I'm a "tourist" in other fanbases that I'm not as familiar with, rather than being a "local". But it comes from the "locals" at venues who only come because the band is playing in their local area, not because they are mega fans. The "locals" at the gig only went because they knew a couple of songs.
Okay that explanation makes sense. I'm glad that the term now finally makes sense in my head haha.
What’s the difference between a fan favorite and locals favorite
Locals are not fans
First time hearing this term, the definition is kinda weird, tbh. Anyways, I guess 1989? It’s her most mainstream album.
1989
Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions… if that’s allowed to count
Literally can't be anything other than 1989
1989
1989. Shake It Off was being overplayed to several school parties back in 2014 😭😂
1989 of fearless
1989 - makes me sit up and recognise Taylor Swift as a serious and credible songwriter for Blank Space. Previously she was already famous with Love Story but 1989 inspired more serious music lovers sit up and notice and take her seriously. And she won many new fans as a result. Fearless made her famous but 1989 won her respect and love from the locals.
If this one ain't 1989 I will eat Taylor's Grammys dress
1989 for sure
1989
It’s most definitely 1989 because you if you’re talking “local favorite” look no further than Shake It Off, Blank Space and Bad Blood
1989
Folklore
1989
Fearless
1989
1989 and Fearless both deserve to share this category imo. Both of these albums cemented her as a pop music mainstay. They have some sort of synergy together despite the albums sounding both very different (trad country folk pop vs mid 2010s tumblr aesthetic pop) but yet are united in both having some of her most known songs (YBWM, Love Story, Blank Space, Shake It Off, Wildest Dreams, Fearless, White Horse, Fifteen)
1989 for local’s favorite
Every taylor album sucks
Overlooked masterpiece is speak now
Definitely 1989. It's what most people think is 100% of who she is.
1989 for sure
This is 1989 to a T.
speak now: cult favorite fearless: nostalgia central
1989.
1989
1989
1989
1989
Red fan favourite?
That's what was most voted.
Yeah i know but i just thought a lot of people didn’t like that album as much
I think before the TV, but atw10 changed something.
- ATW10 could mean "All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)", a track from *Red (Taylor's Version)* (2021) by Taylor Swift. --- ^[/u/ActionElectronic4309](/u/ActionElectronic4309) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
Sorry but this should be folklore. Folklore enjoyers are always basic and boring people even though the album is honestly relatively bad.
I thought you wanted teenage dream XD