Mariah Carey's timeless Christmas album features many covers of classics and three original songs. The star, of course, is "All I Want for Christmas is You," which is so timeless that it hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 a full 25 years after its release, and has continued to top the chart every holiday season since.

"There are the classics — the standards that everybody grew up with — and then there are the reinterpretations or new originals," Dave Bakula, a senior analyst for Nielsen Music, told The New York Times. "Mariah lives in that sweet spot of both."

Ariana Grande's surprise-released Christmas EP experienced a surge in popularity after she added some of the project's six original songs to her 2019 Sweetener World Tour setlist. That year, it even surpassed "Thank U, Next" as Grande's most-streamed album.

"my favorite body of work," she wrote on Twitter. "she is rising from the dead ! thank u new listeners of christmas n chill and hello everyone that is just now discovering it. i'm so happy."

Grande also praised an analysis of the album by Vulture's Rachel Handler, who described the collection of songs as "surreal" and "extremely horny."

"The first thing you need to know about 'Christmas and Chill' is that, unlike most celebrity Christmas albums, it contains zero covers. Nay, this is an entirely original work; Grande does not perform a playful riff on 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' because she is too busy staying inside, having tons of unhinged sex to a trap beat," Handler wrote. 

Michael Bublé's essential Christmas album is entirely comprised of classic covers, from "Jingle Bells" to "Santa Baby" — but "Christmas" actually benefits from Bublé's lack of originality. His rich, Rat Pack-worthy voice is perfectly suited to retain the chestnut-roasting, spirit-brightening, holly-jolly magic of the holiday season.

These days, Justin Bieber's brand may not scream "holiday cheer," but his 2011 album "Under the Mistletoe" molds the genre to suit his sound.

Anyone who convinced Busta Rhymes to hop on a delightfully unhinged cover of "Drummer Boy" (Bieber's trap-tinged version features the lyric "Playing for the king, playing for the title / I'm surprised you didn't hear this in the Bible") deserves a spot on this list.

John Legend's aptly titled "A Legendary Christmas" includes eight covers (including his much-debated woke version of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" with Kelly Clarkson) and six jazzy original tracks, which are equal parts endearing and cheesy. (When it comes to holiday music, cheese is the whole point.)

Legend is ideally suited for this kind of project, which would've fallen flat without the sincerity that defines his voice and brand. "A Legendary Christmas" was even nominated for best traditional pop vocal album at the 2020 Grammy Awards, alongside other legends like Elvis Costello and Barbra Streisand.

Save for the closing track, "White Xmas," Sabrina Carpenter's "Fruitcake" is full of original bops, each equally as catchy as the last.

Much like Grande's EP, "Fruitcake" blends contemporary pop production, wintry innuendos, and Carpenter's signature wit to great effect: "A Nonsense Christmas" is a festive twist on her viral hit, "Buy Me Presents" is a cheeky ode to Santa as the ideal romantic suitor, while "Cindy Lou Who" stands out as the sole genuine tear-jerker.

Davis Hasselhoff's Christmas album would be endearing if it had leaned into the weirdness (like, why does this exist?). Instead, it's just plain bad. As CBC Music put it so elegantly, the "Baywatch" star's attempt to recreate holiday classics was just "incredibly unnecessary."

Taylor Swift was still a teenage country darling when she released "The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection" and botched seasonal favorites like "Last Christmas" and "Silent Night." As Courteney Larocca previously wrote for BI, her "Santa Baby" cover is the EP's worst offender: "It's difficult to listen to her croon about how she's been an 'awful good girl' while trying to flirt her way into a light blue convertible without gagging."

Even though "The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection" features two original songs from this generation's preeminent lyricist ("Christmases When You Were Mine" and "Christmas Must Be Something More"), neither is executed well enough to rescue the experience.

Seth MacFarlane has a surprisingly robust singing voice, but it's hard to separate his brand from "Holiday for Swing" — especially if you associate his vocals with Brian, the talking dog from "Family Guy." The album barely reimagines any of its holiday classics and takes itself way too seriously for MacFarlane's boyish comedy instincts.

"CeeLo's Magic Moment" was an obvious extension of CeeLo Green's rebrand as the family-friendly coach on NBC's "The Voice," a much duller version of the iconic Gnarls Barkley singer who once gave us transcendent jazz-pop-funk fusion hits like "Crazy."

As a result, "CeeLo's Magic Moment" comes across as forced and contrived. 

Do you remember (or even know) that Sia released a Christmas album within the last decade?

The powerhouse singer tried to infuse a bit of tropical funk into the holiday season with "Everyday is Christmas," but it just doesn't work the way she clearly intended. As Katherine St. Asaph wrote for Pitchfork, the album "feels inconsistent and underwritten, like opening a gift where someone's forgotten to remove the tags."

Making holiday music is always a bit of a risk; it usually reeks of a cash grab, rather than a serious artistic pursuit. That can be a death knell for pop stars who already have to fight against that anti-artistic stereotype.

Such is the case for Gwen Stefani, who used to make albums like "Return of Saturn" and "Love. Angel. Music. Baby." but now makes flavorless country-pop about being married.

For many fans, Stefani's fourth solo album, "You Make It Feel Like Christmas," punctuated her unfortunate fall from the cool-girl pedestal. The album bears no hint of personality or idiosyncratic spin — just Stefani delivering the billionth faithful rendition of "Jingle Bells" and dueting with her husband, Blake Shelton, on the cookie-cutter title track.

While Title VII officially prevented discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, and sex for private employers, it wasn't until Executive Order 11375 that discrimination based on gender was illegal for the federal government and federal contractors.

President Johnson signed the order, which was officially titled Amending Executive Order No. 11246, Relating to Equal Employment Opportunity, on October 13, 1967.

The tiny Mediterranean country of Malta first became independent of the British in 1964, but officially became a republic on December 13, 1974.

Even though it's small, Malta is an underrated place to visit.

According to the National Museum of the US Air Force, Kilgare-Brier became the first woman to receive an airplane instructor's license on October 13, 1939.

She was an important figure for women in aviation. She also flew non-combat missions during World War II, and after the war she owned and operated her own private airport, according to her obituary in the Los Angeles Times.

The 2004 Summer Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, the country where they started, both in ancient and modern times. The opening ceremony took place on August 13.

It was the largest Olympic Games at the time, with 201 countries participating. Michael Phelps also won his first Olympic medal and broke his first record in Athens.

The Olsen twins were born on June 13, 1986.

They famously got their start on "Full House" and went on to create an empire: books, videos, perfume, clothing lines, and much more.

Taylor Swift was born on December 13, 1989 — her birthday lands on Friday the 13th this year — and she has repeatedly said that 13 is her favorite number. She even used to perform with "13" drawn on her hand.

As part of her 13 agenda, her blockbuster concert film "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" premiered in theaters on Friday, October 13, 2023. It went on to become the highest-grossing concert film of all time after grossing $261 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.

Roy Chapman Andrews discovered the first dinosaur eggs at a dig in Mongolia on July 13, 1923, according to the American Museum of Natural History.

Scientifically, this was huge for the field of paleontology, confirming that dinosaurs laid eggs. The museum was so impressed that Andrews went on to become its director from 1935 to 1942.

The Hollywood sign is an iconic piece of California culture. But when it was officially dedicated on July 13, 1923, it wasn't even supposed to last for more than two years.

Originally, the sign was installed to promote a new subdivision in the Hollywood Hills.

"Super Mario Bros.," one of the most iconic video games in history, was released on September 13, 1985, exclusively in Japan, per The Verge.

Since then, Mario has been in approximately 170 games, including wildly successful spin-offs like "Mario Kart," "Mario Party," and "Paper Mario."

A lunar space station has long been the subject of science fiction novels, but on November 13, 2009, that dream took one step closer to reality when NASA announced they found water on the Moon.

How much is a "significant amount"? According to NASA's Anthony Colaprete, around a dozen 2-gallon bucketfuls.

The 69th best debut album of all time, at least according to Rolling Stone, Black Sabbath's self-titled album was released on February 13, 1970.

The album is widely regarded as having created the genre of heavy metal, with instant classics like "NIB." and "The Wizard."

Steve Buscemi was born on December 13, 1957 — yes, he shares a birthday with Taylor Swift. Buscemi might be famous as an actor, but he also has a lesser-known second career: a New York City firefighter.

Buscemi became an NYC firefighter at age 18. He eventually left the service to pursue acting, but in the aftermath of 9/11, Buscemi helped with rescue efforts and worked 12-hour shifts sifting through the rubble.

Of the iconic "Friday the 13th" movie saga, "Part III" was the first to actually open on Friday the 13th (August 13, 1982), the first to experiment with 3D, and the first appearance of Jason's mask.

Even though the movie was critically panned, the movie made over $36 million against a $2.3 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo.

If all else fails to convince you that Friday the 13th isn't a cursed date, just remember this: It's the last day of the work week. Fridays are the best!

The star wore an Elie Saab gown that had a semi-sheer bodice made of crisscross red designs atop see-through lace fabric.

The bright red skirt contrasted with the patterned bodice.

The Kaufmanfranco minidress had quarter-length sleeves and a high collar.

A plunging neckline flowed from Swift's neck to her navel.

The flowing J. Mendel dress had a low neckline that was accented by silver straps on the front, back, and side.

A slit in the skirt added to the look.

The singer chose another Elie Saab dress for the 2013 awards ceremony.

The black gown had sheer cutouts on the shoulders and legs, and a gold belt broke up the column style.

The navy Hervé Léger by Max Azria gown had a plunging neckline with a sparkly trim.

The Reem Acra dress had a simple white skirt, but it was offset by an intricately designed off-the-shoulder bodice.

The elegant gold and sheer patterned top scooped into a low neckline. 

Swift sparkled in the black minidress, which was designed by Zuhair Murad. 

Black gems sat atop sheer fabric, and a fringed trim completed the gown.

The bright red dress, created by Swift's costume designer Marina Toybina, had a low neckline and a flowing cape. 

Sparkly, built-in shorts gave the look a performance flare.

The polka-dot bra top had a small cutout in the center and coordinated with the high-waisted pencil skirt.

The skirt featured a slit up the center.

The Sass & Bide ensemble consisted of a white skirt and a peplum birdcage top.

The neckline of the top was low-cut, and it was connected by two black strips of fabric.

The halter neckline of the Balmain jumpsuit mirrored two cutouts in the center of the garment.

The wide-legged pants gave the ensemble a retro look.

Swift paired the low-cut nightgown with a matching, lace-trimmed robe.

Swift, pictured with her model and then-close friend Karlie Kloss, stunned in a sparkly black bra and matching high-waisted underwear.

She wore a black, lace nightgown that had a long train over the look with high heels.

The Zuhair Murad dress consisted of a white skirt and one white sleeve, while the bodice and one sleeve were made of sheer fabric with sparkly, silver patterns on it.

Jimmy Choo pumps completed the ensemble.

A zipper ran down the lace-covered Julien Macdonald dress, creating a dramatic slit.

The neckline featured zig-zag straps.

At BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in 2015, Swift wore a silver bodysuit with sheer panels.

Silver tassels flowed from the trim and from her wrists.

The top of the gold dress, designed by Jessica Jones, was made of sheer fabric. Gold sparkles sat atop it, creating a deep V that flowed all the way to Swift's navel.

The layers of gold tulle in the skirt moved as Swift danced. 

The bodysuit Swift wore while she performed alongside Tove Lo had sheer cutouts on the stomach and chest.

Sparkle-covered fabric made up the rest of the garment, which was trimmed with tassels.

The Versace two-piece consisted of a strapless orange crop top and a high-waisted, hot-pink skirt.

The skirt had a waist-high slit that revealed built-in pink underwear.

She stunned in a black Alexandre Vauthier Haute Couture gown that had a plunging halter neckline and a thigh-high slit.

A gold Jimmy Choo purse, a gold choker, and gold Giuseppe Zanetti heels completed the outfit. 

The black Saint Laurent jumpsuit had a halter neckline, semi-open back, and it was entirely covered in sequins. 

The custom Louis Vuitton minidress was made of silver snakeskin fabric and had leather accents on the top of the dress.

The center of the dress had daring cutouts, while the trim of the skirt had tiers of ruffled fabric.

Louis Vuitton gladiator heels completed the ensemble.

The Julien MacDonald dress was almost completely transparent, with only thin stripes of sparkly, black fabric providing coverage.

A cutout in the stomach and dramatic slit in the center of the dress added to the daring look.

The black Atelier Versace bodysuit had long sleeves and was covered in intricate, geometric patterns.

She paired the look with a black bra, high-waisted black underwear, and a fringed skirt.

The star's custom Versace dress took over 800 hours to make.

The gown had a dramatic cape, feather detailing, and a striking thigh-high slit.

While walking in New York City in 2018, Swift paired a sheer black top with an exposed sports bra, short printed skirt, and heels.

The Balmain dress had a disco-ball effect, as it was made of small panels of shiny silver fabric.

Matching thigh-high boots complemented the short dress.

The star wore an off-the-shoulder black Versace dress to celebrate the 2019 Golden Globes.

The sparkly dress was made of sheer fabric, had tie detailing on the bodice, and featured a daring thigh-high slit.

While performing songs from "Lover," Swift wore a gold corset top with sparkly purple bottoms that showed off her legs.

She paired the look with gold boots.

The sparkly green Julien Macdonald dress was asymmetrical, as one side had a skirt that flowed all the way to the floor while the other exposed a shorter layer of fabric. 

Dramatic thigh-high boots completed the look.

The bodysuit was covered in gold sparkles and coordinating tassels flowed from Swift's waist. 

She wore matching boots with the look.

Swift performed in a see-through Sarah Regensburger catsuit, which she gave a shiny edge by wearing a silver Greta Constantine bodysuit beneath it. 

She paired the form-fitting look with Black Louis Vuitton boots.

Oscar de la Renta designed her halter minidress, which had strings of diamonds hanging loosely across her arms, and more rows of jewels swooped across her body.

She paired the look — which is one of her most daring of all time — with red lipstick and sparkling sandals.

The sleeveless garment had a V-shaped neckline embellished with diamonds and a crystal star print across its bodice.

Swift's outerwear — a feathered cardigan — was also daring.

The Michael Kors dress stood out with asymmetrical detailing.

The sparkly, black gown had a high neckline, one long sleeve, and a long skirt.

A diamond-shaped cutout added dimension to the bodice, as did a daring slit on the skirt. 

Sparkly Aquazzura shoes tied it all together.

The black ensemble consisted of a low-cut bodysuit and a high-waisted chainmail skirt.

Sparkly gems made up the chainmail pattern, and the large holes between them showed off Swift's legs.

She paired the statement gown with black open-toe Giuseppe Zanotti shoes and an updo.

The set was custom-designed by Michael Schmidt Studios for the video, which featured Swift performing as a burlesque dancer.

A bikini-style top and high-waisted bottoms made up the bulk of the ensemble, and both were bejeweled with gems in shades of blue.

The outfit also featured sparkly arm pieces that acted as cape.

The gold jumpsuit from The Blonds had a plunging, halter neckline and fitted pants, as well as a belt that cinched at the waist and gave way to the eye-catching open back.

Subtle sparkles embroidered into the fabric accentuated the ensemble's red-carpet feel.

Gold Giuseppe Zanotti shoes completed the look.

Roberto Cavalli designed the deep-blue set Swift wore to the 2023 Grammy's.

The long-sleeve, high-neck top was cropped high on Swift's chest, while the high-waisted skirt hugged her figure before flowing into a train. Both the top and skirt were adorned with sparkles that shimmered as she walked the red carpet. 

The asymmetrical piece has one mesh sleeve, one pant leg, and a sparkling red snake design from top to bottom.

The form-fitting piece is covered in sequins and beaded fringe. She wears it with fishnet tights, a matching garter, and Louboutin boots.

Swift's Versace dress for the VMAs had an asymmetrical, halter neckline.

A curved stripe adorned with gold hardware split the form-fitting bodice and framed a slit on the skirt, which cut all the way up her thigh. 

The gown also featured an open back, and Swift paired the look with layers of necklaces and strappy black shoes. 

After the VMAs ceremony, Swift swapped her Versace ball gown for EB Denim's Polka dress. 

The scoop-necked dress had a corset bodice made of panels of different hued denim. The pattern continued on the short skirt, which had a frayed hem. 

Sparkly heels and a coordinating purse completed Swift's after-party ensemble. 

Swift and Kelce attended a taping of "Saturday Night Live" in October 2023, where Swift introduced her friend Ice Spice as a performer on the show.

Swift donned a black corset top from Versace for the evening. It featured gold detailing on the thin straps and cut up on the sides, revealing a hint of Swift's midriff.

She paired the daring top with black trousers and a checked coat from Gant.

Swift paired the Stella McCartney top, which had long sleeves, a white collar, and a gold patch, with knee-high boots from Prada.

Swift attended the London premiere of Beyoncé's film alongside a slew of other celebrities. She wore a custom Balmain gown for the event.

Silver, reflective embellishments adorned the dress from head to toe, and a floral appliqué sat on the side of the bodice. A dramatic slit on the skirt completed the glamorous gown, which Swift wore with black heels. 

To celebrate turning 34, Swift wore a black minidress from Clio Peppiatt. 

The entire dress had sparkles on it, and it was embroidered with the iconography of a night sky in silver thread, including a moon, clouds, and stars. 

Open-toe black pumps, a faux fur jacket from Anine Bing, and a bejeweled silver bag completed the celebratory ensemble.

In January, Swift attended the Golden Globes in a form-fitting green dress made of a metallic fabric. Gucci designed the piece.

The gown's subtle sweetheart neckline added a hint of drama, while the back was open aside from thin strips of fabric connecting the two sides of the bodice.

Swift became the first artist to win album of the year at the Grammys four times at the 2024 ceremony, and she did it wearing a custom Schiaparelli dress. 

The white dress had a strapless, straight neckline. Ruching on the bodice gathered on Swift's hip, contrasting with the thigh-high slit just below it.

A sweeping train flowed out behind her, and Swift accessorized the look with black shoes and gloves. 

Swift donned a Dion Lee corset top to support Kelce at the Super Bowl. The top was crocheted, and it had an open weave on the lower portion of the top, creating a see-through pattern.

She paired the semi-sheer top with black jeans from Area, which had a slit on each leg encrusted with gems. 

A Chiefs jacket and jewelry that nodded to Kelce completed the look. 

Swift kicked off the Europe leg of her Eras Tour on Thursday in Paris. 

She updated her setlist to incorporate songs from "The Tortured Poets Department" and revealed new designer outfits for most of the show.

Swift completed "The Tortured Poets Department" section with a performance of "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart" in a custom, two-piece set designed by Vivienne Westwood. 

On Sunday, Swift wore a sparkly bra top, which Vivienne Westwood said was "gunmetal"-colored on Instagram, with matching high-waisted briefs. Swift paired the set with a shiny tuxedo jacket with tails and custom Christian Louboutin shoes that she changed into onstage.

Swift also wore black, white, and silver versions of the set during her Paris shows.

Swift returned to Arrowhead Stadium on September 5 to support Kelce as the Chiefs took on the Baltimore Ravens. 

She attended the game in another Versace Medusa corset top, donning a denim version of the look she first wore in the fall of 2023 that scalloped on the sides to reveal a panel of Swift's skin. 

Swift paired the corset with Grlfrnd's denim shorts, thigh-high maroon boots designed by Giuseppe Zanotti, and Louis Vuitton's Side Trunk bag. 

Over $60,000 in jewelry elevated Swift's glamorous WAG look, including the TNT bracelet she has often been spotted wearing in recent months. 

Swift arrived at the VMAs in a Dior dress, which featured a form-fitting bodice and open skirt in a yellow and black plaid pattern. 

The bodice's straight neckline was accented by black straps and a zipper that cut down the center of the garment. A choker made of the same patterned fabric complemented the ensemble. 

The skirt belted at Swift's waist was open, revealing black shorts.

She also opted for black accessories, pairing the dress with over-the-knee boots from Stuart Weitzman and open-finger gloves that flowed past her elbows and featured crisscrossed cutouts. 

Vivienne Westwood designed the Sunday corset and Meghan kilt Swift wore to the Chiefs game on October 7.

The corset top had off-the-shoulder sleeves, while the ruched mini-skirt featured a slit on one thigh. 

Swift paired the maroon and gray set with Vivienne Westwood's Grace boots, which were black and hit just below her knee. 

She also wore $46,000 worth of jewelry with the look and carried a Belle Heart-Frame Jacquard bag from Vivienne Westwood. Faux, sparkly freckles from Fazit tied the glamorous look together.

Swift chose a $1,700 lace corset top from Gucci for her date night with Kelce. The top featured a sweetheart neckline and a tan base.

The corset's black detailing coordinated with her $195 RTA mini-skirt and her $1,720 Louis Vuitton ankle boots.

A $2,498 Ralph Lauren trench coat and a $4,400 Dior Saddle bag completed her daring but elegant ensemble.

In October of 2016, country band Little Big Town released their hit single "Better Man," the first preview for the album "Breaker." The song went on to garner critical acclaim, evening winning song of the year at the 2017 Country Music Awards.

But "Better Man" was originally written by Swift.

Kimberly Schlapman, one of Little Big Town's four members, told Taste of Country in 2016, "She sent us the song … We were like, 'Wow! Taylor sent us a song. She's one of the best songwriters ever.'"

Schlapman said Swift thought the song would be great for the country group because of their four-part harmonies.

Fans may now be more aware of Swift's credit on the song now that she rerecorded it for herself on "Red (Taylor's Version)."

Swift may not have had her own show on Disney Channel, but her music served as a fan-favorite tune for "Hannah Montana: The Movie" (2009).

As detailed by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, or ASCAP, Swift wrote the song "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home," performed by Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana in the film.

Swift also made a cameo in the film and sang her song "Crazier."

Swift and Kellie Pickler collaborated a few years back and cowrote the song "Best Days of Your Life."

"Taylor Swift and I actually wrote this song together while we were on tour with Brad Paisley," Pickler told The Boot. "I had went through a really bad breakup a while back, so we wrote the song about the relationship that went sour."

Swift worked with Train's Pat Monahan to cowrite the song "Babe" for the country band Sugarland.

Sugarland band member Jennifer Nettles told Billboard in 2018, "When she was first getting started we had just had our first little EP out, called 'Premium Quality Tunes.'"

Swift is also featured on the track and in the song's music video. 

"Babe" is another track that Swift has since rerecorded for her own album, "Red (Taylor's Version)."

Swift hasn't just written country music — she also contributed to the hit single "This Is What You Came For," performed by Calvin Harris and featuring Rihanna.

At first, fans were unsure whether Swift had actually written the song.

In July 2017, TMZ reported that Harris and Swift "both knew the song would be a hit, but Taylor wrote it for Calvin and both agreed it was a bad idea to let the world know they collaborated as a couple ... it would overshadow the song."

Eventually, a representative for Swift confirmed with People that Swift wrote the song, stating, "Taylor Swift wrote 'This Is What You Came For' under the pseudonym Nils Sjoberg."

In 2012, Swift pushed even more genre boundaries and collaborated with rapper B.o.B. to release "Both of Us."

Per Hip Hop DX, B.o.B. told B96's Julian On The Radio that his collaboration with Swift "happened naturally."  

He continued, "It wasn't like the label was like, 'We need to get a Taylor Swift feature.' It was really like she hit me up and invited me to come on her set, and I couldn't make it because I wasn't in Atlanta at the time, but she actually arranged for me to come to Dallas and she brought me out and I played her the song, she liked it and it naturally happened."

Rock band Boys Like Girls got the chance to collaborate with Swift for their 2009 release "Two Is Better Than One." And she was prominently featured on the track. 

Billboard said the song helped to boost the band's already-successful summer and to display their "softer side."

Some fans might be familiar with Swift's contributions to "The Hunger Games" soundtrack, but if you're not also a fan of the franchise they might have slipped past you.

Swift cowrote "Safe and Sound" with The Civil Wars, and she told MTV in 2012 that the song "just ended up so organically coming together."

She continued, "We wrote this song and recorded it one day. When we got the track back, I was so surprised by the restraint. He created this ethereal sound without making it this big battle anthem."

The group ended up winning a Grammy in 2013 for "Safe and Sound."

Swift's song "Eyes Open" was also featured on the movie's soundtrack. 

Swift played Bombalurina in the 2019 film adaptation of the musical "Cats," but she also got to collaborate with legendary musical theater composer Andrew Lloyd Webber on the original song "Beautiful Ghosts."

Francesca Hayward sings the song in the film, but Swift also recorded a studio version of it.

"There was an ambition and an aspiration to have an original song in the movie," Swift said in an interview with Universal Pictures. "It was just this beautiful haunting melody."

This story was originally published in May 2018, and most recently updated on December 13, 2024. 

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Swift has directed the videos for "I'm Only Me When I'm With You," "The Best Day," "Mine," the vertical version of "Delicate," Me!," "You Need to Calm Down," "Lover," "Christmas Tree Farm," "The Man," "Cardigan," "Willow," "Anti-Hero," "Bejeweled," "Lavender Haze," "Karma," "I Can See You," "Fortnight," and "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart."

Bowyn also flexes her bicep, which Swift did when she performed "The Man" on tour.

Of course, "Fifteen" is a song from Swift's album "Fearless." Mira fittingly calls her jacket "a classic."

Bowyn also later notes she became famous when she was 15.

The number 13 is basically holy in the Swift fandom.

Swift was born on December 13, and has since made it a huge part of her relationship with fans. For years, she even drew a 13 on her hand for every concert, which meant that fans still did it at the Eras Tour, years after she stopped.

The very first lyrics of "Teardrops on My Guitar" are "Drew looks at me/I fake a smile so he won't see."

It's a reference to Swift's real-life classmate, Drew Hardwick, whom she had a crush on.

Unlike Jason and Travis Kelce, who never played on the same NFL team, Rob and Drew play for the same "NFO" team: the Bombers.

Is that a reference to the beloved Swift song "Daylight," which states that she "once believed love would be burning red" — or "black and white" — "but it's golden"? Perhaps.

In real life, Jason Kelce has three daughters, with one more on the way.

In-universe, they're called Arrowheads because of Bowyn's name containing the word "bow," as in bow and arrow.

There are plenty of colleges, including Harvard University and New York University, where you can take a class about the career and music of Taylor Alison Swift.

Drew also calls Bowyn a "feminist icon" and a "queer ally," which Swift has also been called in the past.

One of Swift's most important collaborators of the last four years has been Aaron Dessner, a member of the band the National.

The National has also appeared on Swift's "Coney Island." Conversely, Swift was featured on the National song "The Alcott."

She also appeared on two songs by Dessner's other musical project, Big Red Machine: "Birch" and "The Renegade."

The username "starryeyes23" could refer to a line from "Delicate": "Starry eyes sparking up my darkest night."

In fact, "starry eyes" have been mentioned a few times through Swift's discography. She says she thought she was "better safe than starry-eyed" on "loml," and that someone was "gazing at me starry-eyed" on "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived."

Another commenter, "joynoise89," references the year Swift was born, 1989, which is also the name of her fifth album.

A third commenter, "skyesnation43," might be a reference to Taylor Nation, an official account run by her marketing team.

There's a Swift song on "Midnights" called "Bigger Than the Whole Sky."

Of course, Bowyn's is a bit more low-budget.

Much like Kelce, Drew attends one of Bowyn's shows and decides to broadcast his crush on her on the internet. However, unlike Kelce, who did this on his podcast "New Heights," Drew posted on Instagram.

Here's what Drew wrote: "Thank you, Bowyn for an amazing show and making my niece's dream come true. Swing by Bay Springs someday to watch the Bombers rock the stadium. The beer is on me!"

And here's what Kelce said on "New Heights": "I've seen you rock the stage at Arrowhead. You might have to come see me rock the stage at Arrowhead and see which one's a little more lit."

Bowyn appreciates Drew asking before touching her first. You might remember that a radio DJ sued Swift in 2015 for defamation after she claimed he had inappropriately touched her at a meet-and-greet in 2013. She counter-sued for battery and sexual assault, eventually winning a symbolic $1.

In real life, Kelce never got to meet Swift at her Kansas City concert. He said on "New Heights" it was because Swift didn't meet anyone at her concerts because she had to save her voice.

Swift's publicly known exes include actors and musicians including Jake Gyllenhaal, Joe Alwyn, John Mayer, Harry Styles, and Matty Healy.

Although Swift has a relationship with football, even debuting the second single from "Reputation," "…Ready for It?," on ESPN during a college football match, she has never performed at the Super Bowl.

Both Travis and Jason Kelce have appeared in their fair share of ads, especially the former. iSpot.tv pointed out he's appeared in 130 ads — more than anyone else in the NFL.

"Baby, let the games begin," is a lyric from "…Ready for It?" and were the first words heard during the "Reputation" tour in 2018. During the "Reputation" segment of the Eras Tour, "…Ready for It?" was the first song.

When Bowyn finally calls Drew, his niece picks up and says, "Uncle Gonzo can't come to the phone right now. He's dead!"

In Swift's song "Look What You Made Do," she sings a similar phrase: "I'm sorry, the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, 'cause she's dead."

In "But Daddy I Love Him" from "The Tortured Poets Department," there's the lyric, "Me and my wild boy/And all of this wild joy."

During the Eras Tour, she mashed this song up with "So High School," which is thought to be about Kelce.

In Swift's inescapable hit "You Belong With Me" from "Fearless," she sings, "She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers."

Also, not for nothing, one of Swift's closest friends and collaborators, Jack Antonoff, releases music under the name Bleachers.

One of the most memorable parts of the music video for "Look What You Made Me Do" takes place in an airplane hangar. There, the different versions of Swift argue.

Swift has also been in the headlines in the past over the use of her private plane, which was also seen in the Netflix documentary "Miss Americana."

Bowyn calls herself a "tough kid," as in, "I'm a real tough kid/I can handle it." Drew notes that she looks like she's having the time of her life, as in "I can read your mind/She's having the time of her life."

She tells Drew she can't remember if singing was ever fun. Swift sings a similar musing in the "TTPD" song: "I forget how the West was won/I forget if this was ever fun."

She also says she started performing at 13.

No one loves to leave secret messages, puzzles, Easter eggs, and anagrams more than Taylor Swift, who has self-identified as a "mastermind."

As Swift sings in the song "So Long London," "And I'm just getting color back into my face/I'm just mad as hell 'cause I loved this place."

Snakes were a huge part of the "Reputation" era, as Swift was called a snake by Kim Kardashian and then reclaimed the reptile for the album.

Before Kelce (and Matty Healy), Swift was in a six-year relationship with actor Joe Alwyn. They were intensely private and rarely photographed together. The two never walked a red carpet together, though they did sit together at the 2020 Golden Globes.

Sure, cardigans are popular, but no one has been more associated with the cardigan in recent years than Taylor Swift.

The lead single from her 2020 album "Folklore" was "Cardigan," which peaked at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and was nominated for both song of the year and best pop solo performance at the Grammys.

Since then, Swift has released various era-specific versions of the cardigan she wore in the music video for Swifties to purchase.

On "The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology," there's a song called "Cassandra."

Aimee is a reference to the song "Thank You Aimee," while the name Hannah is mentioned in "But Daddy I Love Him," in which Swift sings, "Sarahs and Hannahs in their Sunday best/Clutching their pearls crying 'What a mess.'"

Chad is a nod to something Swift said about people who were mad the NFL was showing her too much during football games — she called them "dads, Brads, and Chads" in an interview with Time.

And Marcus is a nod to another "Anthology" song, "Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus."

There's a popular video of what seems to be Kelce spotting Swift at a Chiefs game and lighting up.

Of course, this is a nod to "Reputation."

This also connects to Swift — she has a song from "Lover" called "The Archer." During performances, she also does the same archer pose.

Swift sings about a similar desire in "Delicate" from "Reputation": "This ain't for the best/My reputation's never been worse, so/You must like me for me."

This movie aired on Lifetime, so no profanity allowed, but there is a video of Swift attending a Chiefs game where she screams a more R-rated version of this phrase after Kelce scores a touchdown.

On "TTPD," there's a song called "The Alchemy" that's widely believed to be about Kelce. The newscasters also reference a winning streak, which could be referencing a lyric from the song: "These blokes warm the benches/We've been on a winning streak."

The Kelce brothers have been vocal about how much they love that Swifties have been getting into football due to their relationship, and they even dedicate a segment on their podcast, "No Dumb Questions," to explaining rules to them.

According to this movie, Bowyn is a billionaire and doesn't need the PR, just like Swift.

It's uncanny.

"Frontlines, don't you ignore me/I'm the best thing at this party," Swift sings on the song "You're Losing Me."

"Alice in Wonderland" is an important text to Swift. She has a song called "Wonderland" on "1989."

She also references "Alice" in the "Evermore" song "Long Story Short." "And I fell from the pedestal/Right down the rabbit hole," she sings.

Swift originally wrote the song "Better Man" in 2016, but decided to give it to the country band Little Big Town, who went on to win a Grammy for it.

When Swift began re-releasing her albums, she included "Better Man" as a bonus track on "Red (Taylor's Version)" in 2021.

After Bowyn has a minor freakout about her relationship with Drew, Mira says, "You gotta calm down," a sly reference to this "Lover" track.

She also tells Bowyn "you know all too well" about bad relationships, — Swift's most beloved song by fans is probably the "Red" song "All Too Well."

On his side of the freakout, Drew tells his family, "I am calling my own shots." Swift sings "And you can't wait to move out someday and call your own shots" on the "Speak Now" song "Never Grow Up."

He also says Bowyn "gets rid of my doubts and fears."

In the album booklet for "Fearless," Swift wrote about what being fearless actually meant to her.

"To me, 'fearless' is not the absence of fear. It's not being completely unafraid. To me, 'fearless' is having fears. 'Fearless' is having doubts," she wrote.

Bowyn's ex-boyfriend Hudson leaks a taped conversation the two had, which he heavily edited to make it seem like Bowyn insulted Drew.

An edited recording of a conversation between Swift and Kanye West regarding his song "Famous" re-started their feud in 2016 (which began at the VMAs in 2009) and led to the public turning on Swift and declaring that she was "over."

In both cases, the unedited versions of the conversation eventually were released, vindicating Bowyn and Swift, as Variety reported.

The bridge of the "Midnights" song "You're on Your Own Kid," goes like this: "'Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned/Everything you lose is a step you take/So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it/You've got no reason to be afraid."

Fans seized onto the "friendship bracelet" line and began trading bracelets at the Eras Tour, usually with references to lyrics or inside jokes in the Swift fandom. These bracelets became so associated with Swift that a giant bracelet began moving from stadium to stadium during the tour.

Swift and Kelce also attended a fundraiser together in April, and footage of them went viral. It's also when Kelce called her "my significant other" for the first time.

Obvious football reference aside, "Hold on to the memories/They will hold on to you" is a fan-favorite lyric from "New Year's Day" off "Reputation."

She also sings "Say you'll never let 'em tear us apart/And I'll hold onto you while we run" on the "Red" song "Run."

That's a direct reference to a lyric from the "Speak Now" song "Mean," which asks why a music critic who wrote negatively about Swift's performance at the 2010 Grammys "gotta be so mean."

Two years later, she performed "Mean" at the Grammys, and it won best country solo performance and best country song.

According to Forbes, which published a series of 2024 billionaire reports on Tuesday, Swift is the first musician to reach 10-figure status solely based on songwriting and performing (rather than brand deals or business ventures).

Swift's vast fortune is primarily thanks to her valuable discography and earnings from streaming deals, music sales, concert tickets, and merchandise.

Representatives for Swift did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment regarding the Forbes report.

Swift's 21-month, five-continent Eras Tour was nothing short of a sensation. By the end of its first year, it had become the first tour ever to gross over $1 billion in revenue, on track to become the highest-grossing tour of all time. 

In October 2023, after Swift toured 56 dates across the US and Mexico, the Eras Tour had already generated $780 million and added $4.3 billion to America's gross domestic product, according to Bloomberg Economics.

Throughout 2024, Swift also made stops in Argentina, Brazil, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Canada, and 11 countries throughout Europe.

The morning of Swift's final performance in Vancouver, The New York Times reported that the Eras Tour had crossed the $2 billion threshold, making it the first concert tour in history to do so.

This figure was confirmed by Taylor Swift Touring, the singer's production company. All 149 stadium shows were sold out, and the company said over 10 billion people attended the Eras Tour.

That means the average ticket sold for $204, well above the industry average for top concert tours, per The New York Times. Resale tickets were even pricier, often going for thousands of dollars in secondhand markets. (Artists like Swift don't earn anything from resold tickets.)

Worldwide ticket presales had already exceeded $100 million before "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" was released (a day early) on October 12, 2023, AMC Theatres reported.

According to ticketing service Fandango, the film set a record for the highest first-day ticket sales in 2023. It has also become the highest-grossing concert movie of all time, surpassing "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never."

Swift, who bypassed movie studios to personally fund the concert movie, received half of the box office earnings for the film, which grossed $261 million worldwide.

Once "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" had left theaters, Swift struck a deal with Disney+ to release the film's extended version on streaming.

According to Puck News, Disney paid upwards of $75 million for the exclusive rights.

Citing anonymous sources, the outlet reported that Disney's Bob Iger outbid Netflix and Universal Pictures (which handled VOD distribution for the film in December) for the streaming rights by offering a huge sum, which the other two streamers couldn't match.

Shortly before the Eras Tour concluded, Swift released a photo book for Black Friday.

As she did with the Eras Tour film, Swift circumvented traditional routes and opted to self-publish instead, ensuring she would get more of the book's revenue.

The book was exclusively available at Target and sold hundreds of thousands of copies in its first weekend, becoming the second-best-selling non-fiction title after Barack Obama's presidential memoir.

These partnerships include Capital One, AT&T, Stella McCartney, Elizabeth Arden perfumes, American Express, Keds, Diet Coke, Walmart, and Apple.

That figure is according to the Los Angeles Times.

At the time, the Reputation Stadium Tour broke the record for the highest-grossing US tour ever, according to Billboard. Swift earned an average of $7 million per show, more than double the US per-concert average during the "1989" tour.

In April 2023, Forbes estimated that Swift's coveted on-site merchandise — which she sells at an average price of $80 —could add an estimated $87 million in proceeds to her fortune.

Swift's 11th studio album, "The Tortured Poets Department," was released on April 19, 2024. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 2.61 million equivalent album units sold in its first week.

This sum was thanks to huge streaming totals and physical album sales, especially vinyl, which Swift sells more successfully than anyone else. According to a Billboard report from November 2023, one in every 15 vinyl albums sold in the US is one of Swift's.

Fans continued to buy and stream "Poets" throughout the year, sending it to No. 1 for 16 weeks total, the most of any album in 2024.

On November 30, 2024, "Poets" was certified 6x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, meaning it has sold at least 6 million copies in the US.

According to The Guardian, Swift's massive album sales for "Midnights" brought in $230 million for Swift's label Universal. 

With more than 1.5 million equivalent album units earned in the US in its first week, "Midnights" landed the biggest week for an album in seven years (since Swift's own album "Reputation").

Swift embarked on a mission to rerecord her first six albums after Scooter Braun, whom she accused of "incessant, manipulative bullying," purchased the legal rights to her back catalog in 2019. (He later sold the master recordings to a private-equity company.)

She released the first installment in the series, "Fearless (Taylor's Version)," in 2021. It debuted atop the Billboard 200 — indicating this would be a lucrative venture for Swift. Later that year, Swift's new version of "Red" became one of the year's top-selling albums.

The two rerecorded albums helped plant Swift on the "The Highest-Paid Entertainers 2022" report from Forbes.

She has since released "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" and "1989 (Taylor's Version)." The latter sold over 1.6 million equivalent units in its first week, surpassing the original's total.

In fact, Swift is the only artist who's sold over 1 million copies of an album in one week since Adele released "30" in November 2015. In that window, Swift has achieved the feat four different times.

It consists of eight properties in four different states.

The latter is the cheapest property she owns.

In 2017, she was trying to turn it into a historic landmark, according to Teen Vogue.

With 12,000 square feet, it has plenty of room for parties and even inspired her song "The Last Great American Dynasty."

That includes an 8,309-square-foot duplex penthouse and a four-story townhouse.

She used to rent an apartment on Cornelia Street — the famous inspiration behind her "Lover" track "Cornelia Street" — which was listed in 2023 with a $17.9 million price tag.

The Dassault 7X is registered to Island Jet Inc., a holding company listed under the same address as Taylor Swift Productions, Business Insider previously reported.

She used to have two private jets, but quietly sold one amid criticism of her carbon footprint. ("Taylor's jet is loaned out regularly to other individuals," a rep for Swift said in a statement. "To attribute most or all of these trips to her is blatantly incorrect.")

There's no word on how much she paid for these vehicles, but a brand new Dassault 900 has a list price of $44 million, according to Business Jet Traveler. Elon Musk owns a similar model that cost about $26 million.

In the past, she's been spotted at The Fat Radish, The Spotted Pig, Sarabeth's, L'Asso, Nobu, and Vita Carota.

On her 24th birthday, she donated $100,000 to the Nashville Symphony, according to People.

Her commitment to education doesn't stop with music; Swift also donated $50,000 to NYC public schools, People reported.

In 2010, Swift donated $500,000 to Nashville flood relief and in 2016, she donated $1 million to the victims of Louisiana floods.

Swift also raised $750,000 through a Speak Now Help Now benefit concert for victims of tornadoes in the southern US in 2011, according to People.

Most recently, Swift donated $5 million to communities impacted by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.

She and her mom Andrea Swift quietly made the donation, according to USA Today.

She also gifted $13,000 each to two moms who were also struggling financially because of the pandemic.

Swift has long been an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, threading references to the fight for equal rights into songs like "Welcome to New York" and "You Need to Calm Down."

Back in 2016, Swift participated in a charity auction to help keep the historic Stonewall Inn operational. The New York City gay bar was the scene of a police raid in 1969, sparking a riot that helped launch the nationwide fight for LGBTQ+ rights.

In more recent years, Swift has made generous donations to the Tennessee Equality Project and GLAAD, in addition to her vocal support of The Equality Act.

The checks were sent out in 2014, according to People.

Throughout the first US leg of her Eras Tour, Swift habitually made large donations to local food pantries. She continued this tradition throughout the tour's European leg.

Swift has also been known to support victims of gun violence in recent years.

For several years, Kesha was embroiled in a defamation lawsuit after she accused the music producer Dr. Luke, her former mentor, of "unrelenting abuse" and rape. (Dr. Luke denied the allegations, and they reached a settlement in 2023.)

The "Rainbow" singer revealed Swift's donation during an interview with Rolling Stone in 2017.

Kesha described Swift as "a fucking sweetheart. Very, very sweet, very, very genuine, extremely generous, picks up the phone every time I call her. My mom doesn't even always pick up the phone!"

In 2022, Swift pulled out of a $100 million sponsorship deal with Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX after she questioned the company if it was selling "unregistered securities."

As Business Insider reported, many other celebrities such as Tom Brady and Stephen Curry failed to do so and were subsequently sued for endorsing the now-bankrupt crypto exchange.

Billboard 200 peak: No. 5

Swift's self-titled debut is the only studio album in her catalog that hasn't reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

"Taylor Swift" debuted at No. 19 and scaled the chart for more than a year, peaking at No. 5 in 2008.

Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 for one week

Swift's seventh studio album was the first one that she owned outright, thanks to her new label contract with UMG.

"Lover" was promoted by several singles, including "You Need to Calm Down," "The Archer," and "The Man." Four years later, once Swift kicked off The Eras Tour, "Cruel Summer" climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for four weeks, becoming the album's biggest hit.

Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 for one week

The extended tracklist for "Red (Taylor's Version)" included the storied 10-minute version of "All Too Well," a longtime fan-favorite song in Swift's catalog.

"All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" was released alongside a short film directed by Swift and promoted by a convention-breaking performance on "Saturday Night Live." It became the longest song to reach No. 1 in the history of the Hot 100.

Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 for two weeks

"Fearless" was the first rerecorded album that Swift ever released.

The "Taylor's Version" series was inspired by the sale of Swift's masters to Scooter Braun in 2019, which she described as her "worst case scenario" in a passionate open letter. Swift decided to remake and rerelease her first six albums in a bid to reclaim ownership of her life's work. (Braun later sold Swift's masters to a private-equity company.)

In addition to faithfully recreating each tracklist, Swift decided to add never-before-heard songs "from the vault" that were written during the album's original creative process but cut from the final product.

"I've spoken a lot about why I'm remaking my first six albums, but the way I've chosen to do this will hopefully help illuminate where I'm coming from," Swift explained. "Artists should own their own work for so many reasons, but the most screamingly obvious one is that the artist is the only one who really knows that body of work."

"For example, only I know which songs I wrote that almost made the 'Fearless' album," she continued. "Songs I absolutely adored, but were held back for different reasons."

Many were skeptical that the "Taylor's Version" project would be embraced by fans, let alone achieve commercial success.

Those skeptics were forced to eat their words when "Fearless (Taylor's Version)" began to outpace the original on streaming platforms. According to Billboard, "Fearless (Taylor's Version)" earned more equivalent album sales in its first week of release than "Fearless" earned over the entire next year.

Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 for two weeks

The rerecorded version of Swift's third album featured six songs from the vault, including two duets: "Electric Touch" with Fall Out Boy and "Castles Crumbling" with Hayley Williams, one of Swift's oldest friends.

Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 for four weeks

"Reputation" arrived after an extended period of silence. Her longtime feud with Ye (then known as Kanye West) and Kim Kardashian reached a fever pitch; Swift decamped to London and withdrew from the public eye.

She returned with a new snake-infested aesthetic and "Look What You Made Me Do," a cheeky lead single that poked fun at her own persona.

Swift also declined to participate in interviews or media appearances while promoting her sixth album. Instead, she relied on a simple tagline: "There will be no further explanation. There will just be reputation."

Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 for four weeks

"Evermore" was surprise-released just five months after Swift's previous album, "Folklore." The two were billed as "sister albums," created under near-identical conditions with the same team of collaborators.

"To put it plainly, we just couldn't stop writing songs," Swift explained on social media.

"Evermore" was nominated for album of the year at the 2022 Grammys, but lost to Jon Batiste's "We Are."

Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 for six weeks

Swift's third album had a lot to live up to, following the blockbuster success of "Fearless."

In response to skeptics — who questioned whether the teen phenom was relying too heavily on her collaborators — Swift decided to write "Speak Now" entirely by herself. She is the only songwriter credited on the standard tracklist.

Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 for six weeks

Swift's 10th studio album sold over 1 million copies in its debut week, the first to cross that seven-figure threshold since Swift's own "Reputation." (She has now achieved the feat on seven different occasions.)

"Midnights" also won album of the year at the Grammys, joining "Fearless," "1989," and "Folklore" in the prestigious group of victors. Swift is the only artist in history to win album of the year four times.

Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 for six weeks

The rerecorded version of "1989" was released nine years after the original. Swift added five vault songs to the tracklist, including the fan-favorite closer "Is It Over Now?"

Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 for seven weeks

"Red" is Swift's fourth studio album. It featured a mishmash of Max Martin-produced pop bangers ("We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," "I Knew You Were Trouble") and country-rock breakup anthems ("State of Grace," "Holy Ground").

Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 for eight weeks

"Folklore" marked a sonic departure for Swift, stripping down her favored synth-pop production to reveal introspective reflections and intricate story arcs.

The pandemic-era album was coproduced by Swift, Jack Antonoff, and Aaron Dessner of The National. It received rave reviews from critics and is widely considered her best work to date.

Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 for 11 weeks

Swift's sophomore effort had the longest run at No. 1 of any album in the 2000s. "Fearless" has since been certified diamond by the RIAA.

Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 for 11 weeks

Swift's fifth album marked her official pivot from country to pop music, a move that Swift said she had to "really fight — and I mean aggressively fight — to have happen."

In addition to its double-digit streak atop the Billboard 200, "1989" yielded several hit singles on the Hot 100, including "Shake It Off," "Blank Space," and "Bad Blood."

Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 for 17 weeks

Swift's 11th studio album did not leave the No. 1 slot for 12 straight weeks after its debut in April, fending off new releases from stars like Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, and Zach Bryan.

Swift briefly yielded the top spot to Eminem and Stray Kids before "Poets" notched 13th, 14th, and 15th consecutive weeks atop the chart.

The album eventually fell to lower positions, but then in December, it returned for two more weeks at No. 1 after Swift released physical versions of '"The Anthology" version for Black Friday.

The album's 17-week reign brings Swift's total sum of weeks atop the chart to 86, extending her record among solo artists.

Since the Billboard 200 was launched in 1956, only The Beatles have logged more weeks at No. 1 than Swift.

Each night during the Eras Tour, Swift performed an acoustic set with two surprise songs.

The dress for this segment was designed for a quick change; Swift slipped it over her outfit from the previous segment (first it was "1989," then it was "The Tortured Poets Department") while still onstage. It makes sense for the dress to be simple, but it doesn't make sense for the fabric to be the same color as Big Bird.

Frankly, the yellow dress is ugly. It's way too yellow.

It's too orange.

The green dress isn't ugly, but it's not especially notable either.

The original pink variant still isn't anything to write home about, but generally speaking, Swift looks good in pink.

I do appreciate that Swift eschewed the butterfly sleeves and unnecessary ruffles for this updated variant, but this dress still looks like it came from Forever 21.

Swift wore blue versions of several classic tour looks for the night she announced "1989 (Taylor's Version)."

Blue is the best option for a surprise song dress, partially because the color complements Swift's eyes that put those Georgia stars to shame and partially because it reminds me of Sharpay Evans singing "Bop to the Top."

You know the drill by now. This version of the dress is fine. Mostly it just looks simpler and cheaper than we'd expect from a billionaire — likely an intentional choice aligned with Swift's masterful PR strategy.

Swift debuted three versions of this chiffon wrap dress in Miami: magenta-violet-teal, bluish-purple, and orange-pink. Thanks to their ombré hues and flowy fabrics, these were promptly dubbed "betta fish dresses" by fans online.

The flowers plopped all over this dress are flimsy and weird-looking. I would be glad to never see it again.

Swift debuted a new collection of designer looks in Nanterre, France, the first stop on the tour's European leg.

The new style for "1989" was a sequined top and ombré skirt pairing by Roberto Cavalli, much like the skater skirts from the album's original era.

There are dozens of color combinations that Swift wore throughout the tour — blue and pink, orange and purple, yellow and red like her boyfriend's football team — but none of them were particularly chic. The silhouette aims to evoke nostalgia but ends up feeling outdated.

Honestly, Swift's outfits never slayed during the "Red" segment, but the ombré romper is the worst offender. It's not terrible, but it doesn't do anything for her.

Swift donned glittery, floor-grazing outerwear to perform "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)," which helped make the "Red" segment a bit more sophisticated — though it didn't match the somber vibe of the song. I much preferred the sleek look that Swift wore to perform the song on "Saturday Night Live."

There were six versions of this shirt, inspired by an outfit worn by Swift in the "22" music video: "A lot going on at the moment," "We are never getting back together like ever," "Who's Taylor Swift anyway? Ew," "This is not Taylor's Version," "I bet you think about me," and "I knew you were trouble." The shirt was always paired with a black bowler hat.

This look doesn't exactly scream high fashion, but it gets extra points for sentimentality. The hat is the antithesis of cool, but it gets extra points for the cuteness factor, since Swift would always give it to a special fan in the crowd.

This is a custom Roberto Cavalli dress, embellished with Swarovski crystals, but somehow it looks like a stringy array of ramen noodles.

Silver is slightly better than gold, but the tassels still look like octopus tentacles.

It's too puffy!

It's too pink!

This is a much nicer shade of pink.

This is a classic combination, but it lacks contrast and intrigue.

Blue is a natural fit for the "Midnights" segment, especially because the standard album cover features a light-blue font.

This version of the T-shirt dress is slightly elevated, with multicolored gems scattered across the fabric.

The fuzzy coat that Swift wore to open the "Midnights" segment was a reference to the "Lavender Haze" music video. This connection was most obvious when Swift wore the opalescent T-shirt dress underneath.

It kind of looks like Swift skinned a Muppet to make this coat, but don't worry: she confirmed in a behind-the-scenes clip that she would never wear real fur.

Blue-on-blue is a logical combo for the closing number, if a little predictable.

Chaotic, yet fun.

The contrast between Swift's bright skin, dark-blue bodysuit, and hot-pink fringe makes this the best option for the show's closing number.

I assume the gown for "The Tortured Poets Department" segment was designed to look like a "crumpled-up piece of paper lying here," evoking both the tragedy of "All Too Well" and the dark-academia aesthetic of the album itself.

It's a solid concept (and the neckline is divine), but ultimately, I can't support Swift's obsession with high-low mullet dresses. I thought we left this trend behind in 2010.

Worse still, the lyrics scrawled on the fabric ("I love you, it's ruining my life," from the single "Fortnight," and "Who's afraid of little old me? You should be") made it look like Swift was wearing a high-school theater costume, not couture Vivienne Westwood.

Swift added a military jacket atop her "Tortured Poets" gown to sing "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived," an impassioned performance that casts Swift as a soldier on the front lines of a battlefield. The look is still a little corny, but at least it fully embraced the theatrical costume vibe.

After singing "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived," Swift and her dancers would perform a brief skit, in which Swift was forced to strip off her dress, put on heels, and smile through the pain.

The onstage outfit change yielded a bralette and matching high-waisted bottoms, subsequently topped with a duster. The different color combos included black and gold, white with silver accents, and sparkly gray with a metallic jacket.

These ensembles recall the jackets and two-piece sets from The 1989 World Tour, combined with the ringmaster motif from the "Red" era.

At that time, Swift was battling an eating disorder and often feared she might faint onstage.

While the Eras Tour outfit was relatively simple, this callback added an extra layer of poignance to Swift's performance of "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart."

For the majority of the US leg, Swift only had one look for the "Evermore" segment: a mustard-yellow dress that screams cottagecore. It's cute, but nothing particularly special, and it did grow a little dull over time.

Note: There is a slightly less saturated version of this dress, but they're so similar, they don't warrant separate entries on this list.

Swift only wore this alternate "Evermore" dress a handful of times, but it made for a nice change of pace — and the deep, sparkling bronze compliments the moody, wintery vibe of songs like "'Tis the Damn Season," "Champagne Problems," and "Tolerate It." 

The tiered and embroidered "Folklore" outfits, custom-made by Alberta Ferretti, were always winners. The flowy style made Swift look like a friendly witch, much like her recent collaborator Florence Welch, which is a compliment.

However, the yellow one doesn't suit the era's aesthetic one bit. The mismatch was especially glaring during "My Tears Ricochet," which was intended to parallel a funeral procession.

This dress was likely designed to evoke the fusion of "Folklore" and "Evermore" into one segment, which came with Swift's newly altered setlist for the European leg. But still, as we previously established, yellow — especially this shade — should not be in Swift's color palette. It doesn't suit her.

Swift unveiled a berry-pink rendition of the woodsy "Folklore" gown during her second show in France.

The shade is stunning in a vacuum, but much like my previous complaint, it's the wrong color for the sister albums segment of the show.

The songs that populate "Folklore" and "Evermore" are full of yearning, betrayal, regret, depression, and even murder. These are not the hot-girl party bops of "1989" or "Midnights," which call for brighter hues and more pizzazz.

And if you think I'm being too nitpicky, I'll kindly remind you that Swift has embraced each album's individual color theory, down to the official Eras Tour branding. I'm simply following her lead.

The ballgown was a callback to the Speak Now World Tour, when Swift wore sparkly gowns while singing "Enchanted." For the Eras Tour, Swift pumped up the drama with voluminous skirts and embroidered jewels.

The gold version looks slightly cheaper than its counterparts, like an extravagant prom dress.

As opposed to muted gold, silver offers a lovely contrast with the purple visuals of "Speak Now."

The baby-pink version of the "Speak Now" ballgown is the best among the original set of options, with its flattering neckline and strips of sparkles that resemble falling rain.

This newer "Fearless" look, which Swift debuted in Milan, was a solid, mid-tier choice. It's much better than the era's stringy options, though it can't measure up to the original fringed minidress.

Swift debuted this version of the "Fearless" minidress in France, gleefully tossing her body around to show off the shimmery fringe. Again, it offered a mid-tier option, but definitely more fun and fresh than its Italian counterpart.

The deep purple hue made for an exciting change when Swift debuted this look in East Rutherford, New Jersey — but the tassels threw off the whole effect. They make the bodysuit look sillier and cheaper than it is.

Orange is the weakest link of the original Roberto Cavalli sets (and it signaled that she'd wear the yellow surprise-song dress. Yuck).

Maybe it was intended as a subtle Easter egg for "Karma," the rumored album that Swift scrapped between "1989" and "Reputation." (In the music video for "The Man," the word is graffitied on the wall in orange paint.)

The green is prettier than orange, but not as pretty as pink.

Although hot pink isn't quite right for the overall vibe of "1989," it did pair well with the feminine charm of "Blank Space" and the fiery passion of "Bad Blood."

After 26 concerts, we finally got to see Swift perform songs from "1989" wearing the album's distinctive color. This glittering blue set recalls the New York City skyline that inspired Swift's iconic pop songs.

This version of the "Midnights" bodysuit was designed by Zuhair Murad and unveiled in France. It subtly evokes millennial fashion trends with a halter neckline, waist slits, and a chevron-esque pattern.

This version of the "Midnights" bodysuit, which Swift debuted in Los Angeles, was likely designed to resemble an outfit that Swift wore during the 1989 World Tour. It was declared one of her most daring looks yet.

For over a year, Swifties had been jonesing for an updated "Reputation" costume — largely because they believed a new look would come paired with an announcement for "Reputation (Taylor's Version)," in the same way Swift debuted blue outfits on the same night that she announced "1989 (Taylor's Version)."

Alas, when Swift finally emerged wearing a new asymmetric catsuit in Miami, no such announcement came — and that's not the only reason this version is a letdown.

Swapping the red snakes for gold cobras does make thematic sense given the album's many references to the color (gold bodies, gold cages, gold tattoos), but these ones are extra chunky and extra sparkly, like tinsel you find at the party store, rather than lithe and fierce like Swift's original serpents. It made for a fun change of pace, but a downgrade nonetheless. 

The glitzy "Lover" bodysuits, custom-made by Versace, were an aesthetic highlight of Swift's Eras Tour wardrobe.

However, compared to its peers, there's something slightly underwhelming about the blue-and-yellow color combination. The tones are too muted to complement the show's opening visuals.

In theory, this is a strong color combo; it reminds me of a sunset. In reality, the bodysuit is just slightly too orange.

Swift slipped a bedazzled blazer over her "Lover" bodysuit to perform "The Man" and "You Need to Calm Down." This iteration is a pretty pale orange, though it didn't feel quite as commanding as the other options.

The glittering silver blazer was the first costume change ever seen during the Eras Tour. With the matching red-bottomed Christian Louboutin boots, it remained an effective mix of elements.

We all love the silver blazer, but the blue blazer is extremely hot.

The black blazer is even hotter than blue.

Although blue isn't the traditional "Speak Now" color, nearly everything about this dress is dazzling, from the floral details to the elegant train.

Plus, the color recalls a sky-blue ballgown that Swift wore during the original "Speak Now" tour in 2011, giving this look an extra layer of nostalgic charm.

The sheer, baby-blue cape sleeves are lovely, but this color isn't quite the right fit for "Folklore," which is not a blue-sounding album in the slightest. ("1989" and "Midnights" already have that vibe locked down.)

"Folklore" isn't a purple-sounding album either, but this dress does look like something a young widow might wear in a Jane Austen film adaptation, so it works.

Cream is a fitting color for "Folklore," an album that evokes earthy and neutral tones.

This is only slightly different from "Folklore" in cream, but the lace adds a new edge — romantic and old-timey, well-suited for the "pioneer woman in a forbidden love affair" that Swift imagined while she was writing these songs.

The "Speak Now" gown that Swift debuted in France is the best of the bunch.

The skirt has just enough volume to look elegant instead of puffy — while the delicate, glittering details evoke a similar dress that Swift wore to perform "Enchanted" in 2011, designed by Reem Acra.

Like the original "Fearless" minidress, Swift's final iteration was custom-made by Roberto Cavalli's creative director Fausto Puglisi.

The blue crystals, set against a shimmering silver backdrop, appear arranged to resemble a butterfly — most likely as a callback to the girlish, doodle-filled cover of Swift's self-titled debut album.

"Taylor Swift" didn't get its own segment on the Eras Tour, so it felt right to pay homage while Swift performed her other high school-era album.

The navy bodysuit is an Eras Tour classic, dark and twinkling like midnight rain.

Swift debuted her newest Zuhair Murad bodysuit at Wembley Stadium in London, the final stop on the European leg of the Eras Tour. With its star-spangled bodice and crescent-moon detail, it's the most on-the-nose "Midnights" look to ever exist.

Out of all the flowy "Folklore" gowns, green is the prettiest and best suited for the album's aura. It made Swift look like a woodland fairy.

Swift's flapper-inspired dress was ideal for performing classics like "You Belong With Me" and "Love Story." The fringe is fun and youthful, just like the original "Fearless" era, but paired with knee-high Chrisian Louboutin boots, it's still chic and modern.

In fact, according to Vogue, the dress was designed to resemble a similar Roberto Cavalli dress that Swift wore during her original "Fearless" tour.

"We chose a beautiful champagne color, which is very Taylor," Puglisi told the magazine.

For 130 consecutive shows, Swift wore the same one-legged catsuit to perform "Reputation." Some slandered this consistency as boring, but in my professional opinion, a classic proverb is more appropriate here: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

This red reptilian number, also by Roberto Cavalli, is bold and sexy with a hint of danger, just like the album itself. Puglisi described it as "more of a badass, rock and roll look."

Stars and moons are great, but there is something especially ethereal about this version of the "Midnights" bodysuit, custom-made by Oscar de la Renta.

The blue has a slightly warmer, richer tone — a better match for Swift's ocean eyes and pinkish undertones than navy — and the scalloped detailing on the bodice is exquisite up close. Paired with Swift's now-signature garter, this look is a total knockout.

Swift looked like a Barbie come to life in this version of the blazer, which she debuted onstage in Argentina. It also gave her performance of "The Man" a flirty, feminine edge.

Swift also debuted this pink version of her opening look in Argentina. The gorgeous combination of shades, from baby pink to strawberry and fuchsia, compliments the tone of songs like "Cruel Summer" and "Lover."

This was the first outfit Swift wore when she arrived on The Eras Tour stage back in March, and to the end, it remained the best.

The blue, purple, and pink gems create the perfect color combo, especially suited for the warmth and whimsy of the "Lover" era.

Swift originally announced the Eras Tour in late 2022 as a 27-show run across the US.

The demand overwhelmed Ticketmaster's servers, prompting Swift to add more dates. Before long, the tour swelled into a multi-continent bonanza.

The Eras Tour kicked off on March 17, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona. The first US leg was followed by the Latin America leg, including stops in Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil.

In February 2024, the Eras Tour entered its second year with a four-show stint in Tokyo (famously the same weekend that Swift's boyfriend Travis Kelce played in the Super Bowl). Next came stops in Australia and Singapore.

The European leg covered 11 countries: France, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and Poland. Swift was forced to cancel all three planned shows in Vienna after the police discovered and thwarted a terrorist plot.

After returning to the US for another short leg, the tour concluded in Canada with stops in Toronto and Vancouver, bringing the final total to 149 shows across 21 countries.

Swift invited an array of friends, collaborators, and rising stars to open for the Eras Tour, periodically adding new faces and local performers as she traveled the world.

By the end of the tour's run, the complete slate of openers included, in order of appearance: Paramore, Gayle, Beabadoobee, MUNA, Gracie Abrams, Phoebe Bridgers, Owenn, Haim, Sabrina Carpenter, Louta, METTE, Griff, Benson Boone, Sofia Isella, Holly Humberstone, Suki Waterhouse, Maisie Peters, and Raye.

Several of these artists already had personal connections to Swift. Hayley Williams of Paramore, for example, has been close with the superstar since they were teenagers. When Swift released "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" last year, Williams was a featured vocalist on the vault track "Castles Crumbling." Bridgers has also guested on a rerecorded vault track: "Nothing New," included on "Red (Taylor's Version)" in 2021. Similarly, after years of friendship, the Haim sisters lent background vocals to Swift's 2020 song "No Body, No Crime."

Most recently, Swift collaborated with Abrams for her album "The Secret of Us." Their duet, "Us," is nominated for best pop duo/group collaboration at the 2025 Grammys.

As the name suggests, the Eras Tour was designed to celebrate the many phases of Swift's 18-year career. Each night, she performed a marathon of songs, stretching from her first crossover hit, 2008's "Love Story," to her latest single, 2024's "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart." (Her 2006 debut album did not get its own portion of the show, but that's a complaint for another day.)

Thanks to the ambitious concept, the Eras Tour was easily the longest of Swift's career in terms of performance length.

While the exact duration could vary from show to show, depending on set list changes or weather delays, the average length of each concert was about three hours and 15 minutes.

Using that as a benchmark, we can estimate that across 149 shows, Swift spent about 484.25 hours singing, dancing, and dazzling the crowd. That's equivalent to 20 days, 4 hours, and 15 minutes.

To train for the grueling athletic feat, Swift said she ran on the treadmill every day while "singing the entire set list out loud."

Back in 2021, Swift unveiled the rerecorded version of "Red," her seminal 2012 album.

The tracklist included the 10-minute version of "All Too Well," a long-standing fan-favorite deep cut. Swifties had been begging to hear the song in its extended form ever since Swift let slip that she'd cut about half the lyrics she'd originally written.

Fueled by years of anticipation, a cinematic short film, and, of course, a healthy dose of muse speculation, "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100. It broke the record for the longest No. 1 song ever, previously held by Don McLean's "American Pie (Parts I & II)."

Later, the song became a staple on the Eras Tour setlist. Swift always performed the full version, which actually clocks in at 10 minutes and 13 seconds. Multiplied by 149 shows, Swift has spent approximately 25.32 hours on the Eras Tour stage singing about her lost scarf and her ex's casual cruelty.

The Eras Tour set list has always started with "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince" and ended with "Karma."

Over the course of the tour, a handful of songs were shuffled around, added, or switched out. After Swift's split from Joe Alwyn was made public, she swapped "Invisible String" (a love song) for "The 1" (a breakup song). To celebrate the release of "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)," Swift briefly added "Long Live" to the setlist. She periodically performed "Nothing New" and "No Body, No Crime" when Bridgers and Haim were opening those shows.

The set list received its biggest overhaul for the European leg in May 2024, just after Swift released her newest album, "The Tortured Poets Department." Swift removed several songs and combined "Folklore" and "Evermore" into one chunk in order to make space for a "Tortured Poets" chapter — lovingly dubbed "Female Rage: The Musical" by Swift.

Each show on the Eras Tour included a special acoustic segment, during which Swift played one surprise song on the guitar and another on the piano.

These pairings could be chosen from any album or era, starting with the 2020 deep cut "Mirrorball" and Swift's 2006 debut single "Tim McGraw."

Occasionally, Swift would sing a song that wasn't hers as a duet with that artist, like "Espresso" with Sabrina Carpenter, "Thinking Out Loud" with Ed Sheeran, and "I Love You, I'm Sorry" with Gracie Abrams at the penultimate show.

Swift originally said she wouldn't repeat songs she'd already played, but that rule was squashed when she replayed "Clean" in New Jersey, claiming she wanted to try the song in a higher key.

During her second show in Buenos Aires, shortly after the release of "1989 (Taylor's Version)," Swift performed her first-ever mashup on the Eras Tour, combining the popular vault track "Is It Over Now?" with a single from the original album, "Out of the Woods."

Thus began a new tradition, which saw Swift blending songs that had similar tempos or themes.

If we exclude repeats and songs that had once been in the regular setlist, Swift performed 181 different songs acoustically.

"You're On Your Own, Kid" was released as the fifth track on "Midnights." In the outro, Swift sings, "Make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it / You've got no reason to be afraid," which inspired fans to wear and trade bracelets at her concerts.

Swift also tended to repeat "Maroon" (10 times) and "Out of the Woods" (six times).

We don't know the exact details of Swift's charity during the Eras Tour, but according to multiple sources, she made a habit of donating huge amounts to food banks in the cities she visited.

Swift didn't make these donations public, but some of her recipients did, including food banks in Arizona, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Nevada, and Washington. Aditi Desai, chief marketing officer at the Food Bank of the Rockies, told AP News that Swift donated enough for 75,000 meals.

Swift continued this routine when she took the tour overseas, including in several cities across the United Kingdom.

In December 2023, the Eras Tour became the first concert tour to gross over $1 billion, according to the trade publication Pollstar.

Despite the high cost of attendance and even higher resale values, Swift had reportedly sold 4.35 million tickets — and the tour wasn't even halfway over yet. Her economic prowess, which injected millions into the US economy, would soon affect Europe and other countries around the world.

The morning of Swift's final performance, The New York Times reported that the Eras Tour had crossed the $2 billion threshold, making it the first concert tour in history to do so.

This figure was confirmed by Taylor Swift Touring, the singer's production company. The company said over 10 billion people attended the Eras Tour.

There is no party playlist you could make that would be better than playing "Timeless" top to bottom. Across 21 songs, Kaytranada proves himself a top-notch curator of grooves, summoning the perfect cast of sidekicks for his mission — put simply, to make you dance dance dance dance — from Ravyn Lenae, Tinashe, and PinkPantheress to Channel Tres, Anderson .Paak, Childish Gambino, and Thundercat.

Best songs: "Drip Sweat," "Do 2 Me," "Witchy," "Wasted Words," "Snap My Finger"

Before Kendrick Lamar surprise-dropped "GNX," Vince Staples had hip-hop heads fully covered. The two rappers share an affinity for intellectual lyrics, an aptitude for tackling complex themes, and a history of critical acclaim — but where Lamar's music is at least somewhat motivated by commercial interests, Staples is unburdened by ego and expectations.

"No one's coming to me," he told Zane Lowe, "looking for a single or looking for a party record, or things of that nature. I don't feel those pressures."

Staples thrives in the album's brooding sonic landscape, which invites the listener to stay fully absorbed. Take 35 minutes to do nothing but listen.

Best songs: "Black&Blue," "Shame on the Devil," "Étouffée," "'Radio,'" "Little Homies"

The Last Dinner Party's much-hyped debut album, "Prelude to Ecstasy," over-delivers on the promise of excitement and novelty. Although several of its highlights were released ahead of time as singles, the album's in-between moments are the furthest thing from filler; each composition is lush and grandiose, never allowing for a dull moment. You may be tempted to accuse the British quintet of melodrama, but you get the feeling that's exactly what they were going for.

Best songs: "Burn Alive," "The Feminine Urge," "Beautiful Boy," "Portrait of a Dead Girl," "Nothing Matters"

"Wilson" is Ashe's third full-length album, completing the trilogy that spells out her real name (Ashlyn Rae Wilson), but it's her first as an independent artist.

After canceling her global tour in 2023, Ashe decamped to Nashville, where she'd planted the seeds of her songwriting career. After a period of tending to her burnout and building a life with her now-fiancé, she was able to be creative again for creativity's sake. "I painted the walls and renovated and gardened. I bought power tools and put up the wainscoting in the bathroom. I got dirt under my fingernails," she told Forbes. "That was a huge part of separating myself from what my entire identity was wrapped up in, which was my career."

Ashe has always made music that breaks with trends and conventions, but with "Wilson," her unfettered approach is more apparent than ever. Throughout the album, she sings quite literally about liberation, autonomy, and shedding her people-pleasing tendencies, backed by spacious, soaring production that sounds as free as she feels.

Best songs: "Please Don't Fall In Love With Me," "Running Out of Time," "Cherry Trees," "I Wanna Love You (But I Don't)," "Ashe"

The third studio album from New York-founded foursome Charly Bliss is the perfect musical sugar rush, packed with fizzy vocals and guitar riffs so candy-coated you'll mistake them for synths.

Charly Bliss has often been described as "bubblegrunge," earning high praise for their poppy takes on '90s indie-rock. "Forever" leans more bubble than grunge, echoing Taylor Swift's "The Archer" in the Jack Antonoff-approved standout "Nineteen" and often evoking Carly Rae Jepsen's beloved "Emotion."

But make no mistake: Even as Charly Bliss' soundscape has evolved, their songwriting hasn't lost its Warped Tour-adjacent angst. "I'm Not Dead" yearns for a life with more fuck-ups and fulfillment ("If I'm a rock star, I'm not doing it right") while "I Don't Know Anything" is explicit about the harrowing realities of the music industry ("You bet on yourself and you lose every day"). But it's the deceptively upbeat single "Back There Now" that contains the album's spikiest turn of phrase: "A boy like you would hang me if I gave you the rope."

Best songs: "Calling You Out," "Back There Now," "Nineteen," "I'm Not Dead," "I Don't Know Anything"

Chinouriri's disarming candor, empathy, and attentiveness come through loud and clear in her songwriting. Listening to her debut album, "What a Devastating Turn of Events," you get the feeling that she walks around with her arms outstretched, ready to engage anyone in conversation. Her best songs are personal but rarely self-serving; she'll narrate tales about a lonely month she spent in Los Angeles ("When you don't belong, the hills will know") or a cousin in Zimbabwe who committed suicide after getting pregnant ("Out of wedlock which her family despised / But if she lost it, it would still be a crime") that double as meditations on racism and reproductive healthcare.

But not all of her songs are heavy. Chinouriri is a proud student of Britpop (Blur, Oasis) and noughties indie-rock (Phoenix, Kings of Leon), though she filters her research through a modern feminine lens (Olivia Rodrigo, Lily Allen circa "It's Not Me, It's You"). "What a Devastating Turn of Events" strikes a tricky balance between being substantial, at times intense, and being downright fun to listen to.

Best songs: "Garden of Eden," "The Hills," "Never Need Me," "All I Ever Asked," "What a Devastating Turn of Events"

Lorely Rodriguez, known professionally as Empress Of, has collaborated with an array of indie-pop geniuses, from Blood Orange to Caroline Polachek to MUNA and toured with Carly Rae Jepsen and Maggie Rogers.

If you like any of those artists — or, better yet, all of them — you'll love Rodriguez's magnum opus, "For Your Consideration." The compact 11-song tracklist sounds like someone put all the best experimental dance music and punchy synth-pop into a blender and sprinkled it with the essence of Rosalía's "Motomami." The result is a treat that's jam-packed with flavor, made to be slurped and savored.

Best songs: "Preciosa," "Femenine," "Sucia," "Baby Boy," "What's Love"

"Bright Future," the sixth solo album by Adrianne Lenker (also known as the frontwoman for Big Thief), is at once haunting and comforting.

Lenker's singular brand of songwriting honors the traditions of folk music while breaking new ground, unfurling scenes of unrequited queer love ("We could be friends / You could love me through and through / If I were him") and the desire for a gentle, patient life ("Do you wanna dance? / Sometimes I think I try too hard") in her signature one-take warble.

There's a palpable melancholy in her reveries — an awareness that nothing is quite so easy or so pure — but still undeniable beauty in the hope of it all. "I have so much nuance and complexity to what I need," Lenker told Crack Magazine, "and I do not feel by any means I've wrapped my mind around it."

Best songs: "Sadness As a Gift," "Fool," "No Machine," "Free Treasure," "Vampire Empire"

Clairo is doing her best Carole King on "Charm," and she could take this role to the bank.

Much like King's seminal work, "Tapestry," Clairo's third studio album is characterized by billowing warmth, a soundscape largely achieved with jazzy piano chords, woodwinds, and humble lyrics that capture basic truths of love, devotion, and heartache: "It's second nature," "You make me wanna go buy a new dress / You make me wanna slip off a new dress," "Honey, was it enough? Is it ever enough?"

Best songs: "Sexy to Someone," "Second Nature," "Terrapin," "Juna," "Add Up My Love"

Tems has already left her fingerprints across the pop landscape, whether listeners realize it or not. You may recognize her voice from Drake's "Fountains," Future's "Wait for U," Beyoncé's "Move," or, most likely, Wizkid's "Essence," which was nominated for a Grammy and became the first song by all Nigerian artists to reach the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

But Tems was not destined to be a featured guest. Her first full-length album, "Born in the Wild," makes it clear that her fate is musical royalty. (Prophetically, her parents named her Temilade, which means "the crown is mine" in Yoruba.)

"Born in the Wild" pulls triple duty, showcasing Tems as a dynamic vocalist, producer, and, in the words of Boutayna Chokrane for Pitchfork, "author of her own lore." Although the album carries traces of her forebears, from Lauryn Hill, Destiny's Child, and SZA to the reggae-fusion legend Diana King, whose "L-L-Lies" is interpolated in "Gangsta," Tems is credited as the lead songwriter on all 18 tracks. Her voice and vision remain at the forefront.

Best songs: "Burning," "Love Me JeJe," "Ready," "Boy O Boy," "T-Unit"

Halsey has long been devoted to concept albums, whether it's the Shakespearean fever dream of 2017's "Hopeless Fountain Kingdom" or the pregnancy-induced body horror of 2021's "If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power."

Their latest album, "The Great Impersonator," both cements and subverts their legacy as a shapeshifter. Across the 18-song tracklist, Halsey adopts different genres, tones, and impressions, but she constantly oscillates between fantasy and sincerity. On the opening track, "Only Living Girl in LA," Halsey takes a cue from Simon & Garfunkel's "The Only Living Boy in New York" — written as a tender farewell to the duo's partnership — while cracking dark jokes about the crowd at her funeral. The PJ Harvey-inspired scorcher "Dog Years" draws a parallel between suicidal ideation and putting down her pet. "Letter to God (1983)" is a convincing Bruce Springsteen pastiche, which nearly distracts from the desperate pleas for divine intervention.

Only by trying on costumes, Halsey seems to suggest, can she feel safe enough to expose her most private fears and urges.

There's a sense of tragedy that pervades this practice, as well as the music itself. "The Great Impersonator" was written during a time of grave physical illness and familial upheaval, or, in Halsey's words, "the space between life and death."

Halsey confronts her catastrophes with emotions scaled to match. She is at turns furious, devastated, resentful, resigned, and wracked with guilt — both of the survivor's and mother's variety. "I don't ever wanna leave him," she sings of her young son, Ender, "but I don't think it's my choice."

More than anything, "The Great Impersonator" captures the never-enoughness of life itself. Halsey is doing everything, saying everything, feeling everything, because it might be their last chance — and isn't that the point?

Best songs: "Ego," "Panic Attack," "I Believe In Magic," "Lonely Is the Muse," "Arsonist"

Thanks to her rich timbre and multi-octave range, Brittany Howard's voice is immediately discernible, whatever style of rock 'n' roll she happens to be commanding that day.

As the frontwoman for Alabama Shakes, it was '60s-flavored Southern soul ("Boys & Girls") and psychedelia ("Sound & Color"). In her second solo album, Howard leans even deeper into her soul and funk instincts, swathed in fuzzy guitar licks and jazz-inflected brass arrangements. "What Now" reveals Howard at the peak of her powers, bending every instrument to her virtuosic will.

Best songs: "I Don't," "What Now," "Red Flags," "Prove It To You," "Power to Undo"

Sabrina Carpenter is a pop star with a capital P and a capital S. She knows exactly what she's doing, and this clarity of purpose and personality is what makes "Short n' Sweet" shine through 2024's deluge of pop albums.

These days, most of the top singer-songwriters follow the Taylor Swift Theory of Pop Music, believing they must be confessional and soul-bearing in order for their music to resonate with fans. Carpenter's sixth studio album (yes, sixth, though she considers it to be her second "big girl" album) offers a rebuttal.

That's not to say Carpenter isn't a skilled lyricist; Jack Antonoff, who produced much of "Short n' Sweet," confirmed that Carpenter wrote every word in "Sharpest Tool," the album's best song. She's just a different kind of lyricist, wielding humor, innuendo, and wordplay as many of her peers might wield their diaristic details.

Even the most generalized, nonspecific songs in the tracklist, like the smash hit "Espresso" or the sexy standout "Bed Chem," manage to feel sticky and memorable. Carpenter delivers each line with vocal flair and charisma, reshaping the broadest phrases to fit her specific persona. On paper, "That's that me espresso" could've been written by anyone, but now that we've heard the song, it could only make sense coming out of Carpenter's mouth.

Best songs: "Please Please Please," "Sharpest Tool," "Coincidence," "Bed Chem," "Espresso"

Magdalena Bay is the indie-pop band that every music critic and chronically-online-cool-girl is obsessed with right now.

If you're not familiar with their surrealist TikTok account or the album cover that inspired Rosalía's Halloween costume, the band is actually just two people: Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin, both Miami natives with Argentinian-Jewish roots, who met in high school. They're a couple now, though some people mistakenly believe they're related. Think of it like The White Stripes for the digital age — if Jack and Meg White were listening to a lot of early Grimes and doom-scrolling on their phones.

"Imaginal Disk" is the culmination of their 13-year partnership, the fruit of two true creatives who are perfectly in sync. The music is very much of the moment, full of distorted synths and anxious lyrics about "divine digits," warped mirrors, and TV-induced nightmares — but, miraculously, it never strays into the realm of pretentious, patronizing slush. Tenenbaum and Lewin may be preoccupied with the splendors and ills of the modern world, but they're not preaching or speaking down to us because they are us.

Best songs: "Killing Time," "Image," "Death & Romance," "Fear, Sex," "That's My Floor"

Tyla's self-titled is the most impressive debut album of the year, parading an assortment of moods and genres — namely Afrobeats, amapiano, pop, and R&B — with the poise of a seasoned superstar.

Listening to "Tyla," I can't help but remember how I felt listening to Rihanna's "Music of the Sun" in 2005, that flutter in my stomach when I knew something big was about to happen — or, more accurately, someone.

Like most great pop albums, "Tyla" is accessible and versatile with a song for every mood. "Water" may be her "Pon de Replay," but she's also got her independent-girl anthem ("No.1"), her timeless love song ("Butterflies"), her heartbreak memento ("To Last"), and, of course, her party-starters ("Jump," "On My Body"). Through it all, Tyla never sacrifices her signature sound for the sake of mass appeal.

Best songs: "Truth Or Dare," "Butterflies," "On and On," "Jump," "To Last"

Taylor Swift as a concept looms large over her 11th studio album — so much so that it was summarily dismissed by people who've grown tired of "her whole thing." As Swiftian history shows us, this fatigue happens cyclically every few years.

But as Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield wrote in "Heartbreak is the National Anthem," his new book about Swift's place in music history, "Many people often find Taylor infuriating and exhausting. So does Taylor Swift."

That may as well be the thesis for "The Tortured Poets Department." At 31 songs, the album is instantly overwhelming. It's self-effacing and self-aware to a truly comical degree. (I will never forget where I was when I first heard Swift sing, "I'm having his baby. No, I'm not! But you should see your faces.") It's full of heel turns, hallucinations, and contradictions. She pledges, "I can fix him," then ends the same song with, "Woah! Maybe I can't." Later, she swears she'll forget him — in a song that also swears he's a swindler who deserves jail time. She begs God to send her a soulmate, but three tracks later, she compares the sensation of leaving a man to emerging from a frozen lake. In the album's lead single, she literally casts herself as an asylum patient.

As Sheffield notes, "There's something scary about all her try-try-try energy, but that's the only possible way she could write songs like these." Swift is always erupting, never walking it back, and never playing it cool. It's annoying. It's relatable. It's annoyingly relatable. But for her fellow triers, it's sheer magic. It's a crucial part of her allure as an artist, and it's also what makes the "The Tortured Poets Department" — yes, even the extra 15 songs — such a damned, accursed thrill.

Best songs: "But Daddy I Love Him," "Guilty as Sin?," "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?," "Loml," "The Black Dog," "How Did It End?," "The Prophecy"

One year after The Marías released their debut album, 2021's "Cinema," the band reached a watershed moment: They were featured on Bad Bunny's 2022 blockbuster "Un Verano Sin Ti." Their duet, "Otro Atardecer," has over 481 million streams on Spotify to date.

Bad Bunny's cosign promised more ears and a much bigger platform; a well-executed sophomore album could change their trajectory forever. It seemed the stars had aligned.

In reality, their path forward wasn't promised. Lead singer María Zardoya and drummer and producer Josh Conway, the duo that founded the band and cowrote the songs, broke up. They'd begun dating shortly after meeting, drawn together by their artistic chemistry. Dousing that spark could've spelled the end of The Marías.

To avoid this fate, the bandmates had the wisdom to impose a six-week sabbatical — the longest they'd been apart in their eight years of knowing each other, Zardoya told Elle. They both took the time to travel. "We were in our 'Eat, Pray, Love' era for sure," she said. "The isolation was necessary for us to heal, then come together and make this project. We overcame a lot to make it happen."

"Submarine" may be the best album written by actively splitting lovers since Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours," though The Marías' version is markedly more serene. Zardoya swaps the righteous fury of Stevie Nicks for soothing melodies and abiding tenderness, sounding more like Selena mixed with Sade. Conway compliments his ex's hushed vocals with glinting synths and waves of reverb.

The effect is all-encompassing, fluid, almost reverent — quite like sitting at the bottom of a pool, watching the sunlight glitter on the surface, as Zardoya does in the cover art. There isn't a single dissonant moment or skippable song to pull you out of its depths.

Best songs: "Echo," "Run Your Mouth," "Blur," "No One Noticed," "Vicious Sensitive Robot"

"Hit Me Hard and Soft" is Billie Eilish's third studio album and her best yet by far. Compared to the lonely visions of 2019's "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" or the self-indulgent soliloquies of 2021's "Happier Than Ever," this world feels richer, more curious and expansive.

Although the tracklist only has 10 songs, every chord, every ad-lib, and every transition has been carefully considered as part of a whole. String motifs and key lyrics resurface across the album, and the eerie and reflective closing track, "Blue," fuses two scrapped songs from Eilish's past into something new.

Eilish's brother and collaborator Finneas O'Connell once described this album as containing "real ghosts" because they resurrected old material. This may explain why its centerpiece, "Chihiro," shares a name with the protagonist of "Spirited Away," a movie about stumbling through a portal to an alternate dimension that's full of strange monsters and spirits. Chihiro is thrust into a great adventure at an extremely young age — much like Eilish when she shot to fame as a teenager. His only options are escape or immersion.

Eilish's previous albums ooze with the itch to escape. In "Hit Me Hard and Soft," Eilish finally chooses the latter.

Best songs: "Chihiro," "Birds of a Feather," "The Greatest," "The Diner," "Blue"

The "best" album of the year is always debatable, but one thing is for sure: "Brat" will go down in history as the main character in 2024's cultural discourse.

The artwork's acid green seeped into every corner of observable life, from statue gardens and brand campaigns to Times Square and the White House. Even NASA hopped on the trend, using "Brat" lyrics in an Instagram caption to describe the lingering glow of a supernova. "Buried at the center is the star's tell-tale heart," the agency wrote, "which beats with rhythmic precision." How very fitting.

After many years of languishing in pop's middle class (justice for "How I'm Feeling Now"), Charli XCX broke into the mainstream with her most idiosyncratic work to date. Ironically, it was her previous effort, 2022's "Crash," that was created with the intention of showing off her pop-star chops — both as a cynical stunt and an earnest bid for attention.

At the time, the experiment seemed to fail. "Crash" was well received by critics but failed to lift Charli into pop's upper echelon.

And yet, it was precisely this kind of failure — or, at least, the perception of failure in the competitive world of "stan Twitter" — that made the existence of "Brat" possible. Throughout the tracklist, Charli is haunted by her own legacy. She frets constantly about being compared to other women in the industry. Do they even notice when she's fixing her hair or snagging her tights? Do they see her standing in the background? Do they also wish they could rewind to simpler times, before they cared about Billboard charts and sales numbers? She even wonders whether her music career is worth putting her personal life on hold for.

Even when Charli is playing her familiar role, the "365 party girl," her brags are still legacy-oriented. "I'm your favorite reference, baby," she insists in the opening track, "360." In the standout single "Von Dutch," she teases, "It's OK to just admit that you're jealous of me." Put in conversation with the album's deep cuts, these lyrics seem more defensive than they do at first brush. Charli is ready to call herself an icon, but she wants you to say it back.

"Brat" is a uniquely Charli album, but as NASA accidentally noted, it's also a tale as old as time: Buried at the center, beneath the neon lights and pulsing synths, Charli's tell-tale heart is beating, keeping her alive, begging to be heard.

Best songs: "Sympathy Is a Knife," "Von Dutch," "So I," "Girl, So Confusing," "365"

"Brat Summer" may have taken over the online lexicon in 2024, but once again, it was Beyoncé who made the most technically impressive and thematically effective album of the year.

Following the footsteps of "Renaissance," the best album of 2022, "Cowboy Carter" is part of an ongoing trilogy that probes the limits of genre — and, crucially, the roles that race and gender play in imposing those limits. Beyoncé is the perfect and perhaps only musician alive who could stage such an experiment with this level of mastery, foresight, and cultural impact.

You could pinpoint pretty much any three-track run on "Cowboy Carter," and you'd find proof why it's the album of the year. Take "Ameriican Reqiuem," a mini-dissertation on prejudice in the music industry, then "Blackbiird," an illuminating blend of young Black voices in country music with a classic-rock song that was inspired by the Little Rock Nine, topped by "16 Carriages," a soulful ballad that draws from Beyoncé's outlaw-esque roots, and you've still only covered the first 11-ish minutes.

Beyoncé has many musical gifts, including (but not limited to) identifying fresh talent, reinventing samples, fine-tuning even the tiniest details, and synthesizing many themes and perspectives to form one coherent narrative. Her range is already well established, but on "Cowboy Carter," each of these skills is deployed to its fullest extent.

The album opens with a pointed set of questions: "Can you hear me? Or do you fear me?" But Beyoncé knows the breadth of her power, so she already knows what the answer will be. She closes the album by asking again, but this time, it's tinted by the shadow of a smirk: "Tell me, can you hear me now?"

Best songs: "Ameriican Reqiuem," "Bodyguard," "Daughter," "Alliigator Tears," "II Most Wanted," "Ya Ya," "II Hands II Heaven," "Sweet Honey Buckiin'"