The unstoppable pop of Taylor Swift

A spin through what makes the record-breaking star so popular

A radial bar chart that shows how each of Taylor Swift’s songs rank on acousticness. Around the data visualization sits a collage of a typewriter, cowboy boots, vintage books, pressed flowers, a quill pen and a banjo.

Table with information corresponding to the radial bar chart, including the Spotify values for acousticness for each of Taylor Swift’s songs.
Album	Song	Spotify acousticness value
Midnights	Lavender Haze	0.258
Midnights	Maroon	0.0573
Midnights	Anti-Hero	0.13
Midnights	Snow On The Beach (feat. Lana Del Rey)	0.69
Midnights	You're On Your Own, Kid	0.401
Midnights	Midnight Rain	0.69
Midnights	Question...?	0.2
Midnights	Vigilante Shit	0.173
Midnights	Bejeweled	0.0618
Midnights	Labyrinth	0.785
Midnights	Karma	0.0734
Midnights	Sweet Nothing	0.964
Midnights	Mastermind	0.553
evermore	willow	0.833
evermore	champagne problems	0.92
evermore	gold rush	0.83
evermore	‘tis the damn season	0.735
evermore	tolerate it	0.878
evermore	no body, no crime (feat. HAIM)	0.418
evermore	happiness	0.87
evermore	dorothea	0.696
evermore	coney island (feat. The National)	0.819
evermore	ivy	0.855
evermore	cowboy like me	0.768
evermore	long story short	0.66
evermore	marjorie	0.876
evermore	closure	0.835
evermore	evermore (feat. Bon Iver)	0.937
folklore	the 1	0.757
folklore	cardigan	0.537
folklore	the last great american dynasty	0.467
folklore	exile (feat. Bon Iver)	0.778
folklore	my tears ricochet	0.806
folklore	mirrorball	0.687
folklore	seven	0.9
folklore	august	0.538
folklore	this is me trying	0.314
folklore	illicit affairs	0.881
folklore	invisible string	0.838
folklore	mad woman	0.655
folklore	epiphany	0.731
folklore	betty	0.6
folklore	peace	0.918
folklore	hoax	0.966
Lover	I Forgot That You Existed	0.298
Lover	Cruel Summer	0.117
Lover	Lover	0.492
Lover	The Man	0.0767
Lover	The Archer	0.12
Lover	I Think He Knows	0.0089
Lover	Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince	0.028
Lover	Paper Rings	0.0129
Lover	Cornelia Street	0.781
Lover	Death By A Thousand Cuts	0.454
Lover	London Boy	0.0246
Lover	Soon You’ll Get Better (feat. The Chicks)	0.907
Lover	False God	0.736
Lover	You Need To Calm Down	0.0093
Lover	Afterglow	0.13
Lover	ME! (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco)	0.033
Lover	It’s Nice To Have A Friend	0.971
Lover	Daylight	0.808
reputation	...Ready For It?	0.0527
reputation	End Game	0.0084
reputation	I Did Something Bad	0.0679
reputation	Don’t Blame Me	0.106
reputation	Delicate	0.216
reputation	Look What You Made Me Do	0.204
reputation	So It Goes...	0.122
reputation	Gorgeous	0.0713
reputation	Getaway Car	0.0046
reputation	King Of My Heart	0.0088
reputation	Dancing With Our Hands Tied	0.0604
reputation	Dress	0.0329
reputation	This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things	0.0156
reputation	Call It What You Want	0.186
reputation	New Year’s Day	0.921
1989	Welcome To New York	0.038
1989	Blank Space	0.085
1989	Style	0.0025
1989	Out Of The Woods	0.001
1989	All You Had To Do Was Stay	0.002
1989	Shake It Off	0.0561
1989	I Wish You Would	0.016
1989	Bad Blood	0.0871
1989	Wildest Dreams	0.0702
1989	How You Get The Girl	0.0046
1989	This Love	0.635
1989	I Know Places	0.231
1989	Clean	0.241
Red	State Of Grace	0.0002
Red	Red	0.0773
Red	Treacherous	0.101
Red	I Knew You Were Trouble.	0.0045
Red	All Too Well	0.0382
Red	22	0.0022
Red	I Almost Do	0.0173
Red	We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together	0.0096
Red	Stay Stay Stay	0.307
Red	The Last Time	0.035
Red	Holy Ground	0.0162
Red	Sad Beautiful Tragic	0.632
Red	The Lucky One	0.0371
Red	Everything Has Changed	0.36
Red	Starlight	0.0213
Red	Begin Again	0.199
Speak Now	Mine	0.0026
Speak Now	Sparks Fly	0.0396
Speak Now	Back To December	0.117
Speak Now	Speak Now	0.095
Speak Now	Dear John	0.166
Speak Now	Mean	0.452
Speak Now	The Story Of Us	0.0048
Speak Now	Never Grow Up	0.819
Speak Now	Enchanted	0.0739
Speak Now	Better Than Revenge	0.0139
Speak Now	Innocent	0.186
Speak Now	Haunted	0.0826
Speak Now	Last Kiss	0.57
Speak Now	Long Live	0.036
Fearless	Fearless	0.04
Fearless	Fifteen	0.067
Fearless	Love Story	0.17
Fearless	Hey Stephen	0.194
Fearless	White Horse	0.305
Fearless	You Belong With Me	0.162
Fearless	Breathe	0.379
Fearless	Tell Me Why	0.0571
Fearless	You're Not Sorry	0.146
Fearless	The Way I Loved You	0.0408
Fearless	Forever & Always	0.0752
Fearless	The Best Day	0.647
Fearless	Change	0.0041
Taylor Swift	Tim McGraw	0.575
Taylor Swift	Picture To Burn	0.173
Taylor Swift	Teardrops On My Guitar - Radio Single Remix	0.288
Taylor Swift	A Place in this World	0.051
Taylor Swift	Cold As You	0.217
Taylor Swift	The Outside	0.0049
Taylor Swift	Tied Together with a Smile	0.525
Taylor Swift	Stay Beautiful	0.0868
Taylor Swift	Should've Said No	0.0103
Taylor Swift	Mary's Song (Oh My My My)	0.0177
Taylor Swift	Our Song	0.111
Taylor Swift	I'm Only Me When I'm With You	0.0045
Taylor Swift	Invisible	0.637
Taylor Swift	A Perfectly Good Heart	0.0035
Taylor Swift	Teardrops on My Guitar - Pop Version	0.0402

A radial bar chart that shows how each of Taylor Swift’s songs rank on emotion. Around the data visualization sits a collage of a phone, red lips, a snake, hands in the shape of a heart and newspaper. The data visualization sits within polaroids.

Table with information corresponding to the radial bar chart, including the Spotify values for emotion for each of Taylor Swift’s songs.
Album	Song	Spotify valence value
Midnights	Lavender Haze	0.0976
Midnights	Maroon	0.0374
Midnights	Anti-Hero	0.533
Midnights	Snow On The Beach (feat. Lana Del Rey)	0.193
Midnights	You're On Your Own, Kid	0.38
Midnights	Midnight Rain	0.23
Midnights	Question...?	0.106
Midnights	Vigilante Shit	0.163
Midnights	Bejeweled	0.433
Midnights	Labyrinth	0.122
Midnights	Karma	0.0969
Midnights	Sweet Nothing	0.39
Midnights	Mastermind	0.124
evermore	willow	0.529
evermore	champagne problems	0.32
evermore	gold rush	0.353
evermore	‘tis the damn season	0.348
evermore	tolerate it	0.221
evermore	no body, no crime (feat. HAIM)	0.535
evermore	happiness	0.211
evermore	dorothea	0.354
evermore	coney island (feat. The National)	0.292
evermore	ivy	0.535
evermore	cowboy like me	0.511
evermore	long story short	0.573
evermore	marjorie	0.287
evermore	closure	0.92
evermore	evermore (feat. Bon Iver)	0.32
folklore	the 1	0.172
folklore	cardigan	0.551
folklore	the last great american dynasty	0.706
folklore	exile (feat. Bon Iver)	0.152
folklore	my tears ricochet	0.111
folklore	mirrorball	0.379
folklore	seven	0.415
folklore	august	0.403
folklore	this is me trying	0.412
folklore	illicit affairs	0.46
folklore	invisible string	0.45
folklore	mad woman	0.506
folklore	epiphany	0.113
folklore	betty	0.502
folklore	peace	0.339
folklore	hoax	0.429
Lover	I Forgot That You Existed	0.541
Lover	Cruel Summer	0.564
Lover	Lover	0.453
Lover	The Man	0.633
Lover	The Archer	0.166
Lover	I Think He Knows	0.416
Lover	Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince	0.487
Lover	Paper Rings	0.865
Lover	Cornelia Street	0.248
Lover	Death By A Thousand Cuts	0.313
Lover	London Boy	0.557
Lover	Soon You’ll Get Better (feat. The Chicks)	0.421
Lover	False God	0.351
Lover	You Need To Calm Down	0.714
Lover	Afterglow	0.399
Lover	ME! (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco)	0.728
Lover	It’s Nice To Have A Friend	0.545
Lover	Daylight	0.265
reputation	...Ready For It?	0.417
reputation	End Game	0.151
reputation	I Did Something Bad	0.305
reputation	Don’t Blame Me	0.193
reputation	Delicate	0.0499
reputation	Look What You Made Me Do	0.506
reputation	So It Goes...	0.374
reputation	Gorgeous	0.451
reputation	Getaway Car	0.351
reputation	King Of My Heart	0.314
reputation	Dancing With Our Hands Tied	0.284
reputation	Dress	0.0851
reputation	This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things	0.438
reputation	Call It What You Want	0.252
reputation	New Year’s Day	0.23
1989	Welcome To New York	0.615
1989	Blank Space	0.583
1989	Style	0.456
1989	Out Of The Woods	0.343
1989	All You Had To Do Was Stay	0.471
1989	Shake It Off	0.943
1989	I Wish You Would	0.502
1989	Bad Blood	0.295
1989	Wildest Dreams	0.472
1989	How You Get The Girl	0.524
1989	This Love	0.0828
1989	I Know Places	0.507
1989	Clean	0.22
Red	State Of Grace	0.397
Red	Red	0.641
Red	Treacherous	0.395
Red	I Knew You Were Trouble.	0.679
Red	All Too Well	0.337
Red	22	0.668
Red	I Almost Do	0.233
Red	We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together	0.75
Red	Stay Stay Stay	0.928
Red	The Last Time	0.123
Red	Holy Ground	0.648
Red	Sad Beautiful Tragic	0.261
Red	The Lucky One	0.545
Red	Everything Has Changed	0.436
Red	Starlight	0.587
Red	Begin Again	0.323
Speak Now	Mine	0.658
Speak Now	Sparks Fly	0.374
Speak Now	Back To December	0.286
Speak Now	Speak Now	0.735
Speak Now	Dear John	0.102
Speak Now	Mean	0.789
Speak Now	The Story Of Us	0.683
Speak Now	Never Grow Up	0.554
Speak Now	Enchanted	0.208
Speak Now	Better Than Revenge	0.635
Speak Now	Innocent	0.17
Speak Now	Haunted	0.352
Speak Now	Last Kiss	0.196
Speak Now	Long Live	0.142
Fearless	Fearless	0.476
Fearless	Fifteen	0.203
Fearless	Love Story	0.296
Fearless	Hey Stephen	0.831
Fearless	White Horse	0.223
Fearless	You Belong With Me	0.443
Fearless	Breathe	0.184
Fearless	Tell Me Why	0.51
Fearless	You're Not Sorry	0.276
Fearless	The Way I Loved You	0.398
Fearless	Forever & Always	0.544
Fearless	The Best Day	0.396
Fearless	Change	0.215
Taylor Swift	Tim McGraw	0.425
Taylor Swift	Picture To Burn	0.821
Taylor Swift	Teardrops On My Guitar - Radio Single Remix	0.289
Taylor Swift	A Place in this World	0.428
Taylor Swift	Cold As You	0.261
Taylor Swift	The Outside	0.591
Taylor Swift	Tied Together with a Smile	0.192
Taylor Swift	Stay Beautiful	0.504
Taylor Swift	Should've Said No	0.472
Taylor Swift	Mary's Song (Oh My My My)	0.374
Taylor Swift	Our Song	0.539
Taylor Swift	I'm Only Me When I'm With You	0.518
Taylor Swift	Invisible	0.233
Taylor Swift	A Perfectly Good Heart	0.268
Taylor Swift	Teardrops on My Guitar - Pop Version	0.483

A radial bar chart that shows how each of Taylor Swift’s songs rank on danceability. Around the data visualization sits a collage of stars and disco balls.

Table with information corresponding to the radial bar chart, including the Spotify values for danceability for each of Taylor Swift’s songs.
Album	Song	Spotify danceability value
Midnights	Lavender Haze	0.733
Midnights	Maroon	0.637
Midnights	Anti-Hero	0.637
Midnights	Snow On The Beach (feat. Lana Del Rey)	0.663
Midnights	You're On Your Own, Kid	0.696
Midnights	Midnight Rain	0.643
Midnights	Question...?	0.751
Midnights	Vigilante Shit	0.798
Midnights	Bejeweled	0.696
Midnights	Labyrinth	0.406
Midnights	Karma	0.642
Midnights	Sweet Nothing	0.337
Midnights	Mastermind	0.662
evermore	willow	0.392
evermore	champagne problems	0.462
evermore	gold rush	0.512
evermore	‘tis the damn season	0.575
evermore	tolerate it	0.316
evermore	no body, no crime (feat. HAIM)	0.546
evermore	happiness	0.559
evermore	dorothea	0.605
evermore	coney island (feat. The National)	0.537
evermore	ivy	0.515
evermore	cowboy like me	0.604
evermore	long story short	0.546
evermore	marjorie	0.535
evermore	closure	0.689
evermore	evermore (feat. Bon Iver)	0.39
folklore	the 1	0.777
folklore	cardigan	0.613
folklore	the last great american dynasty	0.686
folklore	exile (feat. Bon Iver)	0.298
folklore	my tears ricochet	0.456
folklore	mirrorball	0.553
folklore	seven	0.596
folklore	august	0.532
folklore	this is me trying	0.515
folklore	illicit affairs	0.559
folklore	invisible string	0.653
folklore	mad woman	0.592
folklore	epiphany	0.354
folklore	betty	0.593
folklore	peace	0.647
folklore	hoax	0.662
Lover	I Forgot That You Existed	0.664
Lover	Cruel Summer	0.552
Lover	Lover	0.359
Lover	The Man	0.777
Lover	The Archer	0.292
Lover	I Think He Knows	0.897
Lover	Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince	0.662
Lover	Paper Rings	0.811
Lover	Cornelia Street	0.824
Lover	Death By A Thousand Cuts	0.712
Lover	London Boy	0.695
Lover	Soon You’ll Get Better (feat. The Chicks)	0.433
Lover	False God	0.739
Lover	You Need To Calm Down	0.771
Lover	Afterglow	0.756
Lover	ME! (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco)	0.61
Lover	It’s Nice To Have A Friend	0.737
Lover	Daylight	0.557
reputation	...Ready For It?	0.613
reputation	End Game	0.649
reputation	I Did Something Bad	0.696
reputation	Don’t Blame Me	0.615
reputation	Delicate	0.75
reputation	Look What You Made Me Do	0.766
reputation	So It Goes...	0.574
reputation	Gorgeous	0.8
reputation	Getaway Car	0.562
reputation	King Of My Heart	0.675
reputation	Dancing With Our Hands Tied	0.624
reputation	Dress	0.719
reputation	This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things	0.567
reputation	Call It What You Want	0.598
reputation	New Year’s Day	0.661
1989	Welcome To New York	0.793
1989	Blank Space	0.753
1989	Style	0.598
1989	Out Of The Woods	0.552
1989	All You Had To Do Was Stay	0.602
1989	Shake It Off	0.647
1989	I Wish You Would	0.648
1989	Bad Blood	0.65
1989	Wildest Dreams	0.554
1989	How You Get The Girl	0.764
1989	This Love	0.475
1989	I Know Places	0.596
1989	Clean	0.81
Red	State Of Grace	0.588
Red	Red	0.602
Red	Treacherous	0.705
Red	I Knew You Were Trouble.	0.622
Red	All Too Well	0.602
Red	22	0.658
Red	I Almost Do	0.567
Red	We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together	0.628
Red	Stay Stay Stay	0.729
Red	The Last Time	0.505
Red	Holy Ground	0.627
Red	Sad Beautiful Tragic	0.624
Red	The Lucky One	0.706
Red	Everything Has Changed	0.624
Red	Starlight	0.649
Red	Begin Again	0.53
Speak Now	Mine	0.624
Speak Now	Sparks Fly	0.605
Speak Now	Back To December	0.529
Speak Now	Speak Now	0.709
Speak Now	Dear John	0.589
Speak Now	Mean	0.568
Speak Now	The Story Of Us	0.543
Speak Now	Never Grow Up	0.714
Speak Now	Enchanted	0.455
Speak Now	Better Than Revenge	0.516
Speak Now	Innocent	0.552
Speak Now	Haunted	0.436
Speak Now	Last Kiss	0.371
Speak Now	Long Live	0.418
Fearless	Fearless	0.594
Fearless	Fifteen	0.556
Fearless	Love Story	0.618
Fearless	Hey Stephen	0.841
Fearless	White Horse	0.578
Fearless	You Belong With Me	0.687
Fearless	Breathe	0.505
Fearless	Tell Me Why	0.604
Fearless	You're Not Sorry	0.475
Fearless	The Way I Loved You	0.433
Fearless	Forever & Always	0.608
Fearless	The Best Day	0.666
Fearless	Change	0.541
Taylor Swift	Tim McGraw	0.58
Taylor Swift	Picture To Burn	0.658
Taylor Swift	Teardrops On My Guitar - Radio Single Remix	0.621
Taylor Swift	A Place in this World	0.576
Taylor Swift	Cold As You	0.418
Taylor Swift	The Outside	0.589
Taylor Swift	Tied Together with a Smile	0.479
Taylor Swift	Stay Beautiful	0.594
Taylor Swift	Should've Said No	0.476
Taylor Swift	Mary's Song (Oh My My My)	0.403
Taylor Swift	Our Song	0.668
Taylor Swift	I'm Only Me When I'm With You	0.563
Taylor Swift	Invisible	0.612
Taylor Swift	A Perfectly Good Heart	0.483
Taylor Swift	Teardrops on My Guitar - Pop Version	0.459

Note

Music data from Spotify current as of July 5th. We focused on the original released albums rather than the re-recording of her Masters to analyze her sound over time.

The cat photos are not Swift’s real cats due to copyright.

Sources

SeatGeek; Spotify; Billboard

Edited by

Julia Wolfe and Jonathan Oatis