In the 17 years since Taylor Swift released her self-titled debut album, she\u2019s gone from opening concerts for Rascal Flatts to selling out an international stadium tour. TL;DR: for newer Swifties, there\u2019s a lot to catch up on \u2014 and there\u2019s no time like the present, when Swift is taking over the NFL<\/a> and preparing for 1989 (Taylor\u2019s Version)<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> Not to mention, the Eras Tour movie<\/a> is coming out Oct. 13. As one person on Twitter put it, \u201cI gotta catch up on Taylor Swift lore<\/a> before going to the Eras concert movie.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether you\u2019ve been a Swiftie since \u201cTeardrops on My Guitar\u201d first played on Radio Disney or you\u2019ve just joined the club after hearing Midnights<\/em>, there\u2019s plenty of Tay-lore to learn. Read on for a full lesson in all things Taylor with this starter\u2019s guide to the Swiftieverse. <\/p>\n Swift grew up on a Christmas tree farm in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania<\/a>. When she was 13, her family \u2014 her mother Andrea, father Scott, and brother Austin \u2014 moved to Nashville, Tennessee so she could pursue country music. She got noticed while performing<\/a> at Nashville\u2019s Bluebird Cafe<\/a> and signed onto Big Machine Records<\/a> in 2005. She released six albums there, before switching over to Republic Records, a division of Universal Music Group (UMG), in 2018. Since moving to UMG, Swift has released four new albums and started re-recording her previous albums.<\/p>\n Swift loves the number 13, often calling it her \u201clucky number.\u201d (During her early tours, she\u2019d paint a 13 on her hand before each show.) In a 2009 interview with MTV, Swift explained the number\u2019s significance<\/a>. \u201cI was born on the 13th. I turned 13 on Friday the 13th. My first album went gold in 13 weeks. My first #1 song had a 13-second intro,\u201d she said. \u201cEvery time I’ve won an award I’ve been seated in either the 13th seat, the 13th row, the 13th section or row M, which is the 13th letter.\u201d<\/p>\n Swift\u2019s current squad<\/a> includes big names like Selena Gomez, Sophie Turner, Blake Lively, Gigi Hadid, Sabrina Carpenter, <\/strong>and the Haim sisters. But there are more names to keep on your radar.<\/p>\n Travis Kelce: <\/strong>the Kansas City Chiefs tight end and reportedly Swift\u2019s current love interest<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jack Antonoff:<\/strong> the lead singer of Bleachers and Swift\u2019s go-to producer<\/a> ever since they collaborated on 1989<\/em> in 2014.<\/p>\n Abigail Anderson:<\/strong> Swift\u2019s long-time best friend<\/a> who got a shoutout in \u201cFifteen.\u201d<\/p>\n Tree Paine: <\/strong>Swift\u2019s publicist, who fans adore<\/a> for how she\u2019s handled Swift\u2019s public feuds (more on that later).<\/p>\n Karlie Kloss: <\/strong>Swift\u2019s ultimate bestie from 2012 to 2018. Kloss was an OG member of Swift\u2019s squad, but they had a rumored feud around 2019. Her name\u2019s popped back up in the Swiftieverse recently, though, because Kloss showed up at the Eras Tour<\/a> in August 2023. <\/p>\n Meredith Grey, Olivia Benson, and Benjamin Button: <\/strong>Swift\u2019s cats, all named after famous TV and film characters.<\/p>\n Easter Egg: <\/strong>Swifties are constantly looking out for \u201cEaster eggs,\u201d<\/a> aka any subtle hint Swift drops for them, often teasing upcoming projects. \u201cI love to communicate through Easter eggs<\/a>,\u201d Swift told Entertainment Weekly<\/em> in 2019. \u201cI think the best messages are cryptic ones.\u201d<\/p>\n (Taylor\u2019s Version):<\/strong> A parenthetical added to every re-released song, showing Swift owns it.<\/p>\n (From The Vault):<\/strong> A parenthetical used for songs that didn\u2019t initially make it onto an album, but were added back on when it was re-recorded.<\/p>\n Taylurking:<\/strong> Term to describe \u201cTaylor lurking<\/a>\u201d on the internet, keeping tabs on her fans on social media.<\/p>\n Friendship Bracelets: <\/strong>Swifties started trading friendship bracelets<\/a> during the Eras Tour, a reference to Swift\u2019s lyric from \u201cYou\u2019re On Your Own Kid.\u201d<\/p>\n Secret Sessions: <\/strong>Swift held Secret Sessions<\/a>, or surprise parties for fans at her home, ahead of releasing her albums 1989<\/em>, reputation<\/em>, and Lover<\/em>. On tour, Swift held meet-and-greets, too, including T-Party, Club Red, Loft \u201889, and Rep Room.<\/p>\n The Scarf: <\/strong>In \u201cAll Too Well,\u201d Swift sings, \u201cI left my scarf there at your sister’s house \/ And you’ve still got it in your drawer even now.\u201d Fans think the lost scarf is a metaphor for lost innocence, which Swift alluded<\/a> to at TIFF 2022.<\/p>\n Throughout her career, Swift has gotten into two major public disputes. Here\u2019s the rundown of each.<\/p>\n The Swift versus Kanye West feud<\/a> started when he interrupted her 2009 VMA acceptance speech to say that Beyonc\u00e9 should have won. In 2010, Swift released the song \u201cInnocent\u201d about West<\/a> and this incident.<\/p>\n By the 2015 VMAS, all drama seemed to be in the past \u2014 Swift even presented West with the Video Vanguard Award<\/a>. But then the rapper released \u201cFamous\u201d in 2016, where he called Swift a \u201cb*tch\u201d and credited himself with her fame. (In the song\u2019s music video<\/a>, West put a wax figure of a naked Swift in bed with him.)<\/p>\n When Swift got mad about the song, West\u2019s then-wife Kim Kardashian released a video<\/a> of a phone call, seemingly showing that Swift had OK-ed the lyrics. (Kardashian also shaded Swift with a snake<\/a> emoji, which eventually led to Swift\u2019s rep <\/em>era motif.)<\/p>\n After Kardashian posted the phone call, Swift maintained that she was never OK with being called \u201cthat b*tch\u201d in the song. She famously wrote on IG, \u201cI would very much like to be excluded from this narrative.\u201d In 2020, the full phone call was released<\/a>, proving that Swift didn\u2019t know about the \u201cb*tch\u201d lyric.<\/p>\n In July 2019, Scooter Braun and his company Ithaca Holdings purchased Big Machine Records from Scott Borchetta. The sale included the rights to Swift\u2019s masters. On Tumblr, Swift called the purchase<\/a> her \u201cworst case scenario,\u201d pointing out how Braun\u2019s friendship with Justin Bieber<\/a> and West involved \u201cbullying [her] on social media.\u201d<\/p>\n In the Tumblr post, Swift also claimed she was denied the opportunity to purchase her masters, only offered a deal to \u201csign back up to Big Machine Records and \u2018earn\u2019 one album back at a time, one for every new one I turned in.\u201d<\/p>\n The sale prompted Swift to start re-recording<\/a> all of her Braun-owned albums. Following the controversy, Braun claimed<\/a> there must have been some misunderstanding due to a lack of \u201copen communication.\u201d He told Variety<\/em> in 2021, \u201cI asked for her to sit down with me several times, but she refused. I offered to sell her the catalog back and went under NDA, but her team refused. It all seems very unfortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n Swift writes most of her music, and many of her songs are autobiographical. (Back in the day, she even put codes in her album booklets, so that fans would know who\/what she wrote each song about.)<\/p>\n Here are some of her most well-known muses (either confirmed or assumed), by album. <\/p>\n There are a few must-haves that most Taylor Swift fans agree on. These Swiftie-approved essentials range from an Etsy version of the highly-coveted Folklore<\/em> cardigan<\/a> to Swift\u2019s signature red lip (a long-lasting formula that holds up through all 44 songs of the Eras Tour set list<\/a>). <\/strong><\/p>\nA Quick Swiftstory Lesson<\/h2>\n
The Number 13<\/h2>\n
Names In The Swiftiverse To Know<\/h2>\n
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<\/picture><\/noscript><\/div>Swiftie Terminology<\/h2>\n
Swift\u2019s Feuds<\/h2>\n
Kanye West & Kim Kardashian<\/h3>\n
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<\/picture><\/noscript><\/div>Scooter Braun<\/h3>\n
Taylor Swift\u2019s Muses<\/h2>\n
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<\/picture><\/noscript><\/div>Essential Items For Swifties<\/h2>\n