What Genre Does Taylor Swift Sing In?

January 28, 2025

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Taylor Swift’s musical journey has been diverse, with her style evolving across multiple genres throughout her career.

1. Country (2006–2010)

Album: Taylor Swift (2006)
- Taylor’s debut album leaned heavily into country music. With its acoustic and country-pop influences, songs like Tim McGraw and Teardrops on My Guitar captured the essence of Nashville’s country scene while appealing to younger audiences.
Album: Fearless (2008)
- With Fearless, she further solidified her country roots but started blending more mainstream pop elements. Tracks like Love Story and You Belong With Me mixed country storytelling with catchy hooks, making them crossover hits. This era was key to her rise to superstardom in the country-pop space.
Album: Speak Now (2010)
- Speak Now continued in the country-pop territory, with Taylor writing all of the album’s tracks by herself. Songs like Mine and Back to December showcased her ability to tell vivid, emotional stories while still maintaining that classic country influence.

Album: Red (2012)
- While Red isn’t purely pop, it marks the point where Taylor began to heavily experiment with pop sounds. Tracks like We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and I Knew You Were Trouble were full-on pop anthems with electronic and dubstep influences, signaling a transition from her country roots.
Album: 1989 (2014)
- 1989 is often regarded as her official shift into the pop genre. The album is heavily inspired by ‘80s pop and synth sounds, with hits like Shake It Off, Blank Space, and Style. The production here is clean, polished, and radio-friendly, marking a definitive move away from her country origins.
Album: Reputation (2017)
- Reputation introduced a darker, more electronic and synth-driven sound. With songs like Look What You Made Me Do and Delicate, Taylor blended electropop, industrial, and trap influences, reflecting both her personal life’s media scrutiny and a musical departure from her previous styles.

Album: Folklore (2020)
- Folklore was a complete departure from the mainstream pop sound that defined her previous work. Instead, Taylor embraced a more indie-folk style, collaborating with Aaron Dessner of The National and long-time friend Jack Antonoff. The album is mellow, introspective, and more lyrical, with tracks like Cardigan, Exile, and Betty blending folk, indie rock, and soft pop influences.
Album: Evermore (2020)
- Released just five months after Folklore, Evermore followed a similar direction but included even more diverse musical elements, from alt-country to piano ballads and light rock. Songs like Willow and Champagne Problems further solidified her shift to indie-folk and country storytelling.
Album: Midnights (2022)
- Midnights is a return to a more pop-driven sound but with a darker, more introspective edge, featuring elements of synth-pop, electro-pop, and new wave. The album’s themes reflect on late-night reflections, personal struggles, and experiences of fame, with songs like Anti-Hero and Bejeweled showcasing her sharp songwriting skills paired with synth-heavy production.

Throughout her career, Taylor has also dabbled in other genres. For example, she’s incorporated elements of rock (with Look What You Made Me Do’s use of guitar), R&B (with some of the background vocals and rhythms in Reputation and Lover), and even alternative pop in certain songs like Getaway Car from Reputation.
She’s also played with orchestral and cinematic sounds, as seen in tracks like August from Folklore and The Archer from Lover.

Early Career (2006–2010): Primarily country, with some country-pop elements (Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now).
Mainstream Pop Transition (2012–2013): Country-pop hybrid with Red before fully transitioning to pop (1989).
Pop with Darker Edge (2014–2017): Full pop sound with synth, electronic, and trap elements (Reputation).
Indie/Folk Exploration (2020–2021): Indie, folk, alternative rock influences (Folklore, Evermore).
Pop Reimagined (2022): More introspective synth-pop with darker tones (Midnights).