What Makes Taylor Tick

With the release of her fourth album, Red, 22-year-old Swift sounds off on love and feminism to Ramin Setoodeh

Published: Sat 3 Nov 2012, 6:38 PM

Last updated: Thu 2 Apr 2015, 11:06 PM

Does it weird you out that I’m a 30-year-old guy who likes your music?

No, that makes me incredibly happy!

Aren’t your fans mostly female?

It’s been pretty even, actually, in the last year or so. Lots of guys in the audience, which is good to see.

You started out as a country star, but now you’re sounding more pop.

When I went in to make this record, I recorded the songs over a two-year period. Every time I would come up with a new song that sounded different or unique or new, I knew we were getting closer. What I wanted was an album that explored the edges and broke new ground. One of my big fears is people saying my songs are all starting to sound the same.

Do you think your music empowers women?

I wrote a song called Mean about a critic who hated me. I put it out, and all of a sudden, it became an anthem against bullies in school. When people say things about me empowering women, that’s an amazing compliment. It’s not necessarily what I thought I was doing, because I write songs about what I feel. I think there’s strength when you’re baring your emotions.

Why do you think girls relate to you?

I try to have a normal life and look at things in a normal way, under very abnormal circumstances. You look at the idea of being 22, that’s when you’re supposed to be out there living and being selfish and making mistakes and messing up. If I mess up once, it’s a headline everywhere.

Do you read about yourself?

I don’t, really. If I focus too much on what people think about me—every five minutes there’s a new blog, let’s say—that seems self-obsessed and it would bring out all these insecurities that would make me a horrible person to be around.

Do you ever feel guilty for writing a song about an ex?

If there were someone who was a good person, I’m not going to write something bad about them. But if they handled a situation in a way that really messed up my life for a while, that’s what I’m going to write about.

Aren’t you worried this will scare off guys you might want to date?

I don’t know. I’ve never had a guy say to me, “I was thinking of asking you out, but I was afraid I would end up in that song.” I’ve had a guy say, as we were breaking up, “You better not write about this!” At which point, I proceeded to write an entire album about it.

Your cat is named Meredith, after the heroine of Grey’s Anatomy.

She’s a really good cat. I’ve been watching the show since it first came out. It’s the one long-term relationship that I’ve had.

Do you get heartbroken a lot?

I get my heart broken more than I break hearts.

Are you currently in a relationship?

Don’t go there. C’mon.

Newsweek

Taylor by the Numbers

How popular is she? The proof is in the statistics.

16 - Age at which she released her first record.

18.4m - Number of albums Taylor Swift has sold in the United States.

1 - Disgruntled music star who stormed the stage during her VMA speech in 2009.