taylorswiftfordummies

[taylorswiftfordummies]

i've been thinking, if you were put in a room with all your partner's exes (and even their future partners) without you knowing, you probably would get along fine with them. you all would have similar interests, personalities, and priorities. maybe your partner doesn't have a "type," but wouldn't you all likely laugh at the same kind of humor and listen to the same kind of music? you all would probably be able to become friends.

i don't want to hate or be jealous of anyone, and that extends to my ex's new partner. when i look at her i do not want to feel anger or resentment. because a girl just like me got what she wanted, and i would want a girl like me to have nice things.

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Merch Prices

I just bought tickets to go see Aly & AJ, and I was wondering if anyone has gone to a tour, and what the merch prices were. Is it similar to their onlines prices?

Also was there merch at the show that wasn’t found online? I was looking to buy a tee shirt and a tour poster, I predict it’s about $50-$60, but I wanted to be sure.

Thank you in advance!

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Do you think that the night before a new album is released Taylor just sits alone in her room with a guitar and plays it all start to finish with a bittersweet half-smile because she wants to play it one last time just for herself because she knows by the next day it'll never be the same again because I do.

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The first and last lyrics of some of the 1989 tracks.

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The 1989 World Tour

Starting up in Tokyo, May 5th of 2015, and finally ending on December 12th, 2015, the 1989 World Tour spanned 8 months, 4 continents, 2,278,647 attendees, 11 countries, and 85 shows.

Taylor planned for seven months, rehearsed for another three, and had about another month of stage and dress rehearsals. Most of the crew that Taylor had come with her was still her crew from the Fearless era. There were 26 semi-trailers and 11 buses total to carry all the equipment. She had about 146 people permanently on tour with her, while she hired about 150 more in each city to help for that individual show. Each tour stop took about 6-8 hours to set up the stage and distribute the light-up bracelets, with stadiums taking another day.

Taylor earned $250,733,097 on the tour - a quarter of a billion dollars. All of the shows were played in either stadiums or arenas, the difference being stadiums were outdoors and arenas were indoors. Most of them sold out within minutes or hours, which caused Taylor to add a few extra shows here and there due to the popular demand. However, the tickets for the 1989 tour averaged about $392 per ticket, her highest expense yet.

Taylor mainly had Vance Joy and Shawn Mendes as openers for the tour, but also would let HAIM, James Bay, and a few others open for a few nights. Taylor’s setlist would comprise of songs mostly all from the 1989 album, but that was always subject to change. She had a variety of special guests on her show which would add another song in, and on the B-stage she would often change up what she would sing. In the slot where You Are in Love is played, she also often played You Belong with Me, Fifteen, or Wonderland. Due to a hashtag, #MineForRachel, Taylor played Mine for a girl who had been killed in a car accident. And during the last show, she performed Long Live.

Taylor would give a special speech on the B-stage, before she played Clean. She would give the crowd encouragement, and tell them that they were not their mistakes or someone else’s opinion of them. This was incredibly uplifting and fans loved it. It didn’t take long for people to start filming the speech, and many of them can be found online from a specific show.

Taylor’s outfits on tour were usually bright, colorful, and full of sequins. However, there are a few “missing” outfits from the tour, of which Taylor only wore about once or twice before she stopped. One of which is an outfit with black pants and a blue and black sequin crop top, which she only wore the first few shows on the B-stage. Another is an outfit worn during Out of the Woods, which had black, sequin trees running the length of the jumpsuit. Taylor also wore new outfits occasionally with special guests that weren’t seen after. Her leather outfit she wore while performing We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together changed slightly a few times throughout the tour, and on a show on Halloween, Taylor wore an Olaf, from the movie Frozen, costume.

The light-up bracelets have made a name for themselves, and are credited with making the tour so incredibly photogenic. On each of a fan’s seat was a white, rubber bracelet, which resembled most closely to a Fitbit. Once on, a fan would pull out a plastic tab from the bracelet, and wait until the show started. Each specific song had a color to it, and the entire arena or stadium would be color-coded. Due to these bracelets, some fans even targeted the higher seating levels to watch the show and the amazing effect these bracelets would have. Whenever Taylor would have a special guest to sing with her, the first thing she would ask them was what color they would like the bracelets to be.

Another aspect Taylor brought to the tour was the extraordinary amount of special guests. She explained that by the end of the first show, all of the fans knew what her outfits, setlist, and many other details of the tour were. But with special guests, fans would always have to keep guessing.

Taylor had 48 musical guests come to her show, including Ed Sheeran, Fifth Harmony, Justin Timberlake, Mick Jagger, Ryan Tedder, the Band Perry, Avril Lavigne, and Nick Jonas, just to name a few.

She had 15 athletes as special guests as well. These included the USA Women’s National Soccer Team who held up their newly won World Cup trophy, Kobe Bryant who gave Taylor her own banner in the Staples Center recognizing her record-breaking amount of sold out shows in the stadium, and Dwayne Wade giving her own Miami Heat Jersey.

Taylor had about 24 other miscellaneous guests. She had plenty of actors, such as Lena Dunham, Julia Roberts, Matt LeBlanc, and Mariska Hargita. Her modelling friends like Karlie Kloss, Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, and Lily Aldrige made appearances, and finally, Ellen DeGeneres guested as well.

Taylor had another version of her after-show party, called Loft ‘89. Fans with great costumes and posters, or even fans she wanted to meet from online were selected. They would be given a pass and bracelets, and would meet up in a specific section after the show. While in Loft ‘89, the fans would get to talk to Taylor for a little while and take one picture. Several fans asked Taylor to write out something for them, such as “I love you” or lyrics they enjoyed. It was very strict that they only get one picture and one item signed to keep Taylor on schedule, and if anyone was caught filming, taking pictures without permission, or recording in any way they would be asked to leave.

On a show in Sydney, Australia, there were signs warning the crowd that the concert’s events were being recorded and filmed for commercial and promotional purposes. And on Taylor’s birthday, December 13th, 2015, Taylor announced that she and Apple Music were making a concert film to be released on December 20th, 2015. It showed the entire concert, plus some backstage footage and rehearsals with guests.

Taylor has said that she had gotten so caught up in the tour and it was amazing how she never wanted it to end. The fans didn’t want it to end either. It was the end to a beautiful, pop, cheerful era, and we can only wait to see what she does next.

This has been Lesson #10 of Taylor Swift for Dummies

*Disclaimer: I do not own any of the photographs shown. I do not own any rights to the 1989 World Tour, the 1989 World Tour Live, Fearless, Olaf, Frozen, any of the songs mentioned, Loft ‘89, Miami Heat, or the Taylor Swift brand. @taylorswift

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Taylor and Grant

Grant Mickelson is one of the staple members of the Agency. He was the lead guitarist for Taylor starting in the beginning of it all - when Taylor was still playing inside Walmart stores.

He was born in Iowa and went to the University of North Texas. He has toured with other acts such as Sara Evans and Lady Antebellum, but he has always made it well known that Taylor was his favorite to play and tour with.

His alter-ego is Rooster, which is what Taylor and the rest of the Agency call him due to his recognizable hairstyle. Whenever fans meet him, almost all ask to touch his hair, which he graciously allows. He is also dubbed the most-organized in the band, and has driven the tour bus on several occasions.

During the Fearless Tour before a show, Taylor and the Agency would stand in a circle and chant, “Never forget the essence of your sparkle”, which is rumored to have been started by Grant.

Also during the Fearless Tour, Taylor would put on a very special performance with Grant. During the song, The Way I Loved You, a male dancer would accompany Taylor throughout the verses of the song, but Taylor would break free of the dancer’s arms and strut towards Grant during the chorus. She sang to him as if he were the one she missed and loved in an insane way during the song. Grant would usually kiss her hand and they would always hug after the song finished.

During the Speak Now World Tour, they performed another song together, Story of Us. Taylor would again sing to Grant, this time acting like he was the boy in the song she wanted back. However, during the Red World Tour, they stopped performing songs together in their special way.

Many songs are rumored to have been written partially about Grant. Legend says that Grant answered his phone and his girlfriend started yelling at him for not answering earlier... sound familiar? This might have been where You Belong with Me first started. Superstar was also reported to have been written about Grant, but you would have to look sideways because in an earlier recording Taylor sings “you were born in Arkansas”.

Taylor and Grant have many special memories together. He was the one that she played with the Mix Me In2 app with, creating a hilarious video diary entry. Taylor also talks about Grant very fondly after going through Universal Studios Hollywood Horror Nights. 

Fans were very keen on the friendship of Taylor and Grant, and many wanted it to go further. There’s undoubtedly allure between the image of a good-girl blonde country singer with a bad-boy rock guitarist. Thus, the Graylor fandom was born (I’m so guilty), and it thrived mainly in the Fearless and Speak Now eras. Fanfiction isn’t hard to come by, and well-timed photos and gifs make even the doubtful fans start to wonder if a spark was truly there.

But we’ll never know. Grant did not return for the 1989 era with Taylor. Fans were confused and sad he would not be there anymore, but it also raised questions. The main one being, did Grant quit or was he fired? Due to things he has said, fans suspect the latter, but now the question is why?

On July 17th, 2014, he simply Tweeted, “Devastated” and was absent on Twitter, unusual for him, for quite a while. About a month later, a fan Tweeted him, saying that Grant always claimed change was good. Grant responded, “Change is good when you know it’s coming.” On June 29th, 2015, he gave out another somber Tweet, “The end of an era.” However, when he was asked about the 1989 album, he said that it was a masterpiece from start to finish.

Grant’s main form of communicating with the fans is by Twitter. One fan asked him if he remember playing a concert the fan had taken a picture of. He replied, “Everyday.” One fan asked him why the Agency couldn’t stay together, and he told the fan that something that great couldn’t last forever. It is very clear that he misses being on tour with Taylor and the Agency.

For his personal life, Claire Callaway, a dancer for Taylor during the Fearless and Speak Now tours, was dating Grant Mickelson... until a few days ago. Claire tweeted on August 7th, 2015, “Someone made some extremely false accusations about me but I do wish him the best and am done with the negativity.” To this Grant replied, “I feel betrayed, angry, & totally heartbroken...but I gotta try 2 let go of her and move on. All the best 2U2, C.// Thx 4 all the support guys”. A few days earlier Grant tweeted a statistic of men being correct if they thought a significant other was cheating on them. Thus, they parted ways.

Now, Grant is giving guitar lessons to fans for $45 an hour. He’s totally comfortable with any skill level that you are - if you’re just starting and need to know some basic chords or if you are advanced and want to learn something more challenging. It seems popular to ask him to prepare the music for a specific song you would like to learn, and it doesn’t have to be just a Taylor song! His email is [email protected] but please do not just email him to be a pen pal or to ask questions about Taylor. He’s trying to make a business out of it. Warning - he is very adamant about all his students playing bar F-chords!

Fans will always adore Grant. He had his own guitar picks with his face on it that he would throw out to the crowd. He was the groom in the Speak Now photoshoot, and his arm was right next to Taylor’s in the picture on the CD. Somewhere in San Francisco there are streets said to be pointing towards each other called ‘Grant’ and ‘Taylor’ street. He has a fascination with Abraham Lincoln, which Taylor took note of when she made him a birthday collage on her Instagram. He was known for wearing skinny jeans, wallet chains, and beanies. Taylor and Grant even shared an Easter together. It’s no doubt they are still close friends and Grant admires her very much. Hopefully they will play together again soon.

A good video to watch of all their antics together would be this one.

This has been Lesson #9 of Taylor Swift for Dummies

*Disclaimer: I do not own any of the photographs shown. I do not own any rights to the Fearless Tour, the Speak Now World Tour, the Red Tour, Speak Now, 1989, Story of Us, The Way I Loved You, Twitter, Sara Evans, Lady Antebellum, Walmart, or the Taylor Swift brand. taylorswift

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I hope that someday, that when Taylor is 50 and has her perfect rose garden and when she has nothing to lose, she’ll release her autobiography that tells us everything. She’ll tell us maybe who her songs are about or just give us more clues to frenzy over. She’ll tell us a million more funny stories about her life on and off tour that we’ll need a few days to digest each chapter. She’ll tell us about performing and rehearsals and her techniques. She’ll tell us about every member of the Agency- Grant, Liz, Caitlin, Paul, Amos and so on. She’ll tell us all about how they got together and each of their personality traits and why most ended up leaving. She’ll tell us all the original lyrics for songs and why she changed them and what they mean in the context of her life. She’ll tell us the significance of the secret codes in her songs and the real explanations behind them. She’ll tell us little things- like which is her favorite guitar or what her routine is before a show and who her favorite person to be interviewed by is. She’ll tell us about other celebrities and artists, too, and who is nice or mean in the industry. She might even mention a lucky few by remembering certain things about special fans. She’ll include pictures we’ve never seen before and it’ll be like an all-access backstage pass to what her life was like. I want Taylor to make the autobiography of the century, and hey, maybe it’ll break records or do something crazy like sell a million copies in a week.

[taylorswiftfordummies]

Taylor and Katy

Taylor Swift is known for being relatively mild when it comes to fighting. If a boy breaks her heart, we hear of it in her songs. And for the most part, they are fairly tame. But no one knew exactly how to respond when we noticed Taylor was fighting not with a romantic interest, but with a friend.

Katy Perry, a successful artist with hits such as Last Friday Night, Roar, and Firework, was known as being friends with Taylor circa 2008-2010. Taylor and Katy were spotted together at music awards, such as the Grammys and VMAs, often joined by Miley Cyrus.

They shared fun moments together as well. For instance, Taylor explained in an interview that they were backstage at the Grammys and Katy came to her and asked for a lock of her hair to walk down the red carpet with. Taylor laughed, saying "She is Katy Perry, and she does things like that." In that same interview, Taylor called Katy one of her favorite people on the planet.

However, photographers and journalists began to notice that things were looking stiff between Katy and Taylor in 2011. It became blatantly obvious in 2013 at the Grammys when Taylor and Katy gave each other a strange sort of handshake rather than embracing, as usual.

We know now that this is because a scandal involving three of Taylor's backup dancers who left her tour for Katy's. The backup dancer that has spoken out about the incident most was named Lockhart Brownlie. He was not only used for backup dancers at tours, but also a dancer on Glee, The Voice, and a production of Wicked.

The story of the backup dancers goes as follows (according to Brownlie): They originally been backup dancers for Katy on her California Dreams Tour. They then continued with Katy to film her Part of Me movie, and by the end of that they had been working with her for a few years.

Lockhart and two other dancers, after finishing up Katy's movie, auditioned for the Red Tour, to take place in 2013-2014, for Taylor. They made the cut and began to travel and perform with Taylor. They performed with Taylor for about 6 months, but Lockhart made it clear he didn't enjoy it very much. He said, "The experiences were completely different. Taylor is very untouchable. When we did see her, we had so much fun with her, but she's a lot more protected than Katy."

Katy approached her dancers after she had released her album Prism in 2013, and expressed her desire for them to join her on another world tour. Lockhart and the other dancers agreed, saying that they "weren't really dancing in Taylor's tour anyway" and they "got a little bored". Hence, they left the tour prematurely. Although, the dancers have since claimed that Taylor always knew they planned on leaving her tour for Katy's.

And that was the spark that started the fire. Taylor was quoted in an interview saying she and her entire arena tour was sabotaged by Katy hiring people out from under her. (Please note that Taylor has never directly said Katy's name while talking of the incidence in interviews, but we can deduce Katy is who she's referring to.)

Katy has posted a Tweet telling people to "Watch out for the Regina George in sheep's clothing..." Taylor has fired shots as well, writing a song called Bad Blood. In an interview about the song, Taylor said it was from her confusion from a person who "would come up to me at awards shows and say something and walk away, and I would think, 'Are we friends or did she just give me the harshest insult of my life?'" Taylor went on to say that it wasn't even from another girl stealing her boyfriend that inspired her to write the song (even though Katy and Taylor both dated John Mayer), but it "had to do with business."

Katy was linked with a story that stated she was going to release a song called 1984, which could be another point to Taylor, who released an album called 1989. Both of these music projects are titled after the year they were born in. Yet, representative from Katy has said that story was completely false, and Katy was not going to release a song titled 1984.

There are still many questions about Taylor and Katy's feud. Is it ending? How long will it last? Whose fault was it? - Should Taylor have known that the backup dancers were loyal to Katy or should Katy not have offered a position to them if they were already committed? We all just have to sit back and see how this one ends.

This has been Lesson #8 of Taylor Swift for Dummies.

*Disclaimer: I do not own any of the photographs shown. I do not own any rights to the Red tour, the California Dreams tour, the Part of Me movie, the Prism album, Firework, Last Friday Night, Roar, the Taylor Swift brand, or the Katy Perry brand. taylorswift

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The Gold Dress

The glittering gold dress that Taylor is well-known for was worn throughout the Speak Now World Tour. The songs that Taylor played with it were mostly Sparks Fly and The Story of Us. 

Upon closer inspection of the dress, you would notice it is more of a bronze gold at the top and a lighter shade of gold at the bottom, completing an ombre effect. Taylor paired the dress with two accessories. The first is a pair of black boots that reached the bottom of her knees. The second is a bright red electric guitar that contrasts against the gold color of the dress.

The dress was made by renowned fashion designer Roberto Cavalli. The guitar is a world-recognized Gibson Les Paul model.

Taylor’s gold dress that blends in nicely with her hair is made out of bugle-beaded fringe. Taylor has played with the style before, most prominently in the purple sparkle dress she wore in the Fearless tour while performing The Way I Loved You. The glittery element of the dress also matched well with another one Taylor wore during the Speak Now tour, a red spaghetti strapped one that she used to sing Better Than Revenge with.

The gold dress became some sort of an icon for Taylor, and especially the Speak Now era. A picture of Taylor playing the red guitar with the special gold dress was featured on the Speak Now World Tour Live album.

This gold sequin dress, along with the other red sparkly one, is featured at the Speak Now World Tour exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. While Taylor may not still rock it onstage, we still have the photographs and videos of Taylor enjoying herself in the golden garment she loved to twirl around in.

This has been Lesson #7 of Taylor Swift for Dummies.

*Disclaimer: I do not own any of the photographs shown. I do not own any rights to any of the songs mentioned, the Speak Now album, the Speak Now World Tour, the Speak Now World Tour Live album, the music videos, or any part of the Taylor Swift brand. taylorswift

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Taylor and Keds

Taylor began working with Keds somewhere around the Red era. This is the reason her first styles of Keds were red in color, and had the Red logo on the heel to support her album and tour. The color red has henceforth been very prominent throughout most of the shoe designs Taylor has released.

Taylor originally enjoyed Keds mostly for their comfort during tour. She could easily perform stunts such as jumping, running, and dancing onstage throughout her concerts.

Now, Keds is sponsoring Taylor’s 1989 tour, and Taylor has made an entire collection of Keds footwear for girls to wear. Some common styles are anchors, stripes, hearts, berries, and flowers. Each of them seem to fit into her fondness of the 1950s style, with bright colors and timeless patterns that go with a variety of outfit choices.

Taylor feels she can express herself freely while wearing Keds, and the mottos for her collections are very clear.

“Brave is the one you remember.” “Here’s to the brave girls.” “Hello, brave girl.” “Brave speaks from the heart.” “Brave is always in style.” “Brave lives in the moment.” And perhaps the most important one of all,

“Brave looks good on you.”

Some shoe varieties come with a silver heart charm or a brass guitar pick looped through a shoelace. Taylor’s signature is also found on the inner sole. Shoes can be bought at a local Keds retail store or online.

This has been Lesson #6 of Taylor Swift for Dummies.

*Disclaimer: I do not own any of the photographs shown. I do not own any rights to the Red album, the Red tour, Keds, or the Taylor Swift brand. taylorswift

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Taylor and Conor

Taylor and Conor were thrown into an atypical summer romance in 2012. Their relationship lasted from July to September of that year. They were mostly photographed in the town of Hyannis Port, which was the main residence for Conor. Taylor subsequently bought a vacation house there, and they are quite honestly next-door neighbors.

Taylor and Conor were first spotted together in early July. Taylor had first met Ethel Kennedy and her daughter Rory at the Sundance Film Festival, and then was introduced to Conor. Ethel and Taylor both seem very fond of each other. Taylor is quick to compliment Ethel, and vice versa, so there’s no questioning if the famous Kennedy family seemed to get along with Taylor.

This is not to say that there wasn’t any trouble in the relationship. The press raised their eyebrows at Taylor’s relationship with Conor when the fact spread that Conor was only 18, while Taylor was 22. Another area of friction would be the wedding crash that Taylor and Conor performed. The family did not want Taylor there, as her appearance could potentially take attention away from the bride (Kyle Kennedy).

Vicki Kennedy (mother of the bride), reported that Conor texted her a mere hour before the wedding for his RSVP, and asked if Taylor could come along. Vicki responded negatively, but they came anyways. Vicki asked Taylor to leave politely, but Taylor had none of it... but that was only one side of the story. Taylor’s representative claimed that Taylor had been invited and the bride thanked her for attending.

The breakup happened in September, or October, other sources say. The biggest complaint was the hectic schedules that never seemed to mix nicely, and the fact that Conor’s boarding school had strict curfew. It was a summer romance, through and through. It started when it was hot and when nobody had anything going on, and it ended by fall and when it was time to go back to school. A number of people have had romances like that.

Unlike other relationships, Taylor and Conor left on good terms. Sources say that when their schedules wound down they could rekindle the flame. There were no bruised feelings, and it was just a distance situation. Perhaps that’s why there have been no songs directly linked to Conor about breakups and bad feelings. But Conor does have a few songs to his name - Everything Has Changed and Begin Again.

Everything Has Changed had a secret message that was: Hyannis Port. It’s a happy duet, thinking about love changing for the better. Begin Again is in the same nature. It is optimistic about love, and talks about Taylor going on a date with a new prospect. This one has less evidence about being written for Conor, but the secret message is: I wear heels now. This parallels the fact Conor is at least a solid four inches above Taylor’s frame. Taylor also hadn’t gone on a first date with anyone for a while when the Red album was being made, alluding to the fact the date she was talking about was with Conor.

In the end, the relationship was good for Taylor. It made her happy. It made her songs. It might have ended but it was halted quietly. And it gave Taylor hope for love again.

This has been Lesson #5 of Taylor Swift for Dummies.

*Disclaimer: I do not own any of the photographs shown. I do not own any rights to Begin Again, Everything Has Changed, or the Taylor Swift brand. taylorswift

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Red (album)

The fourth studio album made by Taylor Swift was named after a simple color. Red. The meaning behind it was all of the feelings Taylor said she felt during relationships - insanity, intensity, intoxication, frustration, and jealousy - all seemed to show themselves in a bright, burning red.

The standard version of the album has 16 tracks. The Red album is a masterpiece, in the sense that Taylor has shown her true spectrum of songs she can create. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, 22, Red, I Knew You Were Trouble, and Holy Ground are upbeat and for the most part, positive. They create a leg of the album that makes you want to stand up and dance.

State of Grace, Begin Again, The Lucky One, Starlight, Treacherous, and Stay Stay Stay are also staple parts to creating the album. Although not all of them might have gotten the opportunity to be a single, each one of them is diverse.

The Last Time with Gary Lightbody and Everything has Changed with Ed Sheeran produce two great duets, both of their tempos, however, a good deal slower than others. Sad Beautiful Tragic, I Almost Do, and All Too Well are the heartbreakers of the album, nearly all at a crawling pace with touching lyrics.

The standard version of Red clocks in at a little over 65 minutes. But with the deluxe addition, you get six more songs (although only three of them are new material). The Moment I Knew and Come Back Be Here are melancholy, while Girl at Home is a bright song but has strong, warning message. The other three songs are an acoustic version of State of Grace, and the original demo versions of Treacherous and Red. Adding about the extra 25 minutes, the deluxe version is 90 minutes.

You can hear Taylor stretching her wings and trying to hit the mark on all of the types of songs she can make. She does with flying colors, and there are over 10 more songs we haven’t heard of that didn't make the cut for Red.

Red was released October 22, 2012. It sold 1.21 million copies in its first week alone, debuted at #1 on the US Billboard 100 chart, and was the fastest-selling album in over a decade. As of August 2014, it has sold 6 million copies. It has been certified quadruple-platinum by RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America).

The singles for Red, which all have their own music video include: Red, Begin Again, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, 22, Everything Has Changed, I Knew You Were Trouble, and The Last Time.

It was Taylor’s last country album, although listening to a few of the tracks you could guess that her times were changing. But it was the beginning of a new era and Swifties took to it like ducks to water. The Red album (which is my personal favorite) is a staple part of any Swifties life. We see the color and think of Taylor. And it was because of this album that the phrase was changed.

Be Fearless, Speak Now, and Feel Red.

This has been Lesson #4 of Taylor Swift for Dummies.

*Disclaimer: I do not own any of the fan art shown. I do not own any rights to any of the songs mentioned, the Red album, the Taylor Swift brand, or the music videos. taylorswift

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Treacherous

With a sultry sound and nearly timid delivery, Treacherous is one of Taylor Swift’s more intimate songs. We get to hear Taylor’s inner turmoil that she perhaps faces more than we know, of whether or not to take the risk and chose to love someone who is ‘treacherous’.

The song comes off of her Red album. And as the 3rd track, it is the first slow song you hear. It is said to have been written in April of 2012, and recorded in May of the same year. With Red having been released in October of 2012, it is fair to guess it might have been one of the last songs Taylor wrote and produced for the album.

Swifties have been quick to make countless amounts of fan art for the song, as it has many lyrics that can be quoted. They are most usually paired with photos from the Red tour, in which Taylor gives a stunning performance. Using flowing gestures and ballerina-esque movements, Taylor prances down a runway of the stage propels itself into the air around halfway through the song.

Even though the song is about love, it talks more about Taylor than her interest. A spectrum of imagery plays in the song, talking of headlights in sleepless nights, quicksand and the appeal of friction, and the debate if you can choose to fall in love, or if its something you have no control over. Taylor strings her thoughts together with nearly whispered and a bridge that rolls over you like a wave of emotion.

‘Won’t stop till it’s over’ Taylor discreetly hints at us in the lyric booklet. Taylor encourages us to love, even when you may see an inevitable downfall in the future. She is following a virtue, that it is often what you don’t do that haunts you. So she’s taking the leap.

And she likes it.

This has been Lesson #3 of Taylor Swift for Dummies.

*Disclaimer: I do not own any of the fan art shown, I do not own any rights to Treacherous, the Taylor Swift brand, or the Red Tour. taylorswift

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 The Sparkly Guitar

Easily one of the most beloved pieces of Taylor Swift memorabilia out there. Taylor's guitar that is encrusted with crystals catches the light and shines whichever way you turn it. It's impossible not to stare at it. The guitar is basically a disco ball!

The guitar is said to be a Taylor GS-8 that was painted black originally, and then the crystals were added to it later. There are approximately 5,400 Swarovski Aurora Borealis Rhinestones that are about the size of a hole punch. That particular crystal is what gives them the rainbow impact when the light shines on them. Taylor is said to have applied the crystals herself.

The famous guitar made its debut in the music video for Our Song, and was integrated into the Fearless tour and also the Speak Now tour. Taylor usually pairs the guitar with a black dress, or even a dress that has a element of sparkles itself.

There has been many debates on whether or not Taylor has ruined her guitar by doing this. The crystals would understandably weigh down the guitar, and it would not vibrate as freely or normally as it should. Albeit, the guitar still sounds wonderful.

The guitar is a crowd favorite because fans have done it with their own guitar. We can be one with Taylor yet again, strumming away to a hit single with a guitar that shines nearly as brightly as she does.

This has been Lesson #2 of Taylor Swift for Dummies.

*Disclaimer: I do not own any of the pictures shown, I do not own any rights to the Taylor Swift brand, Taylor Guitars, or Our Song. taylorswift

[taylorswiftfordummies]

Long Live

Arguably one of the most fan-loved songs written and made by our Taylor Swift. It has an easy melody that makes learning it on guitar easy, as seen here. Its sweet and soft building up the bridge and choruses that grow - in a sense frantic. It’s a crowd favorite featured on the Speak Now album and the subsequent Speak Now World Tour.

Why do fan like it so much? This is easy. Taylor writes songs about all kinds of people and things. High school with her best friend, her mother, summer romances, her boyfriends, apologies, revenge, enemies, and raw emotion. Sometimes Swifties have to decipher which ones are which. But on this one we don’t need to think twice.

Its about us.

For a moment we’re on Taylor’s level. With charging with her into a world of cynics and thieves and dragons. For a moment, no matter your personal relationship (or lack of one) with Taylor is, she’s talking to you. She needs you to stand by her forever.

Long Live could also be argued as one of the songs that most fan art is spun off from. Taylor’s knack for delivering one-liners throughout her songs is on full display, giving many opportunities for quotes to be pictured with breathless moments, usually with Taylor and a crowd, with confetti raining down.

Singles that have spawned from her albums might last longer than this one. They’re more commercially interesting and can gross more income for Taylor than Long Live. But Swifties know that deep down, we’re going to see Taylor at the Grammy’s or on a television show when we’ve all aged 2 or 3 decades. And our children will tug our pant leg and ask us who she is and why the hosts keep talking about her.

And we will keep our promise. We will say she brought us light in darkness, or we went to her concert and you marked your calendar for years after that date, to remember the night she changed your life. We will give them the numbers, saying she sold out concerts of 55,000+ within minutes, sold millions of albums within weeks, broke records, won countless awards…

This song just solidifies the thought that Taylor Swift with live long with us, and we will with her, long after the curtain drops.

This has been Lesson #1 of Taylor Swift for Dummies.

*Disclaimer: I do not own any of the fan art shown, I do not own any rights to Long Live, any part of the Taylor Swift brand, or the chords to the song. taylorswift