The Inspiration Behind Taylor Swift’s Work: A Beginner’s Guide to Her Dating History

By Marin Yearley

With albums ranging from country to indie to pop, Taylor Swift clearly can do it all; however, there is one theme that has consistently united her versatile music. As I’m sure anyone who listens to Taylor’s albums knows, the best way to secure a spot in one of her songs is to date her! While Taylor has received some criticism for her tendency to write about past relationships, who can really complain after hearing the lyrical masterpieces these breakups produce? 

Now, you may be wondering who are the men that have inspired Taylor’s hit songs? Though the young singer has dated a variety of high-profile musicians and actors, nine exes in particular stand out in Swift’s most popular music. 

First up is singer and Disney actor Joe Jonas who dated Taylor for a couple of months in 2008 before allegedly breaking things off in a short 25 second phone call in mid-October, inspiring Swift to write two breakup songs, “Forever and Always” and “Last Kiss.” Although these songs seemed to suggest some hard feelings between the two with lyrics calling Jonas a “scared little boy,” the pair has since resolved any remaining issues. Swift addressed this topic in a 2018 appearance on The Ellen deGeneres Show, in which she said that she regretted putting Joe “on blast.”

Next is Swift’s relationship with Lucas Till, one of her comparatively less dramatic romances. The young couple met on the 2009 set of the “You Belong with Me” music video but only dated for a month because as Till later described, they were both “too nice” and did not share passionate feelings. Due to their amicable split and less serious relationship, Till was never featured in one of Swift’s trademark breakup songs.

After her split from Till, Taylor began a fling with her Valentine’s Day co-star, Taylor Lautner in August of 2009. Although Swift broke things off four months later, she revealed her fond memories of Lautner, referencing his “tan skin” and “sweet smile” in her sad song “Back to December” written about their breakup.

A slightly less good-natured ending marked Taylor’s next relationship with singer and songwriter John Mayer. Despite only dating for two months in the summer of 2010, drama ensued between the two after Swift released “Dear John” in which she openly criticized Mayer, saying “Don’t you think 19 is too young to be played by your dark twisted games, when I loved you so?” Taking offense to these accusatory lyrics, Mayer went on to bash the song and Taylor’s intentions in a 2012 interview with Rolling Stone.

Swift’s next beau was famous actor and producer, Jake Gyllenhaal, who she dated from October to January of 2010. Their breakup apparently came as a surprise to Swift and others with an inside source describing it as “out of the blue.” Taylor later wrote about this particular heartbreak in her hit album Red including her heartfelt song “All too Well” in which she reminisces about their time together.

One of Taylor’s more iconic and passionate relationships began in November of 2012 when she began dating british One-Direction singer, Harry Styles. Though their romance was short-lived and apparently ended in a heated argument in early January, it was serious enough to inspire almost all of Taylor’s 1989 album and hit song “I Knew You Were Trouble.”

Lasting just over a year, Taylor Swift’s relationship with Scottish DJ Calvin Harris appeared to be fun-filled and romantic with many cute dinner dates and PDA moments. However shortly after separating, things grew hostile between the two young artists when Taylor was spotted kissing new fling Tom Hiddleston at a public beach just two weeks after their breakup. Harris’s angry response via Twitter further damaged their relationship, inspiring Swift to include a reference to his pseudonym “Nils Sjoberg” in her scathing single “Look What You Made Me Do.”

Taylor’s sudden flame with actor Tom Hiddleston seemed to end almost as quickly as it began with the couple calling it quits after three short months in September of 2016. Though things did not last between the actor and musician, they ended on good terms with Hiddleston saying to GQ shortly after their breakup that “Taylor is an amazing woman. She’s generous and kind and lovely, and we had the best time.” Swift also indirectly referenced and paid tribute to their relationship several times throughout her album Reputation which was released in 2017.

Taylor’s longest and arguably most serious relationship is with her current boyfriend Joe Alwyn who she met at the Met Gala in 2017 and has been with ever since. Swift’s loving depiction of their romance in her albums Reputation, Evermore, and Lover, indicate that the couple is still going strong! With engagement rumors between the two circulating amongst fans, Taylor’s era of “breakup” songs might soon come to an end. However, Swift’s lyrically genius songwriting style transcends themes about breakups, which means that even if Swift were to tie the knot with Alwyn, the quality and unique nature of Swift’s songs would surely continue to captivate audiences. 

 

 

Olivia Rodrigo Sets New Standards For Artists Everywhere

By Brett Moriarty

By now, you have probably heard and listened to Olivia Rodrigo’s debut single “driver’s license.” If you haven’t, what are . The emotional ballad, written by the 17-year-old Disney star, has rightfully gone viral.

Rodrigo’s career began following her appearance in the 2015 American Girl movie, An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success. She is more well known for her roles as Paige Olvera in Disney Channel’s Bizaardvark and Nini Salazar in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, streaming on Disney+. Rodrigo wrote the hit song “All I Want” and performed it during the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’s first season during a pivotal scene in her character’s emotional development. “All I Want” has since surpassed 190 million streams and 31 million views on Youtube. 

Rodrigo first promoted her new single in an at-home video performance on Instagram on July 23rd, 2020. When she released the official single, “driver’s license” months later on January 9th, 2021, the song immediately blew up. Since the first version of the song was previewed, Rodrigo changed some lyrics, added a few instruments, and even added an audio recording from her mother’s car. 

The song itself is about Rodrigo’s supposed heartbreak following her speculated relationship with former co-star Joshua Bassett, who starred alongside her on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. The lyrics are detailed, hinting at a “blonde girl” who many suspect to be Sabrina Carpenter, a fellow Disney star and Bassett’s possible new love interest. The song depicts Olivia, who just earned her driver’s license (hence the name of the single), driving alone, longing for her ex who helped her learn to drive. Many have compared Rodrigo’s lyrics and overall musical style to none other than Taylor Swift, the heartbreak song connoisseur. Swift herself gave praise to the song, which Rodrigo excitedly posted about, as Swift is her biggest inspiration. Rodrigo’s music video also has many Swift- inspired hidden details that suggest that the song is about Bassett.

The debut single is currently the center of all TikTok trends, with over 900,000 videos made with the sound. The app is full of memes, point of view parodies, and covers of the song. It’s virtually impossible to scroll through the for you page without hearing the iconic song. The break-up anthem has reached number 1 on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, and multiple Apple Music’s Top 100 charts. The hit has been featured in countless articles, some going as far to say it is a strong contender for the best song of the year during the Grammys.

 On Monday, January 11th, a Spotify representative confirmed that Rodrigo’s song set the record for most streams in a day for a non-holiday song, with over 15.7 million global streams in just 24 hours. Then the next day, “driver’s license” beat its pre existing record with even more streams. Preceding Rodrigo’s single, the previous record-holder was Ariana Grande for her song “7 rings.” The new hit also broke the record for the biggest weekly streaming of any song in Spotify history with over 30.4 million listens. After a week or so of this praise, iHeart Radio announced Olivia Rodrigo as their newest “On The Verge Artist.”

Rodrigo has set a new standard and blown people away with her talents. Million Gen-Z listeners have been able to relate to her specific, yet ever so relatable new hit. Though she has an incredible voice, Rodrigo’s exceptionally talented songwriting skills are what captivated millions of people following her first single’s release. The immediate adoration for a new artist has never reached these lengths before. Olivia Rodrigo is paving a new path for female artists everywhere at the young age of 17.

 

 

 

 

The Photo Book Everyone is Waiting For

By Kate Kissell

Billie Eilish announced that she will be releasing a new book this May.  According to her publisher, Grand Central Publishing, the book is called “Billie Eilish” and will “capture the essence of Billie inside and out, offering readers personal glimpses into her childhood, her life on tour, and more.” The book will feature hundreds of never before seen images of Billie and her fans are excitedly awaiting the photographic journal’s release.

Eilish shared more details about the book as she said, “I spent many hours over many months pouring through my family albums and archives, handpicking all of the photos in this book. I hope you love it as much as I do.”

With COVID-19 forcing Eilish to cancel her tour, the book’s launch will enable her to connect with her supporters in a new way.  

 

 

 

 

Things Are Taking A Turn For “Kimye”

By Ava Needleman

Gossip about the status of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s relationship has been circulating on social media; however, the truth has yet to be clarified. According to current rumors, Kim has been done with their marriage since July. Kimye fans grew skeptical of the potential breakup after Kim posted a photo on Instagram without a wedding ring on her finger. After being overwhelmed with comments and feedback from fans wondering about Kim’s personal life, she deleted the post. But recently, Kim posted again, sporting no ring. This time, she kept the Instagram post up. Could this be Kim’s way of telling the world that her marriage is over? We’ll have to keep up with Kimye to find out! 

Following Kim’s post, rumors circulated that Kanye had an affair with Youtuber and makeup artist, Jeffree Star; however, it has been publicly verified that these rumors were pure speculation and that Kanye has never even interacted with Jeffree. Furthermore, Kanye’s run for President also caused Kim to feel incredibly uneasy about her marriage. “She hated the fact that he was running and didn’t feel like he was putting their family first or fulfilling his family duties …She felt that his behavior was completely selfish, and it was one of many things that caused her to rethink their marriage.” says ET.  

While some might assume that everything when it comes to the Kardashian-West family, the family has encountered some challenges. Kanye has been dealing with bipolar disorder for a while now, and Kim has supported him along the challenging and rough path to find care. Kim shared a series of Instagram stories explaining how at first she tried to hide Kanye’s mental illness, but later chose to come forward and talk about it to combat the stigma that encompases the topic. Kim explained how it isn’t particularly easy for people to understand, so she wants fans to respect their privacy during this time.  NBC news explained that Kanye “ is a brilliant but complicated person who is on top of the pressures of being an artist and a black man, who experienced the painful loss of his mother, and has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bipolar disorder.” 

Kim and Kanye attempted to salvage their marriage, particularly for the sake of their young children, North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm. Unfortunately, all the signs suggest a split between the iconic couple who have been married for six years.

 

 

 

Chrissy Teigen’s New Tattoo

By Kate Kissell

In the beginning of January, Chrissy Teigen shared her tatoo journey on Instagram. Teigen was inked by celebrity tattoo artist Winter Stone and Teigan’s Instagram series features videos of Teigen collaborating with Stone to create a meaningful design while her husband, John Legend plays music in the background.

Stone posted the completed tattoo on Instagram gushing, “What a blessing to honor Chrissy with this ooh laa tattoo down her spine.” Stone continued to compliment John Legend as she wrote “John wrote this sexy song for her… so naturally she should have it tattooed on her right?!!! And if you haven’t heard BIGGER LOVE John’s new album: listen it’s so good!”

It’s certainly not Teigen’s first or last beauty makeover.  She recently shared her latest wig adventures featuring a playful purple hairstyle on Instagram! She also showcased new  filters, sticker face gems, and a new nose ring, which her fans loved. She addressed these sudden changes online, explaining, “I swear I’m okay! I realize this looks like I’m having a crisis lol I just wanna start looking the way I’ve always wanted to!!”