Taylor Swift's Most Popular and Profitable Songs
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Taylor Swift has become a powerful force in the music industry. Over the last decade, the throwback singer-songwriter-performer has stepped to the forefront of her generation in terms of money, wealth, success and talent.
With a net worth of over $1 billion, the Pennsylvania native has done a lot of amazing things in a short amount of time. That's what happens when you are a hit machine.
These are Swift's most popular songs from her first nine albums, including a rerecording of 2012's "Red" in 2021 as "Red (Taylor's Version)."
30. State of Grace
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Album: Red
Year: 2012
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 13
Bottom line: Swift doesn't make many forays into arena rock, but "State of Grace" does it as the opening track on her "Red" album. It's always interesting to hear her experiment with different kinds of sounds.
And opposed to the mostly downbeat direction of songs from Swift on the album about losing out on love, "State of Grace" is different in that it focuses more on falling in love and when you get the first feelings that this … might … be … the one.
29. Mirrorball
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Album: Folklore
Year: 2020
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 26
Bottom line: This song reminds us of "New Romantics" and is one of the bright spots from the "Folklore" album in 2020, even if it didn't chart as high as some other singles on the album.
One thing we really like about "Mirrorball" is at its heart it's about being a loner. That's something Swift, understandably, might have a hard time conveying, but she nails it.
We don't care who you are. Feeling like everyone is seeing what's wrong with you while simultaneously feeling alone is something most people can relate to.
28. Getaway Car
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Album: Reputation
Year: 2017
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: N/A
Bottom line: We're still confused as to how "Getaway Car" didn't make it onto the charts. It's a charming, pop-centric song about how relationships end and also includes some pop culture references, most notably to criminal couple Bonnie and Clyde.
That's not the only reference in the song. You can also catch tips of the hat to Charles Dickens, Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name" and the 1963 Steve McQueen film "The Great Escape."
27. Love Story
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Albums: Fearless and Fearless (Taylor's Version)
Year: 2008 and 2021
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 4 (2008), No. 11 (2021)
Bottom line: "Love Story" holds a pretty special place in music history as far as we're concerned. Originally released on Swift's "Fearless" album in 2008 and rerecorded for "Fearless (Taylor's Version)" in 2021, it went to No. 1 on U.S. Billboard Country charts both times it was released.
The song made Swift only the second artist to send the original and rerecorded version of a song to No. 1 following "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton.
RELATED: Top 30 Most-Streamed Artists on Spotify (and Their Most-Streamed Songs)
26. Me!
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Album: Lover
Year: 2019
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 2
Bottom line: This is such a cool song. And if you watch the Netflix documentary "Miss Americana" it's implied this is the song Swift wrote immediately following the opening scenes where she's told she received zero Grammy nominations for her "Reputation" album.
"I'm the only one of me/Baby that's the fun of me" is an all-time great lyric.
25. Mine
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Album: Speak Now
Year: 2010
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 3
Bottom line: "Mine" marked a bit of history for Swift's career. When it debuted at No. 3 on the U.S. Hot 100, it made her just the second female artist in the history of the charts to debut two singles in the top five in the same calendar year following Mariah Carey.
Criticized somewhat for sounding similar to "Love Story" (which is fair), "Mine" seems like it portends the kind of songwriter and performer Swift was about to become.
RELATED: Richest Female Country Singers, Ranked by Net Worth
24. Today Was a Fairytale
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Album: Valentine's Day Soundtrack
Year: 2010
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 2
Bottom line: This song is an anomaly on this list. That's because it was created for a movie Swift acted in and included on its soundtrack before being included on the rerecorded version of her 2008 album "Fearless" as one of its tracks.
You can make a good argument that Swift's song and her fanbase of "Swifties" were what drove "Valentine's Day" to become a hit. The movie, despite having an 18 percent audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, grossed $216.5 million at the box office against a $52 million budget.
23. Fifteen
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Album: Fearless
Year: 2008
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 23
Bottom line: One of the final songs from Swift's teenage years, "Fifteen" falls in line with "22" as being about how she felt at a particular age. Swift said she wrote this about memories of her time with best friend Abigail Anderson and her freshman year at Hendersonville High School in Tennessee.
"Fifteen" was six years ahead of Swift's leap to mainstream pop music with the "1989" album but still managed to secure a nomination for Best Female Video at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.
22. New Romantics
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Album: 1989
Year: 2014
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 46
Bottom line: Few Swift songs have been as divisive as "New Romantics," which was a tip of the hat to the New Wave music scene of the 1980s and ended up being the seventh single released off the "1989" album.
We like "New Romantics" as much for its message as for its sound. While some of Swift's songs linger on heartbreak, this one is about shaking all that off for a night out where those types of concerns are left on the backburner.
We love it.
21. Begin Again
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Album: Red
Year: 2012
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 7
Bottom line: The second Top 10 single off the "Red" album, "Begin Again" was actually nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Song.
Swift described the song's meaning better than we ever could: "It's about when you've gotten through a really bad relationship and you finally dust yourself off and go on that first date after a horrible breakup, and the vulnerability that goes along with all that."
Who doesn't get that?
20. cardigan
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Album: Folklore
Year: 2020
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 1
Bottom line: The songs from the "Folklore" album are all stylized in lowercase letters. That's not a typo on our part.
Piano, drums and violin are all that back up "cardigan," and it still went to No. 1 as Swift stretched her artistic wings into an album full of folk/soft rock songs that caught on quickly with fans.
We think, along with some others, that "cardigan" sounds very similar to "Wildest Dreams" off the "1989" album.
19. Out of the Woods
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Album: 1989
Year: 2014
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 18
Bottom line: In a testament to Swift's talent, "Out of the Woods" was actually the sixth single released off the "1989" album — a song that without a doubt would have been the lead single for most artists.
"Out of the Woods" gives us a pretty insightful look into how Swift writes music and the scope of her talent behind the scenes. Producer Jack Antonoff said he sent her the musical composition to the song and received a voice memo from Swift 30 minutes later with the lyrics.
18. Red
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Album: Red
Year: 2012
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 6
Bottom line: The eponymous second single off Swift's "Red" album in 2012 is more country and soft rock than anything else.
"Red" might be the answer to a question that wins your Taylor Swift trivia night in the near future. It stayed in the U.S. Hot 100 Country chart for 42 weeks, making it the longest-charting single of Swift's career, regardless of genre.
17. The 1
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Album: Folklore
Year: 2020
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 4
Bottom line: One of the last songs written for the "Folklore" album, "The 1" went into the top 10 in eight different countries and set the Spotify record for most streams on Spotify by a female artist with 4.175 million streams in its first week.
"The 1" seems like a direct answer to a lot of the pop music Swift had been producing in previous years. It's stripped-down and downright simplistic compared to many of her songs.
16. willow
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Album: Evermore
Year: 2020
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 1
Bottom line: The lead single off the folksy 2020 album "Evermore" shot to No. 1 on the charts, Swift wrote the lyrics to "willow" after hearing the instrumental arrangement by producer Aaron Dessner.
It was Swift's seventh No. 1 song and third No. 1 song that came as a debut single off one of her albums. The song didn't just top the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It went to No. 1 on five separate charts, including Alternative, Rock and Alternative, Digital, and Adult Pop.
15. 22
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Album: Red
Year: 2012
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 20
Bottom line: As the early 2010s became the age of social media, with people around the world integrating it into their lives for the first time, Swift's "22" was one of the first songs that truly went viral. And you didn't even have to hear the song to know that.
"I'm feeling 22" became a social media catchphrase for several years thanks to Swift's song about — no surprise here — how much she loved being 22 years old.
14. Cruel Summer
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Album: Lover
Year: 2019
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 29
Bottom line: Cowritten with St. Vincent, "Cruel Summer" seems about as close as Swift comes to tapping back into her country music roots as anything she's done since making the leap to mainstream music in the mid-2010s.
Maybe it was done as an homage, but we have to admit it was initially confusing to see "Cruel Summer" on a Swift album and not think it was a cover of the great Bananarama song from 1983.
13. I Knew You Were Trouble
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Album: Red
Year: 2012
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 2
Bottom line: If you want to identify the song that convinced Swift to make the move from country to mainstream pop music, it's probably "I Knew You Were Trouble" off the original "Red" album in 2012.
The success of the song probably did the trick. It was No. 1 for seven weeks on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 and was certified seven times platinum. It also earned Swift Best Female Video of the Year honors at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards.
12. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
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Album: Red
Year: 2012
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 1
Bottom line: If it's not obvious by the title, Swift wrote this song as a direct response to an ex-boyfriend who continuously tried to get her back.
It ended up being a breakup anthem for women all over the world in the same situation and proved to be a crossover hit — maybe the first seeds for Swift's breakthrough album with "1989" in 2014.
"We Are Never…" was nominated for a Billboard Award for Top Country Song and a Grammy Award for Record of the Year.
11. You Belong With Me
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Album: Fearless
Year: 2008
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 2
Bottom line: Made when Swift was still crossing over from country to pop music, "You Belong With Me" was at the heart of one of the biggest awards show controversies in music history.
When Swift received the MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video for the song in 2009, she was interrupted on stage by Kanye West as she accepted the award, drawing a rebuke from many people for his rudeness.
You know who really loves this song? Swift. She kept it on her setlist for four different world tours over the next decade.
10. Look What You Made Me Do
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Album: Reputation
Year: 2017
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 1
Bottom line: "Look What You Made Me Do" split critics right down the middle. The album "Reputation" was the first from Swift in three years following the mega-breakthrough "1989" album and "Look" was the first single.
The critical takes were that the ones who loved it praised Swift for not sticking to what worked on "1989" and going in a different direction, so we don't really need to tell you what the other side thought.
Fans were much less divided on the song. It quickly went to No. 1 on the Billboard U.S. Hot 100.
9. Style
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Album: 1989
Year: 2014
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 6
Bottom line: This was the third straight single to reach the Top 10 on the U.S. charts from the "1989" album. Some critics thought it was actually a better song than "Shake It Off" or "Blank Space" after both went to No. 1.
The song is about Swift, stuck in a relationship she wants out of with someone who everyone keeps telling her is perfect for her, meaning they never go out of style. Even though some originally thought the song was just about fashion.
8. Bad Blood
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Album: 1989
Year: 2014
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 1
Bottom line: Another No. 1 for Swift and another collaboration between her and songwriters Shellback and Max Martin isn't properly heard unless you get the Kendrick Lamar version.
It's a testament to Swift's talent that she managed to somehow convince the greatest rapper of her generation to team up with her on an album.
Next time you're around a jukebox, feel free to play this song and see what it does to the room — 100 percent of the time, it's 100 percent a hit.
7. Delicate
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Album: Reputation
Year: 2017
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 12
Bottom line: "Delicate" came out at a time when Swift's personal life seemed to be constantly in the news and she retreated from the spotlight as a result of it. That the video for "Delicate" portrayed her as spending an entire day invisible was a fact not lost on anyone.
Perhaps as a response to her backing away from media obligations, the song was met with critical praise and charted in the top 40 in 14 different countries. While previous songs on the "Reputation" album seemed to be more in the attacking mode, "Delicate" reflected vulnerability.
We will say this about Swift. She always seems to know when to switch up the tempo.
6. You Need to Calm Down
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Album: Lover
Year: 2019
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 2
Bottom line: Swift wrote "You Need to Calm Down" in support of the LBGTQ+ community and as an answer to internet trolls and homophobes targeting those individuals.
The song became an anthem to that community, and the video won Video of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards. It was also nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance at the Grammy Awards that year.
5. Wildest Dreams
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Album: 1989
Year: 2014
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 5
Bottom line: "Wildest Dreams" features Swift's literal heartbeat, recorded, as the beat for the song. And since it was the fifth single on the "1989" album, it may have suffered in comparison to huge hits like "Blank Space" and "Shake It Off" that came right before it.
In the rerecording of songs from her original albums after a dispute over her masters, "Wildest Dreams" was streamed more on the day of its redrelease than the original version was streamed on any given day of its original release.
4. Lover
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Album: Lover
Year: 2019
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 10
Bottom line: Jack Antonoff produced and Shawn Mendes helped write "Lover" with Swift — a song about a loving, intimate and committed relationship structured around what Swift imagined marriage vows would look like.
This was the third single from the 2019 album "Lover," and Swift performed it for the first time at that year's MTV Video Music Awards. Swift described "Lover" as a "love letter to love" while looking at it through the viewpoints of sadness and longing.
In other words, she took the things that hurt the most about love and turned them into something hopeful and endearing. Which is pretty awesome.
3. Shake It Off
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Album: 1989
Year: 2014
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 1
Bottom line: Swift, Max Martin and Shellback wrote two No. 1 hits from her "1989" album that have a lot in common. Both "Shake It Off" and "Blank Space" have a lot of hip-hop influence, and both were massive hits.
"Shake It Off" was actually the first single released off Swift's first pop album and ended up nominated for three Grammy Awards. The single spent four weeks at No. 1 in the U.S. and was eventually certified Diamond, meaning it sold 10 million copies.
2. All Too Well (10-Minute Version)
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Album: Red (Taylor's Version)
Year: 2021
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 1
Bottom line: "All Too Well" was the first song Swift wrote for the original version of the "Red" album in 2012 and cut from 10 minutes to 5 minutes in that version.
When Swift rerecorded the "Red" album for release in 2021, she added the five minutes back to the song and the gamble paid off. It broke Don McLean's record for the longest No. 1 song of all time with "American Pie," and Swift even got a shoutout from McLean for breaking the record.
If we weren't sure the song was about Swift's relationship with actor Jake Gyllenhaal, she erased all doubt with an accompanying 13-minute short film.
1. Blank Space
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Album: 1989
Year: 2014
Billboard U.S. Hot 100: No. 1
Bottom line: There are addictive songs that get and stay in your head. And there is "Blank Space," which takes that to another level.
Made as a wink-wink at the disintegration of her good-girl image in the press and the hypocrisy behind it, "Blank Space" filled the space at No. 1 on the Billboard U.S. Hot 100 and was certified platinum eight times.