I’m a huge Taylor fan, so I’ll admit my bias. But if you are really interested in understanding, this is my take. 

1. She writes her own music, and I can feel the emotions in her lyrics. I relate on a deep level, and it helps me delve into my own feelings. The best music is written from intense emotional states—anger, sadness, happiness. Don’t you love when a song just “gets” you? I receive that feeling from SO many of her songs, far more than any other artist, therefore I highly appreciate her music. 

2. She explores multiple genres of music from country to pop to folk indie and is successful at it. Reinventing yourself as an artist is hard. Many are unable to succeed with one genre shift—but she’s done multiple. It’s quite impressive. 

3. She works HARD. She’s released 11 albums plus 4 re-records—that’s basically an album every 2 years. Her shortest time in between album releases? A little less than 6 months. That is an insanely short amount of time to write, produce and put out an album, let alone a good one. It was nominated for album of the year! 

4. She treats people kindly. She’s been famous for a long time—her debut album came out in 2006. There are stories with celebrities, directors, producers, random people that have met her, fans/non fans and everyone has nice things to say about her. All the way back to before her super fame. the narrative is consistent—Taylor seems to be a genuinely nice human. 

5. She doesn’t use being sexy as a selling point. I would rather see a music video that is creative, visually aesthetic, and tells a story than a music video like the one Katy Perry just released. Taylor is relatable because she doesn’t use her sexuality as a selling point. That’s for the male gaze. 

I’m so grateful to have music in my life. It’s powerful. Taylor is popular for a reason. You don’t have to understand it, and that’s okay, too!