Taylor Swift: Teen idol to 'biggest pop artist in the world'

It’s been less than a decade since the release of Taylor Swift’s eponymous debut album. In that time, the teenage country darling who sung so earnestly about the teardrops on her guitar has transformed into a worldwide pop icon. While several other country artists have crossed over to the pop charts in their careers — most notably the legendary Dolly Parton — there’s no precedent for Swift’s definitive break from country music.

“To say ‘I am not a country artist, I am not going to be marketed as a country artist, and I’m going to be a pop artist’ … I can’t remember anybody doing that,” says music historian and journalist Robert K. Oermann, co-author of “Finding Her Voice: The Saga of Women in Country Music.”

“Elvis started out as a country music artist and became a pop music artist, but in those days the genres were not quite so delineated,” he adds.

Swift, who will perform at Bridgestone Arena on Friday and Saturday, easily could have fallen into irrelevance like so many other teen idols, but she deftly avoided that trap. What’s remarkable is that so much of her original audience from 2006 has grown along with her. The same junior high schoolers who listened to “Tim McGraw” and “Love Story” are now young adults getting down to the sick beat of “Shake It Off” and the Eurythmics-eque synthpop of “Out of the Woods.”

“People that build their careers on 13-year-old girls are doomed to obsolescence, like Donny Osmond,” Oermann says. “But Taylor seems to be turning that old saw on its head, too. Here she is and she’s not only got the 13-year-olds, but the ones who’ve passed 13 and stuck with her.”

Her move to pop music with the 2014 release of “1989” has been successful for Swift both critically and commercially. The album sold nearly 1.3 million copies in the U.S. during its first week of release and was the best-selling album of the year. More than 8.5 million copies have reportedly been sold around the world. (For comparison, Swift’s 2012 album, “Red,” has sold about 6 million units worldwide.) Her 1989 World Tour is still underway and has already grossed upward of $100 million; it probably will be one of the year’s most successful tours. Her moves as a businesswoman — pulling her music off Spotify and penning an eloquent letter to Apple Music explaining why she wouldn’t make her music available on that streaming service — have helped to draw attention to the issue of artists’ rights thanks to her substantial platform.

And even though pop culture success can be fleeting, Swift's star shows no signs of dimming any time soon. “She’s not just a pop artist, she’s the biggest pop artist in the world,” Oermann says. “It’s amazing.

“I think we’re looking at a history-making artist here.”

Taylor Swift Education Center inspires young minds

Though only 25, Swift is already a noted philanthropist, donating to multiple worthy causes, including several that focus on literacy and the arts. Three years ago, Swift made a $4 million contribution to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (the largest individual artist gift in the museum’s history, according to a museum representative) that funded the creation of the Taylor Swift Education Center, which turns 2 next month. The museum’s education programs allow kids as young as preschool age to learn about music and express themselves creatively through art projects based on museum exhibitions — kids can design their own album covers or make letterpress art with Hatch Show Print.

“The education center has allowed us to better serve and engage our young audience, which includes students visiting the museum on field trips and young people visiting with their families,” explains Ali Tonn, the museum’s director of education and public programs. “Since it opened, we have seen a drastic increase in our field trip participation and family visits. Having this dedicated space allowed us to expand our programs in terms of content and scale.”