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Taylor Swift mania has arrived in Tokyo, with thousands of visitors from all over Asia and beyond flocking to the Japanese capital recently to watch her perform at the Tokyo Dome for four nights this week.
In a post on the X platform (formerly Twitter), a Japanese woman with a VIP ticket wrote that he paid 130,000 Japanese yen – about $870 – to sit in the third row, which does not guarantee a clear view, given that many of its fans rushed to reserve the front rows.
While the Japanese are praised abroad for their natural behavior at soccer matches and other sporting events, their strict standards at home can make them hostile to visitors. A Facebook post accompanied by a short video shows audience members raising their mobile phones to film the scene on stage, with comments such as: “There are many foreigners who cannot respect morals.”
Who is Taylor Swift?
Taylor Swift was born on December 13, 1989 in West Reading, Pennsylvania, USA. She is a multi-talented singer and songwriter, and a global star who captivated audiences with her catchy lyrics and melodies, strengthening her position as one of the most influential artists in contemporary music, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica. .
In 2024, Swift made history when she won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for “Midnights,” becoming the first artist to win this category 4 times.
Beginnings
Swift showed an interest in music at an early age, quickly progressing from roles in children’s theater to making her debut in front of crowds of thousands. She was 11 years old when she sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” before a Philadelphia 76ers basketball game, and the next year she picked up the guitar and began writing songs.
Swift has drawn inspiration for her music from country music artists such as Shania Twain and the Dixie Chicks (now the Chicks), creating original material that reflects her experiences with teenage alienation.
When Swift was thirteen, her parents sold their farm in Pennsylvania to move to Hendersonville, Tennessee, where the recording industry was based in nearby Nashville.
In 2004, when she was 14 years old, she signed with Sony/ATV as a songwriter. Elsewhere in the Nashville area she also performed several songs she had written, and at one of these performances she was noticed by record executive Scott Borchetta.
Borchetta signed Swift through his startup Big Machine, releasing her debut single “Team Magro”, which was inspired by a song by Swift’s favorite country artist, in the summer of 2006.
The song was an instant hit and spent 8 months on the Billboard charts. She followed it with her first album, which bore the same title. Taylor Swift was certified platinum in 2007, having sold more than one million copies in the United States.
In Swift’s second album, “Fearless”, which was released in 2008, she demonstrated a sophisticated folk sensibility, managing to appeal to a mainstream pop audience without losing sight of the roots of country music. The album achieved sales of more than half a million copies in the first week.
Frankly and controversially
Swift kicked off 2010 with an impressive showing at the Grammy Awards, where she took home four honors, including Best Country Song, Best Country Album, and the grand prize for Album of the Year.
Although Swift has avoided discussing her personal life in interviews, she has been surprisingly candid in her music. Her third album, Speak Now (2010), was filled with allusions to romantic relationships with John Mayer, Joe Jonas, and Twilight series actor Taylor Lautner.
Later that year, Swift made her feature film debut in the romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day.”
In 2014, Swift released an album called 1989, the year she was born, and it is said that it was inspired by the music of that era.
Swift has often sparked controversy. In 2016, singer Kanye West released the song “Famous.” The song included a lyric in which Swift was referred to as a “bitch” and was allegedly misogynistic.
The controversy surrounding Swift continued during her participation in a highly publicized civil trial in August 2017, after former radio host David Mueller filed a lawsuit against the singer, her mother and a promoter, claiming that Swift had falsely accused him of sexually harassing her in 2013 and subsequently His career was ruined. Swift disputed this, confirming that the assault had occurred.
Swift’s seventh album, “Lover,” was released in 2019, and she described it as “a love letter to love itself.” That year she also appeared in a film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s distinguished stage production. She appeared in the movie “Miss America” in 2020, a documentary about her life and career.
person of the Year
In December 2023, Time magazine honored Swift as “Person of the Year.”
This honor came shortly after the music streaming platform Spotify announced that Swift is the one the platform’s audience listens to most.
According to a Bloomberg analysis, Swift is now a billionaire, with a net worth of about $1.1 billion. On Forbes’ list of the most powerful women of 2023, Swift ranked fifth.
She announced, in February 2024 while accepting a Grammy Award, that she would release her new album next April.
