Taylor Swift's Personal Life

Taylor Swift became a teen idol with her debut CD, Speak Now, in 2010. But in 2014, she released her most recent album, 1989, and its single, "Shake It Off," became an instant hit.
Last year, Swift reportedly made $125 million on album sales, making her one of the richest female artists in the music business.
NPR's Lynn Neary talks with Charles McDermid, pop music critic at the Los Angeles Times, about Swift's breakthrough and what it means for young people and the music industry.
Interview Highlights
On the song "Shake It Off"
"What happens when a young person thinks they've got it all figured out is they don't. 'Shake It Off' was about that. I love the chorus, because she's not with the person. She's going to do what she wants to do.
"If you were a 13-year-old girl, and I know you were listening to 'Shake It Off' at the gym, and maybe you could even get 'Applause' by Jason Mraz, which has that same chorus ... you would have said, 'Well, that's cool. I like that. I can get away from it. I can shake it off.' So I like the track."
On the song "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"
"Well, there was something about this person who she was with, they never got back together. And this goes back to that question I had: She's not with this person, but she's still thinking about them, and that's what 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' is about.
"I don't know if you've ever seen 'The O.C.' [a popular TV show about teens] ... And her character's always looking at her social network, her internet social network. And she goes, 'No, I'm not. That person doesn't like me. How can they like me if we're not together?' And this is the first pop star I think to say that out loud, and it's got a similar feeling.
"The line 'kissed a girl and it felt so good' is so [expletive] amazing, because you just know exactly what that means. It's about '50 Shades of Grey.' You know, the book '50 Shades of Grey' that everyone loves? You know the line 'Let's do this'? That's the line that's going on in her head. I like that."
On whether Swift's new music speaks to young women
"I think there's a sense of liberation, especially in this era, that young women are feeling. And I don't think that's something you can manufacture. It just happens naturally. And it happens to be that this person, Taylor Swift, has actually really helped young women be heard."
On how Swift's success speaks to young people
"The fact that there are people who have as big an impact on other people's lives as Taylor Swift has is amazing, in terms of influence. And I don't know if any other artist is aware of that.
"I think a lot of young women will say they identify with what she's doing in terms of thinking about what they're going to do with their lives. If she's speaking about that, and that's something that she's been thinking about, then young women will think, 'Well, I might be able to do that.'
"I mean, I'm sure there are plenty of young women who are smarter and more capable than I am who would say, 'Well, if I hadn't had that line in that song, then I would've been Taylor Swift.' Or whatever."
On whether Swift's success shows that the "50 Shades" culture of sexualized objectification of women is crumbling
"I don't know if that's what the culture is, or if she's just the woman that's part of that culture, but the fact that that's the thing she's proudest of in her career, to me, is awesome.
"At a time when so many women are getting the message that that's not what they want, she's saying, 'No, I want to be objectified.'
"That's so bold. And I mean, she also, you know, has really sexy clothes on the album cover. She has those clothes there, and it's more of a empowerment thing, I think, and a role-playing thing."
Music from the "1989" album has been a fixture in pop culture since its release. Swift hosted Saturday Night Live in November and made an appearance on the Big Brother Live Finale and during the Super Bowl. She appeared in a well-received Saturday Night Live musical parody of "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," and in a video with Tony Bennett. She even promoted the album with an appearance on "The Colbert Report" in December.