Taylor Swift facts: 13 things that even Swifties might not know about the music mastermind

Taylor Swift is even more in the spotlight than usual today, after the premiere of her highly anticipated The Eras Tour concert movie.

The film is set to hit cinemas in the UK on Friday (13 October), before, in just a few weeks time, ‘Taylor’s Version’ of her smash-hit album 1989 will be released - complete with five new vault tracks for fans to enjoy.

Swift won’t be slowing down after that however, as next she’ll be getting back on the road for her sell-out worldwide tour. First, she’ll stop in Latin America, before swiftly moving onto Australia, Asia, Europe, and eventually, the UK.

It’s safe to say then that the next few months will be something out of most Swifties’ wildest dreams, with their icon returning to centre stage and lots of new content to obsess over. (I can say that with confidence, as a Swiftie myself.)

So, to celebrate just a few of Swift’s recent and upcoming moments in the spotlight, we’ve put together a list of 13 facts you might not know about the artist. Yes, 13, because, as Swifties will know, 13 is Swift’s lucky number for many reasons:

• She was born on the 13th
• She turned 13 on Friday the 13th
• Her first song that ever went to Number 1 had a 13 second intro
• Every time she’s won an award at an award show, she’s either been seated in row 13 or row M - the 13th letter in the alphabet

There are a few bonus facts for you before we start!

1. Her parents wanted her to have a gender neutral name

Swift’s parents, Scott and Andrea, named their daughter Taylor for two reasons. First, to name her after singer-songwriter James Taylor (it’s as if she was destined for musical greatness), and second, because her mum wanted her to have a gender neutral name as she thought it would help her forge a career in business.

2. She lived on a Christmas tree farm

Swift spent her early years growing up on a Christmas tree farm in Reading, Pennsylvania, before her family moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to help her break into country music. Swift speaks fondly of her childhood, and has said where she lived is part of the reason she loves Christmas so much. She even wrote a song about her experience, which is aptly named ‘Christmas Tree Farm’.

3. She has double-jointed elbows

During her 2016 ‘73 Questions’ video with Vogue, Swift was asked if she has any “cool or bizarre” talents. The musician replied: “Okay, I am well aware that this is not a talent, but it’s the only thing I can do. I have double-jointed elbows.” She then demonstrated the talent for all to see!

4. She wrote ‘Love Story’ in 20 minutes on her bedroom floor

Yes, that’s correct, the mega hit song ‘Love Story’ was penned by Swift in less than half an hour. This was revealed by her mum Andrea, when she was presenting her daughter with the ACM Milestone Award in 2008.

Andrea said: “She was 17 years old and her dad and I strongly disapproved of a certain young man, and rightfully so. But she was mad, she was real mad. And she went to her room and closed the door, and she came out less than an hour later with a song called Love Story.”

5. She invited fans to her house

It’s not as crazy as it sounds... (or maybe it is). But before the release of 1989, Swift invited some of her biggest fans to her house to hear the album first - and even baked cookies for them! Explaining how she chose guests during an interview on the Graham Norton Show, the star said, to much laughter: “I found them on the Internet. I would go online and I would look at their Instagram or Tumblr and just stalk them for months and months”.

She explained that she did this as she wanted to find the biggest fans - but ones that had never met her. Swift called the night ‘1989 Secret Sessions’, and continued the tradition for her next two albums, Reputation and Lover.

6. Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ children feature in her songs

Swift has a long-term friendship with Hollywood couple Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, and a testament to this is the fact that all of their children feature in her songs. In the opening to her track ‘Gorgeous’ off the album Reputation, a baby voice says ‘gorgeous!’ This is the voice of Blake and Ryan’s daughter James Reynolds.

The name ‘James’ also appears in the track ‘Betty’ off Folklore, as does the name Betty (obviously) and the name Inez - also names of the couple’s children. Finally, in Swift’s most recent album Midnights, her song ‘You’re On Your Own Kid’ references the name ‘Daisy Mae’. Swifties are convinced this is what Blake and Ryan’s fourth child is called, as the couple are still yet to announce the name.

7. A tax is nicknamed after her

Swift has a holiday home in Rhode Island, which she bought in 2013 for $17.75 million. Under a tax by the Rhode Island government, those who have second homes in the state worth more than $2 million must pay a charge. The tax has been affectionately nicknamed ‘The Taylor Swift Tax’.

8. She’s terrified of sea urchins

During an interview on the Ellen DeGeneres show, Swift revealed one of her biggest fears - sea urchins. “They’re like a grenade,” she said. “They’re sitting there waiting to completely injure you to the point where ... you can’t see a sea urchin if you’re in the Caribbean. You’re like, ‘This water is so beautiful, it’s amazing.’

“[But] you can’t see a sea urchin is right there and you step on one and it has barbs and it goes into whatever it touches and then you have to go into the emergency room and it has to be surgically removed. You could lose your foot, you could lose your hand, you could lose your hand trying to get it off of your foot. I don’t like sea urchins.”

9. Her songs sometimes come to her in dreams

Swift has revealed that often she dreams lyrics or melodies, and then wakes up and frantically scrawls them on a napkin or records herself singing tunes into her phone. One example of this would be the track ‘All You Had To Do Was Stay’ off the album 1989.

As Swift explained: “I had a dream where my ex had come to the door to beg for me to talk to him. I opened up the door and I went to go say, ‘Hi,’ or ‘What are you doing here?’ or something – something normal – but all that came out was this high-pitched singing that said, ‘Stay!’ It was almost operatic. I woke up from the dream, said the weird part into my phone and used that sound in the song.”

10. Her sad songs have a particular spot on her albums

Swift typically places one of her saddest - if not the saddest - song on each of her albums in the fifth spot on the tracklist. Heartbreak anthems such as ‘Dear John’ and ‘All Too Well’ appear in this spot, and soul-crushing ballads like ‘My Tears Ricochet’ and ‘Tolerate It’ are both Track 5s too.

However, in Swift’s most recent album Midnights, the fifth track is ‘You’re On Your Own Kid’, which, while emotional, is less sad and more cathartic. This has led Swifties to wonder whether the days of Track 5s are over, but we won’t know for sure until her next album.

11. Her cats are all named after characteres

As all Swifties know, Swift is obsessed with cats - and has three herself. Her oldest is named Olivia Benson, after the ‘Law and Order: Special Victims Unit’ character, and her second oldest is named Meredith Grey, after the character from ‘Grey’s Anatomy’. Swift’s most recent addition to the family is a cat named Benjamin Button, who she adopted after he was featured in the music video for her 2019 single ‘Me!’

12. She once gifted her brother a special scrapbook for Christmas

For Christmas in 2013, Swift compiled all of the funny messages, memes, and photos her younger brother Austin had sent her over the year, printed them out, and stuck them in a scrapbook she titled “Sh*t My Brother Says”.

13. She has a unique way of categorising her music

Swift recently revealed via playlists released on Apple Music and Spotify that she has her own unique way of categorising her music. There are either those with ‘Quill Pen’, ‘Fountain Pen’, or ‘Glitter Gel Pen’ lyrics. Most of her songs are ‘Fountain Pen’, she explained, describing them as “modern personal stories, written like poetry, about those moments you remember all too well where you can see, hear, and feel everything in screaming detail.”

Meanwhile, ‘Glitter Gel Pen’ tracks are those with lyrics that make you want to “dance, sing, and toss glitter around the room”, Swift explained, such as ‘Bejeweled’, ‘You Belong With Me’, and ‘22’, while ‘Quill Pen’ songs are ones with “lyrics that make you feel all old fashioned, like you’re a 19th century poet crafting your next sonnet by candlelight.” Examples of these include ‘ivy’, ‘the last great american dynasty’, and ‘mastermind’.