2014–present: 1989
Swift performing on The 1989 World Tour in Detroit
The critical response to 1989 was frequently positive. Sheffield of Rolling Stone noted: "Deeply weird, feverishly emotional, wildly enthusiastic, 1989 sounds exactly like Taylor Swift, even when it sounds like nothing she's ever tried before."[222] Molly Lambert of Grantland remarked that the "late-'80s album 1989 really resembles is Bruce Springsteen's Tunnel of Love," citing both artists' change of musical direction, shift in public image and split with longtime band members.[223] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian praised the album's "Springsteenesque narratives of escape and the kind of doomed romantic fatalism in which 60s girl groups dealt ... On 1989 the reasons she's afforded the kind of respect denied to her peers are abundantly obvious."[224]
As part of the 1989 promotional campaign, Swift invited fans to secret album-listening sessions, called the "1989 Secret Sessions," at her houses in New York, Nashville, Los Angeles and Rhode Island.[225] Her "expert" use of various social media platforms was remarked upon by industry analysts.[226] She also appeared on many chat shows, performed at award shows in the U.S. and England, and appeared as a contestant advisor for The Voice.[227]
The album's lead single, "Shake It Off," was released in August 2014 and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Three further singles have been released; "Blank Space" and the remixed / single version of "Bad Blood" were released as the second and fourth singles, respectively, with both of them reaching number one in the United States. The third single, "Style", was a top ten hit in the United States as well, reaching number 6. 1989 sold 1,287,000 copies in the U.S. during the first week of release, selling more copies in its opening week than any album in the previous 12 years. This has made Swift the first and only act to have three albums sell more than one million copies in the opening release week.[228] It later became the best-selling album of 2014, selling 3.66 million copies.[229] As of February 2015, 1989 had sold over 8.6 million copies worldwide.[230] Prior to 1989's release, Swift wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, emphasizing the ongoing importance of albums,[231] and, in November 2014, she removed her entire catalog from Spotify, arguing that the streaming company's ad-supported free service undermines the premium service, which provides higher royalties for songwriters. However, her back catalog remains available on non-Spotify streaming services.[232] On June 21, 2015, Swift criticized Apple Music, the music streaming service by Apple Inc., for not offering royalties to artists during the streaming service's free three-month trial period. In an open letter, she called the arrangement "unfair", saying, "Apple Music will not be paying writers, producers, or artists for those three months. [...]Please don't ask us (recording artists) to provide you with our music for no compensation", and stated that she would pull the album 1989 from the catalog.[233] A day later, Eddy Cue announced on Twitter that Apple was changing its policy, and will pay artists even during the free trial period.[234] Also via Twitter, Swift wrote "After the events of this week, I've decided to put 1989 on Apple Music... And happily so". She concluded saying that wasn't an exclusive deal with Apple and it was "the first time it's felt right in my gut to stream my album".[235]
As part of The 1989 World Tour, running from May to December 2015, Swift is scheduled to perform in Japan, the U.S., Canada, the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia.[236] HAIM, Vance Joy, Shawn Mendes and James Bay are planned to appear as the support acts for various legs of the tour.[237]
Swift collaborated with other artists during the 1989 era. She performed "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Shake It Off" with Paul McCartney at the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special after-party,[238] and joined Kenny Chesney to sing "Big Star" on the opening night of his Big Revival Tour in Nashville.[239] She also accompanied Madonna on guitar for an acoustic performance of "Ghosttown" at the iHeartRadio Music Awards.[240]
Swift was named Billboard's Woman Of Year in 2014; she is the only artist to be awarded this title twice.[241] Also that year, she received the Dick Clark Award for Excellence at the American Music Awards.[242] At the 2015 Grammy Awards, "Shake It Off" was nominated for three awards including Record of the Year and Song of the Year[243] while, at the 2015 Brit Awards, Swift won the International Female Solo Artist category.[244] Swift was named by Time magazine as one of the 2015 Time 100, in the "Icons" category.[245] Swift was one of eight artists to receive a 50th Anniversary Milestone Award at the 2015 Academy of Country Music Awards.[246]
On August 5, 2015, Swift announced "Wildest Dreams" will be released as the fifth single from 1989.
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