Taylor Swift becomes youngest woman in Songwriters Hall of Fame

NEW YORK: Taylor Swift on Thursday became the youngest woman ever inducted into the prestigious Songwriters Hall of Fame, another milestone in the 36-year-old US pop star’s record-breaking career.

The female record was previously held by Carole Bayer Sager, who was 43 when she joined in 1987. Stevie Wonder remains the youngest person ever admitted, at age 32 in 1983.

Artists become eligible for the Hall of Fame 20 years after the release of their first commercial track. For Swift, that was “Tim McGraw,” released in June 2006.

Her success since is undeniable: the American artist has recorded 12 albums spanning country, pop, and folk, earning her 14 Grammy Awards in the US, including four Album of the Year trophies — a record.

“Swift’s ability to shapeshift as a songwriter, to inhabit different sonic landscapes and write as credibly in the world of one genre as she does another is part of her superpower as a songwriter,” reads her bio on the Hall of Fame website.

“It also represents the boldness and bravery of her artistry: to explore new frontiers when the most practical next step would be to keep mining the material that has gotten you the success in the first place.”

Swift appeared on the red carpet in New York on Thursday wearing a strapless black dress with floral motifs ahead of the naming ceremony.

‘Great honor’

Also inducted on Thursday were Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS, the band behind hits such as “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “Detroit Rock City”.

“It doesn’t suck,” Stanley told AFP when asked how it felt to join the prestigious songwriting ranks.

“It’s really hard to digest the idea. I certainly don’t consider myself in that rarified air of some of the writers, but if you wanna be in that club, I’m there.”

Kenny Loggins, the hitmaker behind movie soundtrack classics like “Footloose” and “Danger Zone” from “Top Gun”, was inducted into the Hall of Fame as well.

“It’s a great honour and I appreciate it,” Loggins told AFP. “It’s the culmination of a lifetime writing, and that’s exciting for me.”

Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, inescapable in the 1990s, and American record producer Walter Afanasieff were also among the total of nine songwriters joining the Hall of Fame this year.

Estimates put Taylor Swift’s worldwide sales at over 250 million album-equivalents. Her most recent tour in 2023 and 2024, titled “The Eras Tour”, brought in a record sum of around US$2 billion.

She is also the female artist with the most songs ever to reach the top 10 list compiled by Billboard, the leading US music magazine.

Swift is omnipresent in the media. After unveiling a country track for the soundtrack of the film “Toy Story 5”, she was at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday for a game of the NBA Finals.