Fearless & Speak Now: Taylor Swift’s musical journey for herself

When I was nine years old, I was gifted Fearless by Taylor Swift on CD for my birthday. The present had come after my younger sister and I spent many hours singing “Love Story” on our Wii karaoke game. After my babysitter played “White Horse” for me on her pink iPod shuffle one evening, I was hooked. I knew I had to hear more, and I formed a connection to Taylor Swift’s music that ultimately would last over a decade.

For me and an entire generation, listening to Fearless is an instant, intense wave of nostalgia. Her re-recorded 2021 version of this album, Taylor’s Version, brought more mature vocals and cleaner production to an album of songs whose lyrics and melodies have stood the test of time. I am consistently impressed by how strong the songs are so many years after their release. 

Fearless’ aesthetic is youthful, energized and soft. The visuals of this era were often glittery, and she often played shows with a guitar she hand-covered herself in silver, shimmering rhinestones. Her sophomore album, Fearless, let listeners into the world of Taylor Swift a little bit more. It allowed her to tell stories so universal that they would be connected to for generations to come.

I also look back at the track list of this record and am immensely impressed by the amount of huge hits the album boasts. Songs like “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story” are timeless classics, songs that almost anyone could sing along to. They make great karaoke songs and are instant crowd-pleasers. However, my favorite parts of Fearless are some of the more underrated tracks that didn’t get as much radio play back in the day. “White Horse” and its beautiful, pining processing of a breakup stands out to me, especially as I’ve gotten older.

In the years following Fearless’ release, Taylor Swift received a lot of criticism for not being able to write music on her own. In response to this, her next album, Speak Now, was written entirely by herself, without a single co-writing credit on any song. The album remains in the country genre, but with a bit more edge than Fearless. The songs feel more decisive and powerful, and her voice as a writer truly begins to powerfully emerge. This album, too, is packed with instantly recognizable classics like “Back to December,” “Mine,” and “Mean.” 

The aesthetic of Speak Now was colorful, still glittery, but a bit surer of itself. On tracks like “Sparks Fly,” Swift expresses how it feels to fall in love with and be drawn to someone. On tracks like “Mean,” a popular and commercially successful single, she confronts a critic who bashed her music, and talks about how her own success and agency is ultimately the best revenge she could get on anyone trying to bring her down. She begins to find her voice, and her power, on this album. 

Both of these albums mark the beginning of something that lasts for her entire career—her sense of voice and her ability to tell a story like no one else.