Ah, your 20s. It's the period of your life where you're learning how to be an adult, taking on new responsibilities and learning life's hard lessons. For our favorite artists it was all that PLUS keeping up a pop music career filled with peaks and valleys.


How did your fav grow from their first album in their 20s to the last album released in their 20s? We're not talking sales here but artistry. Did they improve a talent of theirs? Did they take up any new skills? What were they singing about early on vs. later? How did they present themselves (looks/attitude/presence)? How much cultural cache did they leave their 20s with (status/prestige)?

Also, pick ONE song from the first 20s album that you think best represents where they were in their life/work at the time and ONE song from the last 20s album.

.

Speak Now was released while She was 20 (almost 21).

She had sole writing credits on every song, which dealt with love, heartbreak, childhood nostalgia, dealing with criticism, forgiveness, revenge, coming of age, family and friends, and legacy. The production was mostly country, with some songs leaning a bit further into the pop and rock genres. Her image was that of a young woman coming of age while singing about Her experiences in an honest way, and subliminally emphasized Her capabilities as a songwriter.



Her most recent album, 1989, was released when She was 24 (almost 25).

The album was notable for being Her first full-pop project, with songs that dealt with love, heartbreak, friendship, betrayal, de-stressing, moving on, moving out, and reputation / public image. The production was fully pop. The songwriting was notable for being much less wordy than that of previous albums (particularly the aforementioned Speak Now), proving that She was capable of writing simple pop songs with catchy hooks while still retaining some of the detail and cleverness that She became famous for. Her image was that of a young woman who's learned about love and life, and was finally in touch with Herself. Publicly, She spoke about issues such as artists' rights (streaming, etc), friendship, and feminism.