That Time Taylor Swift Totally Manifested Her 'Red' Album and Success
Taylor Swift has 10 albums under her belt — as well as two re-recorded albums and a third on the way with the July release of Speak Now (Taylor's Version) — and it seems that at just 17 years old, the singer predicted her own success. Back in 2007, when she was fresh off the heels of her debut album and approaching her Fearless era, the Grammy-winner seemingly manifested the success of her fourth studio album, the ever-popular Red.
During a red carpet appearance, Swift was asked about her future and where she saw herself in five years. At just 17 years old and already tasting the flames of fame, Swift said that in five years, when she would be 22, she would "hopefully... be making like a fourth album and headlining a tour. Those are my goals."
@popculture #TaylorSwift had PLANS! #tbt #Red #erastour #swifttok #swiftie
♬ Hey It's Me – Official Sound Studio
Flash forward five years, and in 2012, Swift would release her fourth studio album, Red. Considered by fans and critics alike to be among her best albums to date, with songs like "22," "Treacherous," and the critically acclimated bittersweet ballad "All Too Well," Red spent seven weeks atop the Billboard 200, making Swift the first female artist and the second act since the Beatles to have three consecutive albums each spend at least six weeks at number one. The album was also certified seven times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), topped the charts and received multi-platinum certifications in several countries, and received numerous award nominations. Rolling Stone ranked the album No. 99 in its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time story in 2020. The supporting Red tour grossed $150 million.
The album's success didn't stop there, though. In 2021, Swift re-released the album under her ongoing Taylor's Version re-recording efforts. Featuring the standard tracklist of songs on the original album as well as new songs from the vault, Red (Taylor's Version) became the most-streamed album in a day by a female in Spotify history after racking up over 90.8 million streams on day one. The album also broke the record for the most-streamed female in a single day in Spotify history, and "All Too Well (Ten Minute Version) (Taylor's Version)" broke a half-century-long record previously placed by Don McLean's nearly-nine-minute-long "American Pie" for the longest song to ever reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Despite her accurate five-year prediction, even Swift likely couldn't have predicted just how successful she would soon become. The singer now has 10 studio albums under her belt, as well as two re-recorded albums and a third on the way with the July release of Speak Now (Taylor's Version). She is currently on her sold-out The Eras Tour, which sees the singer performing songs from all of her albums.