Taylor Swift Revealed the 2 Artists Who Most Influenced ‘1989’
Over the years, Taylor Swift has shouted out a number of artists she admires, and who have inspired her career. As she began as a country singer, a number of women in the genre inspired the early days of her career. When she shifted to pop, though, she found influence elsewhere. Swift shared the two artists who had the greatest impact on the production of her album 1989.
Taylor Swift said two artists had a major influence on ‘1989’
When Swift was working on 1989, the album that brought her firmly into pop territory, she was listening to a lot of music from the 1980s and 1990s. She said two artists in particular helped shape the record.
“I hear Peter Gabriel and I hear Annie Lennox [on the album],” she told NPR in 2014. “Those were the two artists that I was listening to a lot when I was making this record.”
She admitted she didn’t think she could replicate Lennox’s sound, but she made an attempt on her own album.
“What Annie does is so interesting to me, and it’s not something you could ever try to duplicate,” she said. “But the way she conveys a thought, there’s something really intense about it. And I think that’s something I’ll always aspire to.”
She said Gabriel inspired the synth-pop element on the album.
“With Peter, that’s an artist who has such incredible taste and such an incredible finger on the pulse of what would excite people, musically. What he was doing in the ’80s was so ahead of its time, because he was playing with a lot of synth-pop sounds, but kind of creating sort of an atmosphere behind what he was singing, rather than a produced track. It was just kind of astonishing how he was able to do that.”
Taylor Swift shared the artists who inspired her to pursue music
Years before Swift released 1989, she was looking at other artists for inspiration. She realized she wanted to become a singer because of LeAnn Rimes.
“I knew every song [Rimes] ever sang,” she told GAC. “After that, I kind of went back and learned the history of [country music]. I listened to legends like Dolly and Patsy Cline — women who were the essence of country music.”
Swift said that another artist who inspired her was Keith Urban.
She shared one of her favorite bands
Another one of Swift’s favorite musical acts is Def Leppard. In the early days of her career, she hoped for a chance to collaborate with them.
“As for a live collaboration, I would love to do a show with Def Leppard,” she told MTV. “I’m a Def Leppard freak. To me, music has never really been defined by genre. Now, with digital and everything else going on, lines between genres are getting more blurred.”
Because she stated this publicly, her wish came true. Swift performed with the band on the show CMT Crossroads.
“Every time I’ve seen Crossroads on CMT I’ve always thought, ‘If I ever get to do one of those, it HAS to be with Def Leppard!,’ so this is really a dream come true for me,” she said, per Smooth Radio. “I have been screaming the words to Def Leppard songs for years… so it’s amazing that I’m going to get to share a stage with them this year!”
