Taylor Swift is turning 35 and the singer-songwriter has a lot to celebrate. A week after she wrapped up the 20-month, five-continent-spanning Eras Tour, the singer will finally take some time for herself in Kansas City, where she is expected to celebrate with boyfriend Travis Kelce.
As Taylor reconnects and plans her next moves – which, let’s be honest, were probably planned at least before her 34th birthday – let’s take a look at the 13 records the superstar broke – or helped to break – in her 35th year.
© GettyThe record for most “Album of the Year” Grammy nominations
In April Taylor released her 11th studio album The Tortured Poets Department and unsurprisingly it has picked up six nods at the 2025 Grammys, including Album of the Year.
It now makes Taylor the first female artist ever to reach seven nominations for the category: as well as winning for Fearless, 1989, Folklore and Midnights, she has nominations for Red, Evermore, and The Tortured Poets Department.
© RedfernsThe first $2 billion tour in history.
As the Eras Tour came to an end on December 8, 2024, the New York Times confirmed that the Eras Tour had grossed $2,077,618,725 in ticket sales, making it the first $2 billion tour in history.
Taylor had already broken the record for the highest-grossing tour at the end of 2023 when it was confirmed that the tour had bought in over $1million in ticket sales, breaking Elton John’s hold on the top spot after his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour raked in $939 million over five years.
Taylor has also broken the record held by Madonna’s Sticky and Sweet Tour to become the highest-grossing concert tour by a female artist.
© VALERIE MACONThe first concert film to cross the $200 million milestone
In October 2023 Taylor surprised the world by sharing that the Eras Tour would be hitting theaters for a full-length concert film, recorded at Los Angeles’ So-FI Stadium over three nights.
Released globally, the film became the first in its genre to cross the $250 million milestone in January 2024, a week after it opened in China, with a tally of $8.7 million.
© Getty ImagesMost Video of the Year wins at the MTV Video Music Awards
In September Taylor continued her streak at the MTV Video Music Awards by bagging her fifth – and third consecutive – Best Video Award for “Fortnight” (feat. Post Malone).
She had previously won for “Anti-Hero” (2023), “All Too Well: The Short Film” (2022), “You Need to Calm Down” (2019) and “Bad Blood” (featuring Kendrick Lamar, 2015).
© GettyThe record for most nominated songwriter for the Grammys Song of the Year category
Over her 18 year career, Taylor has been nominated eight times, for “You Belong with Me”, “Shake It Off”, “Blank Space”, “Lover”, “Cardigan”, “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)”, “Anti-Hero” and most recently for “Fortnight”.
Taylor has, however, never won this category.
© Getty ImagesFirst artist to ever perform 8 nights at Wembley
There are a lot of firsts for Taylor from the Eras Tour but one major record that she holds (for now) is the first artist to ever play eight nights at the iconic Wembley Stadium in London.
And who can forget it is also where Travis made his stage debut, joining Taylor for a hilarious segment before transitioning to the song “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.”
© Getty ImagesThe record for most played artist of all time on Spotify
It won’t come as a surprise that with all these records, Taylor is also the most played artist of all time on streaming service Spotify.
In October 2024 it was confirmed that she had been streamed over 92 billion times.
By time of reading, we’re sure it’s closer to 100 billion by now.
© FOXThe most decorated artist in Billboard Music Awards history
On December 12, the day before her 35th birthday, Taylor scooped 10 awards, including top artist and top Billboard 200 album for The Tortured Poets Department, at the 2024 Billboard Music Awards.
This brings her total haul to 49, making her the most successful artist at the BBMAs ever.
“This is, like, the nicest early birthday present you could have given me, so thank you very much,” Taylor said in a pre-recorded acceptance speech.
“I love it. It’s exactly what I wanted.”
© Kevin Mazur/TAS24Record for most simultaneous entries on the US singles chart
On May 4 2024 Taylor made history on the Billboard Hot 100 when all 31 tracks from the extended Anthology version of The Tortured Poets Department – plus the 2019 hit single “Cruel Summer” – occupied 32 chart positions in the same week, including the entire Top 10.
© David EulittKansas City Chiefs set new record for an NFL Kickoff game
The Taylor effect has even impacted the NFL, where her boyfriend Travis Kelce plays for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Their love affair began in 2023 but her regular appearance throughout the current 2024 season has seen viewership continue to rise.
The Chiefs season opener against the Baltimore Ravens drew a staggering 28.9 million viewers, setting a new record for an NFL Kickoff game, and yes Taylor was there in the VIP box cheering on Travis alongside his father Ed Kelce.
© Allen J. SchabenThe artist to most impact a local economy
The long term effects of the Eras Tour on local economies across the globe may not be seen for some time, but the short term effects are extraordinary.
A study by online research firm QuestionPro estimates in North America alone the tour bought in approximately $7 billion in total retail economic impact.
The US Travel Association argued that indirect spending, which also includes money spent by people who visited the cities but not the tour, may add up to over $10 billion.
Most successful publishing launch of 2024
On November 29, Taylor published her Eras Tour coffee table book, which spanned 256 pages and featured never-before-seen images.
It sold 814,000 copies in its first weekend, making it not only the top-selling book of the week, but the most successful publishing launch of the year.
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