36 Taylor Swift Songs Defining Her Life on 36th Birthday

The world first met Taylor Swift as a 16-year-old country ingénue, but today she turns 36 as one of the most powerful figures the modern music industry has ever produced. Two decades into an uninterrupted run at the top, she’s a cultural engine, a touring juggernaut, and a business mogul who has reshaped how artists control their work and their legacies. The industry as it exists today simply does not function the same way without her.