It all started at the Bluebird Café in Nashville, Tennessee. It was there that Scott Borchetta, CEO of Big Machine Records, discovered the young, curly-haired Taylor Swift, leading to the release of her debut single "Tim McGraw" and her self-titled debut album shortly after . It was June 2006. 13 years later, which is also Swift's lucky number, she has gone from country star to pop icon. But his rise to fame was not without obstacles. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The media tried to take down Swift. But Swift beat the media. Since Fearless, her breakthrough album, the tabloids have torn her to pieces for writing vengeful songs about her ex-boyfriends such as "Forever and Always" and "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." For years, Taylor Swift has been portrayed as a manipulative man-eater who exploits her personal life for lyrical inspiration. The media also criticized her for being the reigning queen of her so-called "squad" and accused her of always playing the role of victim. It wasn't until 2014 when she declared "'Cause baby I could build a castle / With all the bricks they threw at me" (Swift) on her fifth studio album 1989 that she finally recognized the public's perception of her. On the same album, Swift proclaimed that detractors can criticize her all they want; she will just “get rid of it”. With “Blank Space,” where she sings about “a long list of ex-lovers,” Swift played into the menacing narrative built around her and used it to her advantage. And it worked. She sold 1.2 million copies of 1989 in the first week alone. Taylor Swift clearly has her own story. What followed was the start of a testing feud between her and Kanye West. After interrupting his Grammy acceptance speech in 2009, West released a song claiming he made Swift "famous" in 2016. It was reportedly approved by Swift. But she denied giving West permission over the phone to call her "that bitch," leading his wife, Kim Kardashian, to get involved. Kardashian released an audio recording of the phone call and called Swift a "snake" on social media. Others followed her lead by leaving a trail of snake emojis on Swift's social media sites. But what could have destroyed Swift's career only made it stronger. She didn't let the snake bite her. She got it back. It was late August 2017. That's when Taylor Swift posted a video of a snake on her Instagram profile, announcing her album reputation and releasing her first single, "Look What You Made Me Do ". In her music video, Swift boldly takes on the insidious public narrative that has been built around her. From wearing costumes from previous music videos like "Blank Space" to showing off snake rings and leading models that look like her famous "squad," Taylor Swift doesn't take herself too seriously. She acknowledges past feuds and media headlines. The video ends with all of her past alter egos standing in front of a plane called "reputation" and mocking her past behavior as well as the attitude attributed (to her?) by the media. After its premiere, the video got 43 million clicks. on YouTube within 24 hours. Swift clearly made the narrative work for her, not against her. The media accused her of being a manipulator, but she became the media's manipulator. This motif is found throughout the album. The cover of.”).