American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift became the youngest woman artist ever to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on Thursday during the ceremony in New York. She is the second-youngest overall, sitting only behind Stevie Wonder, who was inducted at age 32.
At the event, the 36-year-old singer opted for a custom Givenchy gown featuring vibrant floral embroidery and a high thigh slit. She clicked a picture with singer Sombr, who performed at the ceremony.
Swift shattered the record for the youngest woman inducted, previously held by singer Carol Bayer Sager, who was 43 at the time. An artist becomes eligible for the Songwriters Hall of Fame 20 years after the release of their first commercial track. Her first commercial track was the 2006 track Tim McGraw.
During the ceremony, a teary Swift thanked the delegates and her fans in her speech, reflecting on her journey and paid tribute to her loved ones.
“If I look back at my entire 23 year career in music, the ups and downs, the industry battles, the trials and tribulations, the tears and the cheers, and the dog piling of doubt, the criticisms of fair and unfair, the complete loss of privacy, the world tours and the ego wars and the twists of fate, the absolute magical chaos of this path that I chose when I was too young to remember it ever being a choice at all: songwriting was the easiest thing I ever did,” Swift said.
The artist posed for a photograph alongside musician Paul Stanley and Neil Rodgers. While Stanley was honoured at the event, Rodgers was inducted back in 2016.
On the work front, Taylor Swift recently released the original song I Knew It, I Knew You for the upcoming film Toy Story 5.