Taylor Swift's Eras: From 'Fearless' to 'The Tortured Poets Department'
Ahead of her 12th studio album, which is due out in 2025
Last updated 3rd Sep 2025
Following Taylor Swift's epic 'The Eras Tour', where she welcomed Ed Sheeran on stage, we thought we'd take a look at her eras, and how she's changed over the years.
Starting out back with her self-titled debut album, 'Taylor Swift' was released in 2006, when Taylor was just 16-years-old. However, it was with the release of her album 'Fearless' in 2009, when she began her rise to fame in the UK, releasing another nine albums over the years (her latest being 'The Tortured Poets Department') — with another on the way, called 'The Life of a Showgirl'.
On tour, Taylor performed a massive 45 songs, spanning her eras, including country, pop, folk, and indie music. Taylor has nine distinct eras during her epic set list, so we've taken a look at each of the different ones right here...
What are Taylor Swift's Eras?
'Lover' Era (2019)
If 'Reputation' was a departure from the good girl image, 'Lover' was the complete opposite. The album featured elements of folk, country and pop music and saw the singer have hits with 'Me!', 'You Need To Calm Down' and it's title track 'Lover'. In tune with the new sound, Taylor ditched the darker look, and traded it in for pink and blue pastels, perhaps proving that the 'old Taylor' wasn't dead. The singer's new look was very evident throughout in her music video for 'Me!'.
From the 'Lover' Era, fans saw Taylor perform 'Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince', 'Cruel Summer', 'The Man', 'You Need To Calm Down' and 'Lover', during her 'Eras' tour.
'Fearless' Era (2009 - 2010)
'Fearless' is a country pop album and saw Taylor begin to move towards the pop genre. This is the album that really saw Taylor break through into the UK market with the release of her hit 'Love Story'. The singer coupled her heartfelt melodies with a new style of outfits which changed with her new music.
'Fearless' saw Taylor wearing sequinned dresses and ball gowns, moving away from her previous country look.
During her 'Eras' tour, fans saw Taylor perform three songs from her 'Fearless' Era, the title track, 'You Below With Me' and 'Love Story'.
'Red' Era (2012 - 2013)
'Red' spans several genres, pop, country and rock and saw Taylor leaving behind the iconic blonde curls of her earlier music. This album spawned several big hits for Taylor, including UK Top 10 singles: 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together', 'I Knew You Were Trouble', '22' and 'Everything Has Changed' with Ed Sheeran.
Along with these huge pop tunes, Taylor's look was changing with her now iconic red lipstick and high-waisted shorts and 50s style, becoming more mature, along with her music.
Fans were pleased to hear that Taylor performed 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together', 'I Knew You Were Trouble', '22' and 'All Too Well' during her 'Eras' tour.
'Speak Now' Era (2010 - 2012)
With the release of 'Speak Now', Taylor's fans got to see the singer continue with her country music, but now with a more pop feel. She also introduced them to pop rock and power pop in this era. This album reached Number 6 on the UK chart and spent four weeks in the Top 40. Her highest charting song in the UK was 'Mine'.
In line with her move towards pop, her style changed and became more glam, with influences from the theatre and musicals, with Broadway inspiring her world tour, which took place in 2011/12.
During her 'Eras' tour, Taylor chose to perform 'Enchanted'.
'Reputation' Era (2017 - 2018)
Inspired by hit TV show Game of Thrones, Taylor's album 'Reputation' was her darkest yet. Both in terms of its sound, and the outfits she wore. Taylor's album, included hits such as her UK Number 1 'Look What You Made Me Do' and '...Ready for It?'. The album was created after Taylor took a year away from the limelight, and during that time she developed a very contrasting look to her previous albums.
Returning to the public eye, Taylor got rid of the 'good girl' look, replacing her bright red lipstick, for a grungier dark red shade, coupled with sequinned bodysuits and oversized tops.
During her 'Eras' tour, Taylor performed '...Ready For It?', 'Delicate', 'Don't Blame Me', 'Look What You Made Me Do' from her 'Reputation' album.
'folklore' / 'evermore' Era (2020)
Recorded during lockdown, both 'folklore' and 'evermore' were released in 2020, and saw Taylor being inspired by folk songs, with a hint of indie. Despite not being able to tour her albums, the singer's style changed, seeing her swap the pastels for neutral colours, and tweeds.
During her 'Eras' tour, she performed eight songs from the two lockdown albums, 'cardigan', 'betty', 'champagne problems', 'august', 'illicit affairs', 'my tears ricochet', 'marjorie', and 'willow'.
'1989' Era (2014 - 2015)
'1989', named after the year of Taylor's birth, saw the singer move away from country, with her first fully pop album. The sound was very much inspired by 1980s synth-pop, and saw some of her catchiest hits to date, with the likes of 'Shake It Off', 'Blank Space', and 'Bad Blood'.
In terms of looks, Taylor opted for a short bob, and made the transition to a global super star putting on a spectacular show for her '1989 World Tour', which involved several costume changes.
As well as her hits listed above, fans were treated to Taylor performing 'Style' and 'Wildest Dreams' during her 'Eras' tour.
'The Tortured Poets Department' Era (2024)
Taking inspiration from her public heartbreak and her sense of identity, Taylor released her 11th album 'The Tortured Poets Department', while on her 'Eras' tour. The singer also released several versions of her album, each featuring extra tracks. Overall the album has a much darker, mature theme than any that have been released before.
Despite being her most recently released album, Taylor's set was not over after she performed 'But Daddy I Love Him', 'So High School', 'Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?', 'Down Bad', 'Fortnight', 'The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived' and 'I Can Do It With a Broken Heart'.
'Midnights' Era (2022 - 2023)
Taylor's album 'Midnights' tells the stories of '13 sleepless nights' throughout her life, and spawned her hits 'Anti-Hero', 'Lavender Haze' and 'Karma'. The album saw Taylor continue with her pop sound, with many critics calling it dream pop and bedroom pop.
The singer ended her epic 'Eras' tour set list with songs from her 'Midnights' Era, including: 'Lavender Haze', 'Anti-Hero', 'Midnight Rain', 'Vigilante Sh--t', 'Bejeweled', 'Mastermind', and 'Karma'.
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