Taylor Swift – tearful induction into Songwriters Hall of Fame

Taylor Swift delivered a 21‑minute speech drenched in emotion as she became the youngest woman ever honoured by the Songwriters Hall of Fame. She thanked her family, who had uprooted from Pennsylvania to Nashville when she was 14 so that she could hone her craft in the songwriting capital of the world.

"It couldn’t have been easy for my parents and my brother to just pick up and move our entire family," she told the New York crowd, adding that while songwriting was her natural calling, the rest of her career involved “trial and error, chaos and calamity.” She was introduced at the ceremony by director Steven Spielberg, whom she called a hero who shaped her storytelling.

Swift’s induction follows the release of her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, which set a new sales record, and her historic fourth Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Her key tracks recognised by the Hall of Fame include All Too Well (10 Minute Version), Blank Space, Anti‑Hero, Love Story and The Last Great American Dynasty.

She was joined onstage by her fiancé, NFL star Travis Kelce, amid rumours that they will marry in the near future, and by other inductees such as Alanis Morissette, Kenny Loggins and Kiss stars Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.

Getty Images

Getty Images