#99 Taylor Swift, 'Red' (2012)

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‘Red,’ Taylor Swift’s fourth release, was the album that cemented her as a fully-fledged crossover Pop artist. On ‘Speak Now,’ the preceding release, Swift had worked exclusively with Nathan Chapman on songwriting and production. With this one, she sought to learn from songwriters and producers that she admired, expanding the songwriting team. First up, she brought in songwriting megastars, Max Martin and Shellback to co-write and produce ‘I Knew You Were Trouble,’ ‘22’ and ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,’ the latter reportedly about ex-boyfriend, Harry Styles. Other musicians she recruited included Dan Wilson, from Semisonic, on ‘Treacherous,’ Gary Lightbody, from Snow Patrol,’ on ‘The Last Time’ and Butch Walker, who had produced the likes of Avril Lavigne, P!nk and Katy Perry. Walker produced ‘Everything Has Changed,’ Swift’s duet with Ed Sheeran.

The result of widening her songwriting and production circle was a more accessible album that reached beyond the Country market, a market she had already dominated. Even though Swift had penetrated commercial radio with previous singles, ‘Red’ and its seven singles, helped Swift become a mainstay on Pop radio. It also provided Swift with her first #1 single thanks to the success of ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.’ The 23-year-old Taylor Swift had arrived as a fully formed popstar and would continue to flourish following this record. ‘Red’ was her third #1 album and went on to sell 8m+ copies worldwide. It was nominated for Best Country Album and Album Of The Year at the Grammys in 2014 but lost out to Daft Punk’s ‘Random Access Memories’ (#295).

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