Critics listed 12 reasons why Taylor Swift’s music was “soulless.” But Jason’s one heartfelt reason changed everything—making even skeptics fall in love with her songs.

Taylor Swift was born in December 1989, near the peak of the Millennial Baby Boom, and has been famous since she was 16. Meaning that, for millions of listeners, she is not just another pop star; she is someone they have grown up with, and who has grown up with them.

To chart her journey — from the country romance of her teens, to the imperial pop of her twenties, to the ambivalent ruminations of her thirties — is to follow a generation coming of age. Though the sound of her

her thirties — is to follow a generation coming of age. Though the sound of her music has evolved since her debut, the voice at the heart of it has stayed consistent. The Swift we hear on her albums is a thin-skinned, bighearted obsessive, prone to introspection, with a penchant for romantic moments huge and small.

That’s the artist. There’s also the empire. “Like so many millennials born into the upper middle class