Taylor Swift Is Celebrated With New Pop-Up CMHOF Exhibit

Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

May 1st, 2023 1:25 PM

This weekend Taylor Swift will be playing three sold-out nights (5/5-7) at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is celebrating her arrival by unveiling a pop-up exhibit today (5/1). The exhibit displays a selection of her iconic costumes.

Titled Through Taylor Swift’s Eras, the limited-run exhibit includes a total of ten outfits that represent each of the artist’s ten albums. The display includes outfits from 2006’s Taylor Swift to 2022’s Midnights. The pop-up exhibition is part of the museum’s comprehensive gallery experience and is included with general admission. It runs through May 31.

Among the items on display from Swift’s wardrobe:

• The Vivetta faux fur jacket and rhinestone-accented Norma Kamali bikini Swift wore in the 2019 music video for “You Need to Calm Down.”
• The Marina Toybina-designed circus ringmaster ensemble of a top hat, cane, rhinestone and sequin-embellished jacket, shorts, and knee-high, laced LaDuca boots Swift wore to perform “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” at the 2012 “MTV Europe Music Awards” November 11, 2012.
• The Mandalay multicolored fringe dress, embellished with beads and sequins, and Everybody by B. Z. Moda tall boots Swift wore during the first act of her “Fearless Tour” in 2009-2010.

RELATED: Taylor Swift Addresses Hand Injury During Eras Tour

The museum also updated its display in the third-floor Taylor Swift Education Center with new artifacts representing Swift and her latest studio album, Midnights. These objects will be on view through early summer 2024 and are also accessible with general museum admission.

New items now on display in the Taylor Swift Education Center include:

• The sequin-covered cape, Michael Schmidt Studios bustier and briefs, and Stuart Weitzman boots worn by Swift in the 2022 music video for “Bejeweled.”
• The Taylor GSLJ “Living Jewels” acoustic guitar Swift used to perform “Last Kiss” during her “Speak Now World Tour” (2011-2012) and in the 2022 music video for “Anti-Hero.”
• The New York University cap and gown Swift wore when she received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree and delivered the commencement address at the school’s 2022 graduation ceremony

The Taylor Swift Education Center is located within the museum’s galleries. The two-story, 7,500-square-foot center opened in 2013. It was made possible through a generous donation from Swift.The education center includes classrooms, youth art installations, interactive galleries, and learning labs with resources to facilitate distance learning and songwriting programs. In 2022, more than 134,000 people were served through more than 1,100 educational programs offered by the museum. Many of which originated in the Taylor Swift Education Center.

The United States leg of “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” runs through August, playing 52 stadium concerts.

Taylor Swift’s 13 Finest Country Songs

• 13. “Fearless” (2010)

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  Taylor wrote "Fearless" while traveling on tour to promote her self-titled debut studio album (2006) in regard to the fearlessness of falling in love and eventually titled her second studio album after the song. The song narrates a perfect first date.

• 12. “Picture to Burn” (2008)

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  Classic Swift. The first album's single was chosen as a single based on the audience's reaction to it in concert. The lyrics concern setting fire to photographs of a former boyfriend.

• 11. “Back to December” (2011)

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  Taylor said that "Back to December" is an apology to a past lover in the form of a song. She said, "I've never felt the need to apologize in a song before. But in the last two years, I've experienced a lot, including a lot of different kinds of learning lessons. And sometimes you learn a lesson too late, and at that point, you need to apologize because you were careless."
• 10. “Love Story” (2008)

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  Another early career single. This song was huge for Swift receiving widespread critical praise, with many complimenting her writing style and the song's catchiness. The single peaked atop the chart in Australia, where it was certified ten times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). It reached the top five on charts in Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, and the U.K., and was one of the best-selling singles of 2009 worldwide.

• 9. “Mean” (2011)

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  The banjo in this song is infectious. A song Taylor wrote in response to people who criticize whatever she does. She said, "there's constructive criticism, there's professional criticism, and then there's just being mean. And there's a line that you cross when you just start to attack everything about a person."

• 8. “Highway Don’t Care” (with Tim McGraw featuring Keith Urban) (2013)

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  A great collaboration with the man who she wrote her very first single, "Tim McGraw," about. Adding Keith Urban's guitar to this makes it close to a masterpiece.
• 7. “That’s When” (with Keith Urban) (2021)

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  A song from Taylor that, with the addition of Keith Urban, makes it country in my book. From Taylor's "Vault." Keith said he listened to the song while sitting in a mall food court and "loved it."

• 6. “You Belong with Me” (2009)

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  Another classic. "You Belong with Me" was ranked among the greatest songs of the 2000s decade by both CMT and VH1. The song's music video features Swift portraying two characters: an ordinary girl (the protagonist and narrator) and a popular girl (the antagonist and girlfriend).

• 5. “I Bet You Think About Me” (featuring Chris Stapleton) (2021)

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  As usual, Stapleton's voice adds so much to this song. From Taylor's Red (Taylor's Version) album.
• 4. “Tim McGraw” (2006)

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  The song that started it all. The moment a young teenage Taylor singing the song on the ACM Awards show and went into the audience to sing it directly to McGraw himself is legendary. She wrote "Tim McGraw" during her freshman year of high school, knowing that she and her senior boyfriend would break up at the end of the year when he left for college.

• 3. “Our Song” (2007)

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  One of Taylor's finest songs, and is on her debut album. Swift wrote "Our Song" for a high school talent show during her freshman year; the lyrics are about a young couple using the regular events in their lives to create their own song. She persuaded Big Machine Records to include the song on her debut album because it was popular among her classmates.

• 2. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” (2012)

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  This is scarily catchy, and so good. Music critics praised the track for its catchy melody and radio-friendly sound. The song appeared in year-end lists by Rolling Stone, Time, and The Village Voice.
• 1. “Better Man” (2021)

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  A huge hit and Grammy-winning song for Little Big Town. The song also won Song of the Year and was nominated for Single of the Year and Music Video of the Year at the 2017 CMA Awards for Little Big Town. The lyrics are powerful. Taylor's version is just, well, the best, and that's why it tops the list.

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Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

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• Country News
• Music
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Taylor Swift