New YouGov surveys conducted in the U.S. and UK find that on both sides of the Atlantic, Swifties name Taylor Swift’s “1989” as their favorite album by the singer. The U.S. poll also provides a look at the potential political impact Swift could have on the presidential election if she were to endorse a candidate.
When asked to choose their favorite Swift album, both U.S. and UK fans who like or love at least one of her albums put “1989” at the top of their list. 18% of U.S. fans and 32% of British fans say this is their favorite Swift album. In the U.S., “Lover” (12%), “Fearless” (11%), and “Taylor Swift” (11%) are the other most favored albums. In the UK, it’s “Red” (11%), then “Reputation” (8%). A Feb. 2023 U.S. survey found that "Lover" narrowly led "1989."
Another way to rank Swift’s music is by calculating net scores for each album based on how many more of her fans love or like an album than dislike or strongly dislike it. When looking at the data this way, “Red” emerges as the winner among American Swift fans with a net score of +67, effectively tied with “1989” which has a net score of +66.
The album with the lowest net score is “The Tortured Poets Department,” Swift’s most recent album, which was released in April. 53% of her fans love or like it; 9% dislike or strongly dislike it, giving it a net score of +45. 23% of her fans haven’t listened to this album.
Swift is in the process of re-recording her first six albums to regain control over her master recordings, which were sold against her wishes to music manager Scooter Braun in 2019.
She has re-recorded four albums so far, adding the modifier “(Taylor’s Version)” and including extra songs to distinguish them from the originals. The two albums that remain to be re-recorded are “Reputation" and “Taylor Swift”, her debut album. Among Swift’s fans, 33% would like “Reputation (Taylor’s Version)” to be the next release; 25% want it to be “Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version)”. 42% are unsure.
33% of fans expect “Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version)” to be released before the end of 2024, including 11% who think it will be released in December. 29% expect “Reputation (Taylor’s Version)” to be released before the end of 2024.
Who are Swift’s U.S. fans? 35% of Americans say they are fans of Swift, including 4% who describe themselves as big fans. Women under 30 are particularly likely (51%) to describe themselves as Swift fans.
People who live in cities (41%) are more likely than those who live in suburbs (34%), towns (31%), or rural areas (27%) to say they are fans or big fans of Swift. Democrats (49%) are more likely than Independents (27%) or Republicans (28%) to say they are Swift fans.
When it comes to Swift’s political involvement, 42% of Americans think that she should not speak publicly about politics. 32% think she should publicly endorse political candidates she supports, and 26% are not sure. Among people who describe themselves as fans, only 30% say she shouldn't speak publicly about politics while 46% think she should publicly endorse candidates she supports. Democrats (60%) are significantly more likely than Independents (24%) and Republicans (10%) to say Swift should endorse candidates. In the past Swift's involvement in politics generally has been in favor of Democratic candidates and positions.
If Swift were to endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, 68% of Americans say it would make no difference in who they decided to vote for. 8% say it would make them much or somewhat more likely to vote for that candidate, and 16% say it would make them less likely to vote for that candidate.
Among Swift fans, 14% say the singer’s endorsement would make them more likely to vote for that candidate and 7% say it would make them less likely. Most (71%) say it would make no difference.
Among Republicans, most (60%) say the singer’s endorsement would have no impact on their vote, though 30% say it would make them less likely to vote for the candidate. Only 4% say it would make them more likely to vote for Swift's preferred candidate.
44% of Americans think Swift is a Democrat; few think she’s a Republican (5%), Independent (7%), or something else (3%). Among her fans, 48% believe she’s a Democrat and 7% think she's a Republican. The majority of Democrats (55%), along with 28% of Independents and 50% of Republicans, believe Swift is a Democrat; 5% or fewer in each group think she is a Republican.
Donald Trump posted a series of AI-generated images to social media on August 18 suggesting that the singer had endorsed him, but as of this writing, Swift has not endorsed a presidential candidate in the 2024 election.
If she were to endorse Trump, 39% of Americans — including 44% of Republicans — think this would have a positive impact on Trump’s campaign; 12% think it would be negative. 27% of Americans think the impact would be neither positive nor negative.
If Swift were to endorse Kamala Harris, 53% of Americans think it would have a positive impact on her campaign while 10% think the impact would be negative. Democrats are particularly likely (80%) to think that a Swift endorsement would have a positive impact on Harris’ campaign.
— Sarah Prescott-Smith, Taylor Orth, Matthew Smith, and Carl Bialik contributed to this article
Related:
- What are the best Taylor Swift songs and albums, according to fans
- The most popular Taylor Swift albums in the U.S.: a ranking, based on her fans
- How Taylor Swift is driving interest in the Super Bowl
See the results for this YouGov poll.
Methodology: The poll was conducted online among 2,263 U.S. adult citizens from August 1 - 6, 2024 on two separate surveys from August 1 - 5, 2024 and August 2 - 6, 2024. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given prior to November 1, 2022, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (33% Democratic, 31% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 3%.
Image: Getty
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