Taylor Swift enters Songwriters Hall of Fame at 36

Taylor Swift became the youngest woman inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on Thursday night, delivering an emotional 21-minute speech in New York that traced her career back to her family’s decision to move from Pennsylvania to Nashville when she was a teenager.

Swift, 36, told the audience at the Marriott Marquis Hotel that her parents and brother uprooted their lives when she was 14 “so that I could hone my craft in the songwriting capital of the world,” the BBC reported.

“It couldn’t have been easy for my parents and my brother to just pick up and move our entire family,” she said. “Even though words are supposed to kind of be my thing, I will never be able to express my gratitude to you guys for doing that for me. You’re the reason I’m here tonight.”

Speaking in a raspy voice she attributed to singing along at the ceremony’s performances and at Wednesday night’s New York Knicks-San Antonio Spurs game, Swift said songwriting was the one part of her career that felt natural from the start.

“It was instinctual. No one taught me how to do it,” she said. “I had to be taught how to entertain a crowd, and learn choreography, and be less annoying and navigate the industry and fiercely protect my own sanity through difficult lessons and massive amounts of trial and error and chaos and calamity. But songwriting for me was pretty much the only thing I naturally did.”

Director Steven Spielberg introduced Swift in a surprise speech about songwriting’s emotional reach. “There is something undeniable about how songs imprint on our souls,” he said, adding of Swift: “Somehow Taylor knows us all too well.” Swift responded that “because of examples like Steven’s, I trusted my imagination.”

Gen Z singer Sombr opened Swift’s segment by performing “Cardigan” and “Dear John.” The Hall of Fame recognized key Swift songs including “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version),” “Blank Space,” “Anti-Hero,” “Love Story” and “The Last Great American Dynasty,” according to the BBC. Swift advised younger writers: “You really have to prioritize what you love, down to your very core. Because you’ll need that.”

Swift is the youngest woman inducted, while Stevie Wonder remains the youngest overall; CBS News reported it was announced on stage that Wonder, who began recording at 13, holds that distinction. The BBC reported Wonder was 33 when he joined.

The ceremony honored a broad class of writers and performers, including Alanis Morissette, Kenny Loggins, Kiss founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, Christopher “Tricky” Stewart, Walter Afanasieff, Terry Britten and Graham Lyle. John Fogerty received the Johnny Mercer Award, and British singer-songwriter RAYE received the Hal David Starlight Award.

Stewart, whose credits include Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies,” Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body” and Justin Bieber’s “Baby,” was introduced by Dallas Austin, who called the songs “cultural moments.” Stewart thanked God, his family, collaborators and mentors, including Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Babyface.

Stanley accepted for Kiss after saying Simmons was absent because of a family emergency. “Songs are the messenger,” Stanley said, calling them the foundation of “every show.” Morissette described writing as essential: “It’s write or die.” Fogerty marked his honor by saying, “I got my songs back!” in reference to regaining the rights to his catalog at age 80.

Founded in 1969, the Songwriters Hall of Fame honors creators of popular music. A songwriter with a notable catalog qualifies 20 years after the first commercial release of a song, and the BBC reported that fewer than 500 people have been invited in over the last 50 years.