{"id":2456070,"date":"2026-06-12T09:47:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T09:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2456070"},"modified":"2026-06-12T09:47:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T09:47:16","slug":"taylor-swifts-songwriters-hall-of-fame-induction-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/taylor-swifts-songwriters-hall-of-fame-induction-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"Taylor Swift’s Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction Speech"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\tTaylor Swift<\/a> gave an emotional, 20-minute speech during her induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame<\/a> in New York on Thursday evening, expressing her life-long passion for crafting songs, the sacrifices her family made to let her follow her dreams as a young girl and her advice for the next generation of hitmakers.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIf I look back at my entire 23-year career in music, the ups and downs, the industry battles, the trials and tribulations, the tears and the cheers, and the dog piling of doubt, the criticisms of fair and unfair, the complete loss of privacy, the world tours and the ego wars and the twists of fate, the absolute magical chaos of this path that I chose when I was too young to remember it ever being a choice at all: songwriting was the easiest thing I ever did,\u201d Swift told the crowd on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\n\tExpanding on that statement, Swift said that writing was easy because it was \u201cinstinctual.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201dNo one taught me how to do it,\u201d Swift said, adding that she had to learn over \u201cmassive amounts of trial and error\u201d and that \u201ceverything came together when I learned to play guitar at 12.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt was easy to choose songwriting over everything else in my life, but it couldn\u2019t have been easy for my parents and my brother,\u201d Swift said, fighting back tears, \u201cto pick up and move our entire family from Pennsylvania to relocate to Nashville, so that I could hone my craft in the songwriting capital of the world\u2026 they uprooted their entire lives to move me to music city. Even though words are kind of supposed to be my thing, I\u2019ll never be able to express my gratitude to you guys for doing that for me. You\u2019re the reason I\u2019m here tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Taylor Swift talks about how songwriting has always been \u201cthe easiest part\u201d of being an artist during her speech at the Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony pic.twitter.com\/bbgSZhj5QX<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) June 12, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\n\tSwift, who performed alongside Randy Newman<\/a> at the Toy Story 5 <\/em>premiere this week, was inducted by none other than Stephen Spielberg, who Swift personally asked to handle the honor. In his speech, Spielberg said that with her latest achievement, \u201cTaylor Swift continues to fulfill her destiny as the most successful female artist not just of her time, but of all time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201dTonight is a recognition that while she wrote \u2018you belong with me,\u2019 in the most profound way, we belong to her,\u201d Spielberg said. <\/p>\n

\n\tSombr, who Swift has lauded as one of the best young songwriters of his generation, kicked off Swift\u2019s induction with performances of her classics \u201cCardigan\u201d and \u201cDear John.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tSwift is now the youngest woman to ever be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the second youngest person overall, behind only Stevie Wonder. <\/p>\n

\n\tOther than Swift, this year\u2019s Songwriters Hall inductees were Kenny Loggins, Alanis Morissette, KISS\u2019s Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, Tricky Stewart, Graham Lyle, Terry Britten and Walter Afanasieff. John Fogerty was given the Johnny Mercer Award,<\/a>\u00a0a prestigious lifetime achievement honor for those who\u2019ve already been inducted into the Songwriters Hall in years past. <\/p>\n

\n\tStewart was inducted first, with Tamar Braxton performing his Beyonc\u00e9 smash \u201cSingle Ladies,\u201d while upcoming act Kylie Cantrell performed Rihanna\u2019s \u201cUmbrella.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBritten and Lyle came next, introduced by Jane Seymour, with Steve Miller following up to introduce Fogerty. Fogerty gave an extensive, career-spanning speech recalling falling in love with songwriting as a young child thanks to his mother, and touching on his decades-long battle to win back his song rights. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWho\u2019d have thunk,\u201d he said as he took the stage. \u201cAs a child I dreamed that someday there\u2019d be a night like this. As a grown man in the dark times of my life, I thought this might never happen for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe then performed \u201cOh Susannah,\u201d a nod to the first song he recalled hearing, then played his CCR classics \u201cProud Mary,\u201d \u201cFortunate Son,\u201d and \u201cHave You Ever Seen the Rain\u201d and \u201cRun Through the Jungle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tJeremy Renner introduced Afanasieff, and Billy Corgan covered \u201cRock and Roll All Nite\u201d and \u201cShout it Out Loud\u201d to kick off the induction for Stanley and Simmons. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cGiven the bombast and the bombs and the laser, all the things the band is known for, it means nothing without a song,\u201d Stanley told the crowd. \u201cTo be in this rarified company and to be accepted into this group that inspired and motivated us is something we never could\u2019ve imagined.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBrandi Carlile inducted Morissette, emphasizing the singer\u2019s outsized impact as a powerful female voice in rock and roll. \u201cWho wasn\u2019t blown away by the righteous indignation of \u201cYou Oughta Know\u201d?\u201d Carlile asked in her introductory speech.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn her own speech, Morissette called songwriting \u201cnot a hobby, nor is it a profession or a career. It\u2019s a survival strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWriting helps me understand,\u201d Morissette said, calling for the education system to continue to champion the arts. \u201dIt helps me locate and find myself from inside out versus outside in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tShe finished her induction with rousing renditions of \u201cMary Jane,\u201d and \u201cYou Oughta Know,\u201d which received a sizable standing ovation from the crowd. <\/p>\n

\n\tRaye was the final honoree before Swift\u2019s induction began, as the rising British star was given the Hal David Starlight Award, an honor for earlier career songwriters. She performed an impressive take of her Hans Zimmer co-written track \u201cClick Clack Symphony\u201d from her latest album This Music May Contain Hope<\/em>. Before her performance, she used her speech to call for better pay and master royalties for songwriters so they can sustain themselves.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201dIt needs to not just be rich people who can afford to write songs,\u201d Raye said, earning a standing ovation of her own. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n