Swift's work has received praise from veteran artists. Neil Young describes her as "a great writer": "I like Taylor Swift. I like listening to her. I kind of like watching her respond to all the attacks.
I like the ways she's defining herself. So I keep my eye on it." Stephen Stills has defended Swift's confessional writing style: "How many times do people want to make fun of [her] for writing a song about getting dumped? I'm sorry, that's what you do as a songwriter ... Wear your heart on your sleeve, then just write about it.
Fuck 'em. If I was young, I would be one of Taylor Swift's conquests because I would stalk her." James Taylor, who has performed with Swift on two occasions, has said that "we just hit it off. I loved her songs, and her presence on stage was so great." Elvis Costello has remarked: "I think she is quite interesting ... You can see a degree of self-possession there, and I'm intrigued by that."
Judy Collins points to Swift as an example of a current star who is continuing on the lineage of being an independent-minded artist. Kris Kristofferson claims that "she blows me away. It's amazing to me that someone so young is writing such great songs. She's got a great career ahead of her."
Janis Ian notes that Swift "changed the face of music, songwriting and guitar playing for girls ... There is an authenticity there." Stevie Nicks believes Swift writes "songs that make the whole world sing, like Neil Diamond or Elton John ... It's women like her who are going to save the music business."
She remarked that the younger singer's "Today Was A Fairytale" has "stayed in my heart forever. And it just reminds me of me in a lot of ways." Steven Tyler of Aerosmith believes she is "beyond talented." Jon Bon Jovi describes her as "the real deal in every way, shape and form.
She's a writer, she's a singer, she's a beautiful girl ... Like, she's going to be around." Dolly Parton is "extremely impressed with her, especially with her songwriting ... I'm real impressed with the depth of her sometimes. She's got the qualities that could last a long time." Melissa Etheridge remarks: "I love her soul, her spirit.
I think she's going to surprise people and I think she's going to be around for a long time.". She also stated in an Youtube interview that two of her absolute favorite artists are Vince Gill, andAlison Krauss.
Swift has also received songwriting praise from contemporaries. John Mayer was a supporter of Swift's early career; the duo recorded a duet and performed in concert together on two occasions: "You could put her in a time machine in any era and she would have a hit record."
She has also received praise from Drake, Alicia Keys, Tegan and Sara, Grimes, Kesha, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson and Lady Gaga. Ryan Adams has said that "every tune of hers is like the one you wait a whole lifetime to write." Kathleen Hanna is "totally into Taylor Swift.
I think she has super-clever lyrics, and I love that she writes her own music." Shirley Manson remarked that she is "exceedingly talented at songwriting ... She drew her own door and walked right through it. We should applaud her balls for bucking the system. That's what artists are supposed to do." Lena Dunham, the creator and star of HBO's television series Girls, has described Swift as her "artistic kindred spirit."
