{"id":3219,"date":"2020-10-28T12:41:27","date_gmt":"2020-10-28T12:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/taylorswiftswitzerland.ch\/?page_id=3219"},"modified":"2026-05-12T20:13:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T19:13:29","slug":"music-hiatus","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/taylorswiftswitzerland.ch\/index.php\/wiki\/music-hiatus\/","title":{"rendered":"Music Hiatus (2016-2017)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Music Hiatus<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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2016 \u2013 2017<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFrom April 2016 to August 2017, Taylor took her first extended hiatus since launching her career in 2006. After years of near-constant visibility, touring, promotion, and album cycles, she initially intended to use this period to rest, recharge, and experience life outside the relentless pace of celebrity and creative output. At first, the break appeared relatively casual: an off-cycle year defined by fashion experimentation and a noticeably looser approach to fame than before. Over time, however, the break evolved into something far more emotionally significant and transformative than she had anticipated. A wave of public controversies and intense online backlash profoundly altered both Taylor\u2019s relationship with the public and her perception of herself within the music industry. What began as a temporary step back gradually turned into a period of deep personal retreat, creative uncertainty, and reassessment, during which she questioned not only her public image, but whether she still wanted to exist within the spotlight at all.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Beginning of Hiatus <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTaylor\u2019s hiatus began on April 3, 2016 after the iHeartRadio Music Awards<\/em>, which marked her final appearance tied to the 1989<\/em> era<\/a> campaign. The break was initially framed as a deliberate retreat from public life to step away from constant visibility and media attention.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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End of Hiatus <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOn August 18, 2017, on the third anniversary of the announcement of 1989<\/a><\/em> and the release of \u201cShake It Off<\/a>,\u201d Taylor wiped her social media accounts, immediately fuelling speculation about a new project. Shortly afterwards, she released \u201cLook What You Made Me Do<\/a>,\u201d which officially marked the beginning of the reputation<\/em> era<\/a>.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Aesthetic <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDuring her 2016\u20132017 hiatus, Taylor was no longer anchored to a formal album cycle, which allowed her public image to exist outside the tightly defined aesthetics that had characterised earlier eras. Following her Vogue <\/em>makeover, she began experimenting with a looser visual language rooted in rock and grunge influences.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Style <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDuring her 2016\u20132017 hiatus, Taylor\u2019s style took on a raw, rock-grunge direction defined by her bleached \u201cBleachella\u201d hair and a noticeably darker, more experimental edge. Leather jackets, chokers, leopard print, and chunky platform boots became recurring staples, creating a deliberately undone aesthetic that contrasted sharply with her earlier polished pop image.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSpeaking about her break from music, Taylor famously said in her documentary Miss Americana<\/a><\/em> (2020) that \u201cnobody physically saw me for a year.\u201d While not entirely literal, the statement reflected a very real shift in how she approached fame and public visibility after officially wrapping up the 1989<\/a><\/em> era in April 2016. Throughout the spring and summer of that year, Taylor was still frequently photographed in New York City and Los Angeles, continuing to navigate celebrity life in public view. Yet even this transitional off-cycle period carried a distinct atmosphere of its own. Her image shifted noticeably toward a more grunge-inspired, fashion-forward aesthetic\u2014an in-between phase now closely associated with \u201cBleachella,\u201d late-night outings, and the feeling of someone both overwhelmed by fame and quietly beginning to retreat from it.\n

\nAfter November 2016, however, that retreat became far more deliberate. In many ways, the beginning of 2017 marked the true transformation in Taylor\u2019s relationship with fame, coinciding with her move to London to be closer to her new boyfriend, actor Joe Alwyn<\/a>. For the first time in her adult life, she began actively prioritizing privacy over visibility, building a quieter existence away from paparazzi culture and constant online presence. From late 2016 through the release of reputation<\/a><\/em> in November 2017, Taylor was largely absent from public appearances by choice, creating a level of distance that felt unprecedented for an artist of her stature:\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\u00abI was happy. But I wasn\u2019t happy in the way I was trained to be. It was happiness without anyone else\u2019s input.\u00bb\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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1989 Era<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIn 2014, Taylor relocated to New York City. The 1989 <\/em>era catapulted her into global superstardom, fully transitioning to pop.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRead More<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Karma<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDuring Taylor\u2019s disappearance from public life in 2016, fans theorized about a (non-existent) scrapped album titled Karma<\/em>.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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reputation Era<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDuring the reputation <\/em>era, Taylor confronted public backlash while reclaiming her narrative.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Looking Forward to a Break\u200b<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe conclusion of the 1989<\/em> campaign came in December 2015, when Taylor wrapped \u201cThe 1989 World Tour<\/a>,\u201d the year\u2019s highest-grossing tour. At 26, she had cemented herself not only as one of the most successful recording artists of all time, but also as a formidable industry figure, capable of reshaping corporate policy\u2014as seen in her widely publicized standoff with Apple Music<\/a> earlier that year.\n

\nIn early 2016, she finally slowed her pace. At the Grammys<\/em> that February, she debuted a sharp bob haircut, a look reminiscent of Anna Wintour. The night proved historic, as Taylor closed the 1989<\/em> era<\/a> by winning \u201cAlbum of the Year,\u201d becoming the first woman in history to receive the honor twice. The haircut also foreshadowed her third Vogue<\/em> US cover, published in May, for which a journalist shadowed her during her rare time off. The feature included a reflective visit to her childhood home in Reading, Pennsylvania, and offered a glimpse into her state of mind as she entered her first true period of rest in a decade:\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\u00abThis is the first time in ten years that I haven\u2019t known [what's next]. I just decided that after the past year, with all of the unbelievable things that happened\u2026I decided I was going to live my life a little bit without the pressure on myself to create something. [...] Honestly, I never relax, and I\u2019m excited about being able to relax for the first time in ten year.\u00bb\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTaylor Swift<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDuring her time off, Taylor said she hoped to accomplish some \u201cshort-term goals,\u201d such as learning CPR and mastering cocktail-making. \u201cI would really like to take a little time to learn things,\u201d she explained. \u201cI have lots of short-term goals. I do things like this. [One time] I got it in my head that I couldn\u2019t do a split, and I was really upset about it. And so I stretched every single day for a year until I could do a split. Somehow I feel better knowing that I can.\u201d\n

\nAlthough her plan was to take an extended break, Taylor noted that she wasn\u2019t ruling out the possibility of returning to the studio sooner than expected. \u201cI\u2019m always going to be writing songs,\u201d she said. \u201cThe thing is, with me, I could very well come up with three things in the next two weeks and then jump back into the studio, and all of a sudden the next record is started. That\u2019s an option, too.\u201d\n

\nBefore that could happen, however, a vacation was on the horizon. Over the previous year, Taylor had been dating Scottish DJ-producer Calvin Harris. In early March, they marked the one-year milestone of their relationship. Soon after, they shared photos from a tropical getaway, with \u201cTS+AW\u201d written in the sand (Harris\u2019s given name is Adam Wiles). \u201cI\u2019m just taking things as they come,\u201d Taylor told Vogue<\/em>. \u201cI\u2019m in a magical relationship right now. And of course I want it to be ours, and low-key\u2026this is the one thing that\u2019s been mine about my personal life.\u201d\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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