"Basically whenever a 13 comes up in my life, it’s a good thing".
That's what birthday girl Taylor Swift has believed and nurtured, even before she became the global icon she is today. Today, which incidentally also happens to be Friday the 13th, is Taylor's 35th birthday. Now with Taylor, you either love her to bits or simply look the other way. Even if you're in the latter camp, it is quite literally impossible to ignore her global domination. So instead of listing her best looks, songs, moments etcetera, etcetera (yawn), let's delve into the lore of lucky number 13, as Tay Tay turns a year older on Friday the 13th!
Now first, coming to the bad 'reputation' (see what we did there) that the number 13 lugs around, there are a host of cross-cultural explanations spanning ages backing it. You may or may not chose to believe the energies of the number based on your personal experiences, but for Taylor, the number 13 is her own magic wand, bound to bless her every time it pops up in her life.
In her own words, from an old interview, she has explained, "I was born on the 13th, I turned 13 on Friday the 13th, my first album went gold in 13 weeks. Also, my first song that ever went number 1, it had a 13 second intro, I didn't even do that on purpose! And every time I've ever won an award at an award show, I've either been seated in the 13th row, or row M, which is the 13th letter. And when I won the Horizon Award at the CMA awards, the producer came up to me when I was sound-checking and he said, 'Alright, we're gonna go in 13 seconds!' There are so many numbers!".
For several years in the early stages of her global stardom, Taylor used to doodle the number 13 on her hands. The first time this caught the attention of her fans was during her Fearless tour across 2009 and 2010. As a matter of fact, Taylor self-admittedly is quite a bit obsessed with planting Easter eggs through her discography laced with not just the number 13, but also its reverse, 31. Incidentally, when she turned 31 in December 2020, she shared in an X post, "Ever since I was 13, I’ve been excited about turning 31 because it’s my lucky number backwards...". She further joked during a Jimmy Kimmel Live! appearance, "Until I turn 113 or 131, this will be the highlight of my life".
{{/usCountry}}For several years in the early stages of her global stardom, Taylor used to doodle the number 13 on her hands. The first time this caught the attention of her fans was during her Fearless tour across 2009 and 2010. As a matter of fact, Taylor self-admittedly is quite a bit obsessed with planting Easter eggs through her discography laced with not just the number 13, but also its reverse, 31. Incidentally, when she turned 31 in December 2020, she shared in an X post, "Ever since I was 13, I’ve been excited about turning 31 because it’s my lucky number backwards...". She further joked during a Jimmy Kimmel Live! appearance, "Until I turn 113 or 131, this will be the highlight of my life".
{{/usCountry}}What's more, this year, with her birthday scheduled to arrive on a Friday the 13th, Taylor lifted her 13th Grammy win in February for best pop vocal album for Midnights. She quipped in her acceptance speech, "This is my 13th Grammy, which is my lucky number. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you that".
We wish Taylor Swift a very happy birthday!