Taylor Swift gave an emotional 20-minute speech during her induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York on Thursday night, expressing her lifelong passion for crafting songs, the sacrifices her family made to allow her to pursue her dreams as a young girl and her advice for the next generation of hitmakers.
“Looking back at my 23-year career in music, the ups and downs, the industry battles, the trials and tribulations, the tears and the cheers, the accumulation of doubt, the fair and unfair criticism, the complete loss of privacy, the world tours, the ego wars, the twists of fate, the absolute magical chaos of this path that I chose when I was too young to remember that it was ever a choice: songwriting was the easiest thing I’ve ever done. I did,” Swift told the crowd on Thursday.
Expanding on this statement, Swift said that writing was easy because it was “instinctive.”
“No one taught me how to do it,” Swift said, adding that she had to learn “enormous amounts of trial and error” and that “it all came together when I learned to play the guitar at the age of 12.”
“It would have been easy to choose songwriting over anything else in my life,” Swift said, fighting back tears, “but it wouldn’t have been easy for my parents and brother to pick up and move our entire family from Pennsylvania to move to Nashville, so I could hone my craft in the songwriting capital of the world… They uprooted their entire lives to move me to Music City. Even though words are supposed to be my favorite thing, I will never be able to express my gratitude to you guys for doing this because you’re the reason Being here tonight.
Taylor Swift talks about how songwriting has always been the “easiest part” of being an artist during her speech at the Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony pic.twitter.com/bbgSZhj5QX
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) June 12, 2026
Swift, who performed alongside Randy Newman in Toy Story 5 This week’s premiere was presented by Steven Spielberg, who Swift personally asked to handle the honor. Spielberg said in his speech that with her latest achievement, “Taylor Swift continues to fulfill her destiny as the most successful artist not only of her time, but of all time.”
“Tonight is an acknowledgment that while she wrote ‘You Belong to Me’ in a profound way, we belong to her,” Spielberg said.
Somber, who Swift has praised as one of the best young songwriters of his generation, began introducing Swift with renditions of her classic songs “Cardigan” and “Dear John.”
Swift is now the youngest woman ever to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the second-youngest person overall, behind only Stevie Wonder.
Other than Swift, inductees into this year’s Songwriters Hall include Kenny Loggins, Alanis Morissette, Paul Stanley of KISS, Gene Simmons, Tricky Stewart, Graham Lyle, Terry Britten and Walter Afanasieff. John Fogerty received the Johnny Mercer Award, a prestigious lifetime achievement honor for those who have already been inducted into the Songwriters Hall in years past.
Stewart was introduced first, with Tamar Braxton performing Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies,” while Kylie Cantrell performed Rihanna’s “Umbrella.”
Brittain and Lyle were next, introduced by Jane Seymour, with Steve Miller following up to introduce Fogerty. Fogerty gave an expansive speech that spanned the course of his career, noting that he fell in love with songwriting as a young child thanks to his mother, and touching on his decades-long battle to regain the rights to his song.
“Who would thank you?” he said as he took the stage. “When I was a child, I dreamed that one day there would be a night like this. As an adult in the dark times of my life, I thought this might never happen to me.”
He then performed “Oh Susannah,” a reference to the first song he remembers hearing, and then played CCR classics like “Proud Mary,” “Fortunate Son,” “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” and “Run Through the Jungle.”
Jeremy Renner introduced Afanasieff, and Billy Corgan covered “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “Shout it Out Loud” to kick off Stanley and Simmons’ induction.
“With the bombast and the bombs and the lasers, all the things the band is known for, it’s nothing without a song,” Stanley told the crowd. “To be in such rare company and to be accepted into this group that has inspired and motivated us is something we could never have imagined.”
Brandi Carlile introduced Morissette, emphasizing the singer’s outsized influence as a powerful female voice in rock ‘n’ roll. “Who hasn’t been disturbed by the righteous indignation of ‘You Should Know’?” Carlisle asked in her opening statement.
In her speech, Morissette described songwriting as “not a hobby, nor is it a profession or a profession. It is a survival strategy.”
“Writing helps me understand,” Morissette said, calling on the education system to continue supporting the arts. “It helps me locate myself and find it from the inside out versus the outside in.”
She closed her induction ceremony with a rousing performance of “Mary Jane” and “You Should Know,” which received a standing ovation from the audience.
Ray was the final honoree before Swift’s introduction began, as the rising British star received the Hal David Starlight Award, an honor for past songwriters. She performed an impressive verse of her Hans Zimmer co-written song “Click Clack Symphony” from her latest album This music may contain hope. Before her performance, she used her speech to call for better pay and royalty collection for songwriters so they can support themselves.
“It shouldn’t be just rich people who can write songs,” Rae said, to a standing ovation of her own.
