Taylor Swift has released 11 studio albums – but now an early collaborator says he has secret unreleased tracks that showcase how her genius sparkled from an early age
Taylor Swift ’s music has dominated the charts for almost two decades – but her love life and her public feuds have at times threatened to obscure her huge talent. Now, a new Channel 4 documentary reveals how Taylor’s songwriting prowess and ability to connect with her audience has always been her superpower, enabling her to clap back at her critics with lyrical precision.
Songwriter Robert Ellis Orrall was one of the first to witness Taylor’s ability to turn out hit songs and worked with her in 2003 when she was just 13 to record a demo featuring three tracks called Invisible, Just South Of Knowing Why and Need You Now.
Recalling their studio sessions, Robert tells the documentary, “Right from the get-go Taylor directed the session. We wrote three songs in the first two days that we were together and two of those are on the debut album, Taylor Swift. After we’d written a few songs, her dad said, ‘Here’s another 15 that she wrote.’”
Holding up a CD for the camera, Robert reveals he has another 16 songs written by Taylor that have never been heard by the public.
“I have tons of these from way back,” he says on the show, which features interviews with lots of Taylor’s early collaborators. “Here are 16 songs copyright 2003, the same year we started writing. None of those are anything you’ve ever heard.”
While Robert was co-writing with Taylor, he credits her with bringing all the creative ideas, saying she was a powerhouse even in her early teens. When he was working with Taylor, Robert quickly recognised the huge star she would become. Robert was one of the co-writers on her early track Place In This World and he was confident it would speak to fans. “Every kid feels that way and millions of kids could relate to that,” says Robert. “She had a plan and she wasn’t going to go off that plan. She was not going to be stopped. People were telling her ‘no’ left and right… She was having none of that.”
Robert helped Taylor get discovered, encouraging her to sing at The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville where he had a regular slot. On that stage she was spotted by Scott Borchetta who signed her to his new Big Machine Records label.
In the documentary, audio footage of Taylor talking about her big break is played. She says, “I’m looking out and seeing all these faces and there is one guy that is really getting it and has his eyes closed and I kept noticing him and after the show he said, ‘Hi, I’m Scott Borchetta.’ He goes, ‘The good news is that I want to set up my own record labels and I would like you to consider being one of my first artists.’”
The pair worked together for 12 years and released six albums. Then in 2016 Taylor’s ongoing feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian blew up and threatened her career. Kanye’s song Famous contained sexual lyrics about Taylor which she publicly took issue with. Then, Kim released clips of a video of a phone call appearing to show Taylor approving the lyrics. The backlash from this was not kind and when Kim called her a snake, #TaylorSwift IsASnake went viral.
Footage of Taylor crying to her mum Andrea shows how the fallout affected the young star. In the footage she’s seen saying, “I’ve been doing this for 15 years, I’m tired of it. It feels like it’s more than music at this point… most days I’m like ‘OK,’ but then sometimes I’m like, it just gets loud.” Taylor retreated from the public eye, but it wasn’t long before she was back, and this time she was owning the snake motif, which featured heavily on her 2017 album Reputation and subsequent tour.
In 2020, the full video of the Kanye call was released, proving Taylor had not fully approved the lyrics. Also in 2017, Taylor’s life away from music made headlines once more when she won a sexual assault civil case against DJ David Mueller.
She said at the time, “I acknowledge the privilege that I benefit from in life, in society and in my ability to shoulder the enormous cost of defending myself in a trial like this. My hope is to help those whose voices should also be heard. Therefore, I will be making donations in the near future to multiple organisations that help sexual assault victims defend themselves.”
In 2019, fans were again supportive of Taylor when she spoke out in fury after she parted ways with Scott Borchetta and he sold her back catalogue to Scooter Brau n. Taylor asked fans to weigh in on her behalf.
However, Channel 4 ’s new documentary sees her first manager Rick Barker slam her behaviour. He says, “No one stole her music, no one made her sign a bad record deal.” This year, Taylor, now 35, announced her engagement to American football star Travis Kelce. And even her former manager Rick is wishing her well. He tells the film crew, “I hope what comes next for Taylor is that she has found her person and that she gets to experience the things that most people get to experience and that some people give the girl a break.”
Taylor, Tuesday 30 September, 9.15pm, Channel 4