Over the winter break, Sophie Singer, ArtSci ’25, released a Facebook callout to start a Taylor Swift (TS) Society at Queen’s. When her post was flooded with reactions of support and interest, she knew she made the right call. 

“I just put a little post on [Overheard at Queen’s] being like f—k it,” Singer said in an interview with The Journal.

Singer, an exchange student from Cardiff University in England, said after Swift’s re-release of the Red album in November 2021, she wondered if the Queen’s community shared the same love for the musician as she did.

According to Singer, the TS society aims to reminisce on the artist’s influence on young and old fans.

“We had this society back in Cardiff. It was brand new from the start, I built it up with a friend of mine,” Singer said.

Singer’s connection with Taylor Swift’s music began when she was 12 years old.

“I was bullied in middle school a lot, and I just remember hearing her song ‘Mean.’ It just got me through.”

She added that a quote from Swift’s blog especially resonated with her through difficult times.

“It’s something like ‘if all else fails, at least I’ve got music, like music is never going to let me down,’ and I was like ‘that’s how I feel.’ I didn’t really have many friends, but I had her music, and that was enough.”

According to Singer, over a hundred people have expressed interest in the club since it was created on Jan. 9. The first TS Society meeting, according to Singer, was a “great success.”

Though the club missed the deadline for AMS ratification, Singer is hopeful after learning exceptions in the ratification process can be made for exchange students. She added if the TS Society doesn’t get ratified this year, there’s always next semester to try again.

Those interested in the TS Society are encouraged to follow its Instagram page and watch out for updates.