Meet The Taydaughters, Taylor Swift’s Tangled Web Of Protégés

To her vast population of superfans, Taylor Swift is mother. But that term goes a step beyond its standard standom usage for the Swifties. Because of Swift’s huge influence on the new generation of pop girlies, her fans have begun to identify “Taydaughters.” These are the newer stars who have seemingly received Swift’s highest blessings and reflect facets of her signature allure — but this ever-changing universe of acolytes is filled with drama and debates.

Although it’s difficult to pin down its exact origin, the term “Taydaughter” is relatively recent. It was seemingly created around 2021 when the first prominent Taydaughter hit the scene, but it exploded in usage once Swift set out on her globe-enveloping Eras Tour in 2023, as the superstar publicly welcomed a whole class of young artists into her sphere as openers. But to the Swifties, the Taydaughter title isn’t freely given to just any tour opener. Discourse has continued to rage on about who truly deserves the designation.

To parse all this out, let’s start with the singer who first earned the title and has since become the most contentious Taydaughter of all.

The Prodigal Taydaughter: Olivia Rodrigo

Back in 2021, when “Drivers License” made Olivia Rodrigo a superstar, she was the paragon of a Taydaughter, vocally proclaiming herself a huge Swiftie and crediting Swift as one of her biggest musical inspirations. Swift herself became a friend to Rodrigo, writing to her on Instagram, “that’s my baby and I’m so proud.” As Swift continued to playfully call Rodrigo her kid, the fandom dubbed her the first (and at that time only) true Taydaughter.

But now, Swifties are bitterly divided over whether Rodrigo is still a Taydaughter after she and Swift seemed to have a falling-out later in 2021. It’s believed that the two had a conflict after Rodrigo was made to pay Swift royalties for interpolating Swift’s songs on her Sour tracks “1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back” and “Deja Vu.” Since then, Rodrigo and Swift have been notably distant and stopped openly praising one another, with some fans even theorizing Rodrigo’s 2023 song “The Grudge” is about their rumored beef.

So, can Rodrigo still be a Taydaughter if she’s seemingly on the outs with Swift? To some fans, Rodrigo remains the only “biological Taydaughter” to this day despite the drama, while others feel Rodrigo has shed the label. However she’s considered, it’s impossible to ignore that the Taydaughter throne has been handed to someone new...

The Current Supreme: Sabrina Carpenter

One Taydaughter falls, and another ascends. Interestingly, Carpenter is now the one fans see as Swift’s favorite child instead of Rodrigo. Back in 2021, everyone believed that Rodrigo and Carpenter were bitter rivals after “Drivers License” seemed to reference Carpenter stealing her love interest. So, when Swift announced Carpenter as an opener on her Eras Tour in 2023, many fans took it as a tactical slight against Rodrigo following her falling-out with Swift. (Although the two Taydaughters have since seemed to make up.)

Carpenter wasn’t just one of the many tour openers, though. She formed a visibly strong friendship with Swift off the stage, joining her at Kansas City Chiefs games and awards shows, and gushing about Swift being “one of [her] best, best friends.” Their bond has become so close that Carpenter holds the honor of being the only artist featured on Swift’s album The Life of a Showgirl.

While most Swifties would agree Carpenter is the main Taydaughter of the moment, her position is not as clear-cut as Rodrigo’s was. Recently, a debate has taken over the fandom, with one faction of Swifties arguing Carpenter should be considered an “Aridaughter” — that is, a musical descendant of Ariana Grande due to her vocals and personality aligning more with the “Thank U, Next” singer.

It raises a question about the term: Does “Taydaughter” signify close friendship and collaboration, or should it be more about aesthetic similarities? Perhaps it’s best to assume Swift and Grande share custody of Carpenter — although there’s one other main pop girl who some believe should take Carpenter’s spot as the supreme.

The Ultimate Taydaughter: Gracie Abrams

Abrams feels much more like the second coming of Rodrigo in terms of Taydaughter devotion than Carpenter. Much like the first Taydaughter, Abrams has been a very vocal Swift fan since the beginning of her music career, which led to an actual friendship with Swift. Like Carpenter, she was also on the Eras Tour as an opener, and actually booked a collab with Swift before Carpenter did. The two released their duet, “Us,” in 2024.

Abrams’ own music is clearly much more heavily inspired by Swift’s lyrical musicality than any of the other main Taydaughters, with her songs closely echoing Swift’s earlier guitar-driven, confessional hits.

While Abrams and Carpenter may be in contention for the current reigning Taydaughter, they do have some other siblings.

The Newly Adopted Taydaughters: Phoebe Bridgers, Beabadoobee, Griff, & Girl In Red

The rise in popularity of “Taydaughter” as a title can be closely tied to the Eras Tour and the 19 artists Swift hand-picked to open for her. However, not all 19 are considered Taydaughters. Hayley Williams and Haim may be Swift’s longtime friends, but being around the same age as the pop star also means that they weren’t raised under her musical influence.

Instead, fans have given the title to younger stars who have either collaborated closely with Swift, like Phoebe Bridgers, or who have gotten a rare Swift stamp of approval, like Griff.

The Taysons: Conan Gray, Shawn Mendes, & Benson Boone

The Swiftian family unit world is not gender-exclusive. Benson Boone has been referred to as the most recent Tayson after becoming the most prominent male Eras Tour opener, but there are two other men whose Tayson statuses go much deeper... and have been a bit more complicated.

Some Swifties have argued that Shawn Mendes is the original Tayson due to his close friendship with Swift while he opened for her 1989 Tour. However, others consider Conan Gray the true Tayson due to his similar artistic style to Swift and Gray’s effusive praise of Swift as both an inspiration and an idol. And just like Taydaughters, Taysons can sometimes find themselves in a lot of fandom drama.

Both Mendes and Gray have significant connections to prominent Taydaughters. Mendes is rumored to have dated Carpenter in late 2022, and the fling apparently did not end well. Meanwhile, Gray is famously best friends with Rodrigo, even in the years since her supposed falling-out with Swift. Still, those potential wrinkles haven’t seemed to shake their position as the most prominent Taysons.

The universe of Taychildren is ever-shifting, and so is the discourse around it. The rise of another Taydaughter in the future feels inevitable, but as the proverbial sun in this bizarre solar system, Swift’s position will always remain the same.