document_title: Taylor Swift

question_text: when did taylor swift last album come out

text: Taylor Swift

text: Life and career

text: 1989–2003: Early life

text: Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13, 1989, in Reading, Pennsylvania.[1] Her father, Scott Kingsley Swift, was a financial advisor, and her mother, Andrea Gardner Swift (née Finlay), was a homemaker who worked previously as a mutual fund marketing executive.[2] The singer has a younger brother named Austin.[3] Swift spent the early years of her life on a Christmas tree farm.[4] She attended preschool and kindergarten at the Alvernia Montessori School, run by Franciscan nuns,[5] before transferring to The Wyndcroft School.[6] The family then moved to a rented house in the suburban town of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania,[7] where she attended Wyomissing Area Junior/Senior High School.[8]

text: At the age of nine, Swift became interested in musical theater and performed in four Berks Youth Theatre Academy productions.[9] She also traveled regularly to New York City for vocal and acting lessons.[10] Swift later shifted her focus toward country music inspired by Shania Twain's songs, which made her "want to just run around the block four times and daydream about everything".[11] She spent her weekends performing at local festivals and events.[12][13] After watching a documentary about Faith Hill, Swift felt sure that she needed to go to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a music career.[14] At the age of eleven, she traveled with her mother to visit Nashville record labels and submitted a demo tape of Dolly Parton and Dixie Chicks karaoke covers.[15] However, she was rejected since "everyone in that town wanted to do what I wanted to do. So, I kept thinking to myself, I need to figure out a way to be different".[16]

text: When she was about 12 years old, computer repairman and local musician Ronnie Cremer taught Taylor Swift how to play guitar and helped with her first efforts as a songwriter, leading to her writing "Lucky You".[17][18] In 2003, Swift and her parents started working with New York-based music manager Dan Dymtrow. With his help, Swift modelled for Abercrombie & Fitch as part of their "Rising Stars" campaign, had an original song included on a Maybelline compilation CD, and attended meetings with major record labels.[19] After performing original songs at an RCA Records showcase, Swift was given an artist development deal and began making frequent trips to Nashville with her mother.[20][21]

text: To help Swift break into country music, her father transferred to the Nashville office of Merrill Lynch when she was 14, and the family relocated to a lakefront house in Hendersonville, Tennessee.[22][23] Swift attended public high school,[24] but after two years transferred to the Aaron Academy, which through homeschooling could accommodate her touring schedule, and she graduated a year early.[25]

text: 2004–2008: Career beginnings and Taylor Swift

text: In Nashville, Swift worked with experienced Music Row songwriters such as Troy Verges, Brett Beavers, Brett James, Mac McAnally, and The Warren Brothers.[26][27] She eventually formed a lasting working relationship with Liz Rose.[28] They began meeting for two-hour writing sessions every Tuesday afternoon after school.[29] Rose thought that the sessions were "some of the easiest I've ever done. Basically, I was just her editor. She'd write about what happened in school that day. She had such a clear vision of what she was trying to say. And she'd come in with the most incredible hooks". Swift was signed by the Sony/ATV Tree publishing house,[30] but left RCA Records when she was 14.[13] She later recalled: "I genuinely felt that I was running out of time. I wanted to capture these years of my life on an album while they still represented what I was going through".[31]

text: At an industry showcase at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe in 2005, Swift caught the attention of Scott Borchetta, a DreamWorks Records executive who was preparing to form his own independent record label, Big Machine Records. She had met Borchetta in 2004.[32] She became one of the first signings, and her father purchased a three percent stake in the fledgling company at an estimated cost of $120,000.[33][34] The singer began working on her eponymous debut album shortly after signing the record deal. She persuaded Big Machine to hire her demo producer Nathan Chapman, with whom she felt she had the right "chemistry".[13] Swift wrote three of the album's songs alone, and co-wrote the remaining eight with writers Rose, Robert Ellis Orrall, Brian Maher, and Angelo Petraglia.[35] Taylor Swift was released on October 24, 2006.[36] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times described it as "a small masterpiece of pop-minded country, both wide-eyed and cynical, held together by Ms. Swift's firm, pleading voice".[37] Taylor Swift peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and spent 157 weeks on the chart, marking the longest stay by any release in the 2000s.[38] As of August 2016 the album has sold over 7.75 million copies worldwide.[39]

text: Big Machine Records was still in its infancy on the release of the lead single, "Tim McGraw", in June 2006, and Swift and her mother helped "stuff the CD singles into envelopes to send to radio".[40] She spent much of 2006 promoting Taylor Swift with a radio tour and television appearances.[41][42] Borchetta has said that record industry peers disliked his signing of a 16-year-old singer-songwriter at first, but that Swift tapped into a previously unknown market—teenage girls who listen to country music.[22] Following "Tim McGraw", four more singles were released throughout 2007 and 2008: "Teardrops on My Guitar", "Our Song", "Picture to Burn" and "Should've Said No". All were highly successful on Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, with "Our Song" and "Should've Said No" both reaching number one. For the former, Swift became the youngest person to single-handedly write and perform a number-one song on the chart.[43] "Teardrops on My Guitar" became a moderate commercial success, reaching number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100.[44] Swift also released the holiday album Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection in October 2007 and the EP Beautiful Eyes in July 2008.[45][46] She promoted her debut album extensively as the opening act for other artists on their tours.[47]

text: Swift won accolades for Taylor Swift. She was one of the recipients of the Nashville Songwriters Association's Songwriter/Artist of the Year in 2007, becoming the youngest person to be honored with the title.[48] She also won the Country Music Association's Horizon Award for Best New Artist,[49] the Academy of Country Music Awards' Top New Female Vocalist,[50] and the American Music Awards' Favorite Country Female Artist honor.[51] She was also nominated for Best New Artist at the 2008 Grammy Awards.[52] In July of that year, Swift began a romance with Joe Jonas that ended three months later.[53][54]

text: 2008–2010: Fearless and acting

text: Swift's second studio album, Fearless, was released on November 11, 2008.[36] The lead single, "Love Story", was released in September 2008. It peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100[55] and number one in Australia.[56] Four more singles were released throughout 2008 and 2009: "White Horse", "You Belong with Me", "Fifteen" and "Fearless". "You Belong with Me" was the album's highest-charting single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number two.[57] The album debuted at number one on Billboard 200 and was the top-selling album of 2009 in the United States.[58] The album received promotion from Swift's first concert tour, Fearless Tour,[59] which grossed over $63 million.[60] Taylor Swift: Journey to Fearless, a concert film, was aired on television and later released on DVD and Blu-ray.[61] Swift also performed as a supporting act for Keith Urban's Escape Together World Tour.[62]

text: In 2009, the music video for "You Belong with Me" was named MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video.[63] Her acceptance speech was interrupted by rapper Kanye West.[64] The incident was the subject of controversy and frequent media attention, resulting in many Internet memes.[65] James Montgomery of MTV argued that the incident and subsequent media attention turned Swift into "a bona-fide mainstream celebrity".[66] Also that year, she won five American Music Awards, including Artist of the Year and Favorite Country Album.[67] Billboard named her 2009's Artist of the Year.[68] The album ranked number 99 on NPR's 2017 list of the 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women.[69]

text: At the 52nd Grammy Awards, Fearless was named Album of the Year and Best Country Album, and "White Horse" was named Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Swift was the youngest artist ever to win Album of the Year.[70] During the ceremony, Swift sang "You Belong with Me" and "Rhiannon" with Stevie Nicks. Her vocal performance received negative reviews and a media backlash.[66][71] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times found it "refreshing to see someone so gifted make the occasional flub" and described Swift as "the most important new pop star of the past few years".[72] Swift became the youngest ever artist to be named Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association.[73] Fearless also won the Association's Album of the Year award.[74]

text: Swift contributed backing vocals to John Mayer's "Half of My Heart", a single featured on his fourth album, Battle Studies (2009).[75] She co-wrote and recorded "Best Days of Your Life" with Kellie Pickler,[76] and co-wrote two songs for the Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack—"You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home" and "Crazier".[77] Swift also provided vocals for Boys Like Girls' "Two Is Better Than One".[78] She contributed two songs to the Valentine's Day soundtrack, including "Today Was a Fairytale", which became her first number one on the Canadian Hot 100 chart.[79][80] While filming Valentine's Day in October 2009—Swift's film debut—she began a romantic relationship with co-star Taylor Lautner, but they broke up later that year.[81][82] The romantic comedy, released the following year, saw her play the ditzy girlfriend of a high school jock, a role in which Los Angeles Times found "serious comedic potential".[83] In a scathing review, the critic for Variety deemed her "entirely undirected", arguing that "she needs to find a skilled director to tamp her down and channel her obviously abundant energy".[84]

text: Swift made her acting debut in a 2009 episode of CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, playing a rebellious teenager. The New York Times noted that the character allowed Swift to be "a little bit naughty, and credibly so".[85] Later that year, Swift both hosted and performed as the musical guest for an episode of Saturday Night Live.[86] Entertainment Weekly described her as "this season's best Saturday Night Live host so far", noting that she "was always up for the challenge, seemed to be having fun, and helped the rest of the cast nail the punchlines".[87] Later in 2010, she briefly dated actor Jake Gyllenhaal.[88]

text: 2010–2014: Speak Now and Red

text: In August 2010, Swift released "Mine"—the lead single from her third studio album, Speak Now—which entered the United States at number three, making Swift the second female artist in the history of the Hot 100 (after Mariah Carey) to debut multiple tracks—the other one was "Today Was a Fairytale" at number two—in the top five during a calendar year.[89] Swift wrote the entire album without any co-writers and co produced every track on the album.[90] Speak Now, released on October 25, 2010,[36] was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200, with opening week sales of one million copies, the 16th album to do so.[91] Later, it became the fastest-selling digital album by a female artist, with 278,000 downloads in a week. For this feat, Swift received a listing in the 2010 Guinness World Records; she earned another entry in the book after 10 of Speak Now's tracks debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first female to achieve the feat.[92][93] Three of the album's singles, "Mine", "Back to December", and "Mean" peaked within the top ten in Canada.[80]

text: The song "Mean" won Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards.[94] She performed the song during the ceremony. Claire Suddath of Time felt she "delivered her comeback on-key and with a vengeance",[95] and Jayme Deerwester of USA Today remarked that the criticism in 2010 seemed to have "made her a better songwriter and live performer".[96] Swift won various other awards for Speak Now, including Songwriter/Artist of the Year by the Nashville Songwriters Association (2010 and 2011),[97][98] Woman of the Year by Billboard (2011),[99] and Entertainer of the Year by the Academy of Country Music (2011 and 2012)[100] and the Country Music Association in 2011.[101] At the American Music Awards of 2011, Swift won Artist of the Year and Favorite Country Album.[102] Speak Now was included in Rolling Stone's list of "50 Best Female Albums of All Time" in 2012, ranking at number forty-five. The magazine wrote, "She might get played on the country station, but she's one of the few genuine rock stars we've got these days, with a flawless ear for what makes a song click."[103]

text: Swift embarked on the Speak Now World Tour, which ran from February 2011 to March 2012, and grossed over $123 million.[104] In November 2011, she released her first live album, Speak Now World Tour: Live.[105] The following month, Swift contributed two original songs to The Hunger Games soundtrack album—"Safe & Sound", co-written and recorded with The Civil Wars and T-Bone Burnett, and "Eyes Open". The former was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.[106] After providing vocals for B.o.B's "Both of Us" in May 2012,[107] Swift dated political heir Conor Kennedy from July to September 2012.[108] In August, Swift released "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"—the lead single from her fourth studio album, Red. An international success, it became her first number-one in the US and New Zealand.[109][110] The song reached the top slot on an iTunes chart 50 minutes after its release, earning the "Fastest Selling Single in Digital History" listing in the Guinness World Records.[111] Swift released the album's second single "Begin Again" in October. It reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.[112] Other singles released from the album included: "I Knew You Were Trouble", "22", "Everything Has Changed", "The Last Time", and "Red". "I Knew You Were Trouble" was a major commercial success,[113] peaking at number two in the United States.[112]

text: Red was released on October 22, 2012,[36] incorporating new genres, such as heartland rock, dubstep and dance-pop. The album was a critical and commercial success,[11] and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 1.21 million copies. This marked the highest opening sales in a decade, and made Swift the first female to have two million-selling album openings, a record recognized by Guinness World Records.[114][115] Promoting the album, Swift embarked on the Red Tour, which ran from March 2013 to June 2014 and grossed over $150 million.[116] Red earned several accolades, including four nominations at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.[117] Its single "I Knew You Were Trouble" won Best Female Video at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.[118] Swift was named Best Female Country Artist at the 2012 American Music Awards and Artist of the Year at the 2013 ceremony.[119][120] She received the Nashville Songwriters Association's Songwriter/Artist Award for the fifth and sixth consecutive years in 2012 and 2013, respectively.[121] Swift was also honored by the Association with a special Pinnacle Award, making her the second recipient of the accolade after Garth Brooks.[122]

text: In 2013, Swift co-wrote "Sweeter Than Fiction" with Jack Antonoff for the One Chance soundtrack, and received a Best Original Song nomination at the 71st Golden Globe Awards.[123] She provided guest vocals for a McGraw song titled "Highway Don't Care", featuring guitar work by Urban.[124] Swift performed "As Tears Go By" with The Rolling Stones in Chicago as part of their 50 & Counting tour,[125] later stating that the band has been a major influence on her outlook of her career.[126] She also joined Florida Georgia Line on stage during their set at the 2013 Country Radio Seminar to sing "Cruise".[127] Outside of music, Swift voiced Audrey, a tree lover, in the animated film The Lorax (2012),[128] made a cameo in the sitcom New Girl (2013),[129] and had a supporting role in the film adaptation of The Giver (2014).[130] She dated British singer Harry Styles.[131]

text: 2014–2016: 1989

text: In March 2014, Swift relocated to New York City.[132] Around this time, she was working on her fifth studio album, 1989, with writers Antonoff, Martin, Shellback, Imogen Heap, Ryan Tedder, and Ali Payami.[133] She promoted the album through various campaigns, including inviting fans to secret album-listening sessions, called the "1989 Secret Sessions".[134] Credited as her "first documented, official pop album", it marks a departure from her previous country albums.[135] The album was released on October 27, 2014 to positive reviews.[36][136]

text: 1989 sold 1.28 million copies in the US during the first week of release and debuted atop the Billboard 200—this made Swift the first act to have three albums sell more than one million copies in their opening release week, for which she earned a Guinness World Record.[137][138] As of June 2017, 1989 had sold over 10 million copies worldwide.[139] The album's lead single, "Shake It Off", was released in August 2014 and debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.[140] Others included two number-one singles—"Blank Space" and "Bad Blood" (featuring Kendrick Lamar)—as well as the top-ten entries "Style" and "Wildest Dreams", and the singles "Out of the Woods" and "New Romantics".[141] "Shake It Off", "Blank Space", and "Bad Blood" also topped the charts in Australia and Canada.[56][80] After "Blank Space" reached number-one in the US following "Shake It Off", Swift became the first woman in the Hot 100's history to succeed herself at the top spot.[142] The music video for the former briefly became the fastest video to reach one billion views on Vevo.[143] The videos for "Blank Space" and "Bad Blood" won four accolades at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, with the latter winning for Video of the Year and Best Collaboration.[144] Swift's headlining tour, the 1989 World Tour, running from May to December 2015, grossed over $250 million, and became one of the highest grossing tours of the decade.[145]

text: Swift was named Billboard's Woman of the Year in 2014, becoming the first artist to win the award twice.[146] Also that year, she received the Dick Clark Award for Excellence at the American Music Awards.[147] In 2015, "Shake It Off" was nominated for three Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year and Swift won the Brit Award for International Female Solo Artist.[148][149] The singer was one of eight artists to receive a 50th Anniversary Milestone Award at the 2015 Academy of Country Music Awards.[150] In 2016, Swift won three Grammy Awards for 1989—Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Music Video for "Bad Blood". She became the first woman, and fifth act overall, to win the first of these twice.[151]

text: Prior to 1989's release, Swift stressed the importance of albums to artists and fans.[152] In November 2014, she removed her entire catalog from Spotify, arguing that the streaming company's ad-supported, free service undermined the premium service, which provides higher royalties for songwriters.[153] In June 2015, Swift criticized Apple Music in an open letter for not offering royalties to artists during the streaming service's free three-month trial period and stated that she would pull 1989 from the catalog.[154] The following day, Apple announced that it would pay artists during the free trial period,[155] and Swift agreed to stream 1989 on the streaming service.[156] Swift's intellectual property rights management and holding company, TAS Rights Management, filed for 73 trademarks related to the singer and the 1989 era memes.[157] She re-added her entire catalog to Spotify, Amazon Music and Google Play in June 2017.[158]

text: In 2015, Swift performed "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Shake It Off" with Paul McCartney at the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special after-party,[159] and joined Kenny Chesney to sing "Big Star" on the opening night of his Big Revival Tour in Nashville.[160] In March 2015, Swift started dating Scottish DJ and record producer Calvin Harris.[161] By June 2015, the duo were ranked as the highest-paid celebrity couple over the past year by Forbes with combined earnings of over $146 million.[162] In August, Swift addressed her mother's cancer diagnosis, and encouraged others to get a medical checkup.[163] Before Swift and Harris announced the end of their relationship in June 2016,[164] the two co-wrote his song "This Is What You Came For", for which she was initially credited under the pseudonym Nils Sjöberg.[165] In October, she penned Little Big Town's "Better Man" for their seventh album, The Breaker.[166] Two months later, Swift and Zayn Malik released a single together called "I Don't Wanna Live Forever", for the soundtrack of the film Fifty Shades Darker (2017), which reached number one in Sweden and number two in the US.[167][168] The duo won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Collaboration for its music video.[169]

text: 2017: Reputation

text: In August 2017, Swift won a trial against David Mueller, a former morning show personality for Denver's KYGO-FM. Four years prior Swift had informed Mueller's bosses that he had assaulted her by groping her at an event. After being fired, Mueller accused Swift of lying and sued her for making him lose his job. Shortly after, Swift counter-sued for sexual assault. The jury rejected Mueller's claims and ruled in favor of Swift.[170] Swift thereafter cleared her social media accounts,[171] and announced that she would release her sixth studio album, Reputation, on November 10, 2017.[172] "Look What You Made Me Do" was released as its first single on August 24, 2017,[173] and topped the charts in Australia,[174] Ireland,[175] New Zealand,[176] the United Kingdom[177] and the United States.[178] Its music video gained over 43.2 million views during its first day on YouTube, breaking the record for the most-viewed music video within 24 hours.[179]

text: Artistry

text: Influences

text: One of Swift's earliest musical memories is listening to her maternal grandmother, Marjorie Finlay, sing at church.[2] As a child, she enjoyed Disney film soundtracks: "My parents noticed that, once I had run out of words, I would just make up my own".[180] Swift has said she owes her confidence to her mother, who helped her prepare for class presentations as a child.[181] She also attributes her "fascination with writing and storytelling" to her mother.[182] Swift was drawn to the storytelling of country music,[183] and was introduced to the genre by "the great female country artists of the '90s"—Shania Twain, Faith Hill and the Dixie Chicks.[184][185] Twain, both as a songwriter and performer, was her biggest musical influence.[186] Hill was Swift's childhood role model: "Everything she said, did, wore, I tried to copy it".[187] She admired the Dixie Chicks' defiant attitude and their ability to play their own instruments.[188] The band's "Cowboy Take Me Away" was the first song Swift learned to play on the guitar.[189] Swift also explored the music of older country stars, including Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette.[12] She believes Parton is "an amazing example to every female songwriter out there".[190] Alt-country artists such as Ryan Adams,[191] Patty Griffin[192] and Lori McKenna have inspired Swift.[22]

text: Swift lists Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones,[126] Bruce Springsteen, Emmylou Harris, Kris Kristofferson, and Carly Simon as her career role models: "They've taken chances, but they've also been the same artist for their entire careers".[22][193] McCartney, both as a Beatle and a solo artist, makes Swift feel "as if I've been let into his heart and his mind ... Any musician could only dream of a legacy like that".[194] She admires Springsteen for being "so musically relevant after such a long period of time".[195] She aspires to be like Harris as she grows older: "It's not about fame for her, it's about music".[196] "[Kristofferson] shines in songwriting ... He's just one of those people who has been in this business for years but you can tell it hasn't chewed him up and spat him out", Swift says.[197] She admires Simon's "songwriting and honesty ... She's known as an emotional person but a strong person".[198]

text: Swift has also been influenced by many artists outside the country genre. As a pre-teen, she enjoyed bubblegum pop acts including Hanson and Britney Spears; Swift has said she has "unwavering devotion" for Spears.[199][200] In her high school years, Swift listened to rock bands such as Dashboard Confessional,[201] Fall Out Boy,[202] and Jimmy Eat World.[203] She has also spoken fondly of singers and songwriters like Michelle Branch,[203] Alanis Morissette,[204] Ashlee Simpson,[205] Fefe Dobson[203] and Justin Timberlake;[206] and the 1960s acts The Shirelles, Doris Troy, and The Beach Boys.[207] Swift's fifth album, the pop-focused 1989 was influenced by some of her favorite 1980s pop acts, including Annie Lennox, Phil Collins and "Like a Prayer-era Madonna".[208]

text: Musical style

text: Swift's music contains elements of pop, pop rock and country.[209] She self-identified as a country artist until the 2014 release of 1989, which she described as a "sonically cohesive pop album".[210] Rolling Stone asserted, "[Swift] might get played on the country station, but she's one of the few genuine rock stars we've got these days".[211] The New York Times noted, "There isn't much in Ms. Swift's music to indicate country—a few banjo strums, a pair of cowboy boots worn onstage, a bedazzled guitar—but there's something in her winsome, vulnerable delivery that's unique to Nashville".[212] According to The Guardian, Swift "cranks melodies out with the pitiless efficiency of a Scandinavian pop factory".[213]

text: Swift's vocals have been described by Sophie Schillaci from The Hollywood Reporter as "sweet, but soft".[214] In studio recordings, the Los Angeles Times identified Swift's "defining" vocal gesture as "the line that slides down like a contented sigh or up like a raised eyebrow, giving her beloved girl-time hits their air of easy intimacy".[215] Rolling Stone, in a Speak Now review, remarked: "Swift's voice is unaffected enough to mask how masterful she has become as a singer; she lowers her voice for the payoff lines in the classic mode of a shy girl trying to talk tough."[216] In another review of Speak Now, The Village Voice noted that her phrasing was previously "bland and muddled, but that's changed. She can still sound strained and thin, and often strays into a pitch that drives some people crazy; but she's learned how to make words sound like what they mean."[217] The Hollywood Reporter opines that her live vocals are "fine", but they do not match those of her peers.[214] In 2009, they were also described as "flat, thin, and sometimes as wobbly as a newborn colt".[218] However, Swift has received praise for refusing to correct her pitch with Auto-Tune.[219]

text: In an interview with The New Yorker, Swift characterized herself primarily as a songwriter: "I write songs, and my voice is just a way to get those lyrics across."[22] A writer for The Tennessean conceded in 2010 that Swift is "not the best technical singer", but described her as the "best communicator that we've got".[220] Swift's vocal presence is something that concerns her and she has "put a lot of work" into improving it.[221] It was reported in 2010 that she continues to take vocal lessons.[222] She has said that she only feels nervous performing "if I'm not sure what the audience thinks of me, like at award shows".[223]

text: Songwriting

text: Swift uses her life experiences as an inspiration in her work.[224] In her songs, Swift often addresses the "anonymous crushes of her high school years" and celebrities.[225] Swift frequently criticizes ex-boyfriends,[226] an aspect of her songwriting downplayed by The Village Voice: "Being told What Songs Mean is like having a really pushy professor. And it imperils a true appreciation of Swift's talent, which is not confessional, but dramatic."[227] However, New York believes the media scrutiny over her decision to "mine her personal life for music … is sexist, inasmuch as it's not asked of her male peers".[228] The singer herself has said that not all her songs are factual and that they are sometimes based on observations.[229] Aside from her liner note clues, Swift tries not to talk about song subjects specifically "because these are real people. You try to give insight as to where you were coming from as a writer without completely throwing somebody under the bus".[230]

text: For a female to write about her feelings, and then be portrayed as some clingy, insane, desperate girlfriend in need of making you marry her and have kids with her, I think that's taking something that potentially should be celebrated—a woman writing about her feelings in a confessional way—that's taking it and turning it and twisting it into something that is frankly a little sexist.

text: The Guardian has praised Swift for writing about teenage years "with a kind of wistful, sepia-toned nostalgia" over the course of her first two albums.[213] New York has remarked that many singer-songwriters have made great records as teens, but "none made great records so explicitly about their teens". The magazine has also compared her work to Brian Wilson.[232] In Fearless, Swift featured fairy tale imagery and explored the disconnect "between fairy tales and the reality of love".[233] Her later albums address more adult relationships.[193] In addition to romance and love, Swift's songs have discussed parent-child relationships, friendships,[234][235] alienation, fame, and career ambitions.[182] Swift frequently includes "a tossed-off phrase to suggest large and serious things that won't fit in the song, things that enhance or subvert the surface narrative".[236]

text: Rolling Stone describes Swift as "a songwriting savant with an intuitive gift for verse-chorus-bridge architecture".[237] According to The Village Voice, she uses third-verse point of view reversals frequently.[236] In terms of imagery, repetition is evident in Swift's songwriting. In The Guardian's words, "she spends so much time kissin' in the rain that it seems a miracle she hasn't developed trenchfoot".[213] Slant Magazine adds, "to Swift's credit, she explores new lyrical motifs over the course of [her fourth] album".[238] Although reviews of Swift's work are "almost uniformly positive", The New Yorker has said she is generally portrayed "more as a skilled technician than as a Dylanesque visionary".[22]

text: Public image

text: Swift's personal life is the subject of constant media attention.[239] In 2013, Abercrombie & Fitch marketed a slogan T-shirt with a "slut-shaming" remark directed toward her.[240] The New York Times asserted that her "dating history has begun to stir what feels like the beginning of a backlash" and questioned whether Swift was in the midst of a "quarter-life crisis".[241] Swift has said that she is unwilling to discuss her personal life in public,[239] as she believes that talking about it can be "a career weakness".[242]

text: Rolling Stone remarks upon her polite manner: "If this is Swift's game face, it must be tattooed on because it never drops."[243] The magazine also takes note of her "ease with glad-handing",[33] and The Hollywood Reporter credits her as "the Best People Person since Bill Clinton".[244] While presenting Swift an award for her humanitarian endeavors in 2012, Michelle Obama described her as a singer who "has rocketed to the top of the music industry but still keeps her feet on the ground, someone who has shattered every expectation of what a 22-year-old can accomplish".[245] Swift considers Obama to be a role model.[246] Swift is one of the most followed people on social media, and is known for her friendly interactions with her fans.[247][248] She has delivered holiday gifts to fans by mail and in person, dubbed "Swiftmas".[249] She considers it her "responsibility" to be conscious of her influence on young fans,[250] and has said that her fans are "the longest and best relationship I have ever had".[251]

text: Often described by the media as "America's Sweetheart",[252] Swift insists that "I don't live by all these rigid, weird rules that make me feel all fenced in. I just like the way that I feel like, and that makes me feel very free". She refuses to take part in overly sexualized photo-shoots,[253] although Bloomberg L.P. views her as a sex symbol.[254] Swift was named an Icon of American Style by Vogue in 2011.[255] In 2014 she topped People's annual best dressed list.[256] In 2015, she was named Woman of the Year at the Elle Style Awards,[257] and ranked first in Maxim's Hot 100 list.[258]

text: Swift has also appeared in various power listings. Due to her success and earnings, she was included in Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in 2010 and 2015.[259] From 2011–15, she appeared in the top three of Forbes' Top-Earning Women In Music with earnings of $45 million, $57 million, $55 million, $64 million and $80 million respectively.[260] In 2015, she became the youngest woman ever to be included on Forbes' 100 most powerful women list, ranked at number 64.[261] In 2016, Swift topped Forbes' annual list of the 100 highest-paid celebrities with $170 million—she also ranked among the top ten in 2011, 2013 and 2015.[262] She was one of the finalists for Time Person of the Year in 2014.[263] In June 2017, Forbes estimated Swift's net worth to be $280 million.[264]

text: Other ventures

text: Philanthropy

text: Swift's philanthropic efforts have been recognized by the Do Something Awards and the Tennessee Disaster Services.[265][266] She has also received The Big Help Award for her "dedication to helping others" and "inspiring others through action",[267] and the Ripple of Hope Award because of her "dedication to advocacy at such a young age […] Taylor is just the kind of woman we want our daughters to be".[268] In 2008, she donated $100,000 to the Red Cross to help the victims of the Iowa flood of 2008.[269] The singer has performed in charity reliefs like Sydney's Sound Relief concert.[270] She also recorded a song for the Hope for Haiti Now album.[271] In response to the May 2010 Tennessee floods, Swift donated $500,000 during a telethon hosted by WSMV.[272] In 2011, Swift used a dress rehearsal of her Speak Now tour as a benefit concert for victims of recent tornadoes in the United States, raising more than $750,000.[273] In 2012, Swift supported Architecture for Humanity's Restore the Shore MTV telethon in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.[274] In 2016, she made donations to the Louisiana flood relief and Dolly Parton Fire Fund.[275][276]

text: Swift is a supporter of the arts and donated $75,000 to Nashville's Hendersonville High School in 2010 to help refurbish the school auditorium.[277] In 2012, she pledged $4 million to fund the building of a new education center at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.[278] Also in 2012, Swift partnered with textbook rental company Chegg to donate $60,000 to the music departments of six US colleges.[279] Swift also promotes children's literacy. In 2009, she donated $250,000 to various schools around the country for improvement of education.[280] Her other endeavors to promote literacy include donating 6,000 Scholastic books to Reading Public Library, Pennsylvania;[281] 14,000 books to Nashville Public Library, Tennessee;[282] 2,000 Scholastic books to the Reading Hospital Child Health Center's early literacy program;[283] and 25,000 books to New York City schools in 2015.[284]

text: In 2007, she launched a campaign to protect children from online predators, in partnership with the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police.[285] In 2009, Swift recorded a Sound Matters public service announcement (PSA) to make listeners aware of the importance of listening "responsibly" to prevent hearing impairment.[286] Swift has donated items for auction to several charities, including: the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the UNICEF Tap Project, MusiCares, and Feeding America.[287] As a recipient of the Academy of Country Music's Entertainer of the Year in 2011, Swift donated $25,000 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Tennessee.[288] In 2012, Swift participated in the Stand Up to Cancer telethon, performing "Ronan", a song she wrote in memory of a four-year-old boy who died of neuroblastoma. The song was made available for digital download with all proceeds donated to cancer-related charities.[289] In 2014, she donated $100,000 to the V Foundation for Cancer Research,[290] and $50,000 to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.[291] The singer made private visits to hospitals to meet with sick patients and to support them.[292] Swift has encouraged young people to volunteer in their local communities as part of Global Youth Service Day.[293]

text: Politics

text: During the 2008 presidential campaign, Swift promoted the Every Woman Counts campaign, aimed at engaging women in the political process, and was one of many country stars to record a PSA for the Vote (For Your) Country campaign.[294] She stated: "I don't think it's my job to try and influence people which way they should vote."[12] Following President Obama's inauguration, she told Rolling Stone that she supported the president: "I've never seen this country so happy about a political decision in my entire time of being alive. I'm so glad this was my first election."[295]

text: In a 2012 interview, Swift remarked that in spite of keeping herself "as educated and informed as possible", she does not discuss politics, fearing that it might influence other people.[296] Swift has spent time with the Kennedy family[297] and has spoken of her admiration for Ethel Kennedy.[197] Swift is also a feminist.[298] She has spoken out against LGBT discrimination. Following the 2008 murder of Larry King, she recorded a GLSEN PSA to combat hate crimes.[299] On the first anniversary of King's death, Swift told Seventeen that her parents taught her "never to judge others based on whom they love, what color their skin is, or their religion".[300] The music video for Swift's anti-bullying song "Mean" deals in part with homophobia in high schools; the video was nominated for an MTV VMA social activism award in 2011.[301][302] The New York Times believes she is part of "a new wave of young (and mostly straight) women who are providing the soundtrack for a generation of gay fans coming to terms with their identity in a time of turbulent and confusing cultural messages".[301]

text: Product endorsements

text: While promoting her debut album, Swift appeared as the face of Verizon Wireless' Mobile Music campaign.[303] In the Fearless era, she launched a l.e.i. sundress range at Wal-Mart,[304] and designed American Greetings cards and Jakks Pacific dolls.[305][306] She became a spokesperson for the National Hockey League's (NHL) Nashville Predators and Sony Cyber-shot digital cameras.[307][308] In the Speak Now era, she released a special edition of her album through Target.[309] Swift became a CoverGirl spokesmodel,[310] launched two Elizabeth Arden fragrances—Wonderstruck and Wonderstruck Enchanted.[311]

text: While promoting her fourth album, Red, Swift offered exclusive album promotions through Target,[312] Papa John's Pizza,[313] and Walgreens.[314] She became a spokesmodel for Diet Coke and Keds sneakers,[315] released her third Elizabeth Arden fragrance named Taylor by Taylor Swift,[316] and continued her partnerships with Sony Electronics and American Greetings.[317][318] Swift also partnered with the companies AirAsia[319] and Qantas[320] during the Red Tour. These acted as the official airlines for the Australian and Asian legs, and Cornetto sponsored the Asian leg of the tour.[321] While promoting 1989, Swift had tie-ins with Subway, Keds, Target and Diet Coke.[322] In 2014, Swift released her fourth fragrance, Incredible Things.[323]

text: Awards and achievements

text: Swift has received many awards and honors, including 10 Grammy Awards,[324] 19 American Music Awards,[325] 21 Billboard Music Awards (the most wins by an act),[326] 11 Country Music Association Awards, 8 Academy of Country Music Awards,[327] one Brit Award,[149] and one Emmy Award.[328] As a songwriter, she has been honored by the Nashville Songwriters Association[48][329] and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and has been listed in Rolling Stone's 2015 list of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.[330][331]

text: By the beginning of 2016, Swift had sold more than 40 million albums, 130 million single downloads and was one of the top five music artists with the highest worldwide digital sales.[139] Swift's studio albums Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, and 1989 have all sold over 4 million copies in the US.[332]

text: Discography

text:
Taylor Swift (2006)
Fearless (2008)
Speak Now (2010)
Red (2012)
1989 (2014)
Reputation (2017)

tag: ul

text: Tours

text:
Fearless Tour (2009–2010)
Speak Now World Tour (2011–2012)
The Red Tour (2013–2014)
The 1989 World Tour (2015)

text: Filmography

text:
Valentine's Day (2010)
The Lorax (2012)
The Giver (2014)


document_title: Kingdom Hearts III

question_text: who voices sora in kingdom hearts 3 english

root

text: Kingdom Hearts III

text: Gameplay

text: Gameplay in Kingdom Hearts III is similar to its predecessors, with director Tetsuya Nomura stating that the combat would be along the lines of the system seen in Kingdom Hearts II, with an evolution similar to what was seen from Kingdom Hearts to Kingdom Hearts II, and closely tied to the gameplay in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.[1][2][3] He also revealed that the handheld games of the series were where he could experiment with the combat, and that some of the well-received additions may appear in Kingdom Hearts III.[1][2] Nomura noted that new gameplay elements are the "skeleton" of the game, saying, "When creating a Kingdom Hearts game, we start with a gameplay system that I think would be a fun element, and once we have an idea of what kind of gameplay or system we want in place, we flesh out the story around it, surrounding the basic concept of what kind of fun we're going to have with this new installment."[4] Additionally, the development team "always want to try something new", taking previously introduced mechanics and making small "tweak[s]" to them so they are customized for Kingdom Hearts III.[5]

tag: p

text: Sora returns as the main playable character, once again joined in the party by Donald Duck and Goofy,[6] with the ability to have two additional characters join the party for a total of five-player parties. This is an increase from previous main entries in the series, where players were limited to two additional party members at any given time along with Sora.[7] Another main playable character will be available in the game,[7][8] with King Mickey and multiplayer elements being considered.[1][2] Describing the gameplay, Nomura called the action "pretty frantic", as well as "really flashy and exciting. The enemy AI is a lot more intricate, too, and I think the gameplay will reflect that new dynamic balance."[9] Sora can perform magic, with a new, powerful tier of each spell available to him, similar to what Aqua has available to her in Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage.[10] Shotlocks also return, first introduced in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, and uses a focus meter that can target and lock on to individual enemies.[11][12] Team-up attacks are also featured, which combine Sora and various party members into one attack.[13][14] Players can equip various abilities for Sora and his party members, with the system to do so "an evolution of sorts" from the system used in Kingdom Hearts II.[15]

text: Sora faces Heartless, Nobodies, and Unversed in the game,[16][17] with new variants of these enemy types appearing.[13] In addition to these traditional "smaller" enemies, the player will face giant bosses, which give "Sora greater freedom of movement and room to experiment with attacks—including the new theme-park-ride summon attacks,"[4] known as "Attraction Flow".[18] These attacks are inspired by the Disney Parks attractions Mad Tea Party, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters,[19] and Grizzly River Run,[11] and generic pirate ship and carousel attractions;[19][20] these attacks draw visual inspiration from Disney Parks' Main Street Electrical Parade.[19] Sora also has the ability to jump on certain enemies, such as ones shaped like a vehicle.[9] Regarding traversal, Nomura noted the new mechanic, called "Athletic Flow" in Japanese, was refined from the Flowmotion mechanic from Dream Drop Distance, which players felt was "a little too free... and it was kind of hard to control on their end."[21] "Athletic Flow" allows the player to utilize the environment to access previously unreachable areas.[22]

text: Character summons make a return from previous entries, this time known as "Links", where an additional character joins the battle to assist the player with specialized attacks.[19] Situation Commands also return from previous entries,[23] which can trigger the Keyblade transformations. Nomura revealed that Keyblade transformations were conceived as early as the development of Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix and would be similar to Aqua's ability in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, saying, "Each Keyblade transformation is unlocked by clearing all missions in one of [the game's] worlds, and each individual world offers its own unique Keyblade transformation."[4][24] He further elaborated stating there were two forms each Keyblade can take, with "multiple layers in terms of transforming" starting with one transformation and achieving the second after "successfully connect[ing] your combos".[22] One of the available forms, the default weapon's "Second Form", changes Sora's battle skills rather than transform the Keyblade.[25] The Keyblade transformations have also been referred to as "Drive Forms", a term which was used for a similar mechanic in Kingdom Hearts II.[26] Unlike previous games in the series, players are able to quickly switch between different Keyblades seamlessly during gameplay rather than from the game's equipment menu.[27]

text: Each world offers a specific gameplay element,[28] such as first-person shooter Giga mechs,[19] and naval, underwater, and aerial combat.[29] The Gummi Ship also returns as a means of travel between the different worlds of the game.[5] The mechanic has been split into two phases: exploration and combat. Exploration has been likened to being more open-world, while the combat has increased its scale from previous games, with more enemies present.[30] Gummi Ship customization also returns.[15] Various mini-games are able to be played throughout Kingdom Hearts III,[8] including those in the "Classic Kingdom", where each game is presented in the style of 1980s LCD games such as Game & Watch.[31]

text: Story

text:
Kingdom Hearts chronology
Back Cover
(Unchained / Union) χ
Birth by Sleep
A Fragmentary Passage
Kingdom Hearts
Chain of Memories
358/2 Days
II
Coded
Dream Drop Distance
III
vte

tag: table

text: Setting

text: Most of the worlds featured in the game based on Disney properties are new to the series,[32][33] such as Kingdom of Corona (based on Tangled),[34][35] San Fransokyo (Big Hero 6),[36][37] Toy Box (Toy Story),[38][39] Monstropolis (Monsters, Inc.)[30][40] and Arendelle (Frozen).[41][42] A new, original world built specifically for the game will also appear.[43] Returning worlds include Olympus (Hercules),[37] The Caribbean (Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End),[29][42] Yen Sid's Mysterious Tower,[44] and the Realm of Darkness.[45] Twilight Town, which also returns,[46] serves as a tutorial stage at the beginning of the game.[25] The "Classic Kingdom" mini-games are inspired by classic Walt Disney Productions Mickey Mouse cartoons, including Giantland, The Karnival Kid, Musical Farmer, and The Barnyard Battle.[31]

text: The Big Hero 6 and Toy Story worlds feature original stories, with the former set after the events of the film,[47][36] and the latter set between the events of Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3. This is different from previous worlds in the series, which have often loosely followed plot lines from the films on which they were based.[48] Members of Pixar Animation Studios assisted with the Toy Story world's creation.[48][38] On the amount of worlds featured in the game, Nomura noted the development team focused on creating "rich gameplay in an individual world... designed so players can take their time and enjoy the gameplay that's available" opposed to having "multiple different little worlds".[48] The game will not feature any worlds based on Final Fantasy.[49]

text: Characters

text: Sora returns as the protagonist of the game, while supporting characters Riku,[33] Kairi,[21] Donald Duck, Goofy, King Mickey,[33] Master Eraqus,[18] Aqua,[50] Lea,[21] Ienzo,[51] and Hayner, Pence, and Olette also returning.[50] Returning antagonists include Master Xehanort[33] and his various forms—his Heartless, Ansem; his Nobody, Xemnas;[52] and his youthful incarnation, Young Xehanort[53]—Marluxia,[30] Xigbar,[54] Larxene,[55] Luxord,[56] Vanitas,[30] and Disney characters Maleficent and Pete.[6]

text: Disney characters who serve as members of Sora's party include the returning Hercules[6] and Jack Sparrow,[57] and new to the series, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider,[58] Woody and Buzz Lightyear,[38] and Sulley and Mike Wazowski.[30] Characters that appear as summon "Links" for Sora include Ariel from The Little Mermaid,[58] Wreck-It Ralph from the film of the same name,[19] Simba from The Lion King,[59] and Dream Eaters, such as Meow Wow, from Dream Drop Distance.[60]

text: Additional Disney character appearances include Hades,[6] Lythos,[61] Hydros,[62] Will Turner, Hector Barbossa, and Elizabeth Swan,[63] with new characters Pyros and Stratos from Hercules,[62] Joshamee Gibbs, Tia Dalma from the Pirates of the Caribbean film series,[63] Pascal and Maximus from Tangled,[62] Hamm, Rex,[38] Sarge and the Bucket O' Soldiers,[37] and the Squeeze Toy Aliens from Toy Story,[64] Boo from Monsters, Inc.,[30] Baymax from Big Hero 6,[36] and Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf, Sven,[41] and Marshmallow from Frozen joining.[65] Remy from Ratatouille appears in one of the game's mini-games.[8] For the Pixar characters, Pixar shared their actual character models with Square Enix and had the original character designers consult on the game "to make sure everything looked as true to the films as we could make it."[39]

text: Premise

text: Continuing from Dream Drop Distance,[9] Sora, Donald, and Goofy attempt to search for seven guardians of light and the "Key to Return Hearts", while King Mickey and Riku search for previous Keyblade wielders, in an attempt to stop Master Xehanort's plan to balance the light and darkness,[33] which may ultimately lead to the final showdown between Sora and Master Xehanort.[24] By the start of the game, Sora has completed his Mark of Mastery, which he was attempting to do at the end of Dream Drop Distance.[4]

text: Kingdom Hearts III will serve as the final chapter of the "Dark Seeker/Xehanort" saga,[9][66] with Nomura revealing that the plot of the game will pick up "immediately after the events of Dream Drop Distance." He also added that the plot will examine the seven lights and thirteen darknesses coming together for the final battle, but that everyone that is expected to fulfill these roles may not.[67]

text: Development

text: After Square Enix finished development of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Tetsuya Nomura was approached by Disney, who expressed interest in a sequel. In regard to a possible release of Kingdom Hearts III, Nomura said "We have various ideas, but we're not at the point where we can say that." He added that due to the development of Final Fantasy XV—titled Final Fantasy Versus XIII at the time—"it's physically impossible at the present. I feel that it's not the right time to talk about the future of Kingdom Hearts."[68] In response to questions about the secret film in Final Mix, Nomura noted that it was of a "new series" in Kingdom Hearts rather than Kingdom Hearts III. When asked about Kingdom Hearts III, Nomura noted that fans and partners alike were interested in its release, and would work to "realize it" as soon as possible.[69] In the Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Ultimania guide book, Nomura announced three upcoming titles, one of which was Kingdom Hearts III. However, Final Fantasy XV was still his primary focus, preventing him from starting production on Kingdom Hearts III.[70] He later noted that Kingdom Hearts III would not see a release until after 2012, due to his continuing work on Final Fantasy XV, regardless of the 10th anniversary of the series occurring in that year.[71] The Nintendo 3DS video game Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance was announced to connect to Kingdom Hearts III, both in terms of gameplay system and story.[72]

text: Sony announced Kingdom Hearts III for the PlayStation 4 with a teaser trailer at its E3 2013 event in June 2013.[73] Square Enix later confirmed the game's cross-platform release for the Xbox One as a port of the PlayStation 4 version.[74][75] Unlike Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, which were developed by Square Enix's Product Development Division 1 team, Kingdom Hearts III was developed by Square Enix's 1st Production Department, who developed Birth by Sleep, Dream Drop Distance, and worked on the HD 1.5 Remix collection and Square Enix's Business Division 3.[76][77] Rie Nishi serves as the game's producer.[78] Directly after E3 2013, Nomura claimed that Kingdom Hearts III was announced "too early", based on where the game stood in development. He continued by saying, "Many fans were feeling impatient due to our continuous releases of spin-off titles, so we decided to announce it at the same time as Final Fantasy XV".[79] Kingdom Hearts III is not intended to be the final game in the series.[66] Series producer Shinji Hashimoto stated in September 2013 that as both Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy XV are directed by Nomura, it is expected that there would be a significant gap between the release of the two, "as [they] want each game to be perfect in terms of quality." Hashimoto also reiterated Nomura's statements about the game's announcement at E3 2013, as "the company thought it was about time it addressed speculation about the long-awaited conclusion to the trilogy."[80]

text: A short teaser for the game appeared at the end of the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix trailer at E3 2014. Yasue revealed that the sequence seen in the teaser was the opening scene for the game. He added that it was created by Nomura, who had "a real clear picture of [what] the starting sequence" should be, and that the text seen and heard was going to "be a real integral part of the story".[81] In September 2014, it was announced that Nomura would no longer be the director of Final Fantasy XV, focusing his attention on other projects, including Kingdom Hearts III. Nomura had been the director of Final Fantasy XV since the game was announced as Final Fantasy Versus XIII in 2006.[82] The following month, Nomura revealed that the game had switched to using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4, due to a "variety of reasons". He also added that the development team had the full support of Epic, and the change would not hinder the game's development.[83] According to Kotaku and IGN, it was noted that it had been assumed that Square Enix had been using its in-house Luminous Studio engine to develop the game.[83][84]

text: In January 2015, Yasue revealed that working on HD 2.5 Remix simultaneously allowed the developers to learn all the best qualities from the series to aid in creating III, saying "For III we want to evolve it in a new direction, but at the same time we don't want to change what is fundamental about Kingdom Hearts." Additionally, he stated the Kingdom Hearts team was sharing knowledge with the Final Fantasy XV team to expand the game and get the most out of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.[85] In June 2015, Nomura revealed that development was on track and that secret films were being considered. He also stated that the team had an internal release window they were trying to hit.[32] In November 2015, new footage was shown at D23 Expo Japan 2015,[16] footage which was cut from the E3 2015 trailer for time.[18]

text: A gameplay trailer was released during the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra World Tour in Los Angeles in mid-June 2017.[6][52] The next month, Nomura stated that a Nintendo Switch version of the game might be created, but wanted to focus on the development and promise of completing the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions before exploring other platform possibilities.[86] Commenting on the long development process, Nomura noted it was not due to problems with development or any choices made by the development team, but rather internal Square Enix corporate decisions, such as changing to the Unreal Engine 4 about a year into the game's development, which lead to "extensive delays" and "a bit of time that needed to be rewinded and started over", and "certain timing and resources challenges within Square Enix", despite submitting and getting approved a plan for when more personal resources would be needed on the project. Regarding downloadable content for the game, Nomura stated that "nothing is set in stone" regarding it, but he told the development team to "be prepared to be able to accommodate for something like that. We can't suddenly develop a system where we're accommodating for downloadable content. So it's not confirming or denying either way, but just so that the development team will be prepared".[87] He would later add that he wanted to have some sort of additional content for the game, but nothing in depth had been discussed. Nomura was open to potentially adding customizable accessories, as was able to be done in Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage with Aqua, as that feature does not return for Kingdom Hearts III.[88]

text: At D23 Japan 2018, Square Enix revealed the game was being developed in three sections, with approximately three worlds in each section. At that time, the worlds in the first section were said to be 90 percent complete and development of the middle section at around 60 percent. No update was given on the final section of the game, though Nomura stated its contents were "something he's always wanted to do and put into Kingdom Hearts, ever since the days of working on Final Fantasy... It is bound to surprise everyone."[30] In April 2018, the "Classic Kingdom" mini-games were revealed for the game, while also announcing the games would be playable in the mobile game Kingdom Hearts Union χ.[31] At E3 2018, worlds based on Frozen and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End were revealed.[41][29] Nomura also provided an update to the development of the Big Hero 6 world, revealing all the gameplay had been created, with the cutscenes still needing to be completed.[42] Shortly after, Square Enix released on their website short story recap videos for the series in Japanese.[15]

text: Nomura revealed the Tangled world was the first determined to be in the game, as the development team wanted to include Rapunzel due to her strong personality and her hair, saying, "she is able to utilize her hair in such a way where she's whipping it around. She can even use it for attacks, and that was just so appealing, and we thought it would make for such great gameplay".[18] The Toy Story world was also one of the first discussed with Disney for inclusion in the game, with Disney taking one year to approve its inclusion.[43] Nomura noted the approval process for each world became more difficult than with earlier games, because many of the worlds are based on some of Disney's more contemporary films, which made it harder to have some freedom with the worlds. He explained, "Because we are working with more recent titles, the staff who were on the original project are the ones we go to for approvals. For instance, Frozen. The staff is still there and they work with us on Frozen. Because we go directly to the creators, they have the most passion for their titles."[43] The Pirates of the Caribbean world was included because Nomura wanted at least one world based on a live-action Disney film, stating that the Caribbean location allowed for "interesting" gameplay opportunities.[89] He also chose to have the world be based on the film At World's End, over other films in the series particularly Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, because Dead Man's Chest is "setup" for At World's End and the game would "have to end [the story] in the middle as well".[29]

text: Since the release of Kingdom Hearts II in 2005, The Walt Disney Company acquired Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, and Lucasfilm. When asked if any of these properties would appear in Kingdom Hearts III, Nomura said he contacts Disney after he hears of an acquisition, though he noted that "Disney's pretty honest [on the possibility of an inclusion]. If the situation is really difficult, they'll say, it's really difficult. If it's impossible, they'll say it's impossible."[90] He later stated that even though the Disney Company had acquired these properties, Disney Interactive Studios may not necessarily have the ability to license the content due to existing deals, such as Disney's deal with Electronic Arts for Star Wars games.[91] Co-director Tai Yasue added that they were "looking at all of Disney, the new ones as well" when choosing worlds for the game, including worlds potentially based on Marvel Comics and Star Wars properties. He expanded, saying, "We have to come up with a world that has a lot of originality. We want variety... so we don't want too many of one sort of world, that would look the same. For each world there has to be some meaning for it, in the plot... Also, gameplay-wise, is that world something that would make gameplay fun?"[92] In July 2015, at D23 Expo 2015, a world based on the Marvel and Disney Animation film Big Hero 6 was revealed.[36] Two years later, at D23 Expo 2017, a world based on Toy Story was revealed to be a part of the game.[38] Nomura had hoped to include a Toy Story world in the franchise since Kingdom Hearts II, saying he felt "Sora really fit in and matched well with that world" and being "able to execute that into the game is something I'm really excited for."[48] The second Pixar world in the game, based on Monsters, Inc., was revealed at D23 Expo Japan 2018.[30]

text: Design

text: In June 2013, Nomura discussed the updated visuals, saying that the development team tried to return the character's texture to the original "paintbrush art from Disney productions". The resulting visuals were referred to as the Kingdom Shader. Nomura continued, "It may look like a pretty drastic change, but I see it as a rich evolution of everything we've shown you up to now."[9] Nomura also revealed that Sora is the same proportions as in previous games; however, they "muted the volume on his hair—it's not as wild." Regarding updating Sora's look from his Kingdom Hearts II design, Nomura noted that outfit's popularity, but felt "the desire to change it" since the game is the first numbered sequel since II's release. He added that the basis for the resulting design is a mix between Sora's costumes for Kingdom Hearts II and Dream Drop Distance, one that is "a lot more sleek and sporty" since "Sora does a lot more... acrobatic [and]... action-oriented movements".[18] Riku and King Mickey also receive updated outfits.[45] Speaking on the designs of the worlds, Nomura said the updated graphical capabilities allowed the development team "to depict the world[s] of the original film[s] as close to [their] original form as possible" after previously creating worlds to be "a stylized Kingdom Hearts world".[93]

text: Audio

text: Music

text: The game's soundtrack was written by longtime series composer Yoko Shimomura,[78] and features additional contributions from Takeharu Ishimoto and Tsuyoshi Sekito.[94] As with the first two main Kingdom Hearts games, it will have a theme song written and performed by Hikaru Utada, titled "Chikai" in Japanese and "Don't Think Twice" in English.[95]

text: Voice cast

text: English voice actors reprising their roles from previous games include Haley Joel Osment as Sora,[61] Bill Farmer as Goofy, and Tony Anselmo as Donald Duck.[96] They are joined by Carlos Alazraqui as Mike Wazowski, Christopher Swindle as Sulley,[96] and Josh Gad as Olaf, reprising his role from the film.[97] Kingdom Hearts III also has full voice acting in optional dialogue moments outside of cut scenes, which is a first for the series.[61]

text: Release

text: Kingdom Hearts III is scheduled to be released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on January 25, 2019 in Japan and on January 29, 2019 elsewhere.[50][98] In July 2017, at D23, it was announced that the game would release in 2018.[38] Almost a year later, at an additional performance of the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra World Tour in Los Angeles, the game's North American release date was revealed to be January 29, 2019.[98] Nomura spoke to moving the game's release date outside of 2018, stating the development team had been told the original release date they had considered was not "good timing in the year" to release the game, especially considering "differences in holiday lengths and how stores behave in different regions". In addition, Square Enix requested the game be released as simultaneously as possibly between Japan and the rest of the world, and not wanting to move up the release at the expense of development, resulted in the January 2019 date being chosen.[42]

text: A deluxe edition of the game features an art book, steelbook case, and collectible pin. Another edition, exclusive to the Square Enix store, includes Bring Arts figures of Sora, Donald, and Goofy in their Toy Box outfits in addition to the deluxe edition contents.[99] A limited edition Kingdom Hearts III-themed PlayStation 4 Pro and DualShock 4 controller will also be released.[100]

text: Reception

text: Kingdom Hearts III was nominated by IGN for the Best Game of E3 2018, Best PlayStation 4 Game of E3 2018, Best Xbox One Game of E3 2018, and Best Action Game of E3 2018.[101] It also won the Momocon E3 Choice 2018 Game Award, and was nominated for Unreal's E3 awards.[102]

text: Notes

text: Jump up ^ Kingdom Hearts III (Japanese: キングダム ハーツIII, Hepburn: Kingudamu Hātsu Surī)

tag: ol