Photo: Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
In what may be the least surprising news alert of the year, Taylor Swift made it into Songwriters Hall of Fame on her first try.
Why it matters: Swift is a master marketer and pop diva, but the true strength of her empire has always been the songs that offered an earnest window into her daily life.
The intrigue: At 36, she is the youngest women to get inducted. Only Stevie Wonder, who made the cut at 32, got in faster.
Other inductees this year include Alanis Morissette, Kenny Loggins and Gene Simmons of Kiss.
Zoom in: Swift honed her skills with masters of Music Row like Liz Rose, who co-wrote "All Too Well" and other early Swiftian staples.