Taylor Swift sat down with Stephen Colbert and finally started to answer the question every Swiftie wants to know: what are her own favorite songs? While the full list remains a work-in-progress, she crowned “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” as her definitive number one and gave a surprise emotional nod to a deep cut from folklore that reveals the raw vulnerability behind the superstar.
For an artist with a catalog of over 250 songs, 12 studio albums, and multiple re-recordings, picking a favorite is an impossible task. But for Taylor Swift, it’s a question she’s finally willing to answer—at least in part. During a highly anticipated appearance on The Tonight Show With Stephen Colbert, the global superstar began to curate her own definitive top-five list, providing a rare look inside her creative soul.
Host Stephen Colbert, who has posed the same question to legends like Dolly Parton and Bruce Springsteen, asked Swift to name her five favorite songs from her own discography. “This is so much pressure,” Swift admitted before confirming the track that many fans have long considered her magnum opus.
The Undisputed Champion: ‘All Too Well (10 Minute Version)’
Without hesitation, Swift named her number one pick. “I think number one is ‘All Too Well (10 Minute Version),’” she declared. This selection comes as no surprise to her dedicated fanbase, who championed the original song for years before its extended version was released on Red (Taylor’s Version). The 10-minute epic is more than a song; it’s a cultural event, a short film, and a testament to her storytelling prowess.
Its place at the top of her list solidifies its importance not just to fans, but to the artist who created it, validating its raw, unfiltered emotional narrative as a cornerstone of her entire body of work.
The Vulnerable Deep Cut: Why ‘Mirrorball’ Matters
While her top pick was expected, her second choice offered a much deeper insight into her psyche as a performer. After noting her current obsession with her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, she made an exception for a standout from her 2020 surprise album. “I will say somewhere in this list I think is going to be a song called ‘Mirrorball’ from the folklore album,” she revealed.
This is the choice that truly tells a story. “Mirrorball” was never a single. It’s a dreamy, shimmering, yet deeply melancholic track about the exhaustive nature of being a performer—of constantly shapeshifting to reflect what others want to see. With lyrics like, “I’ve never been a natural, all I do is try,” Swift peels back the curtain of superstardom to reveal the relentless effort beneath.
Written with longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff, the song uses the metaphor of a disco ball to explore her identity. In the documentary folklore: the long pond studio sessions, Swift explained the core idea to Antonoff. “We have people like [mirrorballs] in society, too,” she said, a detail confirmed by fan transcripts and reporting from the event available on YouTube. “They hang there, and every time they break, it entertains us… when the spotlight isn’t on them, they’re just still there.”
The song became especially poignant during the pandemic, when live performances ceased. Swift captures this feeling in the bridge: “And they called off the circus / Burned the disco down / When they sent home the horses / And the rodeo clowns / I’m still on that tightrope / I’m still trying everything to get you laughing at me.” Her decision to include “Mirrorball” in her top five is a powerful acknowledgment of the personal cost of fame and her complex relationship with her audience.
The Remaining Three and a Promise of More
What about the other three spots? Swift told Colbert the list is “constantly changing” and that she needed more time to finalize the rest. Her recent work, including tracks like “The Fate of Ophelia” and “Father Figure” from The Life of a Showgirl, is currently consuming her creative focus. Her recent appearance with Colbert was a major media event, as documented by outlets like Harper’s Bazaar.
However, she left the door open for a follow-up. “We can do an update at some point,” she promised. For now, fans have a definitive top two that perfectly represents the two sides of Taylor Swift: the epic, cinematic storyteller and the fragile, introspective poet.
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