Taylor Swift commands a huge fan base — and for some, it borders on spiritual

When Francesca Grupposo is faced with a tough decision, she asks a question: What would Taylor Swift do?

"You either go with what your mind is saying or you go with what your heart is saying," the 21-year-old fan told CBC Radio's Tapestry.

"I find a lot of the times, go with the heart.... And I personally think that's what Taylor does all the time, is she leads with her heart."

There's been a fervent fan base surrounding Swift and her brand of music since she burst onto the scene in 2006. But more recently, that devotion has risen to new heights, particularly given the record-breaking success of her worldwide Eras Tour concerts and movie.

And it's a relatively common experience for that devotion to border on spiritual for some fans, according to researcher Kathleen Riddell.

"[Fans] talk about ... how they adore and worship the celebrity," Riddell, who recently completed her PhD with the University of Waterloo's religious studies department, told CBC Radio's Tapestry.

"The reason I think that they do this is that religion is really the best analogous experience in order to articulate, one, how they feel about the celebrity, but two, about their experiences with their celebrity or their fans."

Grupposo, of Stouffville, Ont., has been a Swift fan for most of her life. Her first memory of the star goes back to the 2009 film Hannah Montana: The Movie, in which Swift had a guest role.

Being connected to a community of Swifties has allowed Grupposo meet other fans from all walks of life. Swift's massive repertoire also offers a song to help her process just about anything, she says.

Those anchor points have helped Grupposo understand herself better and even made her coming-out experience easier, for example.

"She's never afraid to write a song about anything," she said. "Whatever she experiences in life, whether it could be, you know, a good thing or a bad thing, she writes about it."

Meanwhile, Miri Makin loves Taylor Swift's music so much, she co-founded a Toronto-based company to celebrate it.

TSwift Dance Party Canada, which started in November 2021 with co-founder Victoria Morton, organizes events across the country that bring together Swifties as a DJ exclusively spins Swift's discography — all while raising money for charity.

"I think I've always been kind of jealous that I didn't have that built-in community with people who cared about the exact same thing that I did passionately, and now I do," Makin said.