Nogueira, MafaldaRigaud, Maria Leonor Teixeira2025-08-112025-08-112025-07-17http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/58358This study explores how Taylor Swift’s empowerment and activism messages, conveyed through her music and live performances during the Eras Tour, shape fans’ perceptions of her personal brand and their emotional connection with the artist. Addressing a gap in the literature that specifically addresses artists’ personal branding, particularly through the lens of musical content, the study adopts a qualitative case study approach combining document analysis and 16 semi-structured interviews with Portuguese Swifties. Participants were selected based on their emotional connection to the artist and experience with the Eras Tour, either in person or through the concert film. The document analysis examined selected lyrics from the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) film and additional sources, based on five dimensions of female self-empowerment. The findings reveal that fans interpret Swift’s authenticity, emotional vulnerability, and consistent values (such as feminism, resilience, and emotional honesty) as central to her brand identity. These messages are seen not only as personal but also as socially meaningful, reinforcing her credibility as both an artist and a public figure. Furthermore, music emerged as a key trigger for parasocial relationships, expanding current academic research that focuses heavily on social media. This research enhances the underdeveloped field of personal branding in the music industry by emphasizing the importance of emotional storytelling and value alignment. It also adds to parasocial relationship theory by demonstrating how empowerment messages can foster personal identification, fan loyalty, and self-reflection. Finally, it provides practical contributions for artists and brand managers seeking to build authentic, value-driven personal brands through emotionally relatable narratives and performances.engPersonal brandTaylor SwiftFemale empowermentActivismParasocial relationshipsmaster thesis203978960