I Didn’t Make it By 26 - Is My Life Over?

In the words of Taylor Swift, “You need to calm down.”

No, your life is absolutely not over just because you were not one of the blessed who “made it” before they were 26 years old. Let’s be honest for a second…who actually knows who they are at the ripe young age of 26 years old? Also, who the hell decided the “magic cut off age” was 26, and WHY is it solely imposed on women?

It all seems more than a little misogynistic to me.

The fact of the matter is, the definition of “making it” is different for everyone and there is absolutely no reason why anyone’s definition should affect how you feel about your own career, or change your definition of success for that matter.

Is it winning a bunch of highly regarded awards? Is it getting signed? Or, is it making enough money to support yourself? Once you’ve achieved that, is it enough? Or are you going to want to chase more?

The thing is, friend, no one can tell you what “making it” is except you because it’s YOUR dream you’re chasing, and there is absolutely no deadline for that. Especially not such a speedy one.

Don’t believe me? Let’s look at some of the most successful female songwriters in the industry who made it after 26 and see if that helps rekindle that dream-chasing flame.

Sheryl Crow didn’t have her first hit until she was 32. She started as a back up singer with Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson which is no small feat in and of itself. She was also a school teacher in her 20’s!

Rachel Platten, singer/songwriter of “Fight Song” fame didn’t land that chart topping hit until she was 34.

Sia’s first hit, Chandelier, didn’t hit until she was 39 years old. Despite pursuing a career in Australia most of her life, we didn’t know her in the US until her & her wig came along right before she turned 40!

Finally, Debbie Harry of Blondie, co-founded the group when she was 29 and it wasn’t until 4 years later when she was 33 that they had their first industry recognition.

All of this to say is friend, you’ve still got time! Don’t let anyone tell you you don’t.

We certainly won’t.

References:

https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2022/12/16/musicians-who-made-it-later-in-life/

https://bluerhymez.com/2021/05/29/top-10-famous-music-artists-who-made-it-in-their-30s/