The folk-pop icon sung praises of the pop superstar in a recent interview with ‘Esquire’

Sadie Bell is a Digital News Writer on the Music team at PEOPLE. She joined PEOPLE in 2023. Her work has previously appeared in Alternative Press, Billboard, NYLON, Rolling Stone, and Thrillist.

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Sheryl Crow at the Environmental Media Association Awards gala on Jan. 27 2024; Taylor Swift performing in the Eras Tour at Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium on July 28, 2023. PHOTO: GREGG DEGUIRE/GETTY IMAGES FOR TOYOTA; JEFF KRAVITZ/TAS23/GETTY IMAGES FOR TAS RIGHTS MANAGEMENT

Sheryl Crow is singing her praises of Taylor Swift.

In a recent interview with Esquire in which the folk-pop icon, 62, shared lessons that she’s learned over the years, she opened up about how much she admires Swift, 34. Crow said that she thinks the pop superstar is “a powerhouse” and lauded how she’s become a champion for artists reclaiming their own work by re-recording her first six albums.

“I look at what Taylor Swift has done and think, ‘She’s a powerhouse,'” the “If It Makes You Happy” singer told the outlet.

Taylor Swift and Sheryl Crow at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 8, 2009.RICK DIAMOND/WIREIMAGE

Beyond the 14-time Grammy winner’s feats as a songwriter and a record-shattering performer, Crow noted how impressive it is that Swift responded to her masters being sold to Scooter Braun by releasing updated versions of her records. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee continued, “The fact that she came up with solutions for how to not allow her music to be a moneymaker for other people when she should be owning it.”

Crow brought up the Midnights artist after she admitted that another thing she’s learned is that “you and you alone are responsible for your art.”

In the Esquire interview, the “Soak Up the Sun” singer also mentioned how challenging it can be to be a woman in the music industry. “There’s not a handbook for how to navigate, as a woman, a business that is predominantly run by men,” she shared. “Or for when you have a strong woman, how that challenges men and their feelings of importance.”

Taylor Swift performing on the Eras Tour at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on March 17, 2023.KEVIN WINTER/GETTY IMAGES FOR TAS RIGHTS MANAGEMENT

Swift, meanwhile, has been commended for opting to release new versions of her discography for fans to listen with expanded tracks, since her original records were sold to Braun, 42, for $300 million when he purchased her former label Big Machine in 2019. In doubling down on her pact to re-record her old music, she’s followed through on the plan to great success.

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When the hitmaker dropped 1989 (Taylor’s Version) in the fall of last year, she earned her biggest album debut of her entire career. The project marked her 13th No. 1 on Billboard 200 chart and sold over 1.6 million units in the U.S.

The “Karma” singer has since released her own versions of Fearless, Speak Now, Red and 1989, meaning she has yet to release updated renditions of her self-titled debut and Reputation.

Sheryl Crow at the 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Nov. 3, 2023.MIKE COPPOLA/WIREIMAGE

Crow herself has been outspoken about sexism in the music industry over the years. In a November interview with PEOPLE, she explained that her 1996 hit “If It Makes You Happy” was written out of frustration that men accused her of not writing her own music when she first broke out.

“There was a lot of speculation, mostly male writers, saying, ‘She didn’t write her own record. There were a bunch of guys in the room,’” she said. “It was a very sexist moment in the history of music.”

Crow continued, “[If It Makes You Happy’] was a message to everybody that had been a part of the first record — while everybody’s making a ton of money off this record, I’m the one that’s having to defend myself. That was basically the impetus for the song.”

On Friday, the rocker will release her 12th studio album, Evolution, via Big Machine.