Artist Profile: Taylor Swift
Teen Country Singer Taylor Swift's Meteoric Rise to Stardom
Jul 28, 2009
Swift was born on December 13th, 1989 in Pennsylvania. Her interest in writing came early; she won a national poetry contest in fourth grade. She was also influenced by her grandmother, who is a professional opera singer.
By the time Swift was 10, she was entering karaoke contests and performing at fairs. By age 11, with a full-fledged demo tape of several karaoke songs in hand, she traveled to Nashville with her parents to drop it off at the front desk of every record label on Music Row, without much success. At age 12, she took up guitar playing and immediately began writing songs.
RCA, Sony, and Big Machine Records
At 13, she signed an artist development deal with RCA records, which led to her meeting steady songwriting partner, Liz Rose. At age 14, her songs caught the ear of Arthur Buenahora at Sony/ATV Music, and she was offered a publishing deal. She relocated to Hendersonville, just outside of Nashville, with her family and began writing with some of the most well-known writers in town.
Still dreaming of a record deal, she shopped her songs to various labels. The legendary music row executive Scott Borchetta had recently started a boutique label in Nashville, and was intrigued by Swift’s material. After seeing her perform at the Bluebird Café, he soon signed her to a deal with Big Machine Records (home to Trisha Yearwood and Jack Ingram).
Taylor Swift and Tim McGraw
The first single from Swift’s debut album was “Tim McGraw,” which was inspired by a real-life romantic breakup. Swift performed the song at the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2007, and famously came offstage during the telecast and introduced herself to McGraw. Her debut album peaked at Number One on the Country album charts, and at Number 5 on the Billboard Top 200. The album went on to sell over three million copies.
The success of the album brought Swift several accolades. She won the CMA Awards’ Horizon Award, and the National Songwriter Association’s Songwriter/Artist of the Year award in 2007. She became the opening act on Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s 2007 Soul to Soul tour, and landed opening act slots for Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, and Vince Gill. Other successful singles from her debut album were “Should’ve Said No,” and “Teardrops on My Guitar.”
A Fearless Love Story
In 2008, Swift released her sophomore album, Fearless. With the success of the first single, “Love Story,” the album debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 charts.
The success of the album garnered her the title of the Best Selling Country Artist of 2008. She also made her debut appearance on Saturday Night Live in 2008, and performed with teen sensation Miley Cyrus at the 2008 Grammy Awards. At the 2008 Country Music Association Awards, she won the Album of the Year trophy, making her the youngest artist in CMA history to do so.
The CMA also awarded her with the Crystal Milestone Award, for Outstanding Achievement in Country Music. This award celebrated the widespread crossover success of “Love Story,” as well as her feat of bringing a younger generation to country music.
2009: Fearless Tour and T-Pain
In 2009, Swift headlined her own tour, and brought along buddies Kellie Pickler and Gloriana as opening acts. It played to over 50 cities. She again brought back memories of Tim McGraw when she collaborated with rapper T-Pain for a video spoof during the 2009 CMT Music Awards (Tim McGraw collaborated with rapper Nelly on a song several years ago).
Along the way, Swift has appeared on the covers of Seventeen, Blender, Billboard, and Rolling Stone, among other publications.
Summary
The teen queen’s swift rise to country music stardom has come with accolades normally given to artists much older. This is a testament to her connection with her young audience, as well as her penchant for solid songwriting, her creative onstage performances, and her likable personality.
