● Born: 13 December 1989
● Birthplace: Reading, Pennsylvania
● Best Known As: Teen singer of the 2009 hit "You Belong With Me"
Country singer Taylor Swift broke through in 2006 with her hit song "Tim McGraw," recorded when she was still 16 years old. Raised just outside of Reading, Pennsylvania, Swift began singing at local events when she was a kid, and even sang the national anthem at a Philadelphia 76ers basketball game when she was 11. To pursue her career in country music, Swift and her family moved near Nashville, Tennessee when she was 13. Her beauty-pageant looks and surprisingly seasoned country vocal style made her a star on Country Music Television, and her video for "Tim McGraw" -- a wistful ballad of romantic longing ("When you think Tim McGraw / I hope you think of me") -- was voted a fan favorite. She released her self-titled debut album in late 2006 and quickly became a star singer and songwriter, nominated for a Grammy Award and by the Academy of Country Music as best new female vocalist. Before she was even 18 Swift was touring nationally with top stars such as Brad Paisley and Rascal Flatts. Her 2008 album Fearless produced the hit singles "Love Story" and "You Belong With Me."

Swift was stunned by Kanye West at the MTV Music Video Awards on 13 September 2009. Swift was accepting her video for Best Female Video when Kanye grabbed the microphone and announced to the crowd, "I'm sorry, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!"


● Biography
Taylor Swift became one of country-pop's brightest (and youngest) faces in 2006, when the 16-year-old vocalist released her first album. Although new to the American public, Swift had been performing since early childhood, taking inspiration and encouragement from her opera-singing grandmother. She sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" before a Philadelphia 76ers game at the age of 11; the following year, she began practicing her guitar skills for several hours each day, only stopping when her fingers began to bleed. Swift's parents realized their child's dedication and began making regular visits to Nashville, TN, where Swift would perform casually and meet with songwriters in the area. The family then decided to move from their native Pennsylvania to an outlying Nashville suburb, which accelerated Swift's career.

While performing at the intimate Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Swift caught the eye of music industry veteran Scott Borchetta, who signed her to his newly formed label. Swift joined the roster at Big Machine Records and released her debut single, "Tim McGraw," in August 2006. The song drew upon her experience as a lovelorn high-school student, a theme that Swift revisited throughout her self-titled debut album. Released in late 2008, Taylor Swift catapulted the young songwriter to stardom, spawning a handful of hits (five consecutive Top Ten singles, a new record for a female solo artist) while earning multi-platinum sales. Swift also received a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, an award she ultimately lost to Amy Winehouse. Two subsequent EPs -- Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection and Beautiful Eyes -- helped maintain Swift's popularity while whetting public demand for her sophomore release, Fearless, which arrived in November 2008. ~ Andrew Leahey & Megan Frye, All Music Guide


● Wikipedia: Taylor Swift

Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American country pop[1] singer-songwriter, guitarist and actress. In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", which preceded the release of her self-titled debut album. Taylor Swift produced five hit singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and has been certified 3× Multi-Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Swift released her second album, Fearless, in November 2008. According to Nielsen SoundScan, Swift is the highest-selling artist of 2008 in the United States with combined sales of more than four million albums. Swift's Fearless and her self-titled album finished 2008 at number three and number six respectively, with sales of 2.1 and 1.5 million.[5] Fearless has topped the Billboard 200 in 11 non-consecutive weeks,[6] a feat no album has spent more time at number one since 1999-2000. With combined singles from her two albums, she is the female artist with the most top 40 hits this decade.[7] According to the 2009 issue of Forbes, Swift is ranked as the 69th most powerful celebrity with over $18 million in earnings this year.[8] In 2010, Swift will make her feature film debut in the film Valentine's Day.


● Early life

Swift was born in the borough of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. She is the daughter of Scott Swift, a stock broker, and his wife Andrea, a homemaker. She has a younger brother, Austin.[9] When she was in fourth grade, Swift won a national poetry contest with a three page poem entitled "Monster In My Closet".[10][11]

At ten, Swift began writing songs and singing at karaoke contests, festivals, and fairs around her hometown. During one summer, Swift devoted herself to writing a 350 page (unpublished) novel.[12]

She was a member of Kirk Cremer's SNL-inspired kid's sketch comedy group, TheatreKids Live!, where she was a natural comedic talent. After seeing her karaoke performance at one of the cast parties, it was Cremer's mother who first suggested that Swift seemed more of a natural to pursue a career in country music, rather than theatrical performing. Cremer soon leased space at a local mall and began to showcase his young protégée in weeknight performances of country songs with karaoke backing tracks. Emboldened by her performances and growing audiences, she began to perform in other local open mike and karaoke nights. Her first major show was a well-received performance at the Bloomsburg Fair, arranged by local performer Pat Garrett.[13]

Songwriting interest
Swift first learned to play guitar from a computer repairman who showed her how to play three chords. After learning those three chords, she wrote her first song, "Lucky You". She began writing songs regularly and used it as outlet to help her with her pain from not fitting in at school. Other kids would react badly to her so she wrote songs about them.[citation needed]

Early work
Swift's greatest musical influence is Shania Twain.[14] Her other influences include her grandmother, LeAnn Rimes, Tina Turner and Dolly Parton. Although her grandmother was a professional opera singer,[15] Taylor's tastes always ran more toward country and she developed a love for Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton at an early age.[16] She also credits the Dixie Chicks and Shania Twain for demonstrating how much impact can be made by "stretching boundaries".[17]

At age 11, Swift made her first trip to Nashville hoping to obtain a record deal by distributing a demo tape of her singing with karaoke songs. She gave a copy to every label in town.[18] Swift faced rejection, not just from record labels, but also from her peers.[19]

After Swift returned to Pennsylvania, she was asked to sing at the U.S. Open tennis tournament; her rendition of the national anthem received a lot of attention.[20] Swift started writing songs and playing 12-string guitar when she was 12. Swift began to regularly visit Nashville and wrote songs with local songwriters. By the time she was 14, her family decided to move to an outlying Nashville suburb.[21]

When Swift was fifteen, she rejected RCA Records because the company wanted to keep her on a development deal.[22] Swift then performed at Nashville's songwriters' venue, The Bluebird Café, catching the attention of Scott Borchetta[23] who signed her to his newly-formed record label, Big Machine Records. She also became the youngest staff songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Tree publishing house at 14.[24]