 |
 At just 18, rising country star Taylor Swift already has a double-platinum album, a trio of Top 10 singles and a Grammy nomination under her belt. |
These days, when a teen singing sensation achieves any level of success, a TV talent show, a creepy Svengali figure, or a high-traffic MySpace page always figures prominently in their backstory.
Well, almost always. That's not so in the case of country spitfire Taylor Swift, the 18-year-old up-and-comer who's taken the CMT scene by storm.
Swift got her start the old-fashioned way, learning to write songs and play guitar as a kid, and becoming a veteran of the karaoke, festival, and county-fair circuit by the ripe old age of 11.
That's also when she made her first trip to Nashville, where she passed out demo tapes to receptionists at every record label on Music Row.
The efforts were not in vain. Fast-forward a few years, and Swift is already an acclaimed country starlet with serious crossover appeal, not to mention a double-platinum debut, three Top 10 singles and a Grammy nomination under her belt.
But Swift -- a ridiculously engaging sort whose charm and intelligence belie her tender years -- says her old-school origins had an impact on her appreciation for everything that's come after.
|
"I remember when I was walking into those same buildings, having no idea how to get what I wanted, so I just would say to these receptionists, 'Hi -- I'm Taylor. I'm 11 and I'd like a record deal,' " recalls Swift, who joins Rascal Flatts onstage at MTS Centre tomorrow night. "Now that I'm walking into those buildings every day to work, and going out on the road with all these incredible headliners, it's just so amazing to me, and mind-blowing, how far I've come."
To say Swift has worked hard for her success would be an understatement of epic proportions. The granddaughter of a professional opera singer, she developed an ear for country at an early age, when her mom brought home an album by LeAnn Rimes, a kindred spirit whose first success came at 13.
While her pre-teen pals were going to the mall and goofing off in school, Swift was honing her live chops in musical theatre, practising guitar until her fingers bled, and spending her weekends at open-mic nights and singer-songwriter showcases.
She even convinced her folks to move from Pennsylvania to the Nashville suburb of Hendersonville, Tenn., when she was 14, quickly catching the eye of an industry exec who was in the process of starting up his own indie label.
By summer 2006, Swift's debut single Tim McGraw -- a song inspired by a freshman romance -- had made a serious impression on the country charts. Followup single Teardrops on My Guitar -- about a classmate who saw Swift as "just a friend" -- helped seal the deal, and by the middle of 2007, Swift had not only performed Tim McGraw for the real McGraw, she'd been tapped to open for the star and his wife Faith Hill on their record-breaking Soul2Soul tour.
Not bad for someone Blender magazine recently dubbed "the poet laureate of 10th grade relationships."
"I write about high school life and sophomoric relationships, because that's what I know," explains Swift. "I don't try to write about what it's like to be 30, because I'm not grown up yet. I feel like I've only done maybe one-fourth of the learning that I have yet to experience in my life."
Almost as impressive as Swift's many accomplishments is the fact that -- despite being a bona fide beauty with bedroom eyes and a cascade of blond curls -- she's steadfastly refused to wring career mileage from her looks.
"I am loving you right now!" Swift giggles, when it's pointed out the bulk of her press clippings focus on her talents, not her physical attributes. "I've never wanted my music to be based on appearances, or aesthetics, or image ... In the end, I would really like to be remembered for my writing. I think that would be a cool legacy to leave behind."
Swift also swears you won't be seeing her name in the scandal sheets anytime soon -- "I'm just not a partier. It's not a priority," she says -- and while she's not above using her ex-BFs as songwriting fodder (current single Picture to Burn boasts the couplet, "Tell your friends I'm obsessive and crazy / That's fine, I'll tell mine you're gay"), she'd also like to go down in history as one of the nice guys.
"You can get through the music industry in one piece, but it's hard to do without becoming jaded," she says. "I have hopes and I have dreams, but I've never once felt entitled to anything. The fact that it's all worked out the way it has is freaking me out in the most awesome way."