Jeff Burlingame - Taylor Swift: Music Superstar

As a teenager, Taylor Swift accomplished more than any singer or musician could have ever hoped to. She had won awards and sold millions of albums. But she was only getting started. Learn more about this humble pop and country star, including her multiple Grammy wins, whom she dates, and much more.

Quotes, personal stories, and accessible features such as a timeline and glossary make this a book everyone will want to read.

Taylor Swift is one of the hottest musicians today. Whether classifi ed as country or crossover, she has a huge fan base. Learn more about the rise and career of this down-to-earth singer.

About the Author

Jeff Burlingame is an award-winning author of several books, including Kurt Cobain: Oh Well, Whatever, Nevermind, which won a Books for the Teen Age award from the New York Public Library.

Taylor Swift performs on the Today show on October 26, 2010.

Best. First. Youngest. Each time Taylor Swifts name comes up in a newspaper, magazine, or online article, there is a good chance at least one of those three words will be included. Best-selling artist of the year. First country musician to win an MTV Video Music Award. Youngest person in history to win the Grammy award for Album of the Year.

The list goes on.

By the age of twenty-one, she has sold more records than most famous musicians three times her age. She has won more awards than most of those people, too. Along the way, she has become one of the richest celebrities in the world.

In spite of her successes, Swift has managed to remain the same down-to-earth girl she always has been. She often sings about her life. Her fans relate to her songs of hope and heartbreak. They try to figure out who she is singing about. Her lyrics are fairly direct, so that often makes it easy for them to do so.

Every single one of the guys that Ive written songs about has been tracked down on MySpace by my fans, Swift said. While such lack of privacy might bother some peopleespecially those being written aboutSwift prides herself on being open about her life. That openness is a huge reason why people like her. It is what she expects from a performer so its what she gives to her fans. When I knew something was going on in someones personal life and they didnt address it in their music, I was always very confused by that, she said.

There is no reason for Swifts fans to ever be as confused as she was. She does sing about her personal life. But there is much more to the superstars story than can be found in her lyrics. It all began with a young girl who had a big dream.

Taylor Alison Swift was born December 13, 1989, in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. Her parents, Andrea and Scott, both worked in the financial industry. Andrea soon left her career behind to be a stay-at-home mom. However, Scott continued his work as a stockbroker.

Singing appeared to have come naturally to Taylor. Her grandmother was an opera singer. I can remember her singing, the thrill of it, Taylor told the Reading Eagle newspaper in 2008. She was one of my first inspirations.

Young Taylor also had other musical heroes. They came from a variety of musical styles. She enjoyed the country music of teenager LeAnn Rimes. She also enjoyed older stars such as the Dixie Chicks, Dolly Parton, and Patsy Cline. Even rock and roll music had a place in Taylors home, thanks to her moms love of the British rock band Def Leppard. Years later, Taylor Swift got the chance to perform with Def Leppard in concert. When asked about how it felt, she called it a complete out-of-body experience.

At the Country Music Television Awards on June 16, 2009, Taylor Swift got to sing with one of her idols, Def Leppards Joe Elliott.

Taylor loved to sing, but she also liked acting and writing. She even performed in a childrens acting group. Because she was tall, she landed many lead roles, including Sandy in the musical Grease. Taylor also loved reading poetry and began writing it at an early age. In fourth grade, she won a national poetry contest for a three-page poem she wrote. It was titled Monster in My Closet. Poetry was my favorite thing, Taylor said. I loved putting things down on paper. It was so fascinating to me.

Soon, Taylors poetry writing turned into songwriting. She began performing hers and others songs everywhere. She sang at baseball games, county fairs, and karaoke contests. At home, she was always singing. At age eleven, Taylor and her family took a trip to Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville is a city with a strong connection to country music. Taylor was not there to visit. She was there to work.

At the citys many record label offices, she dropped off a homemade demo CD of her singing karaoke. She said, My mom would pull up outside one of the record labels on Music Row in Nashville and I would run in and say to the receptionist, Hi, Im Taylor. Im 11. I want a record deal. Call me. No one called herat least not yet.

Rejection did not stop Taylor from following her dream of becoming a star. Instead, she worked harder to achieve her goal. At age twelve, she sang the national anthem at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York. She taught herself to play guitar, and practiced for hours each day. She also continued performing near her home. One of her regular shows in public was at a weekly karaoke event in the nearby city of Strausstown. Still twelve, she opened up for country music legend Charlie Daniels Band at the Pat Garrett Roadhouse in Strausstown.

Tourists love to visit Music Row in Nashville. Above, a tour bus drives through the intersection of Music Square East and Chet Atkins Place. The Curb Records building is in the background.

Throughout her tween and teen years, Taylor used music as an escape. At school, she said some kids would make fun of her for liking county music because they did not like it. So Taylor would write songs about those experiences to help her cope. I didnt really have that many friends at school, she said.

It just dawned on me that I had to love being different or else I was going to end up being dark and angry and frustrated by school. I would sit on the edge of class and watch people interact with each other. Id watch guys flirt with cool girls and I would watch best friends talk, and I would go home and write about it. If you listen to my albums, its like reading my diary.