Heather E. Schwartz - Taylor Swift: Superstar Singer and Songwriter

T A Y L O R S WI F T

Heather E. Schwartz

Lerner Publications Minneapolis

T A Y L O R S WI F T

Superstar Singer AND Songwriter

Copyright 2019 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

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Image credits: Chris McGrath/TAS/Getty Images, p. 2; Nicky Loh/TAS/Getty Images, pp. 6, 31; Rick Diamond/Getty Images, pp. 8, 9, 16, 18, 20; J. Shearer/WireImage/Getty Images, p. 10; Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images, p. 11; Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images, pp. 15, 25, 29; Chris Walter/WireImage/Getty Images, p. 19; DWD-Media/Alamy Stock Photo, p. 22; Jason Kempin/Getty Images, p. 23; Dan MacMedan/WireImage/Getty Images, p. 26; Music4mix/ Shutterstock.com, p. 28; Christopher Polk/AMA2013/Getty Images, p. 33; Gareth Cattermole/ TAS/Getty Images, p. 35; Kevin Mazur/BMA2015/WireImage/Getty Images, p. 36; Sammy Smith/WireImage/Getty Images, p. 37; Patti McConville/Alamy Stock Photo, p.

Cover: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images.

Main body text set in Rotis Serif Std Regular 13.5/17. Typeface provided by Adobe Systems.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Schwartz, Heather E. author.

Title: Taylor Swift : superstar singer and songwriter / Heather E. Schwartz.

Description: Minneapolis : Lerner Publications, [2019] | Series: Gateway biographies | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018003071 (print) | LCCN 2018002327 (ebook) | ISBN 9781541528864 (eb pdf) | ISBN 9781541528857 (lb : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Swift, Taylor, 1989 Juvenile literature | SingersUnited StatesBiography Juvenile literature. | Country musiciansUnited StatesBiographyJuvenile literature.

Classification: LCC ML3930.S989 (print) | LCC ML3930.S989 S394 2019 (ebook) | DDC 782.421642092 [B]dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018003071

Manufactured in the United States of America

1-44744-35557-8/29/2018

C ontents

Taylor Swift performs at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on June 12, 2014, in Singapore.

A ll eyes were on the main stage at the 2009 Country Music Awards in Nashville, Tennessee. Faith Hill and Tim McGrawtwo of the country music industrys biggest starswalked to center stage to announce the biggest award of the night: Entertainer of the Year. From her seat in the audience, Taylor Swift watched clips of each nominee performing. For nearly a decade, the award had gone to a male vocalist. For four of the previous five years, it had gone to Kenny Chesney.

Then the moment finally came. It is our privilege to present tonights highest honor, the award for Entertainer of the Year, Faith Hill announced. And the CMA award for Entertainer of the Year goes to... Taylor Swift.

Shed won! Her hands covered her face as she stood. Her strapless gown sparkled. Chesney leaned in for a congratulatory hug. Swift later said that as she made her way to the stage, she felt as if she were in a dream. She thought of her second-grade teacher, her crew, her fans everyone whod helped her along the way.

I will never forget this moment, because in this moment, everything that I have ever wanted has just happened to me, she said, tearfully accepting her award.

At the age of nineteen, Swift was only a few short years into her musical career. Yet already, shed climbed to the top of the charts and had achieved her lifelong dream. Where could she possibly go from here?

I love a challenge, she told a reporter. And right now, the challenge is to find that next challenge.

Swift (right) accepts the award for Entertainer of the Year from Faith Hill and Tim McGraw onstage during the 43rd Annual CMA Awards on November 11, 2009, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Tapping Her Talent

Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13, 1989, in West Reading, Pennsylvania. Taylor lived on a Christmas tree farm as a child. She and her younger brother, Austin, grew up riding tractors and playing together.

Taylors parents, Scott and Andrea Swift, both worked in finance. As a girl, Taylor told people she was going to be a stockbroker or a financial adviser when she got older. After all, her parents had chosen her name because they

Swift ( cente r ) poses with her parents, Scott and Andrea, at the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in 2013.

felt it would give her an edge in the corporate world. My mom thought it was cool that if you got a business card that said, Taylor, you wouldnt know if it was a guy or a girl. She wanted me to be a business person in a business world, Taylor said.

Early on, Taylor showed she wasnt really interested in business, though. She preferred riding horses competitively and listening to country music. Her favorite singers included LeAnn Rimes, Faith Hill, Shania Twain, and the Dixie Chicks. She was drawn not only to their music but to the stories they told in their songs.

LeAnn Rimes performs at the 16th Annual Bridge School Benefit Concert in 2002.

Around the age of nine, Taylor got involved in childrens theater but found she liked singing karaoke at the cast parties even better than performing in plays. Its possible she inherited her love of singing from her grandmother, who was a professional opera singer. Taylor was ten when she started singing at fairs and festivals and entering weekend karaoke contests at Pat Garretts Roadhouse in Bethel, Pennsylvania. She kept going back until she won a year and a half later. Her prize was the opportunity to open for singer Charlie Daniels when he played at an amphitheater near Strausstown, Pennsylvania.