THEN AND NOW: How Taylor Swift went from tween country wannabe to global pop superstar
Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13, 1989, and grew up on a Christmas tree farm in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.
When she was 10, Swift watched a program about how Faith Hill became a country singer and decided that she wanted to do the same. After persistent pestering, she traveled to Nashville and handed CDs of covers she recorded to producers along Music Row. She was 11.
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Source: CMT
She didn't get the attention she wanted, but rather than give up, the aspiring singer began to write her own music and learned how to play guitar.
Source: CMT
A 12-year-old Swift performed the National Anthem at a 76ers game in 2002.
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Around the same time, she was taking trips down to Nashville to meet songwriters, and when she was 13, she got a development deal with RCA Records.
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Source: CMT
Though that deal didn't go anywhere, it did lead to her becoming the youngest songwriter to sign with the Sony/ATV Music publishing house. So at the age of 14, Swift and her family moved to Nashville so she could pursue a country music career.
Source: The New Yorker
She ended up signing to Big Machine Records, which only launched in 2005 and where she's remained, and a year later, the label released her self-titled debut album. She was 16.
Source: CMT
Her second single, "Teardrops on my Guitar," was her highest-charting song from her first album and peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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Source: Billboard
She embarked on tours, conducted meet-and-greets, and opened for numerous country artists, such as Rascal Flatts, George Strait, and Brad Paisley, which helped spread her name and music around. She also earned her first Grammy nomination for best new artist.
She followed that up with her second album, "Fearless," which was released in 2008 to even more success.
Led by the popularity of the pop-y, polished "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me,""Fearless" became the best-selling album in the US in 2009. "You Belong with Me" became her highest-charting single to date, reaching No. 2 on the Hot 100.
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She embarked on her first headlining tour, cowrote songs for the "Hannah Montana" movie, shared vocals on Boys Like Girls' "Two Is Better Than One," and became the first country artist to win an MTV Video Music Award.
"Fearless" won four Grammys, and Swift became the youngest album of the year winner at the age of 20.
Swift's ability to write relatable love songs and cross over to the pop world catapulted her career from a small-town country artist to popular country star.
Her third album,"Speak Now," debuted at No. 1, and her tour resulted in the release of her first live album. She won two Grammys.
Swift wrote two songs for "The Hunger Games" soundtrack, and her collaboration with The Civil Wars and T-Bone Burnett earned another Grammy.
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Swift took a bigger step toward pop music (and ditched her signature curls) for 2012's "Red," whose hit song "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" became her first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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She made the full transition to pop phenom with the release of "1989." She became the first artist to have three albums sell more than a million copies in the first week when "1989" joined "Speak Now" and "Red" on that list.
"Blank Space," "Shake It Off," and "Bad Blood" (featuring Kendrick Lamar) all reached the No. 1 spot on Billboard's charts. "1989" was the best-selling album of 2014.
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The Grammy album of the year win for "1989" made Swift the only female to win that award twice.
She's even done some acting, including a guest spot on "CSI" in 2009, hosting "Saturday Night Live" that same year, and she made her feature film debut in 2010's "Valentine's Day." Her latest role was a supporting part in 2014's "The Giver."
Forbes named her the eighth highest-paid celebrity in the world last year, raking in $80 million.
Source: Forbes
As her sense of fashion has evolved over the years, the singer has become a style icon and will cochair the Met Gala in May.
Source: Vogue
She told Vogue, “I can look back at an old photo and tell you roughly what year it’s from. Going through different phases is one of my favorite things about fashion. I love how it can mark the passage of time. It’s similar to my songs in that way — it all helps identify where I was at in different points of my life."
Source: Vogue
Though she isn't stepping away from music, she is ready to take a break from constantly writing, recording, and touring. As she told Vogue, "I’m always going to be writing songs."
Source: Vogue
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