Taylor Swift's ascent to country stardom was an unusual one, remarkable for its rapidity (the first single off her debut album was a huge hit), for the subject of her initial hit (a song called "Tim McGraw" that revolves around listening to the singer), and for Swift's youth (she was only 16 at the time). Equally striking is the fact that she managed to make such a big splash while on the independent Big Machine label. An early bloomer in the extreme, Swift began performing at the age of 10 and signed her first record deal at 13. After she took the country world by storm with her first album, the sky seemed to be the limit for the young singer.







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