by Paula S. Thompson

Created on: December 21, 2009

In a few short years, a young woman from Wyomissing, Pennsylvania has made a big impact on the world of music.  Taylor Swift has developed from a shy, awkward teen into one of country and pop music's most recognizable faces, an artist drawing accolades from her peers and adoration from her fans - all by the age of 20.

When Swift was in fourth grade, she won a national poetry contest with a poem called "Monster In My Closet;" she soon after began writing songs and entering karaoke contests, as well as performing with a children's comedy group called TheatreKids Live!  It was group founder Kirk Cremer who saw Swift's musical talent as her forte, going so far as to lease space at a nearby shopping mall so she could perform to karaoke tracks.  After learning her first three guitar chords, Swift turned to songwriting as her primary outlet.

Influenced musically by Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes, Dolly Parton, and Patsy Cline, among others, Swift began shopping her demo tapes around Nashville at age 11.  Rejected by record labels early on, Swift kept at it, returning to Nashville numerous times before her family decided to move to a suburb outside of Nashville.  During a performance at Nashville's famous Bluebird Cafe, she attracted the attention of Scott Borchetta of the newly-established Big Machine Records, who signed her to a contract at age 15.

Her debut album "Taylor Swift," released in late 2006, debuted at #19 on the Billboard 200 album chart on the strength of the single "Tim McGraw."  The second single, "Teardrops On My Guitar," peaked at #2 on the country chart, and a pop remix boosted the single to #11 on Billboard's Pop 100 chart.  There would be three more releases from the album, with "Picture To Burn" reaching #3 and "Our Song" and "Should've Said No" reaching #1.

Late in 2008, Swift released her sophomore album, "Fearless," which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.  Lead single "Love Story," with its Romeo-and-Juliet-inspired music video, was an immediate country and pop hit; three other singles released so far - "White Horse," "You Belong With Me," and "Fifteen" - have all made big splashes on the country charts, the latter two becoming big pop hits as well.

The video for the track "You Belong With Me" earned Swift an MTV Video Music Award in September 2009 - the first country act to win a VMA.  A few weeks later, she would win four Country Music Association awards, including the coveted Entertainer of the Year, and five American Music Awards in both pop and country categories, including the overall Artist of the Year.

Much of Swift's popularity comes from the autobiographical nature of her songs - most anyone can relate to her songs of love and love lost, and teens and young adults see her as someone who understands them.  This combination, plus her youthfulness, should make Taylor Swift a force to be reckoned with in the music world for a long time to come.

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