Taylor Swift

Swift learned to play guitar as a preteen and began writing her own songs. Her talent caught the attention of the labels. RCA Records gave her a development deal after seeing her perform original songs at a showcase. 

With that success in hand, Swift’s family relocated to the Nashville area, where she began working with songwriters to hone her skill. One night at the city’s famed Bluebird Café, Swift caught the eye of a record executive who was preparing to start an independent label. She signed a contract at only 16 years old. 

Swift’s self-titled debut album arrived in 2006 as did its lead single, “Tim McGraw”. The song became a major hit for the budding country star. It's since been certified RIAA platinum and has sold over a million copies. In 2007, she became the youngest person to win the Nashville Songwriters Association’s Songwriter/Artist of the Year.

She followed her early success with two more country releases, 2008’s Fearless, which not only won the Grammy for Best Country Album but took home the top Album of the Year prize, and 2010’s Speak Now. Her 2012 album Red drew more heavily on pop, and she made the full transition away from country with the best-selling pop album 1989 in 2014. 

Swift continued a steady output of releases, including 2017’s Reputation, 2019’s Lover, and two surprise albums in 2020, folklore and evermore. The latter two were produced by Aaron Dessner and integrated a greater indie folk style into Swift’s songwriting.

With folklore, Swift became the first female artist to win the Grammy for Album of the Year three times.