Taylor Swift had musical influences since an early age. Her maternal grandmother was a professional Opera singer who was one of Taylor Swift's key inspirations in her musical career during her early life. At the age of ten she began to perform around her hometown, singing at karaoke contests, festivals, and fairs. Her first exposure to the music business consisted of recording demo-tapes at a studio.
When she was eleven, Taylor Swift sang the national anthem at a Philadelphia 76ers game in front of an audience of over a thousand people. When she was twelve, she gained interest in the guitar and began to write songs. During this time she also took trips with her family to Nashville, Tennessee, to show her music around. In Nashville she wrote songs with local songwriters. A few years later, she and her family moved to Hendersonville, Tennessee. When she performed at a local restaurant called the Bluebird Cafe, she caught the attention of a veteran of the Nashville music industry, Scott Borchetta. Borchetta wanted to put her on his new label called Big Machine Records.
With the help of Borchetta, Taylor Swift released her self-titled debut album in 2006. Soon afterwards, she released her single "Tim McGraw" about one of her biggest musical influences of all-time. She has included "hidden messages" in each song's lyrics in the booklet of the CD.
Taylor Swift is one of the youngest singers in country music history, though certainly not the first teenage country singer. Tanya Tucker had her first top ten hit "Delta Dawn" at only thirteen in 1972. Marie Osmond had her first hit single, "Paper Roses" at only thirteen as well. LeAnn Rimes was thirteen when she charted the Country Top Ten with her first hit single "Blue". Taylor Swift's voice has a quiet sound to it, but she is not afraid to show her country roots in many of her songs.
