Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. In November 2008, Swift released her second album, Fearless, and the recording earned Swift four Grammy Awards, including the Album of the Year, at the 52nd Grammy Awards. Fearless and Taylor Swift finished 2008 at number-three and number-six respectively, with sales of 2.1 and 1.5 million.Fearless topped the Billboard 200 for 11 non-consecutive weeks no album has spent more time at No. 1 since 2000. Swift was named Artist of the Year by Billboard Magazine in 2009. Swift released her third album Speak Now on October 25, 2010 which sold 1,047,000 copies in its first week.In 2008, her albums sold a combined four million copies, making her the best-selling musician of the year in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Forbes ranked Swift 2009's 69th-most powerful celebrity with earnings of $18 millionand 2010's 12th-most powerful celebrity with earnings of $45 million Swift was ranked the 38th Best Artist of the 2000–10 decade by Billboard In January 2010 Nielsen SoundScan listed Swift as the most commercially successful country (or country/pop crossover) artist in music history with over 33 million digital tracks sold.As of March 2011, she has sold over 20 million albums and 33 million singles worldwide3 Songwriting style 4 Other work 4.1 Acting 4.2 Cover model and recognition 4.3 Merchandise 4.4 Philanthropy 5 Personal life 6 Filmography 7 Discography 8 Awards and nominations 9 Tours 10 References 11 External linksSwift was born on December 13, 1989 in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. She is the daughter of Andrea Gardner (née Finlay), a homemaker, and Scott Kingsley Swift, a stockbroker. Her maternal grandmother, Majorie Finlay, was an opera singerSwift has a younger brother, Austin.When Swift was in fourth grade, she won a national poetry contest with a three-page poem entitled "Monster In My Closet At the age of ten, a computer repairman showed her how to play three chords on a guitar, sparking her interest in learning the instrument. Afterwards, Swift wrote her first song, "Lucky You She began writing songs regularly and used it as an outlet to help her with her pain from not fitting in at school. She was a victim of bullying, and often wrote songs to express her emotions. She also started performing at karaoke contests, festivals, and fairs around her hometown. When Swift was 12, she devoted an entire summer to writing a 350-page novel, which remains unpublished.Her first major show was a well-received performance at the Bloomsburg FairSwift attended Hendersonville High School but was subsequently homeschooled for her junior and senior years. In 2008, she earned her high school diploma.Swift's greatest musical influence is Shania Twain Her other influences include LeAnn Rimes, Tina Turner, Dolly Parton, and her grandmother. Although her grandmother was a professional opera singer,Swift's tastes always leaned more toward country music. In her younger years, she developed a love for Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton. She also credits the Dixie Chicks for demonstrating the impact you can make by "stretching boundariesAt age 11, Swift made her first trip to Nashville, hoping to obtain a record deal by distributing a demo tape of her singing with karaoke songs. She gave a copy to every label in town but was rejected After Swift returned to Pennsylvania, she was asked to sing at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, where her rendition of the national anthem received much attention Swift started writing songs and playing 12-string guitar when she was 12. Swift began to regularly visit Nashville and wrote songs with local songwriters. By the time she was 14, her family decided to move to an outlying Nashville suburbWhen Swift was 15, she rejected RCA Records because the company wanted to keep her on an artist development deal After performing at Nashville's songwriters' venue, The Bluebird Café, she caught the attention of Scott Borchettawho signed her to his newly formed record label, Big Machine Records. At age 14, she became the youngest staff songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Tree publishing houseTaylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor Swift
