Taylor Swift

Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American country music artist who began her career as a teenager. Signed to the independent Big Machine Records label in 2006, she made her debut on the Billboard country charts with the release of her debut single "Tim McGraw". This song, which peaked at #6, was the first of five singles from her self-titled debut, which was released in late 2006 and re-issued in 2007, and has been certified 3× Multi-Platinum by the RIAA. Following "Tim McGraw" were the #2 "Teardrops on My Guitar", the six-week Number One "Our Song", the #3 "Picture to Burn" and another Number One in "Should've Said No". All five singles from her debut were Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, as was her song "Change" from the AT&T TEAM USA Soundtrack. Her second album, Fearless, was released on November 11, and its lead-off single "Love Story" has become her highest Hot 100 hit.

Swift's next studio album, Fearless, was released in the United States on November 11, 2008. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart. Its sales of 592,000 was the best single week for any country album in a year, and six singles from the album debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 the same week. "Change", a song from the album, was selected as part of a soundtrack supporting Team USA's efforts in the 2008 Summer Olympics. The song was also featured as part of the soundtrack of NBC's broadcast package of the Games. She also released the lead single from the album, "Love Story", on September 12, 2008. The song is accompanied by a music video that is based on Romeo and Juliet. The song has reached #2 on iTunes Store Top Downloaded Songs and #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Swift sang the Star-Spangled Banner at game three of the World Series in Philadelphia, October 25, 2008.