Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift wasn't born in Tennessee, but it's impossible to imagine the record-breaking superstar without her connection to the Volunteer State. Swift moved to Nashville when she was 14, and her songs , vividly written, insanely catchy, and wise beyond her years- soon found a home on Music Row. Painting pictures of teenage life and love, pickup trucks, and slamming screen doors, she made her debut on country radio with "Tim McGraw," charted her first No. 1 with "Our Song," and began churning out an unstoppable genre-altering string of hits that mark her as the most iconic singer-songwriter of her generation., The wild-haired blonde with the sparkly guitar became the youngest-ever Grammy Award winner for Album of the Year with Fearless in 2010, and she's since brought home a double-digit haul of trophies from Music's Biggest Night including a second award for Album of the Year with 1989 , the first solo female to ever win that trophy twice., She is one of the most lauded artists in country music or any other genre, with multiple honors from the Country Music Association, Academy of Country Music and the American Music Awards, not to mention the most Billboard Music Awards ever given to a female artist. Meanwhile, her show-stopping performances on those telecasts never fail to Impress, serving as a glimpse into her uniquely prolific creative mind. Her songs are at once personal and universal, and throughout her extraordinary career, she has won over her audience by communicating the truth about how it feels to exist in the moments we never forget, a message that resonates across generations and geographical lines. By never straying from that intimate connection, Swift is the rare artist who flawlessly grew up in front of , and alongside , her worldwide fan base, maturing from a daytime act at county fairs and country festivals into the statuesque snake-whispering stadium ringmaster of her 2018 Reputation Tour, which set the record for highest-grossing U.S. tour of all time., Despite expanding her sound beyond the bounds of traditional country music, Swift holds tight to her Tennessee roots. Through philanthropy, advocacy and voter registration efforts, she consistently gives back to the state that helped build her career. Her gifts are sometimes grandiose , like donating half a million dollars in the wake of the 2010 Nashville floods , but they have also been as simple as helping her Hendersonville high school refurbish its auditorium. In 2013, her generous endowment allowed the Country Music Hall of Fame to open the Taylor Swift Education Center, a space for school groups to enjoy hands-on exhibits, and where everyone from toddlers to adults can expand their musical knowledge. In 2019, Swift announced a large contribution to the Tennessee Equality Project as part of her commitment to LGBTQ+ equality in the state and beyond., Whether she's helping the kids at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, shutting down streets in Music City to announce a new project, or opening her Nashville home to fans for a listening party, one thing is clear: When Taylor Swift speaks. she speaks from the heart as a proud Tennessean , no matter what her birth certificate says, and no matter where her global fame takes her from here., Caption: Taylor Swift at the 58th Grammy Awards on Feb. 15, 2016, in Los Angeles, California.