Taylor Swift photo by Sheryl Nields, courtesy of Big Machine Records.

As we quickly realize from several of the tracks on FEARLESS, Taylor has found out relationships only get more complicated with age. Songs like "You’re Not Sorry," "Tell Me Why," "Forever & Always," and "White Horse," the latter of which debuted in the 2008 season opener of the primetime drama "Grey’s Anatomy," find Taylor has learned that "happily ever after" endings are not always a given.

"I think I’m very fascinated by the differences between reality and fairy tales," Taylor says. "When we’re little, we read these books and we see cartoons and the bad guy is always wearing black. You always know who he is. But in real life, the bad guy can be incredibly charming and have a great smile and perfect hair. He says things that make you laugh and he’s sweet and he’s funny, but you don’t realize that he’s going to cause you a lot of pain."

But lest you think it’s all ogres and trolls reeking havoc on the landscape of Taylor’s love-life there is a welcomed cameo from a prince charming or two riding to the rescue.

The album’s first single, "Love Story," offers up a countrified version of Shakespeare’s play that is anything but a tragedy. In Taylor’s world, Romeo is still breathing when the curtain closes...and Juliet has a ring on her finger. And in the incredibly infectious "Hey Stephen," Taylor proves she truly is FEARLESS by singing about a secret crush – who will most assuredly not remain a secret for long. Yes, the boy really exists. And yes, Stephen is his real name. "He has no idea the song is written about him," Taylor says with laugh. "It’s someone who I’ve always been friends with and always kind of had a thing for...and he doesn’t know. It’s always fun for me to put something on the album that is personal. Something I know I’m going to have to deal with when the record comes out."

She even leaves listeners with a positive vibe. The album’s final track is a song Taylor wrote to inspire her during some of the tougher moments in the early going of her career. "There were times I was working so hard that I didn’t realize that every single day our numbers were getting bigger," Taylor remembers. "Every single day, our fan base was growing. Every single day, the work that we were doing was paying off. Then, during the 2007 CMA Awards, when they called out my name as the Horizon Award winner, I looked over and saw the president of my record label crying. Walking up those stairs, it just occurred to me that that was the night things changed. It changed everything."

Some things for Taylor, however, have stayed the same. Her steady creative partner Liz Rose is back on board. Rose was a co-writer with Taylor on seven songs from her debut album, and was the first person to encourage her to release "Tim McGraw" out into the world.

Taylor has also invited three more talents in to the writing mix on FEARLESS. After getting the title track off the ground with Rose, Taylor called on songwriter Hillary Lindsey to help bring the song in for a landing. Blown away by pop songwriter Colbie Caillat’s talents on her debut album CoCo, Taylor immediately reached out to her to collaborate. The result is "Breathe," with Caillat adding vocals to the track. "I think she sounds beautiful on it," gushes Taylor.