Taylor Swift’s a Young Rascal Fan

Country fans get up close and personal with Taylor Swift, Randy Travis, Gretchen Wilson, Sara Evans, Joe Nichols, Bucky Covington and Jake Owen on June 5, 2008 at the CMA Celebrity Close Up series, hosted by Lorianne Crook, which will air on GAC later this year. Photo credit: David Vespie.

July 22, 2008 — Taylor Swift is in the middle of a busy summer schedule as she preps her second album in between tour dates with Rascal Flatts. And don’t think for a second she’s not happy to be on the Flatts’ Bob That Head Tour — she hit the road with them in 2006 when she was still relatively unknown and considers it a major building block in her career.

"I'll always love the guys in Rascal Flatts for taking a chance on me when I was 16 and letting me open shows for them," she says. "I barely had a single out, and they still gave me that leg up. I always base a lot of importance on remembering who has helped you out in the past. Those guys really did, so it's an honor to be opening up their shows."

Taylor certainly has a lot to offer in that opening slot. She’s gotten the concerts started with a set list that features a good dollop of hits, including "Our Song," "Tim McGraw," "Picture To Burn" and "Should’ve Said No." And she’s appreciative that a Flatts tour helps bring those songs to a sizeable audience.

"I love being in front of huge crowds," she notes. "You have these moments on stage when the feeling is just right and the crowd is crazy and you just have this overwhelming sense of ‘This moment is why I love this.’"

Taylor is one of three acts featured in interviews with Lorianne Crook on the first installment of GAC’s CMA Celebrity Closeup, which debuted this past weekend. The episode, which also features Randy Travis and Gretchen Wilson, repeats Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET and again at 1 a.m. ET. Click here to watch a clip!