Taylor Swift presents "New Artist of the Year" at "The 42nd Annual CMA Awards," on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008, live from the Sommet Center in Nashville on the ABC Television Network. Photographer: John Russell / Provided by Country Music Association.
Dec. 22, 2008 — Boy George, Little Richard and David Bowie all performed at some point in their careers in outfits that challenged typical gender roles, and so did Taylor Swift when she sang publicly for the first time.
Taylor was only in second grade at the time, and her boyish vocal performance came as she wore a fake mustache and stuffed her hair up under her hat to take a role in a school production of The Runaway Snowman.
"There was one solo, one song that somebody got to sing by themselves," she said on "E True Hollywood Story." "But it was a guy. It was this character called Freddy Fasttalk. And it was the bad guy."
Even at that time, Taylor was already writing feverishly about the things that she saw around her. At school, that included the antics from the lunchroom to the playground. And at home, where the family’s outdoor cats left the carcasses of dead rodents on the driveway, that included made-up scenarios about dead animals.
"Having room to run," Taylor said, "and just the space to use your imagination and create stories and fairy tales out of everyday life, I think that had a lot to do with me wanting to write songs."
The public has responded now that Taylor’s songwriting has found its way onto albums. She was the best-selling artist in country music during 2008.
Taylor will host GAC’s Top 50 Videos Of 2008 every night beginning at 8 p.m. ET, from Dec. 29 through Jan. 2.
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