User:Ippantekina/TimMcGraw

When you think Tim McGraw: In her breakout single, Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift hopes a summer fling remembers her every time he hears the country superstar on the radio. Swift, who turns 17 Dec. 13, is also making that connection in the minds of country fans. Tim McGraw sits at No. 13 on the country singles chart, and Swift's self- titled album has sold more than 60,000 copies in the month since its release. A bonus: The song probably has fused Swift and McGraw forever in the mind of the old boyfriend who inspired the song. "He bought the album and said he really loved it, which is sweet," Swift says. "His current girlfriend isn't too pleased with it, though."

Everything adds up: Swift started writing Tim McGraw in her freshman math class. "I played it for my record company president," Swift says. "He looked at me and was like, 'Well, that's your first single.' I was like, 'OK, I guess that's how that works, then.'" Swift says she aced math that semester.

Reading, writing and Rascal Flatts: Swift originally hails from Reading, Pa. Her father, a stockbroker with Merrill Lynch, moved the family to the Nashville area when Swift was 13. She got a publishing deal at 14 and a record deal at 15. Her album, which came out Oct. 23, opened in the top 20. She toured with Rascal Flatts this fall and has landed the opening slot on George Strait's 2007 tour.

Sam, you know who I am: Swift put coded messages into the lyrics in her CD's jacket, including the name of the boy who inspired the cheating song Should've Said No. She got the idea from stories she had heard about The Beatles. "They used to play around with secret messages in their records," she says. "I figured you can't play a CD backward, but with encoding stuff into the lyrics, I was able to get a similar kind of thing across."

Manipulating the charts: She has sold more than 100,000 downloads of the single, and of those, three were Swift's own well-timed purchases. "I wanted it so badly to get into the top 10 at iTunes," she says. "So when it was sitting at 11, I downloaded it. And it went into the top 10. Then I really wanted it to be top 5, so I downloaded it again when it was sitting at 6. Then I really wanted it to be No. 1 when my album came out, so I downloaded it again, and then it went No. 1."

(https://www.proquest.com/docview/409044861/13633D4C714D8FPQ/1?accountid=196403)

The latest entry in the young country sweepstakes, 16-year-old Taylor Swift is like an American Idol who only lacks the actual trophy, what with her video-genic good looks, chirpy pipes and state- of-the-art Music Row production. It's a slick package, pleasant enough but devoid of anything resembling gritty traction. Swift wrote or co-wrote all the songs, a passel of mostly brisk pop- country tunes, including the hit tale of teenage remembrance, "Tim McGraw." This debut goes down like Kool-Aid. Anyone looking for a stiffer drink will want to take a pass. (https://www.proquest.com/docview/420510413/818DA87CADEC4A2EPQ/2?accountid=196403)

Great American Country will bring viewers the world premiere of the inaugural video project from singer/songwriter Taylor Swift. Titled "Tim McGraw," the video will debut on GAC on Saturday, July 22, at 2:30 p.m. ET following GAC's "On the Streets." The network will have exclusive television rights to the video for 10 days.

GAC helped to introduce Swift to the world this summer. The 16-year old high school student from Hendersonville, Tenn., is the subject of "GAC Short Cuts," a series of short-form features that document Swift's pursuit of a career in country music.

"GAC viewers have gotten to know a little about Taylor and her music this summer, and we are happy to have the opportunity to tell more of her story by being the first to show her first video," said Sarah Trahern, senior vice president of programming for GAC.

"Tim McGraw" broke into the Top 40 on the country charts this week. Although the song's title carries the name of the country music superstar, its lyrics make only passing reference to McGraw, instead telling the story of how a particular tune on the radio ignites long-dormant passion.

"It deals with the haunting power of music and how hearing a song years after it was first popular can have such an emotional appeal," Swift said.

The single is the first release from Swift's self-titled album, due out in October.

https://www.proquest.com/docview/445199206/818DA87CADEC4A2EPQ/3?accountid=196403

When I first saw the video of Taylor Swift's debut single, Tim McGraw, on CMT, I felt like I was being force-fed the sweet-voiced blonde. And I was skeptical. She's only 16. What could she have to say to me?

Granted, Tim McGraw grabs you with a solid first line: "You said the way my blue eyes shine/ put those Georgia stars to shame that night/ I said that's a lie." And it's got a lovely melody. But could this ringleted child reproduce that 11 times? Could I love an album of songs written by someone so young? Could Taylor Swift be the real deal?

Yes, yes, yes!

Swift's album hit stores this week and the quirky imperfections in her songs, the sweetness on Teardrops on My Guitar, the vulnerability on Tied Together with a Smile, make her catchy melodies work. Rosanne Cash said that melody is the tip of the arrow that lets the lyrics pierce your heart. Swift knows this instinctively. Swift looks at life with a simplicity I abandoned a long time ago, but the songs have a musical maturity that prevents them from becoming country bubblegum music.

Swift has essentially produced a soundtrack of teenage angst: On Picture to Burn, a angry break-up song, she sounds a little like Natalie Maines (in a good way) when she sings, "I hate that stupid old pick-up truck you never let me drive." On Our Song, she skillfully stretches a metaphor about first love.

Tim McGraw - which isn't about Tim McGraw but about a boyfriend who liked his music - jumped four places this week to No. 17 on Billboard's country chart, and she recently earned a coveted spot opening for Rascal Flatts.

This country concoction is contagious.