<p id=”par-1_53″>While <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/taylor-swift/?swcfpc=1″>Taylor Swift</a> is now a pop artist, she began her career in country <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/music/”>music</a>. Swift said she listened to the genre growing up, and she felt inspired by the artists she heard on the radio. There was one country singer in particular who made Swift want a music career of her own.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-taylor-swift-said-a-country-singer-inspired-her-to-pursue-music”>Taylor Swift said a country singer inspired her to pursue music</h2>
<p id=”par-2_35″>Swift began singing almost as soon as she could talk. By the time she was in first grade, she knew she wanted to <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/taylor-swift-pitched-herself-record-labels-before-fame.html/”>pursue it professionally</a>. She came to this decision after hearing LeAnn Rimes.</p>
<p id=”par-3_62″>“I was just dead set, that’s what I’m going to be, I’m going to be like her,” Swift told <a target=”_blank” href=”https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnlyinAmerica/story?id=226431&page=1″ rel=”noreferrer noopener”>ABC News</a> in 2004. “I’m always going to be so close to my family; I’m always going to love my friends; but number one is always going to be music, because it’s just kind of always been a part of me. It’s awesome.”</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Leann-Rimes-Taylor-Swift-1.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”LeAnn Rimes wears a red dress and stands with Taylor Swift, who wears white.” class=”wp-image-3790479″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>LeAnn Rimes and Taylor Swift | Frazer Harrison/ACM2009/Getty Images for ACM</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-4_17″>After she discovered Rimes, Swift taught herself as much as she could about other country music icons.</p>
<p id=”par-5_42″>“I knew every song [Rimes] ever sang,” she told GAC. “After that, I kind of went back and learned the history of [country music]. I listened to legends like Dolly and Patsy Cline — women who were the essence of country music.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-she-revealed-another-artist-who-inspired-her-nbsp”>She revealed another artist who inspired her </h2>
<p id=”par-6_37″>While she has since moved away from country music and firmly into pop territory, she still has country artists who inspire her. She’s been friends with Keith Urban for years and said he continues to impress her.</p>
<p id=”par-7_48″>“There’s a palpable purity to what Keith does and there always has been,” she told <a href=”https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/keith-urban-australia-sobriety-interview-1250442/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Rolling Stone</a>. “You see him on stage and you truly believe that guy is lost in the song, escaping into the moment. I think his experimentation is a direct manifestation of that love.”</p>
<p id=”par-8_8″>She said he <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/taylor-swift-on-the-country-artist-who-redefined-the-genre-for-her.html/”>redefined country music</a> for her.</p>
<p id=”par-9_53″>“His melodies and inflections influenced me so intensely because they were so different from what I was hearing in country at that time, incorporating rock, pop, and blues into the mix,” she said. “He absolutely redefined the genre for me, by making it a wider and more expansive place to create from within.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-taylor-swift-said-it-wasn-t-easy-to-leave-country-music-behind”>Taylor Swift said it wasn’t easy to leave country music behind</h2>
<p id=”par-10_25″>In 2014, Swift moved from <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/taylor-swift-opens-up-about-leaving-country-music-behind.html/”>country to pop</a> with her album <em>1989.</em> She said the move was difficult because she lacked mentors in pop music.</p>
<p id=”par-11_48″>“I had so many mentors in country music,” she told <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-cover-story-interview-billboard-women-in-music-2019-8545822/” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Billboard</a>. “Faith Hill was wonderful. She would reach out to me and invite me over and take me on tour, and I knew that I could talk to her. Crossing over to pop is a completely different world.”</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-2″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Taylor-Swift.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Taylor Swift wears a white dress and stands in front of a microphone with a guitar.” class=”wp-image-3784474″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Taylor Swift | Jason Squires/WireImage</figcaption></figure>
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<p id=”par-12_16″>The genre felt far more competitive, which made any <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/taylor-swift-didnt-worry-losing-fans-swapped-country-pop.html/”>backlash from fans</a> more difficult to handle.</p>
<p id=”par-13_82″>“Country music is a real community, and in pop I didn’t see that community as much,” she said. “Now there is a bit of one between the girls in pop — we all have each other’s numbers and text each other — but when I first started out in pop it was very much you versus you versus you. We didn’t have a network, which is weird because we can help each other through these moments when you just feel completely isolated.”</p>