<p id=”par-1_58″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/taylor-swift/?swcfpc=1″>Taylor Swift</a> seemed to reach the height of her <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/celebrity/”>fame</a> while on her Eras Tour, but she has been in the public eye since she was young. Swift signed a record deal as a teenager and has been putting out music ever since. She saw success at an early age, but she said she struggled to get respect.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-a-young-taylor-swift-couldn-t-stand-getting-this-comment-from-people”>A young Taylor Swift couldn’t stand getting this comment from people</h2>
<p id=”par-2_34″>Swift released <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/taylor-swift-tim-mcgraw-debuted-15-years-ago-song-about.html/”>her debut album</a> when she was 17 years old. She saw a <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/taylor-swift-revealed-crushing-moment-felt-career-beat.html/”>great deal of success</a> at a young age, but she admitted this didn’t necessarily win her the respect she wanted.</p>
<p id=”par-3_73″>“The cons of being a teenager in the country music industry is that you get some people that will talk down to you, like you don’t know what you are doing,” she said in a Q&A for <a target=”_blank” href=”https://web.archive.org/web/20090904141832/http://blogs.gactv.com:80/gactv/asktheartist/taylorswift/” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>GAC</a>. “Some people ask questions like, ‘So how do you feel about your rise to the top being so quick and you being so young? What could you possibly have to say, you are only 17?’”</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Taylor-Swift-2-1.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Taylor Swift wears a blue dress and holds a guitar.” class=”wp-image-3787396″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Taylor Swift | Michael Buckner/ACMA/Getty Images for ACMA</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-4_21″>She said she couldn’t stand it when people pointed out her age and insinuated she had a lack of life experiences.</p>
<p id=”par-5_57″>“I hate the phrase ‘You’re only 17!’” she added. “It’s a horrible, horrible phrase and nobody should ever say it anymore! At least not with the undertones of, ‘How could you possibly know?’ Because if anyone has been paying attention to what’s happening, I mean, obviously there’s a place for somebody young to be in country music.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-she-didn-t-think-people-should-judge-her-for-her-age”>She didn’t think people should judge her for her age</h2>
<p id=”par-6_22″>Swift said she has always believed in her abilities, and didn’t think her youth had any bearing on what she could accomplish.</p>
<p id=”par-7_105″>“I think people should never ever put an age limit on what someone can accomplish,” she said. “My parents, ever since the day I was born, have empowered me. There are really two ways to look at it when you are raising kids. You can either say ‘You can be whatever you want to be’ and then there is actually believing it. My parents actually believed it and so when you get around people who don’t believe that you can do whatever you want at whatever age you want, it gets a little frustrating. I think the pros definitely outweigh the cons in this situation.”</p>
<p id=”par-8_15″>While comments about her perceived immaturity bothered her, she tried not to listen to them.</p>
<p id=”par-9_34″>“I try not to listen to the people who are negative because negative energy is not cool,” she said. “It’s been really good answering your question and I am glad that you addressed it.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-taylor-swift-began-pursuing-music-at-a-young-age”>Taylor Swift began pursuing music at a young age</h2>
<p id=”par-10_13″>Swift began pursuing a music career long before she released her debut album.</p>
<p id=”par-11_51″>“I started performing, going to festivals and fairs, bars and karaoke contests ever since I was about 9 or 10,” she wrote. “I <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/taylor-swift-detailed-nashville-guide-gives-celebrities.html/”>came to Nashville</a> with my little demo/karaoke CD and walked into every major record label and was like, ‘Hey! I’m Taylor. I’m 11. I want a record deal.’”</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-4-1.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Taylor Swift wears a sparkly silver dress and accepts an award.” class=”wp-image-3789261″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Taylor Swift | Kevin Mazur/WireImage</figcaption></figure>
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<p id=”par-12_18″>She signed a songwriting contract when she was 14 and was able to build a career from there. </p>
<p id=”par-13_79″>“The way that I made it was that I was a songwriter first,” she explained. “I moved to Nashville and got a publishing deal with Sony, so I was a paid songwriter before I was a singer with a record deal. My advice is to just figure out who you are as an artist and what you bring. If you sound just like another artist, that’s not what you are looking for. You need to sound exactly like you.”</p>