• Taylor Swift Hits Digital Gold

Taylor Swift is certified RIAA Digital Gold with hit “Our Song.” She has also reached RIAA Digital Platinum thanks to “Teardrops on my Guitar.” “Our Song” has been downloaded at least 500,000 times while “Teardrops on my Guitar” has been downloaded an amazing million times. The only other artists to reach Digital Platinum with Swift are Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood and The Dixie Chicks.

• Second Cup Cafe: Taylor Swift

 Everything seems to have "swiftly" fallen into place for country music star Taylor Swift, who was featured in The Early Show's Second Cup Cafe Saturday.

With her Taylor Grand Auditorium acoustic guitar in hand and her knack for singing and songwriting, Swift has reached tremendous heights for her age — and is still climbing.

The 18-year-old Pennsylvania native, who grew up on a Christmas tree farm, started singing at the age of 10 at karoke contests, fairs and festivals in her hometown of Reading.

With the support of her family, she headed to Nashville at age 11 to pursue her dream.

By age 12, she was already writing songs with local songwriters in Nashville. Back in Pennsylvania, she landed an important gig singing the National Anthem at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, which got a lot of buzz.

By age 13, she was asked to sign a record deal, but turned it down.

After performing at Nashville's premier songwriters' café, The Bluebird Café, she was noticed by Scott Borchetta, who signed her onto Big Machine Records.

It turned out to be a smart move for Swift.

In 2006, Swift's self-titled debut album went triple-platinum and produced four Top Ten singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs, including the Number One single, "Our Song."

In addition, all four singles also reached Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album did so well that it was re-issued in late 2007 with a set of bonus tracks.

She says she's inspired by her grandmother, who was an opera singer, and by country singers LeAnn Rimes, Shania Twain and the Dixie Chicks.

Swift, who won last year's Breakthrough Video Award, won Female Video of the Year and Video of the Year for "Our Song" at the 2008 CMT (Country Music Television) Awards.

"I wrote that song in the ninth grade for a talent show," said Swift, who won the night's top honor over Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley and Sugarland.

"I never thought it would be on an album, never thought I'd record it, never thought it would be a single, never thought it would be No. 1, and certainly never thought it would win Video and Female Video of the Year."

Swift's hit songs "Tim McGraw," "Teardrops On My Guitar" and "Picture to Burn" have also helped her reach superstardom.

• Taylor Swift and Her Mom Go Promming

Taylor Swift was the guest of honor at a prom-themed party in Nashville on Monday night, but it was the prom queen's mom who stole the show.

• Taylor Swift Finally Legal at ACM Casino

May 16, 2008 — Taylor Swift has attended the Academy of Country Music Awards twice, and both times, her status as a minor created some logistical problems in getting from place to place. But for this weekend’s 43rd annual awards, that’s no longer an issue.

"I’m 18 now, so they’re not gonna rush me through the casinos because they don’t want to get caught," Taylor told the national radio show GAC Nights: Live From Nashville. "I’m not gonna gamble or anything, but at least this time I can kind of leisurely walk through the hotel casinos and my management and label isn’t running to put a mask over my face."

Better put, they won’t need to hide her age. But Taylor might have trouble getting through the casino without getting stopped by someone looking for an autograph. In fact, her experiences at Vegas are a pretty good gauge of her career progress.

"The first time I came out on the red carpet and the photo pit, [the photographers are] all like, ‘Who’s that?’" she recalled. "And then the second time I went to the ACMs, I was nominated for Top New Female Vocalist, and I got to perform, and I got to meet Tim McGraw, which was very exciting. And this year, I’m really excited because this is really the first time I’ve been nominated for more than one category."

Taylor’s nominated once again for Top New Female, but she’s also up for Top Female Vocalist and her debut CD is one of the finalists for Album of the Year. The ACMs will air at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

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• Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood Will Meet Fans at Fan Fair

aylor Swift and Carrie Underwood will make personal appearances at the CMA Music Festival's Fan Fair event, where visitors can take photos and receive autographs with country stars. The event takes place June 5-8 at the Nashville Convention Center. Admission is included in the four-day ticket package. Single-day admission is also available on June 7-8. Other performers appearing at the event include Rodney Atkins, Bucky Covington, Emerson Drive, Josh Gracin, Little Big Town, James Otto, Gretchen Wilson and Wynonna. The artists' specific autograph times have not been announced.

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