Taylor Swift gave up going to slumber parties at age ten to sing at karaoke contests, fairs, and festivals. When she was eleven, she sang for thousands of people at a Philadelphia 76ers basketball game. Taylor lived on a farm in a place where country music was not very popular. She often felt alone, isolated from the people around her. It would have been easy to give up on her dream of being a country music singer. But Taylor was determined to do what it took to have people notice her as a singer. She went door-to-door in Nashville handing out CDs of her singing and asking for record deals. Still, the big break eluded her. Read about how hard work and firm belief in herself helped the tall blond from the East mold herself into one of the top singers and songwriters in country music.