After signing a recording contract with Nashville-based Big Machine Records in 2005 to become a country music singer, Swift wrote songs with other Music Row songwriters and recorded her self-titled debut album with producer Nathan Chapman for four months near the end of 2005. Taylor Swift signed a publishing contract with Sony/ATV Tree Publishing in 2004 to become a songwriter at fourteen years old, she became the youngest Sony/ATV signee in its history. Following the 2019 dispute regarding the ownership of Swift's back catalog, she released the re-recording, Fearless (Taylor's Version), in April 2021. At the 2010 Grammy Awards, it won Album of the Year and Best Country Album. Fearless won Album of the Year at both the Country Music Association Awards and the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2009. Music critics complimented Swift's songwriting craftsmanship on Fearless for offering radio-friendly tunes and autobiographical narratives, though some were unimpressed by the formulaic production.
It peaked in the top five of albums charts and received multi-platinum certifications in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the U.K, and has sold twelve million copies worldwide by April 2021. The album spent eleven weeks atop the US Billboard 200 and was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America. Five songs were released as singles, including three US Billboard Hot 100 top-ten entries: " Love Story", " You Belong with Me", and " Fearless" the first two were successful on both country and pop radio. The album's title refers to the overarching theme of all of its tracks, as they altogether depict Swift's courage to embrace the challenges of love.Īfter the release of Fearless, Swift embarked on the Fearless Tour, which ran from April 2009 to July 2010. The lyrics are inspired by Swift's feelings as a teenager, and explore themes of romance, heartache, and aspirations. The songs are characterized by traditional country instruments such as banjos, fiddles, mandolins and acoustic guitars, intertwined with electric guitars. Swift wrote seven of the thirteen songs on the standard edition by herself and, in her debut as a record producer, co-produced all songs with Nathan Chapman.įearless is a country pop record with pop crossover elements that music critics found appealing to a mainstream audience, expanding on the country sound of its predecessor. Written largely by Swift while she was promoting her 2006 self-titled debut album in 2007–2008, the album features additional songwriting credits from Liz Rose, Hillary Lindsey, Colbie Caillat, and John Rich. It was released on November 11, 2008, by Big Machine Records. Fearless is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift.