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Taylor Swift Reflects on What She’d Do if Stardom Didn’t Work out in Touching 2004 Interview

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It feels impossible to imagine what the world would look like if Taylor Swift hadn’t become a star, nevertheless, a cultural icon. What do the ripple effects look like if she isn’t dominating the charts? Who fills the void she leaves behind? Does Katy Perry continue her dominance without a clear rival? What do the 2020s look like if she doesn’t shoulder the current pop landscape? It’s an interesting thought exercise for all the music and pop culture nerds of the world.

However, when she was a teen, there was no telling where Swift would head in her path to pop stardom. When Good Morning America asked what Taylor Swift thought about the prospects of being a huge star in 2004, her reaction was what you might expect from a 14-year-old. “You know what? It would be really cool,” she said, while smiling at the camera.

But what if it didn’t work out? What if the music didn’t work out and she didn’t sell out arenas and stadiums? Ultimately, Swift was resolute about remaining in the music industry. However, she might just be the songwriter who makes other artists stars instead.

14-Year Old Taylor Swift Said She’d Be a Writer If She Didn’t Become a star

“If I’m not a star, then I definitely want to be a writer. I mean, I know that what I want to do is music because everyone’s like, ‘yeah, you should do what you love.’ And this is what I love,” Swift said. “This is what I feel I was meant to do because I think it means something when you can’t put a guitar down, and you can’t stop writing, you can’t stop thinking about new ideas for songs. I’d be a writer for other artists. I’m just totally infatuated with this business and everything about it.”

It’s a strong disposition to hold at such a young age. It’s that age that caught people off guard initially, not expecting a teenager to be so involved in writers’ meetings or to know exactly what she wanted to make. Elsewhere in the conversation, Swift recalled how she’d completely obliterate people’s expectations in the music industry.

“When I go into a writer’s meeting, they’re really nice and then I leave and they tell my publisher and my mom, ‘you know, we thought she’d come in here and… we’d have to write a song for her.’ I’m like, ‘you thought that?!’” Taylor Swift laughed. “So there are a lot of stereotypes for young people. But I really think that if you prove yourself, then people will see past your age.”

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