Taylor Swift Revealed the 2 Country Music Legends She’d Be Honored to Duet With
Taylor Swift began her career as a country singer. She moved to Nashville with her family when she was a teenager, and continued to release music in the genre until her album 1989. Early in her career, she said she hoped to duet with two country stars.
Taylor Swift said she hoped to duet with two country artists
Swift wanted to pursue a career in music since childhood. She said hearing artists like LeAnn Rimes made her want to get into country music.
“I was influenced early on by all of the great female country artists of the ’90s and all of the cool music they were putting out,” she told CMT in 2007. “Like Shania, Faith, the Dixie Chicks. It was such great music, and it completely drew me into country music.”
While she took her early inspiration from women in country music, she said her dream duet partners were two men.
“I think Kenny Chesney or Garth Brooks would be the coolest duet partners,” she said. “I look up to them so much for their work ethics. I was lucky enough to open up for Kenny on some shows this summer, and watching him work was so inspiring. He and Garth just represent true artists to me, and any project I could work with one of them would be an honor.”
Taylor Swift lost out on an early opportunity to work with one of these country singers
Swift had the opportunity to tour with Chesney in the early days of her career.
“This was going to change my career,” she told Time in 2023. “I was so excited.”
Unfortunately, she lost the opportunity at the last minute. A beer company sponsored the tour, and they couldn’t have a minor opening for Chesney.
“They came to us right before the tour started and said, ‘We can’t have a minor on the tour,’” Chesney said, per Billboard. “Which made sense. But I had to call Taylor personally and tell her she couldn’t go on tour with me, which now seems absurd, right?”
Still, he gave her money to make up for the disappointment.
“It was for more money than I’d ever seen in my life,” Swift said. “I was able to pay my band bonuses. I was able to pay for my tour buses. I was able to fuel my dreams.”
She eventually left the genre behind
After releasing a number of country albums, Swift crossed over into pop music. She said the transition was difficult.
“I had so many mentors in country music,” she told Billboard. “Faith Hill was wonderful. She would reach out to me and invite me over and take me on tour, and I knew that I could talk to her. Crossing over to pop is a completely different world.”
She said country music had a stronger community than what she found in pop.
“Country music is a real community, and in pop I didn’t see that community as much,” she said. “Now there is a bit of one between the girls in pop — we all have each other’s numbers and text each other — but when I first started out in pop it was very much you versus you versus you. We didn’t have a network, which is weird because we can help each other through these moments when you just feel completely isolated.”
