Fifteen

Taylor Swift became one of country's brightest (and youngest) faces in 2006, when the 16-year-old released her first album. Although new to the American public, Swift had been performing since her preteen years in Wyomissing, PA, where she first took the stage as part of a children's theater troupe. Encouraged by the troupe's manager to pursue music instead, Swift began performing karaoke songs at a local mall, with open-mike gigs following shortly thereafter. She sang "The Star-Spangled Banner"...