Taylor Swift by Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift is the self-titled debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released on October 24, 2006, by Big Machine Records. Swift was 16 years old at the time of the album's release and wrote its songs during her freshman year of high school. Swift has writing credits on all of the album's songs, including those co-written with Liz Rose. Swift experimented with several producers, ultimately choosing Nathan Chapman, who had produced her demo album. Lyrically, the album speaks of romantic relationships, a couple of which Swift wrote from observing relationships before being in one. Lyrics also touch on Swift's personal struggles in high school. Five singles were released from the album, all of which have been certified platinum or multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The lead single "Tim McGraw" reached the top 10 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs. "Teardrops on My Guitar", the second single, was the album's best-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100. The third single "Our Song" made Swift the youngest person to single-handedly write and perform a number-one song on the Hot Country Songs chart. "Picture to Burn" and "Should've Said No" were released as the fourth and fifth singles from the album, respectively, and both reached the higher-tier positions on country charts in the United States. Swift promoted the album by performing on tour as the opening act for artists such as Rascal Flatts, George Strait, Brad Paisley, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Taylor Swift received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised Swift's talent at such a young age. The album enjoyed commercial success and launched Swift's career in country music. In the United States, it topped the Top Country Albums Chart for 24 non-consecutive weeks, and was certified seven times platinum by the RIAA for shipments of seven million copies. Taylor Swift was the longest-charting album on the Billboard 200 of the 2000s decade, remaining on the chart for 277 weeks in total. The album was also certified gold in the United Kingdom, and platinum in Australia and Canada.