Taylor Swift Turns 20

"Hi, I'm Taylor." That was the plot twist. Until the moment that Taylor Swift introduced herself to Tim McGraw, immediately after singing the song "Tim McGraw" to him, I hadn't even considered the possibility that Taylor Swift hadn't met Tim McGraw. For all I knew, "Tim McGraw," the song, was just a brand-extension strategy for Tim McGraw, the guy. But no, apparently not. Tim McGraw was on top of the country music universe in 2007. He'd been in the game for more than a decade. He already had two greatest-hits albums. He was (and is) married to fellow superstar Faith Hill, and they filled arenas together. He'd already made his crossover hit with Nelly and his cinematic debut in Friday Night Lights. And he got to sit there in the front row and watch a next-generation superstar, one whose career would soon eclipse his own in every conceivable way, turn his name into a reference. We should all be so lucky.Taylor Swift met Tim McGraw in May 2007 at the ACM Awards, the less prestigious of the two annual mainstream country awards shows. Both Swift and McGraw went home empty-handed that night. McGraw lost Entertainer Of The Year, the night's big award, to Kenny Chesney. Swift lost Top New ...