Highlights
- Taylor Swift's genuine personality and down-to-earth attitude have contributed to her close connections with other artists in the music industry.
- Swift and Tim McGraw had a warm first encounter at the 2007 ACM Awards, where they exchanged hugs and showed mutual admiration for each other.
- Despite never meeting before the song was released, McGraw had a positive response to Swift's song titled "Tim McGraw," even though it made him feel a bit old.
She's on top of the music scene, but Taylor Swift also has insane connections in the industry. She got to save Dave Grohl and Paul McCartney's party, while she also received a special gift from Bono.
Swift is associated with the best of the best, and a lot of it has to do with her personality. Swift is as real as it gets, and hasn't changed since her fame skyrocketed.
In the following, we're going to take a closer look at yet another close connection of hers, this one to Tim McGraw. We'll take a look back at their first encounter in front of millions of fans at home and thousands in attendance. We'll also take a closer look at their connection and how McGraw feels about Swift's success.
Taylor Swift And Tim McGraw Had A Warm First Encounter At The 2007 ACM Awards
At the time, Taylor Swift was becoming a major star in the world of music. Back in 2007 at the ACM Awards, Tim McGraw was sitting in the front row, and Swift went out to perform in front of the crowd. As she was singing, it would be her first ever encounter with the country star. It was a brilliant moment between the two, and Swift didn't shy away from showing her true admiration for the artist.
Swift said during the memorable moment, "Hi, I'm Taylor," which is followed by McGraw getting up off his seat and shaking Swift's hand, and the two would also exchange a hug. Swift adds, "That's Tim McGraw," which leads to another hug.
It turned out to be a memorable moment and one fans completely adored, as it showed just how genuine Taylor Swift is when it comes to meeting other artists.
More than a decade later, Swift is on top of the music scene, but her attitude hasn't changed. She's still so down to earth during interviews, and the same holds true for her interactions alongside other artists.
Tim McGraw Had A Special Message For Taylor Swift Before They Met, But She Never Got It
Swift's first chat with Tim McGraw came on a phone call, as the two spoke together on the radio. During the call, McGraw revealed information Swift didn't know about. He had apparently tried to reach out, but the message was never sent.
McGraw revealed, "I sent her a message one time. I think with Entertainment Weekly Or something like that. Oh, I don't remember what show it was. I was doing an interview and they were going to interview Taylor the next day. So, I sent her a little message, so, I don't know if she got it or not."
In the same interview, Swift would reveal that it was definitely a risk to title a song Tim McGraw, despite the fact that the two never met.
"It was definitely kind of a chance. Ya know, I didn't say anything bad in the song so I was kinda thinking, ya know, he wouldn't take it too bad."
RELATED - Taylor Swift Handled The Boos At Her Friend's Wedding In The Best Way Possible
The respect between the two is clearly mutual, and McGraw himself revealed that he's a big fan of Taylor. "I’m a big fan of Taylor’s. I think that she has just such a unique way of connecting with her audience and her songwriting ability and her intuition is just so incredible,” he concluded. “And I just think she’s one of the greatest artists to come along in a long time.”
McGraw was also flattered about Swift's song, though it did make him feel a bit old...
Tim McGraw Felt Old After Taylor Swift Named A Song After Him
McGraw revealed Swift's single named after him made him feel old. McGraw had to collect himself after the song was released, thinking about his run in the industry.
"At the time, I was long in my career, but I still thought I was early in my career," he says. "Gosh, that was how many years ago? I don't even know now how many years ago that was. But I thought, 'Oh my gosh, have I gotten that long in the tooth that artists are singing songs with my name? That can't be a good sign.'"
McGraw did feel relief when he heard that Swift had come up with the motivation and lyrics for the song when she was just 15. McGraw was also complimentary toward Taylor, knowing she was going to be a major star a long time ago.
"She opened up for Faith and I on our Soul2Soul tour one year — just her and an acoustic guitar out on stage before we came out. And we knew really early on that this girl was going to blow the world up."
McGraw wasn't wrong, as Swift is on top of the music scene with an insane net worth of $1 billion.
