Taylor Swift became the youngest woman inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in June. And as of now, the 36-year-old is also the youngest person in the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame, which she officially entered alongside Lyle Lovett, Shawn Camp, Lee Thomas Miller, Bruce Channel, and the late Crickets drummer Jerry "J.I." Allison.
In a star-studded gala at Nashville's Music City Center on Monday, Swift was inducted by her former tourmate Brad Paisley and honored with a bluegrass cover of her iconic Fearless hit "Love Story" performed by country star Lainey Wilson. Earlier this year, Swift was a surprise guest during Wilson's performance at Travis Kelce's Tight End University in Nashville.
After recalling the time that Paisley once filled her tour bus with live crickets in a prank-gone-too-far back in 2007, Swift began reminiscing about her early days in Nashville pursuing country stardom as a teenager.
"I was lucky enough to get a publishing deal with Sony Publishing when I was 14, and I just hit the ground running. I was like a sponge, and I had really curly hair and it was yellow, so I kind of looked like a sponge, too," Swift joked.
"I think you truly learn a craft when you do it over and over and over and that is what the magnificent songwriters that work in this amazing town do. There is no music community like this music community. I know. I checked all the communities," she added. "And I'm so incredibly honored to be inducted into this sacred club."
In other Taylor Swift news, Variety reports that leftist Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's electoral victory over right-wing opponent Flavio Bolsonaro this week was aided significantly by support from Brazilian stan communities — particularly Swifties.
Brazilian Swifties shared memes of Lula in Swift music videos, Swift wearing Lula's hat, and more, with the hashtag #SwiftiesComLula (Swifties with Lula) trending on social media. "We’re inspired by these artists, and Taylor is always talking about how young people should take the lead," Josiane, a young Swiftie in São Paulo, told The Guardian last week.
Lula himself thanked the young people mobilizing to support him at a rally on São Paulo's Avenida Paulista last month. "I'm not sure whether to open this speech with 'comrades' or 'fandoms from all over Brazil,'" he joked.