“You Can Feel It”: Taylor Swift Talks Toby Keith Influence In First-Ever TV Interview at 15 Years Old

It may be bold to say, but Taylor Swift might not be where she is today if it hadn’t been for Toby Keith giving her the first big break she needed to launch her successful career. Swift was signed when she was 15, still in high school and trying to break into the country music scene.

Swift spoke about her experiences with meeting Toby Keith during her first television interview in 2005, admitting that she was starstruck. Sitting in her high school music room playing a guitar, Swift told WSMV4 out of Nashville that “there’s a power” to Keith that’s unmistakable.

“You’re in the room with him and you can feel it, there’s a power there,” said Swift at the time. “And you’re just like ‘oh my God.’ I don’t think I’ll ever get to a point where I don’t see him and are just like ‘oh my God that’s Toby Keith,’” she laughed. Watch the interview here.

[RELATED: Country Singer and Songwriter Toby Keith Dies at 62 Following Stomach Cancer Battle]

How Toby Keith Helped Taylor Swift Get Signed to a Label

Keith helped Swift get signed to what would eventually become Big Machine Records, founded by Scott Borchetta. In 2004, Swift moved to Nashville and was singing in the Bluebird Cafe when Borchetta saw her. Impressed by her talent, he wanted to sign her immediately, but he didn’t have a record label yet.

Borchetta had left DreamWorks Records when it was folded into Universal Music Group. At the same time, Toby Keith left DreamWorks and started his own label, Show Dog Nashville. Borchetta founded Big Machine Records and married his label with Keith’s to start Big Machine Label Group. Taylor Swift was the first artist signed to Big Machine in 2005.

While Show Dog and Big Machine split in 2006, Toby Keith and his label were still instrumental in finding and signing Taylor Swift. She started out as a country singer in Nashville, and now, she’s the biggest pop star in the world, with albums, songs, and a tour that has altered American culture.

Featured Image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for BMI