Taylor Swift is one of the biggest stars in the world, but that wasn’t always the case.

The “Cruel Summer” singer began her professional career as a fresh-faced teenage singer-songwriter when she caught the attention of record company CEO Scott Borchetta at Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe in 2005.

Swift became one of the first people signed to his fledgling record label, Big Machine Records.

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Shortly after, she began to work on her self-titled debut album, which was released in 2006.

The album peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart and spawned several Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hits including “Should’ve Said No,” “Teardrops On My Guitar,” “Picture to Burn,” “Tim McGraw” and “Our Song.”

After opening for acts such as George Strait and Brad Paisley, Swift began work on her sophomore album, Fearless.

The album was released on Nov. 11, 2008 and was an instant hit, becoming certified Diamond and spawning two of her signature hits: “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story.”