"Teenager" Taylor Swift Speaks Fondly About Country Music Icon Toby Keith in a Throwback Video

Taylor Swift thanked country singer Toby Keith in a resurfaced clip from 2005. Apparently, the music icon, who died on February 5, 2024, following stomach cancer, gave the Bad Blood singer a big break when she was a teen. Swift gave her first-ever interview after Keith launched her in the music industry. 

In an interview with WSMV 4, Nashville, featuring a 15-year-old Swift, she spoke fondly of Keith and explained his contribution has been instrumental in her career. While discussing their partnership, the 34-year-old said, "You're in the room with him, and you can feel it," per New York Post. 

She continued, "There's a power there, 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 go, 'Oh my God, that's Toby Keith!' Most people find out what they are going to do when they are in college, and that's great, you know, but for me, it just came a little earlier." 

When Swift started out, Keith was an established star. The former DreamWorks executive Scott Borchetta launched the record label Big Machine Records. Meanwhile, Keith also launched a record label, Show Dog Nashville, during the same time. And they both collaborated and worked closely. 

Borchetta told CMT Insider back then, "I would encourage people to think of this as one label with two A&R sources. Toby's the lead act, and we've got an incredible opportunity with all the resources that he brings, and the music that he loves, and his vision for what he wants to do." 

Kieth first spotted Swift perform at the Bluebird Café in Nashville in 2004 and immediately decided to bring the exceptional talent on board. The singer/songwriter kept working with the joint label until 2018 after Big Machine and Show Dog Nashville parted ways, and Swift's catalog was sold to Scooter Braun for for a whopping $300 million. 

Meanwhile, Keith, the singer of hit tracks Who's Your Daddy? and Made in America, died after battling cancer at the age of 62. He was among the few people from Nashville to emerge as a talented artist in the last three decades. His official website and social media handles announced his death. 

In his last interview with the Oklahoma City television station KWTV, Keith said, "Cancer is a roller coaster. You just sit here and wait on it to go away — it may not ever go away," referencing his run of shows in December 2023 in Las Vegas while still undergoing treatment. He added that his Christian faith helped him get through the testing times, per The New York Post. 

Discussing his musical journey, Kieth revealed in a 2018 episode of The Big Interview With Dan Rather, "I didn't take many vacations the first 20 years of my adult life. When I came out, and my song hit," referring to his 1993 hit single Should Have Been a Cowboy which became his first No. 1 country single. 

"I was doing 28, 29 shows a month because I didn't know I was going to get a second hit. At the time, I was just trying to outwork everybody."