She began writing her own songs and learning guitar at 12 year old. She released her first single, "Tim McGraw," in 2006 ,and the song became aTop 10 hit on the country charts, selling more than 2.5 million copies.ln addition to commercial success, Swift received a lot of critical praise for her debut effort. She won the Horizon Award from the country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music Award for Top New female Vocalist in 2007 .Swift released her next album ,fearless (2008),which hit the top of both the country and pop charts and stayed there for 11 weeks. By the end of the year ,Swift had become the highest-selling country artist of 2008.