00:00Okay, get ready for your mind to be blown.
00:02Okay.
00:03Taylor Swift, now eligible for the Country Music Hall of Fame.
00:08Whoa.
00:08Yeah.
00:09So the Hall has a prerequisite.
00:11An artist has to have achieved national relevance for over 20 years.
00:16Her first album came out in 2006.
00:19But does she deserve consideration?
00:23So Vince Gill, one of the OGs in Nashville, was on an awesome podcast that we know and love called
00:32Rolling Stones Nashville Now.
00:34And here's what he said.
00:35I think they'll put her in there.
00:36I would imagine.
00:37You know, why wouldn't you?
00:38Yeah.
00:39She's also, you know, a lot of people don't realize she's arguably the biggest donor that's ever been to the
00:45Country Music Hall of Fame.
00:46I'm crazy about her.
00:47Wow.
00:47Yeah.
00:48I mean, and she's still doing so many great things.
00:49She continues to make massive donations to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
00:54And I think Vince Gill makes a good point here, right?
00:57Like, her work alone definitely deserves to be put in, right?
01:03She deserves to be put in.
01:04But then when you see her supporting the institutions, thus still supporting country music, right?
01:09Love that, yeah.
01:10I think that's also, it's not about, oh, how much did she pay last year?
01:13But it's like doing both in tandem is huge.
01:16So she's young, right?
01:17So this is what people think are strikes against her.
01:21She's young.
01:21Taylor's only 36 years old.
01:23She largely left country music behind to pursue pop stardom after four albums.
01:29But during those four albums, okay, she got 12 Country Music Association Awards, eight Academy of Country Music Awards, including
01:38two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year and two-time ACM Entertainer of the Year.
01:43She got six Grammys in the country music categories, seven country number one hits, 18 top tens, by the way,
01:50in country.
01:51And her first four albums, those country albums, went eight times platinum, 11 times platinum, six times platinum, and again,
01:58eight times platinum.
01:59And you're right.
02:00This is the Country Music Hall of Fame.
02:02And you just listed off all of her country music awards.
02:05That's it.
02:06Leaving everything else out, which obviously non-country music, but nonetheless, that alone, if you took any artist and deleted
02:13the name and said, let me just read this.
02:15Right.
02:15You say they're in.
02:17Without a doubt.
02:18Now, Andy, I have a question for you.
02:19Okay.
02:19So you've been working in country music 25-plus years, okay?
02:22And so when Taylor Swift came on the scene and when she truly started to make a splash, did you
02:28see in a positive way the format change, so to speak?
02:32I will say the first time I met Taylor was when I had only ever heard the song Tim McGraw,
02:37her very first single.
02:38Right.
02:39And I thought, oh, this girl, she is 16 years old.
02:42She's got that long blonde hair.
02:44Right.
02:44She's tall and pretty, and this is going to be ā she's going to be ridiculous, and she knocked my
02:50socks off.
02:50Yeah.
02:51She is one of those people that at 16 had more maturity and wisdom than most people have their whole
02:57lives.
02:58Right.
02:58Like, Taylor is the real deal.
03:00She is running her show, and she is who she is because of herself, which is remarkable, right?
03:07The decisions that she makes and all the things.
03:09And absolutely, she changed country music.
03:12Yeah, I think so, too.
03:13Absolutely.
03:14You know, she brought in a whole new group of people to listen, right?
03:20I mean, think about that.
03:22She was battling bro country.
03:24Mm-hmm.
03:24Oh, yeah.
03:25Right?
03:25Yeah, big time.
03:25Which was all about objectifying women.
03:28Right.
03:29And here's Taylor Swift, who was, you know, humble and sweet and writing songs about teenage love
03:37and all the things, and it just brought all the girls in.
03:40So, bravo, Taylor.
03:42Taylor.
03:43You
