Claim: Taylor Swift was successful in at least one country.

Taylor Swift is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift , released on October 24 , 2006 , by Big Machine Records . Swift was 16 years old at the time of the album 's release and wrote its songs during her freshman year of high school . Swift has writing credits on all of the album 's songs , including those co-written with Liz Rose . Swift experimented with several producers , ultimately choosing Nathan Chapman , who had produced her demo album . Musically , the album is country music styled , and lyrically it speaks of romantic relationships , a couple of which Swift wrote from observing relationships before being in one . Lyrics also touch on Swift 's personal struggles in high school .   Five singles were released from the album , all of which have been certified platinum by the RIAA . `` Tim McGraw '' was released as the lead single and reached the top ten on Billboard 's Hot Country Songs . `` Teardrops on My Guitar '' was released as the second single and was the album 's best-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 . `` Our Song '' was released as the third single from the album and was Swift 's first number one on Billboard 's Hot Country Songs chart . It made her the youngest person to single-handedly write and perform a number one song on the Hot Country Songs chart . `` Picture to Burn '' and `` Should 've Said No '' were released as the fourth single and fifth singles from the album , respectively , and both were successful on the country charts in the United States . Swift promoted the album by performing on tour as the opening act for artists such as Rascal Flatts , George Strait , Brad Paisley , and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill .   Taylor Swift was received positively by contemporary critics , who praised Swift 's talent at such a young age . The album enjoyed commercial success and launched Swift 's career in country music . In the United States , it topped the Top Country Albums Chart for 24 non-consecutive weeks , and was certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America -LRB- RIAA -RRB- for sales of over 5 million copies . Taylor Swift has logged 275 weeks on the Billboard Top 200 chart as of early 2013 . The album was also successful outside of Swift 's native country , especially in Canada , Australia , and the United Kingdom . The album has sold over 6 million copies worldwide as of January 2015 .