Tim McGraw was ‘a little apprehensive’ when Taylor Swift named her debut song after him
The song, which was featured in Taylor Swift's self-titled album, became a breakout hit, leading to the 31-year-old’s rise to stardom
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tim McGraw is speaking out about how he really felt when Taylor Swift named her debut single after him.
It was 2006 when Swift released "Tim McGraw," which was inspired by the country crooner. The song, which was featured in her self-titled album, became a breakout hit, leading to the now-31-year-old’s rise to stardom.
Nearly 15 years later, McGraw, 53, admitted he was "a little apprehensive" about the track when he first heard it.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I thought, have I gotten to that age now to where they’re singing songs about me?" McGraw recalled in a recent interview with Apple Music Country for Apple Music Essentials.
"Does that mean I’ve jumped the shark a bit?" the star shared in his conversation with host Alecia Davis. "Is everything still cool? And then I realized that somebody had told me that she was in her seventh-grade math class when she wrote the song, so it made me feel a little bit better about that because she was so young writing it. So I didn’t feel like I was that terribly old."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In 2007, Swift performed a live rendition of the song at the 42nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. It was during the ceremony when Swift met McGraw for the first time.
"It’s so nice to meet you," Swift gushed while greeting the singer and his wife Faith Hill.
In 2013, McGraw and Swift collaborated on an original song titled "Highway Don’t Care," which was released as the third single from his "Two Lanes of Freedom" album, People magazine reported. The track also featured Keith Urban on guitar.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}TAYLOR SWIFT DEBUTS DROPS ALBUM 'EVERMORE,' MUSIC VIDEO FOR 'WILLOW'
Then in 2018, McGraw and Hill, 53, reunited with Swift onstage during her "Reputation World Tour" to perform her 2006 single hit as a trio.
McGraw revealed he got to know Swift better when she opened for himself and Hill on the couple’s "Soul2Soul" tour, which occurred between 2017 and 2018.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It was incredible," he said. "It was just her and her guitar and one other person. Just two people, her and another guy playing."
McGraw insisted he’s now "a big fan of Taylor’s."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Singers Taylor Swift and Tim McGraw perform during the 2013 CMA Music Festival on June 6, 2013, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
"I think that she has such a unique way of connecting with her audience and her songwriting ability and her intuition is just so incredible," he explained.
"And I just think she’s one of the greatest artists to come along in a long time," he added.