Interview With 17-Year-Old Taylor Swift When She Was in Portland, Maine, Resurfaces

Taylor Swift has become one of the biggest celebrities on the planet over the last several years. These days, it’s hard to even let a day go by without hearing one of her songs, or just her name in general.

According to Forbes, her recent Eras Tour earned her nearly $800 million dollars. Her new concert film is breaking records, and there's a heavy media spotlight on her current relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. She’s just plain everywhere.

Being a worldwide superstar comes with its positives and negatives, and has proven over the years, that it’s not for everyone.

There are, of course, the cameras following you around constantly, which can be mentally exhausting. But Taylor appears to either love it, have gotten used to it, or hide the stress well. Perhaps it's a combo of all three.

News Center Maine’s 207 program is about to celebrate its 20th year. If you’ve caught the show, you know they cover the best of Maine in the realm of arts, food, music, destinations, and more.

Hosts Rob Caldwell and Samantha York are digging up some of the program's most memorable moments over the last 20 years, wrapping up next Wednesday, October 25, with a full hour 20th-anniversary show airing at 7pm.

One thing that recently resurfaced is an interview that former 207 host Kathleen Shannon had with a 17-year-old Taylor when she was in Portland back in July 2007, opening up for Brad Paisley at the Cross Insurance Arena.

Still up and coming at the time (and still considered a country singer), Taylor appeared to be the quintessential, humble teenager in the interview. She spoke about how important it was to remain her true self at the end of the day, no matter what happens throughout her path in music.

The interview was a true throwback.

It’s always interesting to see artists (especially as kids) who opened up for others pave their way to superstar status. Although Swifties love to see her perform in Maine again, it’s likely we will first need to get an arena-sized venue that’s big enough.

In the meantime, maybe you’ll run into her on the streets. After all, she does love our city, and supposedly wrote several songs about Portland, Maine, called “Portland, Maine”.