Q&A: Taylor Swift

What do you consider a country classic?
Loretta Lynn's "Fist City." She says, "I'm not a-sayin' my baby is a saint, 'cause he ain't." Isn't that a cool line? "And that he won't cat around with a kitty." That's so amazing!

What type of music do you wish you knew more about?
Hair metal. I've always been so focused on Def Leppard that I never explored other metal bands. That's what my band talks about, and I can't keep up.

What is your favorite memory from performing with Def Leppard?
These guys have sold more than 60 million records, so I thought that they would be divas and snobby. When I walked in, I very timidly and politely asked Joe Elliott if I could sing one of the lines in "Hysteria," and he goes, "Honey, I've been singin' that song for 25 years — you sing whatever you want."

What songs are you currently obsessed with?
There's a song called "After Tonight" by a Canadian artist, Justin Nozuka. It's got a rootsy sound to it. It's like Jack Johnson, and I'm a huge Jack Johnson fan. My ringtone is his song "Taylor" — though I ignore the fact that the song is probably about a prostitute or a stripper. I'm also into Katy Perry, but I'm really obsessed with Sinéad O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U." When Prince wrote that song, 5,000 songwriters put their pens down and went, "All right, I tried."

In concert, you've covered Eminem's "Lose Yourself." Do you see a correlation between country and hip-hop?
They're two of the most honest genres, because we just like to sing about our lifestyle, our daily activities. Pride is something that both hip-hop and country share.