Taylor Swift: The Oddball From Pennsylvania

Taylor Swift is everywhere! Her album, "Fearless," was number one on the Billboard charts, she's made a guest-starring appearance on "CSI," she has a line of Taylor Swift dolls, and recently unveiled a collection of affordable sundresses at Walmart. Not bad for an "oddball from Pennsylvania," which is what Taylor's mom affectionately refers to her as in the April issue of Allure.

Although the 19-year-old is clearly a celebrity, she's remained a nerd at heart. Daphne Merkin, who interviewed Swift for Allure, notes that she is "open about her insecurities rather than hiding behind defensive or confrontational attitudes..." Take, for instance, Taylor's naturally curly hair. "I used to straighten it in school, because all the cool girls had straight hair," she shares. "It looked so horrible -- it completely frizzed out if it was humid outside, and it took me so long in the morning. But I suffered through that to try and be cool. And when you step out into the real world, you realize that the only place where it's cool to be the same as everyone else is in junior high."

View more exclusive pics of Taylor at her Allure photo shoot!

So how did the so-called unpopular girl manage to become a country star? At age 11, she headed to Tennessee with her mother and went door to door on Nashville's Music Row with a demo CD of herself singing songs by Leann Rimes and the Dixie Chicks. "Hi, I'm Taylor, and I'm interested in getting a record deal!" Of course, she wasn't alone in her quest, so to stand out in the crowd, the aspiring musician "went home and started writing songs." But first she had to learn how to play the guitar. She picked up three chords at age 12 from a "guy who came over to fix our computer."

Check out Taylor's style timeline

While most of her songs are about breakups, she has "always been fascinated with fairy tales, and the idea that Prince Charming is just one castle away. And you're gonna run across a field and meet each other in the middle, and have an amazing, perfect movie kiss. And it's gonna be happily ever after."

Of course, Taylor is well aware that's not always the case. Her relationship with Joe Jonas certainly didn't have a happy ending. Since being dumped over the phone in a 27-second call, the singer's kept mum about her romantic life and the rumors that she is a virgin. "It's fine to talk about love publicly," she notes. "But I think when you talk about virginity and sex publicly, people just automatically picture you naked. And as much as I can prevent people picturing me naked, I'm going to."

To read the rest of Taylor's interview, pick up the April issue of Allure, on newsstands March 24.