Taylor gives advice for Justin Bieber
US Magazine: You guys started out so young, have you met Justin Bieber? Do you have any advice for him getting through this whole thing like you did?
TH: I think it’s honestly hard to succeed whether you start out really young or you go into it at 20 or 40. You have to live and breathe music, and it has to be something you’re just committed to. We met Justin at the start of his career at a Grammy event about a year and a half ago and he honestly seemed like just a nice kid that was really happy that people were paying attention to what he was doing. I will say that one of the hardest things to do is to survive success and in some ways it’s easier than surviving failure because when you do succeed, and you reach a place you want to be, just figuring out how to maintain that and also just maintain focus and perspective is a challenge.
US Magazine: Do you think he’ll make it and still be making music at the age you guys are now?
TH: I don’t know. It’s rare to succeed like he has, so you have to give him credit for what he’s done regardless of anything that’s going on behind the scenes or how he makes his records. I will say there are young people, like Taylor Swift, who’ve had a lot of success in the last few years. She’s somebody who I feel will be making records for years. You just can’t take no for answer to survive. You have to stay with it.