Impressive bunch! Taylor Swift has found herself in the company of Oprah Winfrey, billionaire businessman David Koch, and Chelsea Handler for inclusion on Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People list for 2014.
Us Weekly got an exclusive first look at Swift's interview for the project with Walters, in which the country-turned-pop star discusses her dating life, how she stays sane, and even her drinking habits.
"You have such a good reputation," the celebrated journalist, 85, began in her chat with Swift, 24. "You have never been 'the bad girl'… You don't drink. You don't smoke."
"I mean, I do drink, I am 25," interjected Swift, who will celebrate her 25th birthday on Saturday, Dec. 13. "So it's not like, I mean… Yeah, I was at a Knicks game and I had a beer and everybody was like, 'Ohhh!' I was like, 'Tsk.'"
Though Swift says she doesn't entirely live up to her largely squeaky-clean image, the "Blank Space" singer added that she wasn't sipping on any cold ones before she was legally of age.
"I did wait until I was 21 to drink," the Grammy winner explained. "I was so paranoid about getting in trouble or setting the wrong example or sending the wrong message."
She went on to acknowledge some of her younger fans, and how they influence her decisions.
"I put every one of my actions through a filter before I do them because that's the way my life is," Swift continued. "That the reality… If I do something reckless or thoughtless or careless, or I treat someone badly, that doesn't just affect me; it affects that person. Then, if that story gets out, or some 10-year-old sees that I did that in a news article… my actions do have ripples."
While Walters called Swift's reputation and example-setting "a big responsibility," the "Shake It Off" singer said the monitoring presents a positive outcome.
"It's kind of a nice thing to keep you in check to live a good life," she said. "It's not like some gilded golden cage that people make it out to be. Living your life the 'right way' and trying to make 'good decisions' is not necessarily some horrible penalty."
Said "good decisions" include the choices Swift makes in her much-publicized dating life. After flings with big stars like John Mayer, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Harry Styles, the gorgeous star has been staying a bit under the radar with her personal life. While she has yet to confirm or deny, Swift is now rumored to be seeing The 1975 singer Matt Healy, though she has been adamant about not having a boyfriend as of late. See all the famous exes Taylor's dated over the years.
"I don't see a scenario right now, the way my life is, in which it could work," she told Walters of being in a relationship. "So I don't think about it because I don't like to think about things that I can't solve."
After Swift offered up such a calm take on her romantic life, Walters said to the singer, "You seem very sane… It's not that fashionable all the time… You seem very centered."
"I think all the time about big concepts in my life," Swift explained. "I don't have answers for everything and that doesn't scare me. I think the reason I am sane is because I have a really good family who are all very sane, in the midst of all this kind of insanity surrounding my life. That really helps — it really helps — cause I can talk to them about it and they are gonna be very honest with me about it. But always, always really supportive."
See more from Swift's chat with Walters in Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2014, airing on ABC on Sunday, Dec. 14, at 9:00 p.m./8:00 p.m. CT.
