Taylor Swift rocks out bright yellow jeans on the March 2009 cover of Self Magazine.

The 19-year-old musician dished to Self about being real, having a successful photo shoot and considering all her fans her friends. Check it:

On her birthday presents: “They’re all giving me things because it’s my birthday. These are the coolest shoes ever! (of the new Christian Louboutin’s SELF gave as a birthday gift). And he (Ken Paves) gave me bangs. Bangs and heels…best birthday ever!”

On her fan-friends: “If I sign an autograph for someone, I don’t put them in the category of ‘fan’ and keep them at arm’s length. If we strike up a conversation and we like the same things and we have the same sense of humor, then they’re my friend. It doesn’t matter how I met them. The people who go to my MySpace page are the people who make me happiest. That’s why I like to make videos for them. I like to thank them as much as possible. And when they come to my shows, I like to give them hugs.”

On being honest and truthful: “I don’t think honesty is ever something you should regret. I figure if I’m going to cover things up and try to hide the way I feel and try to be perfect all the time, people are going to see through that. And also, if you’re trying to change yourself all the time to adapt to what you think you should be, you’re going to run out of the things to be after a while.”

On her photo shoot playlist: “I made a playlist for the photo shoot because you always have to have really cool dance music and music with a really awesome beat to it. You need to be in the right energy and mood so I made a playlist that I am very, very proud of. I left my iPod at home, so we had to makeshift one, all the necessities. Jesse McCartney, Justin Timberlake—both are absolutely pivotal to the success of a photo shoot. Britney Spears and Lady Gaga, Beyonce—very, very necessary. It’s a pretty good playlist. They are so good that you can listen to them over and over. You can’t do a photo shoot without music.”