Taylor Alison Swift became one of country-pop's brightest (and youngest) faces in 2006, when the 16-year-old vocalist released her first album. Although new to the American public, Swift had been performing since early childhood, taking inspiration and encouragement from her opera-singing grandmother. She sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" before a Philadelphia 76ers game at the age of 11; the following year, she began practicing her guitar skills for several hours each day, only stopping when her fingers began to bleed. Swift's parents realized their child's dedication and began making regular visits to Nashville, TN, where Swift would perform casually and meet with songwriters in the area. The family then decided to move from their native Pennsylvania to an outlying Nashville suburb, which accelerated Swift's career. While performing at the intimate Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Swift caught the eye of music industry veteran Scott Borchetta, who signed her to his newly formed label. Swift joined the roster at Big Machine Records and released her debut single, "Tim McGraw," in August 2006. The song drew upon her experience as a lovelorn high-school student, a theme that Swift revisited throughout her self-titled debut album. Released in late 2008, Taylor Swift catapulted the young songwriter to stardom, spawning a handful of hits (five consecutive Top Ten singles, a new record for a female solo artist) while earning multi-platinum sales. Swift also received a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, an award she ultimately lost to Amy Winehouse. Two subsequent EPs -- Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection and Beautiful Eyes -- helped maintain Swift's popularity while whetting public demand for her sophomore release, Fearless, which arrived in November 2008.
She was born on December 13, 1989. In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", which peaked at number six on the Billboard country charts. Later in October 2006, she released her self-titled debut album, which produced five hit singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and was certified 3× Multi-Platinum by the RIAA. The New York Times described Swift as "one of pop's finest songwriters, country’s foremost pragmatist and more in touch with her inner life than most adults".
Taylor’s Global Success
Taylor Swift, who sold more albums last year than any other artist, is making a significant impact on the global music scene, earning Gold and Platinum sales certifications in fourteen countries. Her Fearless album, rapidly approaching quadruple-Platinum in the US, has earned the following international sales awards: Triple Platinum in Australia and Canada; Platinum in Singapore, New Zealand, Ireland, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan; and Gold in the UK (2x), Norway, South Africa, Hong Kong and the Philippines. Sales are driven partially by her single “Love Story,” which has topped airplay charts in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Big Machine Records reports that Swift has sold more albums than any artist in the world so far this year.
She is headed to the UK this week for her second string of sold out shows there this year, and is planning another trip overseas for a Nov. 23 headlining date at London’s Wembley Arena. Earlier this year, she also headlined a short series of shows in Australia, all of which sold out.
Upon her return from the UK, Swift resumes her US tour with a headlining show at Madison Square Garden, where tickets sold out in one minute.
Here in the States, Swift’s self-titled debut CD has been certified quadruple-Platinum, and she is celebrating her fourth consecutive No. 1 single. Her paid music downloads now exceed 19.5 million songs, she has more than a million followers on Twitter, and she has surpassed the 250 million mark for music streams on MySpace.
I'm the girl who is best friends with a guitar and writes songs about everything and everyone that happens to me. Names included. ;-)
Class of 2008.
My Twitter is Taylorswift13.
In my spare time, I like to conduct random baking experiments in my kitchen and write letters to people.
I really love people who like my music. They're number 1 on my favorite things list.
I'm not a big deal. At all.
I love people who are nice to me, I've never been one to say things like "All you people think you know me, well you don't".
Because I'm not that complicated. My complications come out in my songs. All you need to do to be my friend is like me.
My middle name is Alison.
And I'm extremely tall. Like, I'm that really tall person that is blocking your view at a concert. On behalf of all of us, we're sorry.
My ideal outfit is a sun dress and cowboy boots.
I love surprises and hardwood floors.
I like people who are excitable. I think it's endearing when people cry when they're happy. I'm pretty excitable too.
I've never been the kind of girl who needs a boyfriend. Plus, guys don't ask me out because they know I'll write songs about them.
In life and love, you learn that there comes a time to let go and move on. It's a lesson I learned recently.
I wear too many bracelets and I can't concentrate on the conversation if the TV's on.
I grew up on a Christmas tree farm. Seriously.
I'm fascinated by black and white pictures, I have them hung up everywhere.
I like people who can be sarcastic and laugh about tense situations.
I never assume someone's not being honest with me.
I like to read up on weird medical problems, so if one of my friends ever complains of a headache or stomach ache, I'm probably going to spout off 12 different things that could be wrong with them. Because I'm way paranoid.
I think Keri Russell and Ellen DeGeneres are the coolest celebrities ever.
I don't like making decisions when I don't have to. So right now my toenails are painted 5 different colors.
I will never straighten my hair to impress a guy ever again.
There's never going to be a time when I'm annoyed by compliments about my music.
I need everything to be organized. All the time.
I think little kids are awesome.
I'm a thinker and an over-analyzer. I'm not jaded.
I'm a fan of fans. You are absolutely wonderful to me. I've got your back, just like you've had mine. To anyone who has gone out and bought my CD, or come to a show, or even turned my song up when it came on the radio, all I can say is thank you.
Tracklisting:
1. "Tim McGraw" 3:54
2. "Picture to Burn" 2:57
3. "Teardrops on My Guitar" 3:37
4. "A Place in This World" 3:24
5. "Cold as You" 4:03
6. "The Outside" 3:31
7. "Tied Together with a Smile" 4:13
8. "Stay Beautiful" 4:00
9. "Should've Said No" 4:06
10. "Mary's Song (Oh My My My)" 3:37
11. "Our Song" 3:24
Enhanced edition track listing
1. "Tim McGraw" 3:54
2. "Picture to Burn" 2:57
3. "Teardrops on My Guitar" 3:37
4. "A Place in This World" 3:24
5. "Cold as You" 4:03
6. "The Outside" 3:31
7. "Tied Together with a Smile" 4:13
8. "Stay Beautiful" 4:00
9. "Should've Said No" 4:06
10. "Mary's Song (Oh My My My)" 3:37
11. "Our Song" 3:24
12. "I'm Only Me When I'm With You" 3:33
13. "Invisible" 3:23
14. "A Perfectly Good Heart" 3:40
15. "Teardrops On My Guitar (Pop Version)" 3:00
DVD tracklist:
1. "Tim McGraw" video – 4:00
2. First Grand Ole Opry Performance of "Tim McGraw" – 2:57
3. Yahoo! Music Performance & Interview feature of "Tim
McGraw" (4:06)
4. "Teardrops On My Guitar" video – 3:45
5. "Teardrops On My Guitar" video Behind The Scenes – 4:16
6. "Our Song" video – 3:30
7. "Our Song" video Behind the Scenes – 11:30
8. GAC Short Cuts Series "A Place in This World" – 21:40
9. CMT's Unplugged video Performance of "Picture to Burn" – 3:14
10. Taylor's Home Movie – 5:40
11. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill performance (only available on
versions purchased at Target retail stores)
Taylor Swift is the self-titled debut studio album by American country pop artist Taylor Swift. It was released on October 24, 2006 on Big Machine Records, and has produced five hit singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The album received positive reviews, with about.com giving it five out of five stars
The album peaked at #1 on the country albums charts (ultimately spending 23 non-consecutive weeks there), and #5 on the Billboard 200. On March 18, 2009, the album was certified 4x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and Platinum in Canada. The album has spawned 5 consecutive top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, making Swift the first solo female artist to score 5 top 10 hits from a debut album since the album chart was first published in 1964.
On the week ending March 15, 2009, it became the first album to top the 4 million mark since Josh Groban's Noël, which has sold 4,621,000 copies since its release in October 2007. However, Noël's is classified as a Holiday Album. In terms of Non-holiday Albums, it is the first album to top the 4 million mark since Daughtry's Daughtry, which has sold 4,401,000 copies since its release in November 2006. It's the first country album to top the 4 million mark since Rascal Flatts' Me And My Gang, which has sold 4,745,000 copies since its release in April 2006.
Track listing:
1. "Fearless" 4:01
2. "Fifteen" 4:54
3. "Love Story" 3:55
4. "Hey Stephen" 4:14
5. "White Horse" 3:54
6. "You Belong with Me" 3:51
7. "Breathe” (featuring Colbie Caillat) 4:23
8. "Tell Me Why" 3:20
9. "You're Not Sorry"
10. "The Way I Loved You" 4:04
11. "Forever & Always" 3:45
12. "The Best Day" 4:05
13. "Change" 4:40
International Bonus Tracks
14. "Our Song " (International Version) — 3:24
15. "Teardrops on My Guitar" (International Version) 3:10
16. "Should've Said No " (International Version) — 4:06
Japan Bonus Track
17. "Beautiful Eyes" (Swift)
18. "Picture to Burn" (Swift, Rose) — 2:57
19. "I'm Only Me When I'm with You" (Swift, Robert Ellis Orrall, Angelo)
20. "I Heart ?" (Swift)
UK iTunes bonus tracks
17. "Umbrella" (Live from SoHo) — 1:31
18. "A Place In This World" (Live from SoHo) - 3:26
19. Video Interview Piece — 2:59
Fearless is the second studio album by American country pop artist Taylor Swift,.The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling 592,304 copies in its first week, the best first-week sales for a female artist in 2008. Fearless became the first album to sell one million copies in 2009.
Fearless was first released in the U.S on November 11, 2008. The album was then released in Australia on November 15, 2008, followed by the UK and New Zealand on March 9, 2009. The album was also released in Spain and Brazil in March, 2009.
Fearless was the first album since Santana's Supernatural to top the Billboard 200 for eleven non-consecutive weeks. It spent seven consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200, the most weeks since Weathered by Creed in 2001-2002. It was also the first album by a female artist in country music history to log more than seven weeks at number one on the chart and the seventh longest-running number-one album by a female artist in Billboard 200 history. Its lead single "Love Story" reached number one on both the Canadian and US country charts, and 6 singles were top 20 hits. Swift solely wrote 7 out of the 13 songs on the album and co-wrote the remaining 6 tracks. The album won Album of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2009.
First day sales of “Fearless” totaled 217,000, with sales of 592,304 copies sold in the first week, 129,000 of them being digital downloads, the fourth biggest-week since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking them in 2004. The album debuted at #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums, Canadian Albums Chart, and Canadian Top Country Albums Chart.
In its second week of release, the album dropped to #4. In the fifth week, The album made its ascent back to the #1 spot, where it stayed for the next seven weeks for a total of eight non-consecutive weeks at #1, making it the longest-running album among the releases that topped the chart in 2008 and the first album by a female artist in country music history to log eight weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200. It dropped to #2 in its twelfth week, and in the next week it dropped further to #4, although it was the greatest gainer. In its 14th week, the album reclaimed the #1 position, spending a total of eleven weeks, the most weeks at the top since Santana's Supernatural remained atop the chart for twelve weeks. In its 15th week, it was bumped to the #2 position by U2's No Line on the Horizon. Fearless is the seventh longest-running number-one album by a female artist in the Billboard 200 history.
In New Zealand, the album debuted at number two on March 16, 2009, jumping to number one the following week. The album was certified Gold after four weeks on the chart, selling over 7,500 copies.
Since the release on November 11, 2008, the album Fearless has gone to sell nearly 3.5 million copies worldwide. In Australia, the album has been certified Platinum.
In the United Kingdom, the album debuted strongly at number 5 and is currently at number 13, having stayed in the top 20 for the past 6 weeks. To date, it's sold over 100,000 copies and certified Gold.
In the Philippines, the album debuted at #1 in various record store charts. Taylor swift's single Love Story reached number one over 50 charts including some charts of MYX. With "Love Story" music video debuting at #1 on various music channels.
Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection
Track listing:
1. "Last Christmas"
2. "Christmases When You Were Mine"
3. "Santa Baby"
4. "Silent Night"
5. "Christmas Must Be Something More"
6. "White Christmas" Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection is a promotional EP released by country pop artist Taylor Swift. Released on October 14, 2007, the EP is available for purchase only at the American discount department store chain Target. On December 2, 2008, it was made available at most online digital stores. The album features two original songs: "Christmases When You Were Mine", written by Nathan Chapman, Liz Rose and Taylor Swift, and "Christmas Must Be Something More" written by Taylor Swift.
CD
1. "Beautiful Eyes"
2. "Should've Said No" (Alternate Version)
3. "Teardrops on My Guitar" (Acoustic Version)
4. "Picture to Burn" (Radio Edit)
5. "I'm Only Me When I'm with You"
6. "I Heart ?"
DVD
1. "Beautiful Eyes" music video
2. "Picture to Burn" music video
3. "I'm Only Me When I'm with You" music video
4. "Tim McGraw" music video
5. "Teardrops on My Guitar" (Pop Radio Mix) music video
6. "Our Song" music video
7. The making of "Picture to Burn" music video
8. GAC New Artist Interview
9. "Should've Said No" 2008 ACM Awards performance Beautiful Eyes is an EP by American country artist Taylor Swift. It was released on July 15, 2008 exclusively at Wal-Mart stores. A limited number of albums were pressed so that the album would not be misidentified as Swift's second studio album, which was released on November 11, 2008. As of December 27, 2008, 232,792 copies have been sold in the U.S. In its first week of release, the album sold 45,000 copies, debuting at #1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart and #9 on the Billboard 200. With her self-titled debut album at #2 the same week, Swift became the first artist to hold the Top 2 positions of the Top Country Albums chart since LeAnn Rimes did so in 1997.
Tim McGraw (Taylor Swift & Liz Rose) - "This song means so much to me, that's why we wanted it to be the first track on the album. The idea for this song came to me in math class. I just started singing to myself `When you think Tim McGraw.' The concept for this song hit me, because I was dating a guy who moved away, and it was going to be over for us. So I started thinking of things that I knew would remind him of me. The first thing that came to mind was that my favorite song is by Tim McGraw. After school, I went downtown, sat down at the piano, and wrote this with Liz Rose in fifteen minutes. It may be the best fifteen minutes I've ever experienced."
Picture To Burn (Taylor Swift & Liz Rose) - "Before I sing this song, I always try to tell the audience that I really do try to be a nice person... but if you break my heart, hurt my feelings, or are really mean to me, I'm going to write a song about you. Haha. This song is the perfect example."
Teardrops On My Guitar (Taylor Swift & Liz Rose) - "I used to have a huge crush on this guy, who would sit there every day talking to me about...another girl: how beautiful she was, how nice and smart and perfect she was. And I sat there and listened, never meaning it any of the times I said `Oh, I'm so happy for you.' I guess this is a good example of how I let my feelings out in songs, and sometimes no other way. And I've never been afraid of using names. I love this song because of its honesty and vulnerability. To this day, they are still together and he has no idea about this song."
A Place In This World (Taylor Swift & Robert Orrall & Angelo) - "I wrote this song when I was thirteen and had just moved to Nashville. It was tough trying to find out how I was going to get where I wanted to go. I knew where I wanted to be, but I just didn't know how to get there. I'm really happy this is on the album, because I feel like I finally figured it out."
Cold As You (Taylor Swift & Liz Rose) - "I wrote this song with Liz, and I think the lyrics to this song are some of the best we've ever written. It's about that moment where you realize someone isn't at all who you thought they were, and that you've been trying to make excuses for someone who doesn't deserve them. And that some people are just never going to love you. We were halfway through writing this when I started singing `And now that I'm sitting here thinking it through, I've never been anywhere cold as you'."
The Outside (Taylor Swift) - "This is one of the first songs I ever wrote, and it talks about the very reason I ever started to write songs. It was when I was twelve years old, and a complete outcast at school. I was a lot different than all the other kids, and I never really knew why. I was taller, and sang country music at karaoke bars and festivals on weekends while other girls went to sleepovers. Some days I woke up not knowing if anyone was going to talk to me that day. I think every person comes to a point in their life when you have a long string of bad days. You can choose to let it drag you down, or you can find ways to rise above it. I came to the conclusion that even though people hadn't always been there for me, music had. It's strange to think how different my life would be right now if I had been one of the cool kids."
Tied Together With A Smile (Taylor Swift & Liz Rose) - "One of my best friends is absolutely beautiful. She goes to beauty pageants and wins everything. Girls want to be her and guys want to be with her. I wrote this song the day I found out about her eating disorder. It completely blew my mind, and this one was tough to write, because I wasn't just telling some sad story. This was real. This song is basically about the girls I know, and the difficult things I saw them go through. I've never seen this song as a lecture. It's really about how no matter what my friends go through, I'm always going to love them."
Stay Beautiful (Taylor Swift & Liz Rose) - "After hearing my songs, a lot of people ask me, `How many boyfriends have you HAD?' And I always tell them that more of my songs come from observation than actual experience. In other words, you don't have to date someone to write a song about them. This is a song I wrote about a guy I never dated! Wow, right? Haha. This song is about a guy I thought was cute, and never really talked to him much. But something about him inspired this song, just watching him."
Should've Said No (Taylor Swift) - "Just being a human being, I've realized that before every big problem you create for yourself, before every huge mess you have to clean up, there was a crucial moment where you could've just said no. This is a song I wrote about a guy who never should have cheated on me."
Mary's Song (Oh My My My) (Taylor Swift & Liz Rose & Brian Maher) - "I wrote this song about a couple who lived next door to us. They'd been married forever and they came over one night for dinner, and were just so cute. They were talking about how they fell in love and got married, and how they met when they were just little kids. I thought it was so sweet, because you can go to the grocery store and read the tabloids, and see who's breaking up and cheating on each other (or just listen to some of my songs, haha). But it was really comforting to know that all I had to do was go home and look next door to see a perfect example of forever."
Our Song (Taylor Swift) - I just sat down one day with my guitar and got in a groove, and went with it. I like to write about how music affects people, and this was fun to write because it's about a couple who DOESN'T have a song. I like the banjo and you really can't go wrong with banjo. I wanted it to be last on the album, because the last line of the chorus is `play it again'. Let's hope people take it as a hint to go ahead and play the album again. Haha!"
Love Story (Taylor Swift)- This is a song I wrote when I was dating a guy who wasn’t exactly the popular choice. His situation was a little complicated, but I didn’t care. I started this song with the line “This love is difficult, but it’s real.” When I wrote the ending to this song, I felt like it was the ending every girl wants to go with her love story. It’s the ending that I want. You want a guy who doesn’t care what anyone thinks, what anyone says. He just says, “Marry me, Juliet, I love you, and that’s all I really know.” It’s sort of told in a character kind of thing, where it’s Romeo and Juliet, and it’s not me saying that I’m getting married or anything…but I think it’s fun to write about it.
Fearless (Taylor Swift, Liz Rose, Hillary Lindsey)- This is a song about the fearlessness of falling in love. No matter how many break up songs you write, no matter how many times you get hurt, you will always fall in love again. When I wrote “Fearless,” I wasn’t dating anyone. I wasn’t even in the beginning stages of dating anybody. I really was all by myself out on tour and I got this idea for a song about the best first date. I think sometimes when you’re writing love songs, you don’t write them about what you’re going through at the moment, you write about what you wish you had. So, this song is about the best first date I haven’t had yet.
Fifteen (Taylor Swift)- I wrote this around the story line of my best friend from high school, Abigail. I started everything with the line “Abigail gave everything she had to a boy who changed his mind” and wrote everything else from that point, almost backwards. I just decided I really wanted to tell that story about our first year of high school because I felt in my freshman year, I grew up more than any year in my life so far.
Hey Stephen (Taylor Swift)- We were recording at John McBride’s (Martina McBride’s husband’s) studio and he was like, ‘My kids are dying to meet you. Do you think that you could say hi to them?’ I said, ‘Sure, have them come and hang out while we’re recording.’ So his daughters and their friends from school – there were about ten of them there – they all came into the studio when we were recording “Hey Stephen” and they loved it. They were singing along with it by the end of it.
White Horse (Taylor Swift, Liz Rose)- I actually wasn’t going to put this song on the album. I was going to wait for the third album because I really felt like we had the “sadness” represented on this record. Then my agency out in LA set up a meeting with executive producers Betsy Beers and Shonda Rhimes at Grey’s Anatomy because that’s my favorite show. It would just be a dream come true to have a song on it. So, I played them “White Horse.” It was just me and my guitar and they freaked out. They loved it. They said, “We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.” For a while, we didn’t know if we were going to put it on the record because if it wasn’t going to be on the show, then we weren’t going to put it on the album. Then they called and said they were very interested in the song. We recorded it right away, sent it off to them, and they put it in!
To me, “White Horse” is about what, in my opinion, is the most heart-breaking part of a break-up – that moment when you realize that all the dreams you had, all those visions you had of being with this person, all that disappears. Everything after that moment is moving on.. But that initial moment of “Wow, it’s over” is what I wrote “White Horse” about.
You Belong With Me (Taylor Swift, Liz Rose)- I came into the writing session with Liz Rose and said….I’ve got this idea. I had overheard a friend of mine talking to his girlfriend and he was completely on the defensive saying, “No, baby…I had to get off the phone really quickly…I tried to call you right back…Of course I love you. More than anything! Baby, I’m so sorry.” She was just yelling at him! I felt so bad for him at that moment.
So I came up with the first line “You’re on the phone with your girlfriend, she’s upset, going off about something that you said,” and I ran that into the story line that I’m in love with him and he should be with me instead of her. It just became this whole picture. It was really fun for us to write the line, “She wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts.”
Breathe (Taylor Swift, Colbie Calliat)- It’s a song about having to say goodbye to somebody, but it never blames anybody. Sometimes that’s the most difficult part. When it’s nobody’s fault.
I was a huge fan of Colbie’s record. When it came out, I fell in love with the way that she makes music. I contacted her management right away and I asked if I could write with her and, sure enough, Colbie had a date coming up in Nashville where she was going to be playing a show and she had the day off. I think she sounds beautiful on it. I’m so excited to have her voice on my album.
Tell Me Why (Taylor Swift, Liz Rose)- I’d been talking to a guy I’ve never “officially” dated. Sometimes it’s the hardest thing when you have all these dreams of dating them, and you’re getting close, but it doesn’t work out. He would say things that would make me go, “Did you just say that?” It bothered me so much because he would say one thing and do another, do one thing and say another. Because he didn’t know what he wanted, he would just play all these mind games.
So I went over to write with Liz and was just ranting and raving about how this guy is such a flake and such a jerk sometimes, and so cool other times. I was like, “Liz, I don’t know what’s up with this guy!” So I just started playing the beginning, “I took a chance, I took a shot. And you might think I’m bulletproof, but I’m not.”
You’re Not Sorry (Taylor Swift)- It is about this guy who turned out to not be who I thought I was. He came across as prince charming. Well, it turned out prince charming had a lot of secrets that he didn’t tell me about. And one by one, I would figure them out. I would find out who he really was. I wrote this when I was at the breaking point of, “You know what? Don’t even think that you can keep on hurting me.” It was to a point where I had to walk away.
The Way I Loved You (Taylor Swift, John Rich)- I got this idea for a song about being in a relationship with a nice guy who is punctual and opens up the door for you and brings you flowers…but you feel nothing. The whole time you’re with him, you’re thinking about the guy who was complicated and messy and frustrating.
So I brought that idea, the title and where I thought the song should go to John. He was able to relate to it because he is that complicated, frustrating messy guy in his relationships. We came at the song from different angles. It was just so cool to get in a room and write with him because he really is an incredible writer.
Forever & Always (Taylor Swift)- “Forever & Always” is about when I was in a relationship with someone and I was just watching him slowly slip away. I didn’t know why, because I wasn’t doing anything different. I didn’t do anything wrong. He was just fading. It’s about the confusion and frustration of wondering why? What changed? When did it change? What did I do wrong? In this case, the guy I wrote it about ended up breaking up with me for another girl. Guess I know why he was fading..
The Best Day (Taylor Swift)- I wrote this song on the road and didn’t tell my mom about it. I decided that I was going to keep it a secret and give it to her as a surprise for Christmas. I wrote it in the summer and then recorded it secretly with the band in the studio. After it was done, I synched the song up to all these home videos of her, and my family.
She didn’t even realize it was me singing until halfway through the song! She didn’t have any idea that I could possibly write and record a song without her knowing about it. When she finally got it, she just started bawling her eyes out.
Change (Taylor Swift)- At one point, I began to understand that it would be harder for me on a smaller record label to get to the places and accomplish the things that artists were accomplishing on bigger record labels. I realized that I wouldn’t get favors pulled for me because there weren’t any other artists on the label to pull favors from. It was going to be an uphill climb and all that I had to encourage me was the hope that someday things would change. That things would be different. After so many times of just saying that to myself over and over, I finally wrote it down in a song.
Hidden messages in Taylor’s lyrics: Decoded!
"Fearless" - I Loved You Before I Met You
"Fifteen" - I Cried While Recording This
"Love Story" - Someday I'll Find This
"Hey Stephen" - Love and Theft
"White Horse" - All I Ever Wanted Was The Truth
"You Belong With Me" - Love Is Blind So You Couldn't See Me
"Breathe" - I'm Sorry I'm Sorry I'm Sorry
"Tell Me Why" - Guess I Was Fooled By Your Smile
"You're Not Sorry" - She Can Have You
"The Way I Loved You" - We Can't Go Back
"Forever & Always" - If You Play These Games We're Both Going To Lose
"The Best Day" - God Bless Andrea Swift
"Change" - You Made Things Change For Me
"Tim McGraw" - Can't Tell Me Nothing
"Picture To Burn" - Date Nice Boys
"Teardrops On My Guitar" - He Will Never Know
"A Place In This World" - I Found It
"Cold As You" - Time To Let Go
"The Outside" - You Are Not Alone
"Tied Together With A Smile" - You Are Loved
"Stay Beautiful" - Shaken Bake
"Should've Said No" - Sam Sam Sam Sam
"Mary's Song (Oh My My My) - Sometimes Love Is Forever
"Our Song" - Live In Love
Last edited by aaalex14; Aug 31, 2009 at 03:40 PM.
*Taylor was the first celebrity to star on the cover of Justine magazine. Taylor was on the cover of the March 2009 issue of Rolling Stone. Taylor was on the cover of the April 2008 issue of Blender.
Taylor was featured in the August 2009 edition of Glamour magazine, which includes a cover story titled "Taylor Swift: The Deal On All Those Guys She Sings About."
*Justin Gaston played Taylor's love interest in her music video for "Love Story". Lucas Till played her love interest in "You Belong with Me".
*At the 2009 CMT Music Awards, Taylor won Female Music Video and Music Video of the Year for the music video for her song "Love Story".
She performed her song "You Belong With Me" at the awards show.
* Taylor became good friends with Miley Cyrus in 2008. She has referred to Miley as "so incredibly funny and sweet".
* Taylor Swift attended the Australian premiere of 17 Again movie.
* Taylor is in the music video for Kellie Pickler's song "Best Days of Your Life".
* Taylor's Fearless Tour began April 23, 2009 and will be visiting 53 cities in over six months. Her opening act is Kellie Pickler.
* Taylor Swift took a stab at ex-boyfriend Joe Jonas in a MySpace video after he reportedly broke up with her via phone by portraying him with a Camp Rock doll.
* The first thing Taylor Swift did when she turned 18 is register online to vote, in pajamas.
* At 11, Taylor Swift took her demo of karaoke songs door-to-door in Nashville.
* Taylor has been writing songs since she was 5.
* Taylor is on the cover of the April 2008 issue of Blender.
* Taylor's 18th birthday party had about 200 guests.
* Taylor is on the cover of the March 2009 issue of Rolling Stone.
* Taylor said that her favorite part of being on CSI was when she got to die.
* According to Taylor, she loves CSI and has seen every episode.
* Taylor performed "Fifteen" at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, with Miley Cyrus.
* Taylor is ranked #17 in AIM's "100 Celebs Under 25".
* Taylor ranked #17 in the "100 Hottest Blondes of AIM".
* Taylor has used two One Tree Hill stars, in her music videos. In "Teardrops On My Guitar" was Tyler Hilton who plays Chris Keller and "White Horse" was Stephen Colletti who plays Chase Adams.
* Taylor is the host of the GAC's Top 50 Videos of 2008.
* If Taylor could be really good at anything, it would be dancing.
* On October 16, 2007, Taylor Swift was honored as Songwriter/Artist of the Year by the Nashville Songwriters Association International. Taylor tied with Alan Jackson for the honor.
* At the 10th annual Young Hollywood Awards, Taylor was honored with "Superstar of Tomorrow", even though she is not a Hollywood star. She is the first musician to be recognized with the honor.
* In 2008, Taylor continued touring (she was on the road with Rascal Flatts as well as headlining some shows), which she loves to do.
* At a showcase at the Bluebird Cafe, Taylor caught the attention of Scott Borchetta, who was at the time planning to launch a new label. He signed her to his label, "Big Machine Records" and her career was born.
* Taylor Swift won the Horizon Award in the 2007 CMA Awards.
* Taylor is consistently ranked Country's #1 artist on MySpace.
* Taylor Swift has surpassed triple-platinum (3 million sales) status and has spent 20 weeks so far in the #1 position atop Billboard's Country CD Sales Chart.
* At 14, Taylor signed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music.
* At the age of 17, Taylor became the youngest person to single-handedly write and sing a number-one country single entirely on her own ("Our Song" spent 6 consecutive weeks at #1 atop Billboard's Country Singles Chart)
* Taylor won 2008 CMT Music Awards for Video of the Year and Female Video of the Year.
* Taylor was named 2008 Top New Female Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music.
* Taylor first kissed a guy at the age of 15.
* Taylor admitted that her dream date would be with Chace Crawford from Gossip Girl.
* Joe Jonas broke up with Taylor over the phone in about 27 seconds.
* Taylor lost some of her retainers in hotel rooms.
* Taylor Swift wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on her sophomore album.
* Taylor was ranked #57 in Maxim's Hot 100 Women 2008.
* The name of the person Taylor Swift was talking about in "Teardrops on my Guitar" was her friend Drew Hardwick.
* Taylor's childhood crush was all of the members of the band Hanson. She thought she was going to marry the middle child named Taylor. She says when she met him and his wife she told them the story and tried not to freak him out.
* According to Taylor, she is a neat freak.
* Taylor is to make a cameo appearance as herself on the Hannah Montana movie which is based on the Disney Channel Original Series.
* She was named number 52 on Maxim's Sexiest women of 08'.
* Taylor Swift's best friend, Abigail Anderson, is in her "Picture to Burn" music video.
* Taylor is the first teenager to make it big in country music since LeAnn Rimes in 1996, making her one of the youngest in history.
* Taylor's favorite selections at In-N-Out Burger are a cheeseburger and a chocolate shake that she likes to use as dipping sauce for her fries.
* Taylor has a brother named Austin Swift.
* She has written over 200 songs.
* Her song 'Mary's Song (Oh My, My, My)' was written based on her next door neighbor's relationship.
* She never actually dated the boy named Cory in her song 'Stay Beautiful'.
* Her song 'Tied Together with a Smile' is about one of her best friends, who was absolutely beautiful. All the girls wanted to be her, all the guys wanted to be with her and then Taylor was shocked to find out that she had an eating disorder.
* Her song 'The Outside' was one of the first song she wrote (she was twelve) and she felt like a complete outcast a school.
* She wrote the song 'A Place in this World' when she was thirteen and had just moved to Nashville. She said that she knew where she wanted to be she just didn't know how to get there, and through the album, she had found that place.
* When Taylor gets bored she likes to conduct random baking experiments in her kitchen.
* When Taylor is in Tennessee she likes to drive by her ex boyfriends houses.
* Taylor's Favorite Things
Color: White. I know, boring (but, now, think a flowing white cotton skirt blowing in the wind)
Food: Cheesecake - yum.
Holiday: Christmas
Hobby: Driving FAST.
Place: Anyplace around a creek.
Season: Summer
Thing to do: Write songs
Thing to write about: LOVE of course!
Guitar: Taylor Guitars
Artists: Miranda Lambert and Tim McGraw
Song: "Can't Tell Me Nothin'" by Tim McGraw
Quality in other people : Honesty and sarcasm
Movie: "Love Actually"
Memory: Living on a farm.
Number: 13
* Taylor Swift was nominated in the Best New Artist category at the 50th Grammy Awards. Unfortunately, she lost to Amy Winehouse.
* Taylor Swift judged the Holiday Holla competion on December 8th, 2007.
* Taylor Swift wrote a song with Colbie Caillat called "Breathe". It's on her second CD with Colbie Caillat doing the back up vocals.
* Taylor Swift is the first celebrity to star on the cover of Justine Magazine.
* The second song Taylor Swift wrote is called "The Outside."
* If Taylor Swift was not singing or songwriting she would be a forensic detective.
* The first song Taylor Swift wrote was called "Lucky You".
* On November 7, 2007 Taylor won the CMA Horizon Award.
* In 2007 Taylor Swift toured with Brad Paisley.
* In 2007 she won CMT's "Breakthrough Video of the Year" for her video "Tim McGraw" and was nominated for ACM's "Top New Female Vocalist".
* She is 5' 11".
* Taylor Swift's third single off of her album "Taylor Swift" is "Our Song." She shot the music video for it in August of 2007.
* In her music video for Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift not only honors one country music celebrity, but two. The video was shot at Johnny Cash's cabin, and that's why they named the love interest in the video "Johnny."
* Before the ACM awards where Taylor performed her hit song "Tim McGraw," she had never met the actual Tim McGraw.
* There are a couple of names of guys in her songs. "Drew," is the name of the guy in her song "Teardrops On My Guitar." "Cory" is the name of the guy in "Stay Beautiful." Yes, these are names of real people, and they have both tried to contact her since these songs have come out.
* The actor that was in her music video "Tim McGraw," is named Clayton Collins. Although in the music video, they named him Johnny.
* Taylor plays a 12-string guitar, and she has played one since she was twelve.
* Taylor wrote every song off her self titled album "Taylor Swift."
* Tyler Hilton appears in Taylor's video, "Teardrops on My Guitar."
* Taylor Swift has a tattoo of a heart on her left foot on her CD.
* One of Taylor's songs that she wrote when she was only 12 is called "The Outside."
* When she was only 11 she performed the national anthem at a Philadelphia 76ers game.
* Taylor Swift was the opening act for a Rascal Flatts concert.
* She used to keep practicing her guitar until her fingers bled.
* Taylor Swift started writing her own songs at twelve.
* Taylor Swift's first single is called "Tim McGraw." The concept of the song came to her in math class. Her boyfriend had just moved away and she was thinking about all of the things that would remind him of her.
* Taylor Swift's grandmother was a professional opera singer, and inspired Taylor to become a singer.
add
QUOTES
• Taylor: I get really restless when I haven't worked for a day and a half. I have a recurring dream that people are lined up next to my bed, waiting for autographs and taking pictures of me!
• Taylor: (about the future of her career) I would love to continue in music, with writing...but I am not the kind of person who will hang around if I start to become irrelevant. If that happens, I will bow down gracefully, raise my kids, and have a garden. And I am going to let my hair go gray when I am older. I don't need to be blonde when I'm 60!
• Taylor: (about middle school) I was the girl who didn't get invited to parties. My friends turned into the girls who stood in the corner and talked about me. But as soon as I picked up a guitar...I literally played until my fingers bled. My mom had to tape them up, and you can imagine how popular that made me: "Look at her fingers. So weird". But for the first time in my life, those girls could say anything they wanted about me, because I was just going to go home after school and write a song about it.
• Taylor: I go online and read the comments about me. I'm always nervous that they're going to say something mean. But a lot of people say nice things, too. It's important to keep yourself in balance. When someone writes something about me that's not true, I just try to look at it like it's funny.
• Taylor: (Upon winning the CMA Horizon Award) This has definitely been the highlight of my senior year!
• Taylor: (after winning at the AMA's) The best thing about the AMAs is that they're voted on by the fans, and they're, they're really shiny!
• Taylor: (on Drew, the guy she wrote Teardrops on my Guitar about) My dad was all "Taylor there are two guys coming up the driveway" I looked and it was Drew! I guess this was the whole "I know the song is about me, still interested?" I mean if he hears the song and heroicly shows up, I mean that's great, but two years later- You're a little late!
• Taylor: (on singing the first line of 'Photograph') I was like a kid in a candy store "You mean I get to sing the first line of Photograph?!
• Taylor: (on how to sell 3 million CDs in 2008) Go to high school and write it all down.
• Taylor: ( on if she was going to keep driving by Joe Jonas' house after they broke up, as she usually does) He has a lot of body gaurds. They're very tall, so uh, no.
• Taylor: I pulled out my iPod and randomly selected a Grey's Anatomy episode to watch the pass the time.. And it randomly selected the episode where Denny dies, and so I started hysterically crying and couldn't stop for about ten minutes. (He was my favorite character, hands down. Why'd he have to die?) For the the record, this is the first time I've cried in a VERY long time. So I figure if the only reason I have to cry is a TV show, I must be pretty lucky.
• Taylor: And Kenny Chesney is so completely nice. Genuinely nice. Like, we were all sitting around the bus after the show and he came up and sat down and talked to us for a while.. and before he left he said "I'm going to get something to eat, y'all want anything?" Like, simple things like that.. It's just.. really nice. And I really really like nice people.
• Taylor: It feels kinda weird being back in a high school cause i haven't been in a high school for about a year. So um, it's kinda interesting coming back, and y'know seeing the lockers, with all the signs, the handmade signs, so being in high school again is a little bit strange but in a good way.
• Taylor: I write blatantly obvious songs with blatantly obvious details, and then I'm like NO! when they find out, I dunno what's wrong with me. I have issues.
• Taylor: When you're singing you can hear the echo of people in the audience singing every single word with you, and that was that big dream that I had for myself. It's happening.
• Taylor: I think I first realized I wanted to be in country music and be an artist when I was 10. And I started dragging my parents to festivals, and fairs, and karaoke contests, and I did that for about a year before I came to Nashville for the first time. I was 11 and I had this demo CD of me singing Dixie Chicks and Leanne Rimes songs.
• Taylor: Clubs are just not where I want to be photographed. For everything I do, I think about a 6-year-old girl and her mom that I saw at my concert last night. I think about what those two individuals would think if I were at a club last night. I never want to be arrested, and I never want to get a DUI, those are my moral values. I am an over-achiever, and I want to be known for the good things in my life.
• Taylor: Fans are my favorite thing in the world. I've never been the type of artist who has that line drawn between their friends and their fans. The line's always been really blurred for me. I'll hang out with them after the show. I'll hang out with them before the show. If I see them in the mall, I'll stand there and talk to them for 10 minutes. I don't care. I'm just a senior in high school who has a better job. Who am I to think I'm better than talking to people?
• Taylor: My mom and I have always been really close. She's always been the friend that was always there. There were times when, in middle school and junior high, I didn't have a lot of friends. But my mom was always my friend. Always.
• Taylor: (when asked how she had the courage to walk up to record labels when she was twelve and thirteen) It's because I could never feel the kind of rejection in the music industry that I felt in middle school.
• Taylor: I think songwriting is the ultimate form of being able to make anything that happens in your life productive. If you get out of a bad relationship that was a complete waste of time, you can write about it and it can become a benefit to your career. How sweet is that?
• Taylor: Well, you know, I never really sit back like 'I'm good enough at this, lets stop working on it.' My attitude has always been if you get better and you see success, that should motivate you to work even harder so thats kind of how I approached everything.
• Taylor: I wish all teenagers can filter through songs instead of turning to drugs and alcohol.
• Taylor: What I've learned is not to change who you are, because eventually you're going to run out of new things to become.
• Taylor (on the song 'Picture to Burn'): Before I sing this song, I always try to tell the audience that I really do try to be a nice person... but if you break my heart, hurt my feelings, or are really mean to me, I'm going to write a song about you. Haha. This song is the perfect example.
• Taylor Swift: I'm not that complicated. My complications come out in my songs. All you need to do to be my friend is like me.
• Taylor Swift: (On her win at the 2007 CMT Music Awards) I cannot believe this is happening right now. This is for my MySpace people and everybody who voted. The fans, y'all, I'm going out on tour with Brad Paisley and this is coming with me to every single [autograph] signing line so you can get a picture of the award you won for me. Thank you so much.
• Taylor Swift: I love it when people say things to me in public and want to meet me, because I want to meet them! Early on, my manager told me, "If you want to sell 500,000 records, then go out there and meet 500,000 people
• Taylor Swift: I'm so excited, but really nervous, too! I've never been nominated for anything before. I've sat in the nosebleed section watching the CMT Awards for two years in a row now, looking down and hoping that maybe if I worked hard enough, I'd get to sit in the awesome seats the nominees get to sit in. And it looks like that's going down this year!
• Taylor Swift: I’m intimidated by the fear of being average.
• Taylor Swift: You only get so many firsts, Every one is a blessing.
• Taylor Swift: (referring to her music career) Everything about this business is exciting to me.
Last edited by ermonski; Aug 31, 2009 at 03:27 PM.
2009
Won Academy of Country Music Award
category Album of the Year for "Fearless"
2009
Got nomination for Academy of Country Music Award
category Video of the Year for "Love Story"
2009
Got nomination for Academy of Country Music Award
category Top Female Vocalist
2008
Won Academy of Country Music Award
category Top New Female Vocalist
2008
Got nomination for Academy of Country Music Award
category Album of the Year for "Taylor Swift"
2008
Got nomination for Academy of Country Music Award
category Top Female Vocalist
2007
Got nomination for Academy of Country Music Award
category Top New Female Vocalist
American Music Awards
2008
Won American Music Award
category Favorite Country Female Artist
2007
Got nomination for American Music Award
category Favorite Country Female Artist
CMT Music Awards
2009
Won CMT Music Award
category Female Video of the Year for "Love Story"
2009
Won CMT Music Award
category Video of the Year for "Love Story"
2009
Got nomination for CMT Music Award
category CMT Performance of the Year for "Photograph"
shared with Def Leppard
2009
Got nomination for CMT Music Award
category Wide Open Country Video of the Year for "Photograph"
shared with Def Leppard
2008
Won CMT Music Award
category Female Video of the Year for "Our Song"
2008
Won CMT Music Award
category Video of the Year for "Our Song"
2007
Won CMT Music Award
category Breakthrough Video of the Year for "Tim McGraw"
Country Music Association Awards
2008
Got nomination for Country Music Association Award
category Female Vocalist of the Year
2007
Won Horizon Award
Grammy Awards
2008
Got nomination for Grammy Award
category Best New Artist
MTV Video Music Awards
2009
Got nomination for MTV Video Music Award
category Best Female Video for "You Belong With"
2008
Got nomination for MTV Video Music Award
category Best New Artist for "Teardrops on My Guitar"
People's Choice Awards, USA
2009
Got nomination for People's Choice Award
category Favorite Country Song for "Love Story"
Teen Choice Awards
2009
Won Teen Choice Award
category Choice Music: Female Artist
2009
Won Teen Choice Award
category Choice Music Album Female Artist for "Fearless"
2009
Got nomination for Teen Choice Award
category Choice Music: Love Song for "Love Story"
2009
Got nomination for Teen Choice Award
category Choice Music Tour
2008
Got nomination for Teen Choice Award
category Choice Music: Breakout Artist
May 6 2009 7:30P
Shepherds Bush Empire London
May 7 2009 7:30P
Shepherds Bush Empire London
May 14 2009 7:30P
Spokane Arena Spokane, Washington
May 15 2009 7:00P
Key Arena Seattle, Washington
May 16 2009 7:30P
Rose Garden Portland, Oregon
May 17 2009 7:30P
Idaho Center Nampa, Idaho
May 21 2009 7:00P
Jobing.com Arena Glendale, Arizona
May 22 2009 7:30P
Staples Center Los Angeles, California
May 23 2009 7:00P
Mandalay Bay Las Vegas, Nevada
May 24 2009 7:00P
San Diego Sports Arena San Diego, California
May 26 2009 7:00P
Energy Solutions Center Salt Lake City, Utah
Jun 4 2009 7:00P
Bama Jam (Enterprise, AL) Alabama
Jun 5 2009 7:30P
US Bank Center with Keith Urban Cincinnati, Ohio
Jun 6 2009 7:00P
Palace @ Auburn Hills w/ Keith Urban Detroit, Michigan
Jun 7 2009 7:30P
Memorial Coliseum with Keith Urban Ft. Wayne, Indiana
Jun 11 2009 7:30P
Merriweather Post Columbia, Maryland
Jun 12 2009 7:00P
Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina
Jun 13 2009 7:30P
Phillips Arena with Keith Urban Atlanta, Georgia
Jun 24 2009 7:00P
Country USA Festival (Oshkosh, WI) Wisconsin
Jun 25 2009 7:00P
Chippewa Valley - Country Fest (Cadott, WI) Wisconsin
Jun 27 2009 7:30P
Wells Fargo Arena with Keith Urban Des Moines
Jun 28 2009 8:00P
Mark of the Quad Cities (Moline, IL) w/ Keith Urban Moline, Illinois
Jul 8 2009 7:00P
Pengrowth Saddledome (Calgary, AB)
Jul 9 2009 7:00P
Commonwealth Stadium Edmonton, Alberta
Jul 10 2009 7:00P
Craven Country Jamboree (Craven, SK)
Jul 11 2009 7:00P
MTS Centre (Winnipeg, MB)
Jul 16 2009 7:00P
Country Thunder Festival (Twin Lakes, WI) FLORENCE, Wisconsin
Jul 17 2009 7:00P
Value City Columbus, Ohio
Jul 18 2009 7:30P
Charleston Civic Center Charleston, West Virginia
Jul 23 2009 7:00P
Cheyenne Frontier Days Cheyenne, Wyoming
Jul 24 2009 7:00P
Rushmore Civic Center Rapid City, South Dakota
Jul 25 2009 7:00P
Details coming soon! Minot, North Dakota
Jul 31 2009 7:30P
TD Banknorth Garden with Keith Urban Boston, Massachusetts
Aug 1 2009 7:30P
Wachovia Center with Keith Urban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Aug 2 2009 7:00P
Rochester, NY w/Keith Urban Rochester, New York
Aug 7 2009 7:00P
We Fest Detroit Lakes, Minnesota
Aug 8 2009 7:30P
Sprint Center with Keith Urban Kansas City, Missouri
Aug 9 2009 7:00P
Details coming soon! Omaha, Nebraska
Aug 27 2009 7:00P
Madison Square Garden New York, New York
Aug 28 2009 7:00P
Mohegan Sun Uncasville, Connecticut
Aug 29 2009 7:00P
Details coming soon! University Park, Pennsylvania
Aug 30 2009 7:00P
Freedom Hall / Kentucky State Fair Louisville, Kentucky
Sep 4 2009 7:00P
Details coming soon! Greenville, South Carolina
Sep 5 2009 7:00P
TWC Arena Charlotte, North Carolina
Sep 9 2009 7:30P
Cajun Dome Lafayette, Louisiana
Sep 10 2009 7:30P
Century Tel Center Bossier City, Louisiana
Sep 11 2009 7:00P
BJCC Birmingham, Alabama
Sep 12 2009 8:00P
The Sommet Center Nashville, Tennessee
Sep 25 2009 7:00P
Details coming soon! Dallas, Texas
Sep 26 2009 7:00P
Details coming soon! Little Rock, Arkansas
Sep 27 2009 7:00P
BOK Center Tulsa
Oct 1 2009 7:30P
Mellon Pittsburgh
Oct 2 2009 7:30P
Van Andel Arena Grand Rapids, Michigan
Oct 3 2009 7:30P
Quickens Arena Cleveland, Ohio
Oct 8 2009 7:00P
Conseco Fieldhouse Indianapolis, Indiana
Oct 9 2009 7:00P
Details coming soon! Chicago, Illinois
Oct 10 2009 7:00P
Details coming soon! Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota
