Taylor Swift was in the right place at the right time. When our culture was over-saturated with pop stars behaving badly, in walked the anti-Britney: a clean-living, girl-next-door type who writes and sings her own songs about high school crushes and the anxieties of freshman year. Audiences ate her up and, after only two albums, Taylor Swift is selling out stadiums on the regular, sweeping award shows and breaking sales records faster than you can say Usain Bolt. Thanks to Taylor Swift, the days of that dirtyXtina girl and the bald-headed Britney are behind us, for better or for worse.
Taylor Swift Quote
"Everything about this business is exciting to me, whether it's putting on a pretty dress to go to an awards show or putting on a sweatshirt to go into the studio to record."
75 SEX APPEAL
When Kanye West abruptly interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, we didn't want to punch him in the mouth as much as we wanted to give her a hug and make the pain go away. That's the thing about the 22-year-old songstress; despite her air-brushed Barbie Doll features, her pouty red lips and her smokey blue eyes, Taylor Swift is more wholesome than she is sexy. That may explain why her two high-profile relationships -- one with Joe Jonas and the other withTaylor Lautner -- didn't quite last. Teenage boys have been known to prefer the busty cheerleader over the gawky drama geek, and in this case, well let's just say Taylor ain't no cheerleader. But instead of crying on the shoulders of her drama geek friends, Taylor has lashed out at her exes in many of her songs (most notably in one inspired by John Mayer), proving that releasing two hit records with over a dozen smash singles really is the best revenge. Girls, take note.
61 SUCCESS
For an average 22-year-old, the definition of success lies somewhere between beating your friends at beer pong, and getting on the subway without paying the full fare. For Taylor Swift -- who had one of the most remarkable years by any musician ever -- success goes a little something like this: In 2009, her two albums, Taylor Swift and Fearless, sold more copies than anyone not named Michael Jackson. Her first headlining tour, Fearless 2009, sold out every show including Madison Square Garden in mere minutes, and she became the youngest artist ever to win the coveted Country Music Association's Entertainer of The Year Award. In just a few short years, Swift has managed to break nearly every chart record in existence, which lead Billboard to name her 2009's Artist of the Year. At one point she had a total of eight songs on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, and has already had 20 songs on Billboard's Top 40, surpassing Beyonce for most ever by a female artist. She won five 2009 American Music Awards including Artist of the Year, has been nominated for eight Grammys and was named the Associated Press' Artist of the Year. She's also flexed her acting chops as host of Saturday Night Live, has contributed to the Late Show with David Letterman and made her feature film debut in the star-studded rom-com Valentine's Day(2010).
TAYLOR SWIFT BIOGRAPHY
From an early age, Taylor Swift seemed destined for stardom. Before she was 10, Taylor was doing theater and auditioning for Broadway shows. Then she started singing country music at festivals, fairs and karaoke contests before her parents -- a stockbroker, and housewife respectively -- realized their daughter was serious about music, and began taking her on trips to Nashville. Taylor's unrivaled ambition saw her visit every record executive in town with a copy of her demo until Sony eventually signed her as a staff songwriter when she was just 14. RCA wanted to sign the singer to a development deal, but a weary Swift -- who by then was living in Nashville full-time -- opted to sign with former Universal executive Scott Borchetta's label Big Machine Records instead. Her first album would be released a year later.
Taylor Swift Releases Her Debut Album Taylor SwiftTaylor Swift's world domination was not as meteoric as some may think. Though it's true that she has conquered the music industry faster than anyone expected, her self-titled debut album entered the charts modestly at No. 19, selling only 39,000 copies its first week. However, thanks to the strength of hit singles like "Tim McGraw," "Teardrops on My Guitar" and "Our Song," the album eventually took off, spending eight consecutive weeks at the top of the Country Albums charts. Taylor, who wrote or co-wrote all the album's songs herself, had become one of the biggest stars in country music, opening for Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, George Strait, Brad Paisley, and Rascal Flatts. She released two more albums -- Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection and the Beautiful Eyes EP, before releasing the full-length album that changed everything.
Taylor Swift Releases FearlessPrior to the release of her sophomore album Fearless, Taylor Swift was known primarily as a country star. That would all change in late November 2008 when Fearless debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with almost 600,000 copies sold in its first week. The album would continue to sell well into the new year, and received a boost when the platinum addition -- featuring six new tracks -- went on sale in late 2009. At one point, Taylor Swift had a record eight songs from Fearless on the Billboard singles chart -- a new record. Including the smash hits "Love Story," "You Belong With Me," "White Horse," and "Fifteen," a whopping 13 tracks offFearless eventually made the top 100, an impressive feat for a musician who was once deemed "too country" for pop radio. Though her songwriting reflects the earnest, confessional mood of country music writing, her universally identifiable narratives about love and loss have transcended genres and made Taylor Swift the poster girl for a uniquely American sentiment that was missing from the songs of her predecessors. Taylor's status as one of the biggest stars alive was cemented when tickets for her massiveFearless Tour sold out in minutes. But that was just the beginning of her whirlwind year.
Taylor Swift Gets Kanye WestedIf Taylor Swift wasn't a household name yet, Kanye West and his good friend ego made sure she would be by the end of the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. When Swift's video for "You Belong With Me" upset Beyonce's "Single Ladies" for Best Female Video of The Year, a surly Kanye West hopped on stage, grabbed the microphone from a stunned Taylor Swift and said: "Yo Tay, I'm really happy for you and I'mma let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time." And so began perhaps the biggest American controversy since Watergate. OK, maybe not. But it certainly felt that way at the time, with every celebrity chiming in during interviews or on Twitter. Though Swift got to finish her speech when a gracious Beyonce called her to the stage at the end of the show, the battle lines had been drawn. No matter how many times he apologized, Kanye West was universally reviled while an increasingly endearing Taylor Swift reaped the rewards of a nation's pity. Less than a month later, Swift made her second appearance on SNL, this time as host too. It was widely considered one of the best episodes of the season, proving that Taylor Swift is no one-trick pony.
Up Next For Taylor SwiftWe could start listing all of the awards that Taylor Swift has amassed over the course of her brief but burgeoning career, but we have a date in a few hours and need to get ready. But by the time you read this, we're willing to bet she'll have added an Academy of Country Music Album of the Year award for Herself to her already massive awards collection that includes six American Music Awards, six CMT Music Awards, three Teen Choice Awards, and six Country Music Association Awards. Perhaps one day she'll add an Oscar to her mantle, as she makes her first 3-D animation debut in Dr. Seuss' The Lorax. The Universal and Illumination Entertainment CGI-animation pic landed Zac Efron to voice Swift's counterpart, a young boy who comes across the tale of the Lorax in an effort to win over his dream girl (that's Swift). Also cast so far is Danny DeVito as "the Lorax."
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