Taylor Interview/Performance on Z100

In addition to doing her fan chat, Taylor also did and interview and performance on “Love Story” in-studio. Thanks to Taylor Swift Fansite reader Su, you can Download it Here!

Taylor on Much On Demand

Taylor was on Much On Demand this past week. She talks about her songs, her videos, her friends and helps a fan make a love connection. It’s an awesome and very fun interview. Watch it here!

CMT Blog: Taylor Swift Before She Was “Taylor Swift”

By Whitney Self 01.30.09

I  took this photo of Taylor Swiftat the 2006 CMA Music Festival. She was singing on the Riverfront Park stage and was introduced as a new face in country music. I could tell she was a bit nervous and rather timid onstage, but she seemed to charm the crowd nonetheless. As I was looking through the viewfinder, clicking away, I knew she had something special.

Today she announced her Fearless Tour 2009 with Kellie Pickler and a new act, Gloriana. I couldn’t help but think back to this summer day when she was just a fresh-faced, 16-year-old hopeful. This was about the time she had released “Tim McGraw,” a sweet little ditty she had written in high school. This was long before she let anyone know about Drew or her“Teardrops,” before she had a “Picture to Burn” or advice in “Should’ve Said No.” This was prior to the days she would reign as the Academy of Country Music’s top new female vocalist, before she had become a triple-platinum selling artist, before she would become a top-selling artist throughout all genres … and before national stardom.

In just three years, Taylor Swift has lived the dreams most could only imagine. It makes me smile to think back when she was just a newcomer. Look at her now, aFearless favorite.

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People: Taylor Swift Won’t Be Lonely on the Road

By Eileen Finan

Taylor Swift – who has topped the Billboard chart for the past eight weeks with her second album, Fearless – has announced her first headlining tour, which will take her to 52 cities over six months. 

Swift, 19, will officially kick off her Fearless Tour 2009, which she calls “a dream come true,” on April 23 in Evansville, Ill., immediately followed by Jonesboro, Ark., and St. Louis, Mo. (Tickets go on sale Feb. 6 at 10 a.m. PST. For a complete tour schedule, check her official site.)

One tour must-have? Her BFF, Kellie Pickler, who will accompany her as a featured artist. 

Calling Pickler “the older sister I never had,” Swift met her in 2007 when they toured with Brad Paisley. “My mom looks at [Kellie] as a second daughter – it’s a family thing at this point,” Swift has told PEOPLE. 

The singer’s show will feature multiple costume changes and an illuminated fairy-castle – and the new country group Gloriana. 

Despite the extravagant set, the singer – who just launched a line of affordable dresses at Wal-Mart – says she’s mindful of the tough economy, so she plans to start ticket prices at around $20 in most markets. 

“I want to be sure that everyone has the opportunity to come see my show,” she said. 

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Chart Milestone, if Not Huge CD Sales

From the New York Times

By Ben Sesario 01.30.09

What are eight No. 1’s worth?

Bruce Springsteen’s new album is expected to debut at No. 1.

 

This week Taylor Swift, the poised 19-year-old country star, crossed an increasingly rare milestone on the pop charts as her latest release, “Fearless,” outsold every other album in the United States for the eighth time.

Since 2000 only five other albums have spent eight or more weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard chart: ’N Sync’s “No Strings Attached,” Eminem’s “Marshall Mathers LP” and theBeatles’ “1,” all from 2000, stayed on top for eight weeks, as did Creed’s “Weathered” in 2001. Usher’s “Confessions” remained there for nine in 2004.

Taylor Swift Plots First Headlining Tour

01.30.09 Jonathan Cohen

Billboard Magazine

As expected, Taylor Swift will embark on her first headlining tour this spring, beginning April 23 in Evansville, Ind. The 52-city trek will feature “multiple costume changes” and a stage with a “fairy-tale castle,” according to Swift’s publicist.
Swift is touring in support of her sophomore album, “Fearless,” which is so far the top seller of 2009 with 287,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It has spent eight straight weeks at No. 1 on The Billboard 200, and since its release last November, it has shifted 2.4 million.

Before the tour, Swift will play three one-offs, including a March 20 show before 71,00 fans at Houston’s Livestock Show and Rodeo. Kellie Pickler and new act Gloriana will open all dates. For the full tour itinerary, visit TaylorSwift.com.

After the North American run, the plan is for Swift to play fall dates in the United Kingdom, and somewhere along the way Japan will be part of the picture.

“It will be super thrilling for her fans in the States to see photos of her in front of Buckingham Palace, downtown Tokyo and then the next time she’s in Cedar Rapids [Iowa] she’ll be that much a bigger star, but still Taylor — approachable,” Scott Borchetta, the president of Swift’s label Big Machine, told Billboard last fall. 

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Taylor announces 2009 “Fearless” Headlining Tour

The Official Press Release:

Nashhville, TN January 30, 2009 Big Machine recording artist Taylor Swift, who topped Nielsen SoundScans all-genre year-end music sales report as 2008s top-selling artist, announced today that she will tour as a headliner this year. Taylor will take her North American FEARLESS TOUR 2009 to 52 cities in 38 states and provinces in the US and Canada over the span of 6 months. In most markets, ticket prices will start at only $20 plus local fees.

Headlining my own tour is a dream come true! This way I can play more music every night than I ever have before, says Taylor. Having written my own songs, they are all stories in my head, and my goal for this tour is to bring those stories to life. My favorite thing when I go to a concert is having lots of changing things to look at, so Ive been working really hard to make this show as multi-dimensional as possible. I want to be sure that everyone has the opportunity to come see my show, so we have affordable tickets available for every date we do this year.

One of the most-anticipated musical experiences of the year, Taylor Swifts FEARLESS 2009 show will feature an incredibly theatrical presentation of graphics, sets and visual elements designed by Taylor herself. During each show, Taylor will play five different guitars, as well as the piano. Multiple costume changes and a fairy-tale castle illuminated by more than a million lumens of light are just some of the highlights of the three-act show.

Prior to the tour launch in late April, Taylor will play three US headlining shows, in addition to several dates in the UK and Australia. Tickets to these shows have been in unparalleled demand, selling record numbers in record time, including the nearly 71,000 individual tickets for Taylor�s March show at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo that sold out within 48 hours of going on sale to the public.

Taylors good friend, American Idol finalist Kellie Pickler, will join Taylor as a featured artist on all of the dates on the TAYLOR SWIFT FEARLESS TOUR 2009, and each show will also include another special guest, Gloriana.

When her self-titled, sophomore album debuted at number one on Billboard’s Country Album Chart in the fall of 2008, Kellie Pickler became only the sixth country artist in history to have both their first and second albums debut at number one. From the sassy “Red High Heels” to the searing, soul-bearing honesty of “I Wonder,” (both songs she co-wrote) Kellie Pickler is plowing the road on her own terms. Her current single, “Best Days Of Your Life,” is a musical revenge song that she co-wrote with Taylor, who lends background vocals on the album as well.

This week marks Taylors eighth in the #1 position atop Billboards all-genre Top 200 Albums sales chart, marking the longest run at #1 for a female artist (all genres) in thirteen years. Taylors sophomore CD, Fearless, has sold more than 2.4 million copies since its release in November of last year. Her MySpace music streams recently crossed the 150 million mark.

Taylors 50-city tour officially kicks off in April in Evansville, Indiana, and will go through the summer and fall. The first tickets available to the public will be for the May 22nd date at Los Angeles STAPLES Center. Those tickets go on sale Feb. 6th at 10 a.m. PT through Ticketmaster. Venues and ticket sales information for other tour stops will be announced in the coming weeks. The Taylor Swift FEARLESS 2009 tour will include the following:February 10 San Antonio, TX

Date	City
February 10	San Antonio, TX
March 1	Plant City, FL
March 20	Houston, TX
April 23	Evansville, IN
April 24	Jonesboro, AR
April 25	St Louis, MO
April 30	Charleston, SC
May 1	Jacksonville, FL
May 2	Biloxi, MS
May 14	Spokane, WA
May 15	Seattle, WA
May 16	Portland ,OR
May 17	Yakima, WA
May 21	Phoenix, AZ
May 22	Los Angeles, CA
May 23	Las Vegas, NV
May 24	San Diego, CA
May 26	Salt Lake City, UT
June 4	Enterprise, AL
June 11	Baltimore, MD
June 12	Greensboro, NC
June 24	Oshkosh, WI
June 25	Caddott, WI
July 8	Calgary, Alberta
July 10	Craven, Saskatchewan
July 11	Winnipeg, Manitoba
July 16	Twin Lakes, WI
July 17	Columbus, OH
July 18	Charleston, WV
July 23	Cheyenne, WY
July 24	Rapid City, SD
July 25	Minot, ND
August 7	Detroit Lakes, MN
August 9	Omaha NE
August 27	New York, NY
August 28	Uncasville, CT
August 29	University Park, PA
August 30	Louisville, KY
September 4	Greenville, SC
September 5	Charlotte, NC
September 10	Lafayette, LA
September 11	Bossier City, LA
September 12	Birmingham, AL
September 25	Dallas, TX
September 26	Little Rock, AR
September 27	Tulsa, OK
October 1	Cleveland, OH
October 2	Grand Rapids, MI
October 3	Pittsburgh, PA
October 8	Indianapolis, IN
October 9	Chicago, IL
October 10	Minneapolis / St. Paul, MN

The Year In Review: Top 20 Country Music News Stories Of 2008

9. Taylor Swift Continues to Dominate

Taylor Swift’s self-titled debut album wasn’t an instant classic–it took weeks for that album to claw its way up to the #1 spot on Billboard’s Country Albums chart. But once Swift made it to the summit, she stayed there. Taylor Swift continued to dominate the charts in 2008, and when July’s Wal-Mart exclusive Beautiful Eyes EP sold 45,000 copies in its first week, landing at #2 behind Taylor Swift, the teen sensation became the first country artist to hold the top two slots since another teen sensation, LeAnn Rimes, did it in 1997.

Swift continued to flex her sales muscles with her sophomore release Fearless, which sold nearly 600,000 copies in its first weak to debut as the number one album in the country (in all genres). Currently, Fearless sits at #1 while Taylor Swift sits at #4, although the two have a strong possibility of claiming the top two spots when #2 (Faith Hill – Joy To The World) and #3 (Elvis – Christmas Duets) lose their holiday sales boost.

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Video: Snippet of Taylor Swift’s Interview on ‘All Access Grammy Special’

A snippet from the interview of Grammy-nominated singer Taylor Swift by KatieCouric has been given out. The one-on-one is part of CBS’ “All Access Grammy Special” which will air February 4, four days away from the gala of 51st Annual Grammy Awards. 

The 19-year-old sat down talking about why she was not popular back in school and her guest starring role in “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation“. Her mother Andrea Swift was also present to provide the answer to what kind of child Taylor is, which Andrea answered “she has the potential to be exhausting.” 

Taylor is only one of the three other artists being interviewed by Katie Couric. Earlier, there is an excerpt of Justin Timberlake‘s interview which includes the discussion of his collaboration with Madonna, his cameo inBeyonce Knowles‘ “Saturday Night Live” skit and his clothing line. Nominees Katy Perry and Lil Wayne also spare time to do the interview with Katie, all of which will be aired on CBS News starting 9 P.M. ET/PT. 

The Grammy Awards ceremony is set to be aired on CBS, live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles starting from 8 P.M. ET/PT. 

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Taylor Launches L.E.I. clothes

Taylor was on hand to promote a new line of sundresses for L.E.I., which will be sold exclusively at Walmart stores. Check out the picture and video, originally from OceanUP and then follow the link at the bottom of the post to L.E.I.’s official site, which has exclusive Taylor content.

L.E.I. Official Site