The Tennessean: Taylor Swift needs dancers for ’09 tour

So I guess this was the big announcement:

Taylor Swift — the Hendersonville teen on a recent Rolling Stone cover and the new issue of Allure, the one who sold more albums than any other artist in 2008 — needs some help, and she’s hiring at home.

Here’s what applicants need to know:

• Wanted: Three dancers for the country star’s Fearless 2009 tour.

• Time commitment: April through October, including an August stop at New York’s Madison Square Garden that sold out in less than one minute.

• Age: Must be at least 18 years old.

• What Taylor wants: People who can dance, sing and act. Experience playing the violin or viola is a definite plus. One of the positions also will require backup vocal experience.

• Required: Must have backgrounds in hip-hop, jazz and partner dancing.

Open auditions will be Tuesday in Nashville. Choreographer Robert Royston will conduct them beginning at 1 p.m. at 10 Quality Way, just off Dickerson Pike near Rock Street. Just follow the signs for Taylor’s audition.

Note to applicants — do not arrive before 11 a.m., and do bring a photo ID, resume and headshot.

Note to fans — and this is an important point given the number of people who found out by word of mouth that Taylor was showing up at midnight at Walmart to buy a copy of her most recent CD — Taylor is not scheduled to attend.

So, please no cutting class in hopes of a sighting.

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The Tennessean: What’s the latest news on Taylor Swift?

Teen country star Taylor Swift will announce some news on Monday morning, The Tennessean has learned. Check back at TuneInMusicCity.com tomorrow morning to find out what it is.

Swift — who is featured on the most recent issue of Allure — now has career sales that top 7 million from two albums. She sold more albums than any other artist from any genre of music in 2008.

NOTE: Post your ideas about what the news will be in the comments below. If anyone gets it right, I’ll give them a shout out on the site!

Digital Spy: Taylor Swift baffled by celeb disguises

Taylor Swift has revealed that she would never consider wearing a disguise to fool the paparazzi.

The 19-year-old country-pop singer has claimed that famous people are usually looking for attention when they wear wigs and large sunglasses.

“I don’t really understand celebs disguising themselves,” Swift told the Daily Star. “I feel that if I got a disguise someone would recognise me. I’d feel an idiot.”

Asked how she is coping with fame, the star replied: “I really haven’t changed the way I live my life and I still feel that I’m the same person – but with a different schedule.”

Swift released her latest album Fearless in the UK earlier this month.

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CMT Insider Interview: Dolly Parton

Another very talented young lady is Taylor Swift. Everyone’s talking about her right now. And like you, she’s really a prolific songwriter at a young age.

She is. I have been extremely impressed with her, especially with her songwriting. I think she does magnificent work. She seems such a likeable little person, but I don’t know her. But I love watching her. My husband gets a kick out of her. He just loves watching her. He thinks she’s great. But I’m real impressed with the depth of her sometimes. I’ll tell you someone else that’s great like that — little Miley Cyrus. Miley is such a great songwriter — a lot of surprises about her that people don’t know yet. She’s still just Hannah Montana to a lot of people, but I think that she could have a very big career as a singer-songwriter even when she gets past the Hannah Montana days.

Link to entire article.

The 100 People Who Are Changing America

100 | Taylor Swift 

The first teen-pop star who seems to get what it means to be a teenager

WHAT SHE’S CHANGING: At 19, the biggest star in country and teen pop has managed to keep her head on straight — no drinking, no smoking, no limousine peekaboo — without seeming like a prude. Swift has given country music a new audience: teen girls who identify with her wholesome persona as much as her music.

TWEET: “Rehearsals today with Miley. We ate an entire pizza in about five minutes.”

Link to entire article.

NYT: The Secrets of the Talent Scouts

In Nashville, the country-music executive Scott Borchetta scored his biggest career break by backing the singer Taylor Swift in 2005, when she was just 15 and most people in the music business believed she wasn’t ready for a solo career. Mr. Borchetta liked her blunt, edgy lyrics and thought that they could connect with other teenagers, who usually aren’t big country fans.

Some young singers have seen their appeal fade fast when sudden fame proved tormenting. But Mr. Borchetta says he saw early on that Ms. Swift could thrive in the spotlight, coming across as friendly and open with almost any audience. A defining moment came in 2006, when the two visited a radio station in Bristol, Tenn., hoping to make a good impression.

“Often they just say hello for a few minutes and don’t let a brand-new artist on the air,” Mr. Borchetta recalled. “But they liked one of Taylor’s songs and told her so. Without missing a beat, she replied: ‘Thank you. Can I play it right now for your listeners?’ ” The station managers couldn’t say no, and Ms. Swift’s march to the top of the charts had begun.

Link to entire article.

People: I Don’t Want to Talk about Sex

Taylor Swift has no problems talking about dating – and boys – but don’t ask her about sex. 

“It’s fine to talk about love publicly,” the 19-year-old singer tells Allure for its April issue, “but I think when you talk about virginity and sex publicly, people just automatically picture you naked. And as much as I can prevent people picturing me naked, I’m going to.” 

Still, Swift thinks a lot about dating, especially its impact on her songwriting. Even a bad relationship can be a point of inspiration. 

“Let’s say I date a guy who really does nothing but damage me,” she says. “And you’ve spent time, you’ve spent effort, and you’ve put everything into trying to make that work. And it didn’t. So you write a song about it. It was worth everything if you write a song about it.” 

Many of Swift’s songs have romantic overtones, and she lists fairy tales as a big inspiration. 

“I have always been fascinated with fairy tales, and the idea that Prince Charming is just one castle away,” she says. “And you’re gonna run across a field and meet each other in the middle, and have an amazing, perfect movie kiss. And it’s gonna be happily ever after.” 

Despite her love of a happy ending, the teen star says the flip side can be more appealing. 

“For some reason, I could never, ever stop writing songs about heartbreak,” she says. “Just because as human beings, what we can’t have is what we replay in our head over and over again before we go to sleep.”

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Undercover: Taylor Swift Talks Up Record Store Day Australia

by Paul Cashmere – March 11 2009

photo by Ros O’Gorman

On April 18, the Australian Music Industry will unite for a national day of activity called Record Store Day Australia and Taylor Swift likes the idea.

Taylor was the biggest selling artist in the United States last year. She ended 2008 with two albums in the American top 10.

Seeing her debut album for the first time in a record store was an unforgettable experience for Taylor.

“Walking into a record store and seeing my CD on the shelf for the first time was the craziest experience,” she tells Undercover News. “I was 16. It was the release week of my first album and I went into the Best Buy in New York City and just freaked out. I couldn’t believe I was seeing my CD on the stands. To this day, it is just a little bit of a cool moment for me whenever I walk by and see my CD on the stands because that is something I never thought I’d get to see”.

Taylor was in Australia this week for the first time doing shows and talking about her music.

Record Store Day Australia is a day where the Australian music industry, music stores and artists get together to celebrate the thrill of buying music in stores.

All major and independent music labels and most music stores across Australia will showcase activity in stores giving music fans the chance to hear and meet artists, 
April 18 is the date.

Watch Taylor Swift talk about Record Store Day Australia here.

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MSNBC: Fake Taylor Swift tickets lead to two arrests

By Jackson Holtz Herald Writer

The Everett Herald

updated 5:17 p.m. PT, Fri., March. 13, 2009

LOCAL NEWS – LAKE STEVENS — Lake Stevens police worked with some fans of country singer Taylor Swift to set up a sting operation this week and bust a ticket counterfeiting operation that was advertising on Craigslist.

Police believe two Pierce County women, 21 and 20, were creating fake tickets to Swift�s sold-out May 15 concert at Key Arena in Seattle. The pair listed the bogus tickets on Craigslist, a popular Internet classified advertising site, said Lake Stevens Police Sgt. Julie Jamison.

People would arrange face-to-face meetings with the women, purchase the tickets in cash and later learn the tickets were fake, Jamison said. The fraudulent tickets are nearly identical to the real tickets.

 

A Lake Stevens resident called police after purchasing fake tickets. Police set up a meeting to buy more tickets on Wednesday and just before 2 p.m., the two women were arrested.

Police obtained search warrants and found evidence that more fake tickets were created and sold.

Detectives believe there are additional victims throughout the Puget Sound area. Anyone who may be a victim is asked to call 911. Local police will coordinate with Lake Stevens detectives.

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Tune Binder: NEW TAYLOR SWIFT – LOVE STORY (LIVE AT SOUND RELIEF SYDNEY

Taylor Swift seemed a bit stunned by the reaction she got at Sound Relief, and it may have been due to the super-positive response the crowd gave her off tracks like this one Love Story. The country/pop crossover artist reportedly made the biggest contribution of any artist playing at Sound Relief to the Australian Red Cross (in money, not blood) and while her name may not be huge yet, performances like the one below definitely help. A super song from this nineteen year old.

To watch the video, continue reading.

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