NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Special guests and sing-a-longs helped enhance the Country Music Association Music Festival fan experience at LP Field.
Taylor Swift closed out the fourth and final night of concerts Sunday with an energetic set that included career-spanning hits such as "Our Song", "Love Story" and "Story Of Us".
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Cory Monteith may play coy when it comes to rumors he's dating Taylor Swift, but he's willing to admit the country star has some skills on the lanes.
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Taylor Swift may have parted ways with Taylor Lautner, but that doesn't mean her Valentine's Day co-star is any less sexy.
In the April issue of Elle magazine, the 20-year-old country star is asked who she thinks is hot.
"Um, well ... Taylor Lautner," she replied.
LOS ANGELES — Taylor Swift's label is coming to her defense after widespread criticism about the singer's vocals during a duet with Stevie Nicks at Sunday's Grammy Awards.
"She is the voice of this generation. She speaks directly to (her fans), and they speak directly back to her," said Scott Borchetta, CEO of Big Machine Records, in an interview with the Associated Press. "This is not American Idol. This is not a competition of getting up and seeing who can sing the highest note. This is about a true artist and writer and communicator. It's not about that technically perfect performance."
Borchetta said the criticism of Swift, who won four Grammys at the 52nd annual ceremony, has been "over the top."
"It's that classic thing that critics do of building something up and then wanting to tear it down," he said of the shots taken at his prized artist, who on Sunday became the youngest artist to ever win the coveted album of the year honor.
Borchetta explained that Swift was forced to deal with a technical issue that impacted her performance.
"We had a volume problem in the ear. So, she was concerned that she wasn't able to hear everything in the mix," he said. "That's just part of live TV. ... So you're going to have difficulties on occasion. Unfortunately, on one of the biggest stages, we did have a technical issue. She couldn't hear herself like she had in rehearsal."
Borchetta said he isn't worried about what the critics have to say. He even proposed that they join some of Swift's countless fans at one of the singer's sold-out Fearless tour stops.
"Am I going to ask them to turn their heads, no, I don't need them to," said the music exec. "If you haven't seen her live performance, you're welcome to come out as my guest to a Taylor Swift show and experience the whole thing, because it's amazing. You can see her in her element. There's a reason tickets are selling like they are."
LOS ANGELES — Beyoncé and Taylor Swift ruled the show Sunday night at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards, with each star earning a place in music history.
Beyoncé racked up six victories, earning her the distinction of most Grammys won by a female artist in a single night. But it was Swift who captured the evening's top prize, album of the year, making her the youngest artist in history to claim the coveted trophy.
"I just hope that you know how much this means to me ... that we get to take this back to Nashville," said the 20-year-old Swift as she accepted the honor for her sophomore release Fearless. "Oh my God, our families are freaking out in their living rooms. My dad and my little brother are losing their minds in the living room right now."
Swift, who won four times, broke a record held since 1996 by Alanis Morissette, who was 21 when she won for Jagged Little Pill.
Beyoncé's husband, Jay-Z, snatched three trophies of his own, raising his career total to 10. Kings of Leon also won three times, including record of the year.
"I'm not going to lie, we're all a little drunk," said the band's lead singer Caleb Followill. "But we're happy drunks."
Best new artist honors went to country music's Zac Brown Band, who became the first group to win the award since 2005.
Performances dominated the nearly three-and-a-half hour ceremony, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Elton John and Lady Gaga kicked off the show with a dueling piano number. Other artists who took the stage included Pink, who performed "Glitter in the Air" while dangling from the ceiling on swaths of silk fabric.
Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood, Usher and Smokey Robinson also shared the stage during a tribute to Michael Jackson that featured 3-D footage to the tune of the King of Pop's "Earth Song."
View photos: Grammy Awards 2010 Red Carpet
View winners: Grammy Winners 2010 List
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — It appears the "Taylors" have reached the end of the line.
Country star Taylor Swift and New Moon hunk Taylor Lautner have split after three months of dating, a source tells Us Weekly.
"It wasn't really developing into anything, and wasn't going to, so they decided they were better as friends," an insider close to Swift said. "There was no chemistry."
Swift, 19, and Lautner, 17, first sparked romance buzz when they attended a Los Angeles Kings hockey game together in October. They followed that with a dinner date with Swift's mom the following night. The pair first got close when they shot the upcoming romantic comedy, Valentine's Day.
A friend of Swift's told the mag that the couple's breakup came shortly after Lautner flew to Nashville for the singer's birthday party on Dec. 13.
"He liked her more than she liked him," said the source. "He went everywhere he could to see her, but she didn't travel much to see him."
Also see:
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Taylor Swift is turning heads in a new video, this time without any music, or sound for that matter.
In the viral video which surfaced Thursday, Swift shows off her bikini body as she escapes for some water fun. The 19-year-old country star is shown frolicking on the beach, jet-skiing, playing in the ocean and getting soaked by a waterfall in the minute-long video.
The clip also shows Swift practicing some dance moves with her friends.
According to AOL's PopEater, the footage was originally posted with her song "I'm Only Me When I'm With You."
LOS ANGELES — R&B star Beyoncé scored a whopping 10 nominations, while country sensation Taylor Swift racked up eight to lead the field of contenders for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards announced Wednesday.
"I honestly never would have predicted this, eight nominations — I'm ecstatic, and blown away and so so thankful," an overjoyed Swift told the Associated Press in a telephone interview.
Swift has never won a Grammy, while Beyoncé is a 10-time winner between her solo career and days with the chart-topping trio Destiny's Child.
Beyoncé's I Am ... Sasha Fierce and Swift's Fearless will each compete for album of the year honors. The field also includes Lady Gaga's Fame, the Black Eyed Peas for The E.N.D. and Dave Matthews Band's Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King.
The Black Eyed Peas, Maxwell and Kanye West each scored six nominations, while Jay-Z and DJ David Guetta earned five.
This year's best new artist category features an eclectic mix of contenders in Keri Hilson, MGMT, Silversun Pickups, The Ting Tings and the Zac Brown Band.
For the second year in a row, key nominations were revealed during a one-hour concert broadcast on CBS.
The Grammys will be televised live from Los Angeles on Jan. 31.
Click here for a list of nominees in top categories for the 2010 Grammy Awards.
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Fans who can't get enough of Taylor Swift will now have another option.
The 19-year-old country music star has inked an exclusive video-on-demand partnership with Comcast, providing fans instant access to Swift's popular music videos such as "You Belong With Me" and "Love Story."
LOS ANGELES — Taylor Swift continued her magical year on Sunday as she won five trophies, including artist of the year, at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles.
Swift won artist of the year over late music icon Michael Jackson, who earlier had emerged victorious in all four categories that he was nominated. His awards were accepted by his brother, Jermaine Jackson, who paid tribute by wearing the King of Pop's trademark white glove.
Other multiple winners included hip-hop acts Jay-Z and the Black Eyed Peas, who each won twice.
Swift, 19, also won for favorite female artist in the pop/rock and country categories, as well as favorite adult-contemporary artist. In addition, her best-selling 2008 album, Fearless, was named favorite country album. The crossover country star accepted her awards live via satellite from London's Wembley Arena, where she performs Monday night.
"I just want to say that music has never been ultimately about competition," said a visibly shocked Swift after winning the night's top honor. "To even be mentioned in a category with Michael Jackson, who will be missed and loved forever is an unimaginable honor. I'm sending my love to the Jackson family."
Earlier this month, Swift became the youngest artist to ever win the coveted entertainer of the year trophy at the Country Music Awards.
Janet Jackson kicked off Sunday's show at Nokia Theater L.A. Live by performing a medley of some of her biggest hits. Other performers included the Black Eyed Peas, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Adam Lambert and Carrie Underwood.
Click here for a complete list of winners from the 2009 American Music Awards.
NASHVILLE — It has been some kind of year for Taylor Swift.
The 19-year-old star added to her magical 2009 at Wednesday night's Country Music Awards, becoming the youngest artist ever to win the coveted entertainer of the year trophy.
"I'll never forget this moment because at this moment everything that I ever wanted has just happened to me," a tearful Swift said upon accepting the honor.
Swift won all four awards for which she was nominated. She also got some more payback after Kanye West famously interrupted her at September's MTV Video Music Awards.
"I want to thank every single person here tonight for not running up on stage during this speech," Swift joked when she picked up her trophy for top female vocalist.
Swift managed to end a couple of long streaks, stopping Kenny Chesney's run of three straight entertainer of the year wins and Carrie Underwood's three-year reign in the female vocalist category.
Swift's other victories were for album of the year for Fearless and video of the year for Love Story.
Also making history was Darius Rucker, who became the second African-American to win a major individual CMA when he took home new artist of the year honors for his first country album, Learn to Live.
"Thank y'all for accepting me," the Hootie and the Blowfish frontman told the crowd. "And I think most importantly, to country radio, you took a chance on a pop singer from Charleston, S.C. Thank you so much for that."
Paisley, who led all nominees with seven, won two awards, including his third straight male vocalist of the year. He also co-hosted the ceremony at Nashville's Sommet Center with Underwood.
Also see: CMA Awards 2009 Winners
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