Teen Phenom Taylor SwiftShortly after a new young blonde erupted into the Country Music world (she's to come later) there was a flood of you and what seemed to be blonde new female artist. Only one came close to matching that first one's success. She has done it in very different ways though.
Swift had PR people but she what seemed to be the most successful PR work on her own, through means that no other artist had done before.....digital, specifically MySpace. She blogged daily, chatted with fans, put up videos of her daily life, and shared all her thoughts. This proved to be the back bone to her rise. Swift has surpassed the 200 million mark for music streams on MySpace. She is currently ranked in the Top 10 for the most MySpace visits for all genres of music, and is MySpace's current top-ranking Country artist.
When Swift was fifteen, she rejected RCA Records because the company wanted to keep her on a development deal. Swift then performed at Nashville's songwriters' venue, The Bluebird Café, catching the attention of Scott Borchetta who signed her to his newly-formed record label, Big Machine Records. She also became the youngest staff songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Tree publishing house at 14.
Taylor Swift originally released her self-titled debut album in late 2005 to deaf ears. After almost a year, and the success of another young female that opened the doors for Swift (and the other new females), and her label sent her album out to the shelves again, to a very weak start, but there was a start. Her debut album was later released on October 24, 2006. Swift wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album, which debuted at number 19 on the Billboard 200 and sold 39,000 copies during its first week.[29] It later peaked at number one at Billboard Top Country Albums and number five on the Billboard 200. It also spent eight consecutive weeks at the top of the Top Country Albums charts and remained at the top for 24 out of 91 weeks. The only other country artists this decade to achieve the #1 sales position for 20 weeks or more are The Dixie Chicks and Carrie Underwood. As of November 2008, Taylor Swift has sold over three million copies and 7.5 million single downloads.
Swift's latest studio album, Fearless, was released in the United States on November 11, 2008. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart. Its sales of 592,304 were the highest debut of any country artist in 2008. This is also the largest opening U.S. sales week in 2008 by a female artist in all genres of music, and the fourth biggest overall. She was the first artist in the history of Nielsen SoundScan to have two different albums in the Top 10 on the year end album chart. It also was the first album by a female artist in country music history to log eight weeks at #1 on The Billboard 200.
In January 2009, Swift announced her first headlining tour. Swift is taking 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. Opening acts include Kellie Pickler and Gloriana, a new group in country music. The tour features a theatrical presentation of graphics, sets and visual elements designed by Swift; Swift plays guitar as well as piano. Multiple costume changes and a fairy-tale castle are some of the elements of the three-act show. The tour has also been extended.
Swift has expanded her skills to acting, appearing on C.S.I. and SNL, also will appear in the upcoming movie Valentine's Day. She also added some major awards to her cabinet this year. Most notably the CMA Entertainer of the Year Award, she broke Kenny Chesney's three year winning streak, and which made her the youngest artist to win. She also broke Carrie Underwood's three year winning streak taking home the Female Vocalist of the Year award. This brought a roar across the Internet, as Swift is known for her weak vocals, so it seemed she didn't meet the criteria but still got the award.
Taylor Swift has become a major crossover act now, never admitting that her songs have been remixed to fit the Pop genre when they clearly have. Some say she is no longer country or is riding the country train in case the Pop world doesn't continue it's support, which ever it is and whatever she is doing right now it is working, as Billboard named her the 2009 Artist of the Year.
Swift's song are still geared to young high school girls, and that is where the majority of her fan base lye's. Seeing how Fearlees is coming to the end of its lifespan, we will have to see if her turning 20 will have any affect on her writing skills, and bring out some more mature material to reach out to a wider range of listeners. Or she could stick to the same format as her first two albums, and hope for the best. Regardless right now she is riding a very high wave.
Brad Paisley
Taylor Swift