Category Archives: Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift became one of country-pop’s brightest (and youngest) faces in 2006, when the 16-year-old singer released her first record. Although new to the American public, Swift had been playing since early childhood, taking inspiration and encouragement from her opera-singing grandmother. She sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” before a Philadelphia 76ers game at the age of 11; the following year, she began practicing her guitar skills for several hours each day, only stopping when her fingers started to bleed. Swift’s parents realized their child’s dedication and began making regular visits to Nashville, TN, where Swift would perform casually and meet with songwriters in the area. The family then decided to move from their native Pennsylvania to an outlying Nashville suburb, which accelerated Swift’s career.

While performing at the intimate Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Swift caught the eye of songs industry veteran Scott Borchetta, who signed her to his newly formed label. Swift joined the roster at Big Machine Records and released her debut single, “Tim McGraw,” in August 2006. The song drew upon her experience as a lovelorn high-school student, a theme that Swift revisited throughout her self-titled debut album. issued in late 2008, Taylor Swift catapulted the young songwriter to stardom, spawning a handful of hits (five consecutive Top Ten singles, a new record for a female solo artist) during earning multi-platinum sales. Swift also received a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, an award she ultimately lost to Amy Winehouse. Two subsequent EPs — Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection and Beautiful Eyes — helped maintain Swift’s popularity while whetting public demand for her sophomore release, Fearless, which arrived in November 2008.

Josh Kelley Naleigh Moon Music Video

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Josh Kelley Releases The Music Video For Naleigh Moon! Josh Kelley has released the very sweet video for “Naleigh Moon!” Naleigh is the daughter of Kelley and actress Katherine Heigl. The video features home footage of the couple with their adopted three year old. The song “Naleigh Moon” appears on Kelley’s 2011 acclaimed album, Georgia Clay, and was go-written with Georgia Clay producer Clint Lagerberg. “I knew you [Heigl] were going to do a great job and you’re an awesome story teller. Also, I knew you would do it for free.” -Kelley says to Heigl at their home The video was shot in Los Angeles and includes home footage of Naleigh over the past couple of years. When asked about the first reactions to the video, Josh replies, “People loved it. My manager showed it to the record label. The CEO from the record label called me and said, ‘We just played the video for the whole label and over half the people were crying.’” Josh has been on the road extensively in support of Georgia Clay with opening slots for Taylor Swift, Eric Church and Miranda Lambert. He just wrapped up a tour opening for multi-platinum and award-winning group Lady Antebellum. You can catch him this coming weekend performing at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

This Is Country Music – Episode 2

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Death threats, Taylor Swift changing careers, and how to connect to your favorite stars in real life: It’s podcast time! This week on “This Is Country Music” we have all three gals in the office and we kick it off talking about the death threats we got after the last podcast. We also cover what we expect from country music’s two biggest stars in 2012, how Waylon Jennings is still inspiring a badass innovation with The Waylon Fund, and how facebook and twitter help us stalk our favorite stars. Listen Now! Country Music Podcast Resources: Taylor Swift: Safe and Sound Neil Perry on Twitter The Waylon Fund Six String Boys Degrees of Facebook Separation CMNB covers mainstream country music news, album reviews, concert announcements, contests and giveaways. CMNB uses its direct relationships with both fans, artists, and promoters to produce unique and often exclusive content not found on other major network country music sites. We also offer a large social media presence that results in passionate readers and loyal subscribers. Submit your music or promotional items to: Country Music News Blog P.O. Box 365 Westville, OK 74965 Demo CD’s will not be returned. Have a news tip you really need to share? Email us at the CMNB Newsdesk!

Taylor Swift Stars In Les Miserables

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Taylor Swift Offered Role In Film Adaption of Classic Les Miserables Taylor Swift has been offered the role Eponine in an upcoming film adaption of the classic Les Miserables for which she recently auditioned. Word on the street is that Swift was up against Hollywood talents like Lea Michele, Evan Rachel Wood and Scarlett Johansson. While there hasn’t been word yet on whether or not she will expect the offer, it seems likely. Universal is set to start production in March with an end goal of a December 2012 release. Taylor has grounded her career in country music (remember, she won CMA Entertainer of the Year just a few weeks ago…), and accumulated a massive fan base and wide appeal beyond the country genre collaborating with pop stars and rappers. So, it seems, despite an onslaught of industry awards, she has been reaching beyond the country music world for some time now. Reportedly, she is working on another album, but with an offer like this, I can’t help but wonder if Swift is jumping ship and making a change in her career path. What do you think? Is Taylor Swift leaving country music behind or just making room for more avenues of success?

Country Music Top Artists 2011

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YOUR Most Searched Artists of 2011! Over the past couple weeks, I have been hearing a lot of discussion about the most searched people through the obvious search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo…you get the idea. I am always surprised, well not surprised, but annoyed by who the “world” cumatively searches for the most. So, I thought, why not take a look at who country fans are searching for the most. That’s what we really care about anyway, right? So, I give you, YOUR top 3 most searched country artists of 2011! I am okay with these results, and I’m both surprised and not surprised. Take a look and let us know what you think. 1.Thompson Square This duo is a definite up and comer, and they are rising fast. Everyone is completely in love with the hit “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not?”, and it is clear you just can’t get enough! So, they are sitting here at number 1. They are an adorable couple and talented musicians, and we just love them! Clearly, you love them too! 2. Taylor Swift No surprise here! Taylor has a massive following, finished up her hugely successful Speak Now World Tour, and released several hit singles. Oh yeah, and this is just a little thing, but she did also win CMA Entertainer of the Year. So, obviously there was a lot of information you needed to find out about her this year! 3. Jason Aldean We have said it once and we will keep saying it, but 2011 was one heck of a year for Jason Aldean. He had a great summer tour, the fans love him, he was either nominated for or was winning an award left and right, and he released some amazing singles off his My Kind of Party album (my favorite is “Tattoos On This Town“). So, clearly you wanted to pay attention to Jason this year and we can’t blame ya! Who is in your Top 3 for 2011? Be sure to comment below and let us know!

Taylor Swift Safe & Sound

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Taylor Swift Teams with Civil Wars for Hunger Games Song “Safe & Sound”. Taylor Swift has teamed up with The Civil Wars to create a single titled “Safe & Sound” for the soundtrack for The Hunger Games. The film is based on the popular book trilogy and is set to release on March 23, 2012. The single hit the Top 10 upon its release on iTunes, and is clearly already being well-received by fans. You can check it out below. Interestingly, this song might be the most country song Swift has released. It has a melancholy quality that is appropriate for the themes of the film, and an Americana vibe no doubt brought in by The Civil Wars. It really is a beautiful song, and its great to see The Civil Wars on such a big project and to see Taylor reaching outside of her comfort zone. Listen and tell us what you think. Take a Listen to Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars “Safe & Sound“ [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFEDTtKaFzU]

Happy Birthday Taylor Swift

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Happy 22nd Birthday To Taylor Swift! Happy Birthday to Taylor Swift! Today she is 22 and one of the most successful artists of all time! I love a good flash back, so here is “Tim McGraw.” Who would have thought that this teenager would take the world by storm the way she did?! World tours, sold out arenas, award after award…what will she do next?

Taylor Swift Ours Video

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Taylor Swift Has A Surprising Ending In The Music Video For Ours. Taylor Swift’s latest single “Ours” has a surprising new video to go with it. The song speaks of a relationship that is understood by the only two involved in it. The video has the same general quirky theme as most of hers do, until we reach the end. At the end the love of her life is a soldier coming home. There has been some mixed reviews over this part, some say how sweet and others say when did she become active in supporting our military? Was this just a cute story line or did she pull a cheap shot by using the military? We want to know what you think! Comment below and tell us all about it! Whether you agree or disagree with her story line, this song is being performed in front of mirrors by countless numbers of little girls! Watch the video here! Tags: Ours, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift Videos

Taylor Swift Wraps Speak Now Tour

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Taylor Swift Concludes Speak Now Tour with Special Guests Taylor Swift played the final show of her 2011 Speak Now World Tour Tuesday, November 22nd at Madison Square Garden in NYC. To make the close of this huge and extremely successful tour all the more special, Taylor invited special guest James Taylor to the stage! Together they performed James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” and Taylor also accompanied Swift on Guitar for her song “Fifteen“. Before bringing James out on stage, Swift shared an anecdote about how and when her mother informed her that she was in fact named after the famous singer! Swift’s CD + DVD set featuring the Speak Now World Tour Live is currently available for those fans who did not have a chance to catch the tour in person, and for those who just want to relive it! For more info, click here.

American Music Awards Country Winners

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Country Music Holds Its Own At American Music Awards! Sunday, November 20th, ABC aired the 2011 American Music Awards, and we’ve got the complete list of country winners! The AMAs is a fan-voted award show, and all of the nominees represent those artists who have dominated airwaves, charts, and sales. Country Music is one of several genres recognized, and in some cases country artists are in competition with artists from other genres. This round of country winners includes, Blake Shelton, Lady Antebellum and Taylor Swift who walked away with three awards including the top honor, Artist of the Year. (For the complete list see below). I have to say, for someone who is continually winning awards, Taylor Swift never ceases to show her humility and true appreciation for her fans! You can check her acceptance speech below, to see what I mean! 2011 American Music Awards Country Winners Artist of the Year Taylor Swift Country Categories Favorite Male Artist Blake Shelton Favorite Female Artist Taylor Swift Favorite Band, Due or Group Lady Antebellum Favorite Album Taylor Swift, Speak Now Check Out Taylor Swift’s Acceptance Speech [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEMSO9soRUU]

Taylor Swift On 60 Minutes Sneak Peak

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Catch a Preview of Taylor Swift’s Interview on 60 Minutes! Coming after her second consecutive Entertainer of the Year CMA Award, Taylor Swift will no doubt have a lot to share in the 60 Minutes interview which will be aired Monday night! Swift’s melting pot blend of country has garnered her a massive and loyal fan base, and in the sneak preview below you can hear what the songstress has to say about her responsibilities to these fans. For those of you are already Taylor fans, I have a feeling this interview will make you love her more. For those of you who are not fans, you should check out this interview anyway, you may find there’s more to like and respect about Taylor than you thought. Swift’s 60 Minute interview will air on CBS, Monday, November 21st at 7pm ET/PT. Watch the Preview Now! [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSvyRVw366k]