Taylor Swift Keeps a Level Head
Taylor Swift doesn't mind being called a crossover artist. The country superstar/pop sweetheart knows her music defies boundaries, and she wouldn't have it any other way.
"I don't sit down, start writing a song and freak out, and say, 'not country enough,' or 'not pop enough,' or, 'I'm going for this demographic or that demographic,' " Swift tells the Nashville Scene. "I just write music. And I try not to overcomplicate things with how people might perceive it."
Her strategy is certainly working. In November of 2008, Swift topped not only the country chart, but also the Billboard Top 200 with her sophomore album, 'Fearless.' She continues to defy records, from chart longevity to album sales to having the most musical downloads, as well as being the only artist to sell out Los Angeles' Staples Center (in just two minutes!), where she will kick off her first headlining tour.
While Swift remains modest, and insists she is still a regular person, her frequent songwriting partner, Liz Rose, who helped pen four of Swift's hits, sings a different tune.
"Taylor's heart is country," Rose says. "The fact that we ran off our younger demographic a long time ago-people should be thanking Taylor. She's brought back a lot of fans we lost that went to pop and Disney ...Taylor didn't ask for pop. Pop asked for Taylor."
For all her creative genius, Swift seems to bypass the diva attitude that plagues most young artists, and instead focuses on feeling grateful. "Every day feels like a bonus day for me, because I never thought I was gonna get to do this," says the 19-year old star. "I've always approached it like, 'You probably won't get this, but if you're lucky, you might.' And that goes for everything."
As Swift's schedule continues to get busier and busier, she still relishes time as a normal teenager at home. "When I'm home, I like to get to know my brother," she says. She also enjoys time with her best friend, Abigail, whom she references in her song 'Fifteen.' "Abigail and I, we'll go to the Old Spaghetti Factory. We literally do that. Just go to Broadway and do touristy stuff, because it's fun."
Already writing for her third album, Swift is looking forward to learning more and more as her career progresses. "You have to realize that you know nothing compared to what you're going to know two weeks from now," she says. "And that's just how I live my life."
CountryScene
Sexy couple Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban shopping for fragrance in Santa Monica at Fred Segal store Feb23, 2009
X17
Jimmy Wayne pays a visit to the set of ABC's 'Extreme Home Makeover,' on location in Montgomery, Ala.
Courtesy of the Valory Music Co.
Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift arrives to the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards at the Staples Center on February 8, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.
Musician Keith Urban, actress Nicole Kidman and musician Paul McCartney in the audience at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center on February 8, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.
Larry Busacca, Getty Images
Lady Antebellum arrives at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center on February 8, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.
LeAnn Rimes, left, and Sheryl Crow present the award for best country performance by a duo or group at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009, in Los Angeles.
Country singer Trace Adkins arrives at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 8, 2009. Adkins is nominated for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.
Musician Jamey Johnson arrives at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center on February 8, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.
Kenny Chesney performs at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009, in Los Angeles.
Carrie Underwood holds the Grammy award for the Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Last Name", in the photo room of the 51st annual Grammy awards held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 8, 2009.
soKe.flace('music-boot.country.scene.popup', '476', '600'); var uid = new Date().getTime(); var flashProxy = new FlashProxy(uid, 'http://www.aolcdn.com/_media/modtools/kit_swfpublisher_javascriptflashgateway.swf'); var flashvars = {}; try { flashvars.lcId = uid; } catch (Exc) { }; try { flashvars.targetAds = 'music-boot.country.scene.popup'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { flashvars.omniture_tracker = '0'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { flashvars.adrefresh_wrapper = '1'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { flashvars.outlet_xmlLoc = soKe.fv('id=407419&pid=407418&uts=1227112625'); } catch (Exc) { }; try { flashvars.appswfURL = soKe.fv('http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=407419&pid=407418&uts=1235776723'); } catch (Exc) { }; if (typeof(screen_name) != 'undefined') try { flashvars.userName = screen_name; } catch (Exc) { }; var params = {}; try { params.wmode = 'opaque'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { params.menu = 'false'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { params.bgcolor = '#ffffff'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { params.quality = 'best'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { params.allowScriptAccess = 'always'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { params.allowFullScreen = 'true'; } catch (Exc) { }; var attributes = {}; try { attributes.id = 'outlet'; } catch (Exc) { }; top.exd_space.refresher.ads2Refresh(new Array( 'music-boot.country.scene.popup', new Array('93243970','300','250','0','I','') )); top.exd_space.refresher.iFrm2Refresh(new Array( 'music-boot.country.scene.popup', new Array('Placement_ID', '1435671'), new Array('Domain_ID', '1395767') )); top.exd_space.refresher.mmx('music-boot.country.scene.popup', 'http://www.aolcdn.com/_media/channels/ke_blank.html', ''); swfobject.embedSWF('http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swf', 'music-boot.country.scene.popup-swf', '476', '600', '9.0.115', 'http://www.aolcdn.com/ke/swfobject/expressinstall.swf', flashvars, params, attributes); top.exd_space.refresher.launcher( 'music-boot.country.scene.popup',{ dynamicSlide:[''], size:['476t'], photoNumber:['2'], title:['On the CountryScene'], numimages:['74'], baseImageURL:['http://o.aolcdn.com/photo-hub/'], imageurl:['gc_gallery/i/p/popscenecountry110508eb/taylor-swift-miley-cyrus-618lvg021809.jpg'], credit:[''], source:[''], caption:['Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift were beautiful in black at the Grammys, Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman hang with Paul McCartney and much more!'], dims:['http://o.aolcdn.com/dims/PGMC/5/285/412/70/'], showDisclaimerText:[''], disclaimerText:[''], CSS_Title:[''], CSS_Caption:[''], CSS_Disclaimer:[''], CSS_Container:[''], CSS_Border:[''], CSS_PhotoWell:[''], CSS_photoHolder:[''], CSS_Buttons:[''], CSS_BtnOver:[''], CSS_Scroll:[''], topMargin:['71,0,285,412,428,289,0,0'] } );
More From TheBoot
