Taylor Swift Recalls Confusion of Kanye West VMA Debacle

When Taylor Swift sat down to talk with Matt Lauer on 'NBC's People of the Year' television special, it was inevitable that one of the topics of discussion would be "that Kanye moment." When asked if it felt like an out-of-body experience for her, when Kanye West hijacked the country superstar's MTV VMA award acceptance speech, Taylor thought about it for just a moment before coming back with a response that was soft, but measured.

"It just all happened really fast ... and it took a second to realize what was really going on," Taylor explained to Matt. "I was really confused, because the crowd started booing and I didn't know why. I've never been on a stage with the entire crowd booing before. So I was just devastated ... because I thought I'd done something wrong."

When Matt asked Taylor if she even understood what Kanye was saying in that flash of a moment, she demurred with a laugh, "Yeah, I got what he said! I definitely heard what he said." And then she added, solemnly, "But I try to focus on what people did for me, coming to my defense ... and Twittering their support. That's what I try to focus on, because I don't want to have a grudge ... I really just appreciate how nice everyone was to me when I had a really, really weird day."

Not everything that happened this past year has been "weird" for the teenage phenom. In addition to being the biggest-selling recording artist of any genre in 2009, she's won armloads of awards, hosted 'Saturday Night Live,' and sold out shows all over the country, including New York's Madison Square Garden in literally one minute flat. "That's just crazy!" she said of the latter.

"I can't even believe that this year happened," Taylor reflects. "A lot of it doesn't feel like this could possibly be real. "It's crazy to think about, because they tell you things like, 'Don't ever expect to play Madison Square Garden until you're ten years in!' I have been floating on Cloud 9 this whole year!

"It hits me throughout the day, randomly," she continues. "I had a list of things I'd made up that I wanted to accomplish in my life and honestly, I thought it would be so amazing if I could just get a CMA award!"

So, Matt wondered, how does Taylor Swift top what she has accomplished already, at just 19 years old? "I've never won a Grammy," Taylor comes back quickly with a smile, blue eyes twinkling with dreams yet to be realized.