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Celeb News: Taylor Swift, Big Wins Mean Innocence Lost
Member Since: 6/10/2008
Posts: 5,271
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Taylor Swift, Big Wins Mean Innocence Lost
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Over the last three and a half years, Ms. Swift has established herself as pop’s leading naïf. Not in her songwriting, which has been precocious, but in her persona. By now, she’s even patented a look she whips out at award shows, concerts and more, when her innocence is threatened by acclaim: eyes wide, mouth agape, hand held over it as if to keep in the breath she’d just gasped as if it were her last.
Most stars — and make no mistake, Ms. Swift is the most important new pop star of the past few years — have their images undone by failure. In Ms. Swift’s case, the opposite is true: success has necessitated a re-evaluation.
Her Sunday night at the Grammys will be remembered as the turning point. She won four awards, including album of the year for “Fearless” (Big Machine), her outstanding second record — the youngest artist ever to do so, and the first solo female country singer to earn that as well. It was the ultimate stamp of insider approval for someone who insists that she’s thrilled just to be invited to the party.
But the night also revealed her weaknesses. Her new single, “Today Was a Fairytale,” from the “Valentine’s Day” soundtrack, opened her performance, and it was limp, a parody of her best songs about teen love fantasy. That transitioned into a pitch-challenged duet of “Rhiannon” with Stevie Nicks, who then joined in — facing her own vocal challenges — on a banjolin-driven version of Ms. Swift’s “You Belong With Me.”
Ms. Swift is still young — she’s got teenage taste, some of it bad (Owl City, Boys Like Girls), some of it better (John Mayer) — and it’s refreshing to see someone so gifted make the occasional flub. Compare her with, say, Beyoncé, the night’s only bigger winner, who appears allergic to risk, or showing weakness.
But with every step Ms. Swift takes toward ubiquity, her facade must come undone a bit. The recent avalanche of disturbances dates back to the disruption of her acceptance speech by Kanye West at the MTV Video Music Awards in September. That was the first rupture: Ms. Swift held her composure, but the world assumed that she felt anger and frustration anyway and granted it to her, making her an unlikely David to Mr. West’s Goliath.
Suddenly Ms. Swift had texture. She was complex. In short, she became an adult. Not surprisingly, in the subsequent weeks, she was more of a tabloid presence than ever before. Her earlier entanglement with Joe Jonas had been handled gingerly and from a distance, but now Ms. Swift was fair game. She was part of a celebrity mega-feud and soon, reportedly, a celebrity mega-relationship, with the “Twilight” star Taylor Lautner. In November she won Entertainer of the Year, and three other prizes, at the Country Music Association Awards, confirming her breakthrough.
In this window came a more important milestone that passed with relatively little notice: Ms. Swift turned 20 in December. She’s no longer a teenager; soon, when she performs her anthems of young-love heartbreak, it’s going to appear as if she were carpetbagging.
And more important, she’ll almost certainly be 21 (or older) when she releases a new album that can’t now, by definition, have the same emotional guideposts as the previous ones. Success has altered how she’s perceived, but most of all, success breeds perspective, especially in someone as savvy and bright as Ms. Swift.
Ideally, what will emerge will be a new Ms. Swift, cut from whole cloth, with some gumption, some sass, some wisdom that the world has crueler foes than teenage boys. As a singer, the songs she’ll produce should be just as honest as the ones before them. And as a person, she should now be unafraid to share all the things she undoubtedly already knows but has been holding back. Her multitudes await.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/ar.../02taylor.html
Excellent Article. Who agrees?
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Banned
Member Since: 10/7/2009
Posts: 4,752
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Compare her with, say, Beyoncé, the night’s only bigger winner, who appears allergic to risk, or showing weakness.
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*giggles*
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By now, she’s even patented a look she whips out at award shows, concerts and more, when her innocence is threatened by acclaim: eyes wide, mouth agape, hand held over it as if to keep in the breath she’d just gasped as if it were her last.
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I don't like Swift, but I don't understand why people hate on her for being surprised when she wins awards. She's usually the youngest person nominated, she's a country artist, and she's fairly new in the business.... who wouldn't be in shock after they won against Beyonce or GaGa or any of those other overrated artists? I know I would be.
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Member Since: 3/26/2009
Posts: 213
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Originally posted by starstruck52
*giggles*
I don't like Swift, but I don't understand why people hate on her for being surprised when she wins awards. She's usually the youngest person nominated, she's a country artist, and she's fairly new in the business.... who wouldn't be in shock after they won against Beyonce or GaGa or any of those other overrated artists? I know I would be.
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Because country artists often win in the main categories at the Grammys. And Beyonce and GaGa aren't overrated, they're much more talented than that boring little girl and they proved it on the stage during the show.
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Banned
Member Since: 1/13/2010
Posts: 724
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Quote:
Originally posted by JasonScofield
Because country artists often win in the main categories at the Grammys. And Beyonce and GaGa aren't overrated, they're much more talented than that boring little girl and they proved it on the stage during the show.
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Stop talking out of your backside. Country has only dominated the general awards in 2005 with Dixie Chicks and Carrie Underwood. Other than that the winners have been all but country besides a few years in the 90s.
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Member Since: 9/19/2008
Posts: 1,871
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Quote:
Originally posted by starstruck52
*giggles*
I don't like Swift, but I don't understand why people hate on her for being surprised when she wins awards. She's usually the youngest person nominated, she's a country artist, and she's fairly new in the business.... who wouldn't be in shock after they won against Beyonce or GaGa or any of those other overrated artists? I know I would be.
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i know you would be bitching the whole forum if she won over Britney  other than that, no comment on you hypocrite *****
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Member Since: 12/10/2009
Posts: 848
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i dont care about her..she can have her 5 minutes fame..she will soon fade so im gonna let the girl enjoy for a moment..
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Member Since: 11/24/2006
Posts: 24,963
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Jealousy 
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Member Since: 1/5/2010
Posts: 73
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I dont care but she cant sing
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Member Since: 6/17/2006
Posts: 6,541
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Idk why but i feel embarassed to hear TWAFT and YBM last night. 
She won Best Country Female Vocal rite?
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Member Since: 12/19/2009
Posts: 518
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LOL y'all FUNNY - like a Christina Vs. Britney thang..LOL -)
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Member Since: 11/24/2006
Posts: 24,963
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Originally posted by Martin
Idk why but i feel embarassed to hear TWAFT and YBM last night.
She won Best Country Female Vocal rite? |
Yes, as BEP won best pop VOCAL, and we all know their album is great but i guess computers can win grammys now 
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Member Since: 6/19/2007
Posts: 7,084
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Its not right to judge a person with what they look like when they feel overwhelmed.
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Member Since: 11/2/2009
Posts: 19,838
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Originally posted by fire100
I dont care but she cant sing
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Then you should have shut up after I don't care.
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Member Since: 11/2/2009
Posts: 19,838
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Originally posted by MrDeeds
Yes, as BEP won best pop VOCAL, and we all know their album is great but i guess computers can win grammys now |
They kill me when they say Taylor can't sing but BEP can!?!
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Member Since: 6/17/2006
Posts: 6,541
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Quote:
Originally posted by MrDeeds
Yes, as BEP won best pop VOCAL, and we all know their album is great but i guess computers can win grammys now |
lol, that was my complaint too, it was ok for me if they got AOTY, but best pop album sounds so wrong.
But again, idk, maybe taylor was too nervous to perform (which i doubt, cuz last year, she's doin okay).
It's outta tune almost from start till the end. :-/
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 8/8/2008
Posts: 21,933
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Quote:
Originally posted by fire100
I dont care but she cant sing
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She really can't. That Grammy performance was a mess. Singing all off pitch.
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Member Since: 12/25/2009
Posts: 5,983
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she won against bep beyoncè and gaga in the album the year... and stans are jealous
and taylor swift isn't an international star so some people maybe don't understand why this girl ( with a bad voice) has won over beyoncè
taylor swift 'll be fine... her fans are loyal
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Member Since: 4/4/2005
Posts: 5,423
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Quote:
Originally posted by Music
They kill me when they say Taylor can't sing but BEP can!?!
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Not to mention the mess Blame It winning and we know that wasnt singing!
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Banned
Member Since: 10/13/2008
Posts: 20,553
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Shut up. Fergie can sing her ASS off.
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Member Since: 5/1/2007
Posts: 15,659
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Like some poster said here, she will soon fade out.
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