NEW YORK (Billboard) – Fan anticipation is already building for Taylor Swift’s “Speak Now,” after the pop-country superstar revealed on Ustream that the follow-up to her multiplatinum album “Fearless” will be out October 25.

But anticipation of a different sort is building among music retail and label executives: Can “Speak Now” top U.S. debut-week sales of 1 million units? And if Swift can’t attain that now-elusive milestone, can anyone?

The last album to do so was Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter III,” which sold slightly more than 1 million units in its first week, the period ended June 15, 2008, and has sold 3.5 million units to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Since then, the closest any album has come to matching that performance was AC/DC’s “Black Ice,” which bowed with 784,000 units in the week ended October 24, 2008, and has sold a total of 2.2 million, according to SoundScan. Eminem’s “Recovery,” the sales champ of 2010 so far, debuted with 741,000 units in the week ended June 27 and has racked up total U.S. sales of 1.5 million, according to SoundScan.

Other highly anticipated albums to be released later this year include titles from Susan Boyle, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Linkin Park, Kid Rock, Norah Jones, Diddy and Lil Wayne.

In an informal survey of a dozen recording industry executives conducted by Billboard, Boyle, West and Wayne each drew votes as contenders for million-unit debut weeks. But most said they believe Swift has the best shot.

‘SHE COULD BE THE ONE’

“It feels like if anybody can do it now, she could be the one,” said Will Botwin, president/CEO of Red Light Management and ATO Records. “She has the sales base and heat from the last few albums. And with all the amazing things she has going on, she is as likely as anybody to reach a million units, especially with the efforts of Big Machine and Universal behind her.”

Executives at Swift’s label, Big Machine Records, and her distributor, Universal Music Group Distribution, couldn’t be reached for comment. But retail sources said UMGD expects to ship 1.5 million units for the album’s release date and that it’s projecting first-week sales of 750,000 units.

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It has been confirmed that Taylor will be performing at the All for the Hall fundraiser on September 23rd!

The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum’s All for the Hall fundraiser will return to Los Angeles for a second consecutive year. The event, which will take place on Thursday, September 23, at Club Nokia, will again follow a “guitar pull” format featuring performances by Country Music Hall of Fame members Emmylou Harris and Kris Kristofferson, superstar Taylor Swift, and a very special fourth chair that must remain anonymous.

The evening offers a unique opportunity to see these acclaimed singer-songwriters interact with one another as they take turns swapping songs, stories and personal recollections. The “guitar pull” is a Nashville specialty; it originated in the homes of Nashville songwriters who gathered to try out new compositions for their peers. Nashville’s most storied guitar pulls were hosted by Johnny and June Carter Cash. The hallmarks of a great guitar pull are spontaneity and camaraderie.

The Museum launched All for the Hall, its first-ever non-bricks-and-mortar fundraising campaign, in 2005. The campaign addresses the Museum’s need for long-term financial security and will provide a safety net for the institution and its work. This is the fourth year the Museum has taken its “annual giving” event on the road, hosting previous All for the Hall events in New York in 2007 and 2008 and in Los Angeles in 2009.

“This year especially, the event will provide much needed support as Nashville works to recover from the devastating impact of a once-every-500-years flood,” said Director Kyle Young. “While our exhibits and collections are all on upper floors and never in danger, flood waters did reach ‘five feet high and rising’ in our ground-floor Ford Theater.”

Last year’s event, also held at Club Nokia, featured performances by Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Dwight Yoakam and Melissa Etheridge; special guests included Chris Isaak, who also acted as host, Kara DioGuardi and Michael McDonald.

Read the rest HERE

The official site for Taylor’s upcoming album Speak Now is now up and running! You can pre-order the album from August 20th! Check out the website HERE

Taylor’s ustream chat where she answers fan questions (mostly about her album) started about an hour ago! She has already revealed that her new album will be called Speak Now, out October 25th and her first single will be called Mine coming out August 16th! Also, her single Sparks Fly will be on the album! You can watch the live chat HERE if the video below doesn’t work.

Free video chat by Ustream

Taylor was photographed out with Toby Hemingway (the guy from her music video) on July 16th! I have added 20HQ’s to the gallery. Enjoy!

X20HQ//July 16th – Out and about in West Hollywood

Pollstar released the list of the top grossing tours of 2010 this week. Bon Jovi tops the list, playing 38 shows and selling more than a half million tickets for a total gross of $52.8 million. Country stars in the top 10 include Taylor Swift at #3 with $34.2 million, George Strait (with Reba McEntire and Lee Ann Womack) at #5 ,and Tim McGraw (with Lady Antebellum) at #8. See the entire list, which also includes Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, Jason Aldean, and more HERE.

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Chat is also on MySpace.com/TaylorSwift & Facebook.com/TaylorSwift.Fans can submit questions into the liveUstream chat window on all sites.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Singer Taylor Swift will host a live chat to talk with fans about a new album.

Swift said she’s always getting questions from fans via the Internet and social networking sites. Next Tuesday she’ll be providing answers about her follow up to “Fearless” and more.

“I‘ve gotten so many questions from fans — on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, my website, everywhere really, and it’s so incredible to see how excited everybody is about what’s next,” Swift said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. “I want them to be the first to know about my new music, and I can’t wait to talk to everybody as directly as I can!”

Swift will host the chat from Nashville at 5 p.m. EDT. Fans will be able to submit questions on Swift’s website, social networking platforms and Ustream.tv.

Swift was recently ranked No. 3 on Forbes’ list of the most powerful celebrities on social media. She has 7 million Facebook friends and 3.6 million Twitter followers.

“Fearless” was the top-selling album of 2009 and netted Swift every major award, including two Grammys.

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Thank you to fans who uploaded videos of Taylor shooting her music video! I have posted them below.

New pictures have been released of Taylor filming the music video of her new single (rumour has it, it’s called ‘Mine’). I have added them to the gallery!

From Allie, Andrea & Jackie: Taylor Swift shooting her new music video in Cape Porpoise Maine on Thursday July 8. It was a blast to watch! Both Taylor and the guy in her video seemed to be having tons of fun and at one point where….he proposes and they kissed he looked up at the camera crew and said ‘She said no by the way.’ The scene lasted about 30 minutes and then they started filming in the house again.

X22HQ//Shooting Music Video (New Single released late-2010)

Here’s some more news about country weddings, but this time it’s only for a video: Taylor Swift got married at the Christ Church in Kennebunk, Maine, on Thursday (July with Rev. Janet Leighninger presiding. And the groom? Who knows. Just some drop-dead gorgeous actor playing his part in Swift’s upcoming music video. Some of the folks on the scene said the song may be called “Mine,” but whatever the song is, it sounds like the video will be just as fairytale-like as some of Swift’s past work. The white-steepled church, built in 1827, was embellished with all kinds of ribbons and flowers and guest extras blowing bubbles at the “bride” and “groom.” Other scenes for the video were shot at a private estate in nearby Cape Elizabeth. According to the local news, the video should be on the air by the end of the year.

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Taylor looked awesome yesterday shooting the music video for the first single of her new album (being released in a couple of months). She was shooting a wedding scene in a white dress with ‘guests’ and a ‘groom’. I have added images to the gallery. If you have any images to contribute, feel free to sed them to olsen_portfolio[at]hotmail.com. Credit will be given!

X03MQ//Shooting Music Video (New Single released late-2010)

Taylor Swift was in Kennebunk today, July 8, shooting part of a new music video at Christ Church on Dane Street.

The Rev. Janet Leighninger, pastor of Christ Church said they had been contacted a while ago by a company that scouts film locations and happened to check the church out one Sunday.

“Then they called about a week ago and said could they possibly film here,” she said.

Leighninger said she was told it would be a country artist shooting a music video, but not who the artist was.

“We wanted to make sure it was appropriate,” she said.

On the morning of the shoot, Leighninger discovered the artist was Swift.

Built in 1827, the church features a soaring white steeple and a traditional double-door entry.

It was that entry that was the focus of the video shoot.

Decorated with white ribbons and flanked by flower-filled urns, it served as the backdrop for a wedding scene.

Guests in their “Sunday best,” including three local children chosen to serve as extras, lined the stairs, waiting for the bride and groom to emerge.

Swift finally did emerge — from her trailer across the street — before making her way into the church, where a stylist got her into her gown for the shoot.

A short while later the director gave the go-ahead and the “guests” began blowing bubbles as the bride and groom came arm in arm down the steps.

While the groom was in a traditional black tuxedo, Swift was in a cream strapless gown with a shirred bodice and full, filmy skirt.

Her hair was softly curled and pulled to the side, and she carried a bouquet of white flowers.

Sue Paul, a church member, said she had met Swift when she ducked into the church to change.

“She’s breathtakingly beautiful,” she said.

As news of Swift’s video spread around town, dozens of people lined up on the street to catch a glimpse of the country star.

Swift had already shot scenes at a private estate in Cape Elizabeth earlier in the week, and was due to continue shooting in Kennebunkport on Thursday.

Swift’s mother, Andrea, said the video will be out in about six months.

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