Author Archive
Here are the latest candids of Taylor. I’m currently updating the gallery with event photos. Enjoy!
X12HQ//March 30th – At an Italian restuarant and then at the ACM interviews
X58HQ//April 23rd – Out and About in LA
X9HQ//April 24th – At Victoria’s Secret in LA
There will be plenty of blonde ambition at this year’s CMT Music Awards.
Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert and Taylor Swift top the nominations which were announced this morning on the Today show.
Underwood earned five nominations, Lambert had four as a solo artist and as part of her trio Pistol Annies, and Swift led a group of stars earning three nominations apiece for the 11th annual video awards show.Other artists with three nominations include Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Blake Shelton, Thompson Square and The Civil Wars. Underwood’s Good Girl and her Remind Me collaboration with Brad Paisley, Lambert’s Over You and Swift’s collaboration with The Civil Wars on The Hunger Games soundtrack entry Safe & Sound are among the 10 nominees for top honour video of the year.
Underwood also is up for female video, CMT performance and collaborative video of the year.
Lambert is up for female video as a solo artist and for group video and breakthrough video for Hell on Heels with her friends Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe in Pistol Annies.Other video of the year nominees include Aldean’s Dirt Road Anthem, Kenny Chesney’s You and Tequila with Grace Potter, Toby Keith’s Red Solo Cup, Lady Antebellum’s We Owned the Night, Rascal Flatts’ Easy with Natasha Bedingfield and Shelton’s God Gave Me You.
It looks like the perfect role for Taylor Swift to establish a career on the silver screen. The country pop chart-topper is being tipped to play iconic 1960s singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell in a new film biopic. The 22-year-old will no doubt relish the chance to star as an artist who will surely have been an inspiration. According to Variety, Sony are partnering with Di Bonaventura Pictures for the adaptation of popular 2008 biography Girls Like Us by Sheila Weller.
It is not the first time the Pennsylvania native will have appeared on film though. She made her feature acting début in the critically derided ensemble romantic comedy Valentine’s Day. She also recently lent her voice for a role in The Lorax and starred as herself in the 2009 picture Hannah Montana: The Movie. The film will also follow the careers of Grammy winner Carly Simon and prolific hitmaker Carole King.
At the moment it is understood Taylor does not have an official offer, but she has been a favourite to play the Canadian for several months, and would add some much needed star power to the project.
No doubt it will follow Joni’s rise from playing small nightclubs in Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto, all the way to her rise up the folk ladder. She later branched out further by exploring jazz and pop, and even recorded some electronic albums in the 1980s. Meanwhile a host of other actresses have auditioned to play Simon and King, including Milk star Alison Pill.
The film is due to be directed by House executive producer Katie Jacobs after she optioned the critically acclaimed book several years ago. But despite the fact a script has been penned and Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura is behind the project, it has yet to be officially greenlit. However it is pencilled in to start production later this year.
Billboard just announced the finalists for their 2012 Billboard Music Awards, and several country acts were included in the prestigious list of nominees. The winners will be officially announced at the awards show Sunday, May 20 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand and will be accompanied by a live telecast on ABC at 8PM ET.
Among the finalists were country-specific names like Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, Scotty McCreery, Jason Aldean, Zac Brown Band and Blake Shelton. Swift is up for Top Touring Artist alongside other musical greats like Bon Jovi and U2, as well as Top Country Artist. Lady A received nominations in several categories as well — including one for Top Duo/Group and another for Top Country Artist.
‘Idol’ winner McCreery has really risen to the top, landing a 2012 Billboard Music Awards nomination for Top New Artist against the likes of other genre runners Foster the People, Bad Meets Evil, Big Sean and Wiz Khalifa. He’s also up for Top Country Album in his own genre. Other artists looking at potential nods for Top Country Artist this year include Jason Aldean, Zac Brown Band and Blake Shelton, as well as Swift.
The Billboard Music Awards are based on chart rankings and fan interactions with an artist’s music, including album sales and downloads, radio airplay, track downloads and touring, in addition to streaming and social networking across social sites like Facebook, Twitter, Spotify and others. Data is tracked by Billboard, Nielsen Entertainment and Next Big Sound, and this year’s awards will be based on all activity between March 1, 2011 and February 29, 2012.
Carrie Underwood will be taking the stage at this year’s awards to perform from her record ‘Blown Away,’ which will drop May 1, just a few weeks before the awards show.
Nominees for 2012 Billboard Music Awards:
Top New Artist:
Bad Meets Evil
Big Sean
Foster The People
Scotty McCreery
Wiz KhalifaTop Duo/Group:
The Black Eyed Peas
Coldplay
Lady Antebellum
LMFAO
Maroon 5Top Touring Artist:
Bon Jovi
Taylor Swift
Take That
U2
Roger WatersTop Country Artist:
Jason Aldean
Zac Brown Band
Lady Antebellum
Blake Shelton
Taylor SwiftTop Country Album:
Jason Aldean “My Kinda Party”
The Band Perry “The Band Perry”
Luke Bryan “Tailgates & Tanlines’
Lady Antebellum “We Own The Night”
Scotty McCreery “Clear As Day”Top Country Song:
Jason Aldean “Dirt Road Anthem”
Luke Bryan “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)”
Eli Young Band “Crazy Girl”
Lady Antebellum “Just A Kiss”
Blake Shelton “Honey Bee”
Taylor played her second show in Auckland on March 18th. HQ images have been added to the gallery.
Here are the latest candids of Taylor from New Zealand, Sydney, LA, and California. Enjoy!
X10HQ//March 15th – Ferry Terminal in Auckland
X08HQ//March 19th – Sydney Airport
X16HQ//March 20th – LAX Airport
X07HQ//March 20th – Out in California
For a global literary phenomenon (soon to be a global movie phenomenon), “The Hunger Games” is dazzlingly personal. The story of Katniss Everdeen sacrificing herself for her sister, battling in the Hunger Games and doing anything she can to survive often arrives as a hushed, lonely stream of consciousness instead of a brazen superhero story. With the wildly anticipated, Jennifer Lawrence-led “Hunger Games” hitting theaters on Mar. 23, the soundtrack to the film — a hodgepodge of top-line artists ranging from Taylor Swift to Kid Cudi — wisely focuses on the vulnerability of the story’s main character and the sense of family that serves as her most relatable feature. The soundtrack is not a collection of brash rock and hip-hop, but instead a folk-leaning study of a child struggling to overcome her unfair circumstances.
Expertly produced by T-Bone Burnett, “The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond” finds a way to underline the strongest features of its marquee acts and present winning introductions of the fairly unknown artists on here. Swift and the Civil Wars each contribute solo songs as well as a collaboration, “Safe & Sound,” that captures the texture of “The Hunger Games’” main character in a manner reminiscent of Dashboard Confessional’s Spider-Man anthem “Vindicated.” Meanwhile, Neko Case, Miranda Lambert and Arcade Fire rise on the occasion on their respective songs, and the Secret Sisters, Punch Brothers and the Low Anthem convey a subtle confidence and deliver three of the soundtrack’s best cuts.
“The Hunger Games” soundtrack has a few miscues — Kid Cudi’s a dynamic performer, but feels out of place when surrounded by acoustic guitars — but ultimately, the 16-song set is both a tender companion for “Hunger” diehards and a rousing folk-rock compilation for non-enthusiasts. It doesn’t matter if you live in District 12, or have no idea what the hell District 12 is; this ornately produced soundtrack makes the most of the franchise’s gigantic platform.
4. Taylor Swift featuring The Civil Wars, “Safe & Sound” – A decidedly non-Swiftian anthem that embraces the folksiness of the soundtrack. Backing up the country superstar, the Civil Wars add a little bit of gravitas to the melancholy tune.
14. Taylor Swift, “Eyes Open” – The stronger of Swift’s soundtrack contributions, “Eyes Open” places the singer in her own version of the Hunger Games, trying to stay alert and keep her sense of self as the whole world watches her. A clever spin on the trappings of fame.
Everyone’s been talking about ‘The Hunger Games’ for months, and now fans everywhere are just days away from the premiere of the post-apocalyptic film based on Suzanne Collins’ bestselling book. Even so, those who absolutely can’t wait until Friday can hold themselves over with the film’s soundtrack, which drops today (March 20). Featuring artists like Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert and the Civil Wars, the soundtrack is a star-studded musical endeavor with a country tinge, set to perfectly fit the film.
While we’ve heard a ton about and seen the music video for Taylor Swift’s collaboration with the Civil Wars — the sweetly melancholy lead single from the soundtrack, ‘Safe & Sound‘ — Swift talked to Entertainment Weekly in their March 9 issue about the other song she has on the release. While ‘Safe and Sound’ speaks of comfort in the midst of uncertainty, Swift says her other single is not so reassuring.
“I wrote it about Katniss’ relationship with the Capitol,” she says of the protagonist (quote via Country Music Is Love). “It basically serves as a warning for her not to trust anyone — in many ways the opposite of ‘Safe & Sound,’” she says, adding her own description of the song in comparison to the lead single, calling it “more frantic and fast-paced, a completely different shade of music.”
In the same interview, Swift admitted that she’s a huge fan of the ‘Hunger Games’ book series, which is why she knew she wanted to be a part of the soundtrack. Says Swift, “I fell in love with the book, fell in love with the themes running through it, [and] fell in love with Katniss (the lead protagonist in the story).”
‘Eyes Open’ hit the web in full last week, thanks to an early leak, and it will be officially released today with ‘The Hunger Games’ soundtrack compilation.
