Taylor Swift is known for her confessional songs regarding her romantic relationships, but she is also able to celebrate other interpersonal connections through a different artform. The singer has released a new line of Mother’s Day cards via American Greetings, which feature her imagery of her tunes, like ‘Stay Beautiful’ and ‘The Best Day,’ the latter of which she penned for her own mom, Andrea.

With such descriptive lyrics, Swift’s catalog of songs certainly allows itself to be transposed to greeting cards. The 22-year-old superstar released Valentine’s Day cards last year, and that was a perfect match, given the romantic nature of so many of her songs.

But Swift’s lyrics lend themselves to greeting card sentiments no matter what the holiday.

According to Country Music Is Love, Lindsay Kalback, who works on the Swift brand team at the card maker, said, “We’ve worked very hard to ensure that this year’s Mother’s Day collection from Taylor had the right variety to help consumers celebrate all of the moms in their life.”

She continued, “The cards really do a great job of reflecting the details that make every relationship unique while still offering the casual tone, bold designs, and fun enhancements that have made the collection so popular. We can’t wait for shoppers to check out the collection and we are even more excited for moms to receive the cards.”

The new-for-2012 Mother’s Day cards definitely portray Swift’s cute country charm with their pastel color, girlish details and feminine imagery. Nab a sweet, heartfelt greeting for your mom. We bet she’ll love it.

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Finally! One of Taylor’s songs will be on Glee.

Glee‘ creator Ryan Murphy has revealed that a cast recording of Taylor Swift‘s ‘Mean’ will appear on the May 15 episode called ‘Props.’ He made the announcement on Tuesday during the ‘Glee’ cast’s screening and panel at the TV Academy.

Murphy said Dot-Marie Jones and Mark Salling — Coach Beiste and Puck — will sing the tune, which Swift wrote about an unnecessarily harsh critic. Though Swift has hung out with ‘Glee’ cast members and even attended Dianna Agron’s birthday party last week, this will be the first time the country-pop superstar’s music has been featured on the show.

Swift performed ‘Mean’ at the Grammy Awards this year. The song from her ‘Speak Now’ album hit No. 11 on the pop chart.

The ‘Props’ episode of ‘Glee’ is the one where characters swap roles and play the parts of other cast members. Chris Colfer and Corey Monteith are trading places in the episode. Colfer explained, “It’s kind of like a switch in your mind. You see yourself in a different mirror, and then you go for it!”

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She is usually seen wearing an array of pretty vintage and delicate dresses. But Taylor Swift struck a very different figure last night. The 22-year-old Country music star took a walk on the wild side and slipped into a tiger print catsuit to dress up for Dianna Agron’s 26th birthday party

She completed the feline look with some matching cat ears and a racy studded collar with leash. On her face, Taylor painted a pink nose and some black whiskers. The star posted the image of herself and her friends, including the birthday girl, on Instagram.

Close friend Dianna wore a flapper-style outfit complete with feathered headdress

In the snap Taylor is also seen striking a provocative cat pose. She captioned the picture: ‘The most magical night at @DiannaAgron’s circus themed birthday party!’ Today the star also celebrated another male friend’s birthday and posted a collage of pictures of them posing together.

‘Happy birthday, @grantmickelson!! I love you even more than you love Abe Lincoln. ’ she wrote

Last night was the second time in the last week that Taylor has played dress-ups with her girlfriends. Last week she and her friends got into the spirit of actress Shirley MacLaine’s birthday. While the veteran stage and screen actress was not present for the occasion, Taylor and her friends, who are obviously are big fans of the star, put on quite the sophisticated soiree.

Taylor herself looked a dream in a cream Fifties-style slip dress, a coronet of pink flowers in her hair and long white gloves. The girls visited the very traditional and posh Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset Boulevard for the occasion and dined at the hotel’s famed Polo Lounge. They even ordered a special dessert in honour of MacLaine, who had turned 78-years-old.
‘We dressed up full-time fancy and went out in celebration of Shirley MacLaine’s birthday,’ Taylor wrote in accompanying Tweet. Taylor is currently hard at work in the studio recording her fourth album.

She posted a picture of herself on Twitter recently, strumming her guitar and singing into a microphone, writing that she is ‘so happy.’ While fans are eagerly anticipating her new music, Taylor is also being tipped to take on the role of Joni Mitchell in a film biopic. Film industry paper Variety recently reported that an adaptation of Sheila Wller’s book Girls Like Us, about the lives of Mitchell, Carly Simon and Carole King is in the works, with Taylor set to play the former.

It will be Swift’s first starring role on screen, following a part in the ensemble comedy Valentine’s Day and lending her voice to this year’s animated film Lorax. Taylor is yet to be confirmed to play the iconic singer-songwriter.

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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.

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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.

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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 Khalifa

Top Duo/Group:
The Black Eyed Peas
Coldplay
Lady Antebellum
LMFAO
Maroon 5

Top Touring Artist:
Bon Jovi
Taylor Swift
Take That
U2
Roger Waters

Top Country Artist:
Jason Aldean
Zac Brown Band
Lady Antebellum
Blake Shelton
Taylor Swift

Top 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”

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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.

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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.

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T.I. has confirmed that fellow Grand Hustle rapper B.o.B. and country poptress Taylor Swift have collaborated on a song together.
Fuse interviewed T.I. and B.o.B yesterday (March 15) at musical festival South By Southwest in Austin, Texas and asked them about a potential duet. Initially, B.o.B. played coy, saying, “I can neither confirm nor deny such allegations.” Grand Hustle boss T.I. openly confirmed the partnership saying, “I can. I heard it” and shared further, “Taylor’s extended Hustle Gang. She a part of the crew. She just ain’t got her dog tags yet, but she’s a part of the crew tho.” When asked how the unlikely pair linked up, B.o.B revealed that it was Taylor who came to Atlanta and reached out to Grand Hustle about working together.

This comes on the heels of all three performers sharing the stage together at various shows over the past year. B.o.B. joined Taylor for a rendition of “Airplanes” at her Dallas concert on October 9, 2011. The “Strange Clouds” rapper tweeted, “Had a night to remember in Dallas performing one of my biggest songs with the ever-so enchanting @taylorswift13.”

In December, T.I. joined Taylor during the Atlanta stop on her Speak Now tour after Swift reached out to him via phone in September. T.I. told MTV News then of the opportunity, “I was pleasantly surprised and confused. I was confused because I know it’s a phenomenal opportunity, but being T.I. — the Rubberband Man — and Taylor Swift being America’s Sweetheart, I had just gotten out of prison like two days [earlier] and all of a sudden my phone rings.”

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Everyone was ready to imagine Taylor Swift as Eponine in the upcoming movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Les Misérables after hearing that the singer got offered the role in early January, but not anymore.

So who got the part, instead?

Sorry, Lea Michele, Scarlett Johansson and Evan Rachel Wood are still out, but stage actress Samantha Barks is in.

According to BroadwayWorld.com, Barks will reclaim the the role of Eponine that she performed at the 25th anniversary concert for the film.

Producer Cameron Mackintosh announced the news live on stage at the Manchester Palace at the end of tonight’s performance of Oliver!, in which Barks is currently playing Nancy.

Barks tweeted afterward, “Most incredible moment of my life!!!! X”

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