1. FEATURE
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The
GGWORDS: ADLI SYAHRIL
travel 3Sixty° uncovers the story
behind the success of the multi-
award winning artiste Taylor Swift.
THEREDTOUR!
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TAYLORSWIFT’S
06
2014
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3. as a staff songwriter for Sony ATV when she was just 14
years old. In November of 2004, Scott Borchetta, the
founder of Big Machine Records, discovered Swift after
her stellar performance at a songwriter’s show at The
Bluebird Café and signed her on as his first artiste under
the record label.
In 2006, Taylor Swift released her first single titled Tim
McGraw. The breakout single became a massive hit; Tim
McGraw spent 26 weeks on the Billboard’s Hot Country
Songs chart, had more than one million copies sold
and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry
Association of America (RRIA).
Not too long after the release of that single, Swift
took the music scene by storm with the release of her
self-titled debut album. This talented artiste wrote all of
the songs for her first album during her freshman year of
high school and earlier. The album topped music charts
in many countries including Australia, Canada and the
UK, and spent 24 weeks at the number one spot on the
Billboard Top Country Albums chart, as well as number
five on the Billboard 200 albums list.
American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift has been an
extremely successful artiste ever since she kicked off her
music career in her teenage years. At the age of 24, Swift
has four multi-platinum albums, seven Grammy Awards
trophies and two Guinness World Records. Swift’s singles
never fail to dominate the music charts around the world.
With huge achievements for such a young artiste, Taylor
Swift is one of the biggest pop stars on the planet!
ROAD TO FAME
Taylor Swift’s music career started in Reading,
Pennsylvania when at age 12, she began to write her own
music. Swift’s focus at that point in her life was attending
school, learning to play a 12-string guitar and writing/
singing music about the difficulties many schoolgirls face
every day, including bullying. When Swift turned 13, she
convinced her parents to move to Nashville, Tennessee
– the capital of Country music – where she co-wrote
songs and tried to seal a recording contract. Her musical
influences included Shania Twain, Faith Hill, and Dixie
Chicks. Swift was the youngest person ever to be signed
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5. RISING STAR
In 2007, Taylor Swift’s first single, Tim McGraw,
earned this rising superstar her first trophy in the
‘Breakthrough Music Video’ category at the CMT
Music Awards. Swift also won several awards including
‘Female Vocalist of the Year’ at the Academy of
Country Music Awards and ‘Favourite Female Country
Artist’ at the American Music Awards, and received
her first nomination in the 2008 Grammy Awards for
‘Best New Artist’.
In 2009, Swift became the youngest person ever
(19 years old) to win the coveted CMA Entertainer of
The Year Award in recognition of her touring success.
Her sophomore album, Fearless, ruled the 2010
Grammy Awards where she collected four trophies
including the most coveted honour, ‘Album of the
Year’. Swift was only 20 years old then, and still holds
the record for the youngest star to win the category at
the Grammys. She was listed in the Top 12 of the 2010
Forbes’ Celebrity 100, the annual list of 100 most
powerful celebrities of the year.
HER MUSICAL
INFLUENCES
INCLUDED SHANIA
TWAIN, FAITH
HILL, AND DIXIE
CHICKS. SWIFT WAS
THE YOUNGEST
PERSON EVER TO BE
SIGNED AS A STAFF
SONGWRITER FOR
SONY ATV WHEN SHE
WAS JUST 14 YEARS
OLD. IN NOVEMBER
OF 2004, SCOTT
BORCHETTA,THE
FOUNDER OF BIG
MACHINE RECORDS,
DISCOVERED SWIFT
AFTER HER STELLAR
PERFORMANCE AT A
SONGWRITER’S SHOW
AT THE BLUEBIRD
CAFÉ AND SIGNED
HER AS HIS FIRST
ARTISTE UNDER THE
RECORD LABEL.
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6. 15 AM
In October 2010, Swift unleashed her third album
Speak Now that sold a whopping one million copies in
its first week. While embarking on a massive worldwide
sold out tour in support of the album, Swift was named
‘Entertainer of the Year’ by Entertainment Weekly, and
earned a commemorative plaque for topping 20 million
in album sales worldwide for Speak Now and scored
more awards including ‘Top Country Album’ at the
Billboard Music Awards and ‘Favourite Country Album’
American Music Awards. The superstar also received
two trophies at the 2012 Grammy Awards for ‘Best
Country Solo Performance’ and ‘Best Country Song’.
Prior to the release of her fourth album Red,
Swift unveiled her lead single titled We Are Never
Ever Getting Back Together in August 2012. The
break-up anthem is Swift’s first number one single
in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. When the album was
released, it sold like hot cakes: 1.28 million copies
sold in the US alone in the first week. It became the
18th album in history to sell a million copies in a
single week and on top of that, Swift became the first
artist (since The Beatles in 1963) to hold the top spot
in the Billboard 200 chart for six weeks with three
consecutive studio albums. Taylor has written or co-
written every song on every one of her albums.
PHILANTHROPIC EFFORTS
Taylor Swift is also a personality with a big heart. Apart
from making music, she gives back to the community
by supporting various causes including arts education,
children’s literacy and natural disaster relief. Besides
that, Taylor Swift has contributed greatly to helping
the victims of natural disasters get back on their feet.
In 2008, Swift donated all profits from the sales of
merchandise at the Country Music Festival to the
Nashville Area Red Cross Disaster Fund in Middle
Tennessee and the National American Red Cross
Disaster Relief Fund. In 2008, Swift won the hearts of
residents in Cedar Rapids, Iowa when she contributed
USD100,000 to the local Red Cross to help victims
of the Iowa flood. Two years later, Swift joined fellow
artists like Sheryl Crow, Christina Aguilera, Bruce
Springsteen and Justin Timberlake for the Hope For
Haiti live TV broadcast in aid of earthquake victims in
Haiti. She performed and also volunteered to answer
calls from viewers who wished to pledge money to
benefit the victims.
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7. In 2009, to promote children’s literacy, Taylor Swift
donated USD250,000 to schools that she had either
attended or worked with. The money was used to pay
teachers’ salaries and purchase books, as well as to fund
various educational programmes. Swift performed at a
benefit concert in Sydney, Australia
on March 14, 2009, to aid the
victims of the recent wildfires in the
area. In 2010, this singer-songwriter
participated in a live webcast for
schools called Read Now! With
Taylor Swift to celebrate the Read
Every Day literacy campaign. Taylor
Swift also generously gave away
2,000 books to the Reading Hospital
Child Health Center’s early literacy
programme, 6,000 books to Reading
Public Library in Pennsylvania and
14,000 books to Nashville Public
Library in Tennessee. Also in 2010,
Swift donated USD75,000 to the
Hendersonville High School, her
former high school, to refurbish the
auditorium’s sound and lighting
systems. For her support, the
auditorium was named after the
generous superstar.
I n 2 0 1 1 S w i f t t o o k t h e
unprecedented step of opening the
last dress rehearsal for her Speak
Now Tour to fans as a fundraiser for
victims of deadly tornadoes in the
Southeast United States. The event
raised over USD750,000 in aid.
In 2012, the Country Music Hall
of Fame and Museum in Nashville
received a donation of USD4 million
from Swift to fund the construction
of a new education centre, the
Taylor Swift Education Centre,
which includes three classrooms for
youth education programmes and
workshops. On her 24th birthday last year, Taylor Swift
donated USD100,000 to the Nashville Symphony.
Swift continues to show her giving side whether it is in
the form of donations, or the multitude of unannounced
hospital visits she makes each year. Giving is something
she loves to do and does it often.
TAYLOR SWIFT HAS
CONTRIBUTED
GREATLY TO HELPING
THE VICTIMS OF
NATURAL DISASTERS
GET BACK ON THEIR
FEET. IN 2008,
SWIFT DONATED
ALL PROFITS FROM
THE SALES OF
MERCHANDISE AT
THE COUNTRY MUSIC
FESTIVAL TO THE
NASHVILLE AREA
RED CROSS DISASTER
FUND IN MIDDLE
TENNESSEE AND THE
NATIONAL AMERICAN
RED CROSS DISASTER
RELIEF FUND. IN
2008, SWIFT WON
THE HEARTS OF
RESIDENTS IN CEDAR
RAPIDS, IOWA WHEN
SHE CONTRIBUTED
USD100,000 TO THE
LOCAL RED CROSS TO
HELP VICTIMS OF THE
IOWA FLOOD.
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8. 16 AM
Madam Bee dressed in a
traditional kebaya at her
eponymous restaurant –
Madam Bee’s Kitchen.
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9. SWIFT PAINTS
THE TOWN RED
This month,Taylor Swift will rock
fans at the Southeast Asia leg of
The RED Tour! Head over to these
venues to catch her in action.
INDONESIA
June 4 • Mata Elang
International Stadium
(MEIS), Jakarta
www.lamusicstore.co.id
PHILIPPINES
June 6 • Mall of Asia
Arena, Manila
www.smtickets.com
THAILAND
June 9 • Impact Arena,
Bangkok
www.thaiticketmajor.com
MALAYSIA
June 11 • Putra Indoor
Stadium, Kuala Lumpur
www.ticketpro.com.my
SINGAPORE
June 12 • Singapore
Indoor Stadium
www.sportshub.com.sg
SWIFT FACTS
Here are some cool facts that you might not
know about Taylor Swift.
Thirteen is Taylor Swift’s favourite number.
Taylor Swift’s mom named her Taylor so that
when people saw her name on a business card,
they wouldn’t know if she was male or female.
Besides the guitar, Swift can play the banjo,
piano and ukulele.
When she was in fourth grade,Taylor Swift’s
poem, Monster in My Closet, won first place in a
national poetry contest.
In 2012,Taylor Swift was the voice of Audrey
in the computer-animated 3D musical fantasy
comedy film, The Lorax.
Taylor Swift has a small but pivotal role in
the feature film The Giver, which comes out
August 15, 2014
AIRASIA IS THE OFFICIAL AIRLINE FOR THE RED TOUR
IN SOUTHEAST ASIA. LOOK OUT FOR THE EXCLUSIVE
AIRCRAFT LIVERY FEATURING TAYLOR SWIFT!
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