ENTER TO WIN A TAYLOR SWIFT-SIGNED CD BOOKLET

Taylor Swift in Toronto - July 2011

I had such a blast at the Taylor Swift concert the other night at Air Canada Centre as part of her Speak Now Tour, that I want you to be a part of the excitement too!  Swift signed a select number of Speak Now Booklets for her Fans and I nabbed one for my Readers too.  This item is rare, difficult to obtain and guaranteed authentic.  I'd love for one of my lucky Readers to win it!  Let's re-live that magical night again here, shall we?

To qualify for the win, check out some of these Clips I captured from the Concert below.  In clip number one, Swift pays tribute to three Canadian acts in a Medley.  Name for me via a comment, the three songs and their original artists in the Canadian Medley.

You must be following me on Twitter here to qualify for the win as I will be verifying and also remember to leave me your Twitter Username so that I can get in touch with you when you win!  Your deadline is September 1, 2011.  Contest is open to all readers and you may enter multiple times. Good luck, Mavenati!  So tell me, which Blog always loves you back again?

Watch the Clips below:

TAYLOR SWIFT AT TORONTO'S AIR CANADA CENTRE FOR "SPEAK NOW" TOUR

Taylor Swift in Toronto - July 2011

Performing for the first of two nights at Toronto's Air Canada Centre on the Toronto leg of her Speak Now Tour, Grammy winner Taylor Swift managed to overcome illness and wow a sold-out crowd after a show just last night at Montreal's Bell Centre. With the audience consisting mostly of early twenty-something Females, Swift focused mostly on newer material from her 4.8 million copy-selling third Disc Speak Now, released last October.

Arriving on-stage at exactly 8:30 PM, Swift delivered her "A-Game", dazzling the audience in one shiny outfit after the other with Beyoncé-like swagger and confidence, delivering tracks like Mine and The Story of Us. It wouldn't be long before the audience would chime-in with Swift singing together in unison on Mean, an ode to her harshest Critics and the price of Karma.

One highlight in particular this evening was a Mash-up of her Ballad Back to December, along with OneRepublic's Apologize and You're not Sorry, also appearing on her latest effort.  Complete with a String section and lights resembling falling snow, the moment was magical indeed.

Into the second half of the show, Swift took the party to a secondary stage set-up behind the  Soundboards, serenading the charmed audience with some Acoustic bliss on her track Fearless, which was merged together with Train's Hey, Soul Sister and Jason Mraz's I'm Yours. The Show hit a high note, as she took the festivities back to the  main stage once again with her Grammy-nominated tune You Belong With Me, clocking in at over six minutes.

TAYLOR SWIFT TO TOUR FOR "SPEAK NOW"

Taylor Swift at CTV's Canada AM

In what's guaranteed to be another seat-filler, Taylor Swift has announced that she will be touring in support of her latest Platinum-debuting effort Speak Now.  Swift will embark on her Tour February 9th in Singapore and end October 8th in Dallas. 

Toronto luckily will be getting two days at Air Canada Centre, July 15th and 16th.  For a full list of dates, click here. 

Who's going?  I'd love to hear her do new single Back to December live!

(Photo credit: Mr. Will-W.)

TAYLOR SWIFT IN TORONTO FOR "SPEAK NOW" AT MUCHMUSIC AND CANADA AM (PICS & VIDEO)

Taylor Swift on Canada AM

In-town to promote her already Platinum-selling third album Speak Now released last Tuesday, Taylor Swift made quite a splash across the City today. Arriving in Toronto late last night, Swift rested-up for an early morning at CTV's studio in Scarborough. Sitting down with Hosts Seamus Regan and Beverly Thomson before an intimate audience of mostly Mothers and their Children, the multiple Grammy winner answered questions about her Songwriting process. Swift who began writing at the age of twelve explained that she gets inspiration randomly. In those moments, she has her Assistant, Family or Friends fetch her Cell Phone over, on which she records a lot of her ideas.

Swift was in awe of a custom-made red Canada AM Mug with the number 13 inscribed with sticker jewels. The number 13 we learned is v. significant to her as she was born on December 13th, sold 13 million records and moved with her family from Pennsylvania to Tennessee at the age of 13 also, where her career began to take off.

The 20 year-old explained that one of her best friends is red-hot redheaded Actress Emma Stone whose latest film Easy A both earned commercial and critical acclaim. Watch this clip below where she expresses how proud she is of her BFF:

TAYLOR SWIFT SELLS OVER A MILLION COPIES OF "SPEAK NOW" IN FIRST WEEK

Taylor Swift at eTalk in 2008

It's official! Taylor Swift has never been hotter and despite the downward trending of Album Sales, the 20 year-old doesn't really appear to be feeling the pinch. Swift's third album Speak Now was released last Monday and Billboard Magazine has just confirmed that the album is expected to sell over a million copies in-time for Thursday's published Billboard Hot 200 Album Chart. This almost doubles her 2008 effort Fearless which sold just-under 600k copies in its first week.

The Magazine reports that since the Nielsen-Soundscan era began, only 16 albums have debuted with over a million albums sold. The last time this occured was back in 2005 when 50 Cent's The Massacre opened with over 1.5 million copies sold.

Above this, Swift will be in Toronto tomorrow to do a round of Press in support of Speak Now. Check back again for some photos of serial Celebrity-dating, Cupcake-loving, Guitar-playing, Grammy-winning Chart Topper.

(Photo credit: Mr. Will-W.)

TAYLOR SWIFT APPEARING ON MUCHMUSIC'S "LIVE AT MUCH"

In what surely will be madness, Taylor Swift is appearing on Live at Much this Thursday, November 4, 2010 at MuchMusic's Headquarters, 5:00 PM EST.  Swift will be promoting her new album Speak Now.  According to MuchMusic, there are no Wristbands or secured spots available for the show, which likely will feature some live performances and a bit of chatter in-between.  Spots inside the studio are reserved only for Contest Winners who won tickets recently from CTV's family of stations/networks.

The station is advising that camping-out overnight will not be permitted and that she will be coming out between 5:30 to 6:00 PM to greet fans.  Be careful, clear your Bladder, bring Snacks and do not get trampled as it surely will be a hot mess!  Read here for more details.

To read my review of Speak Now, click here.

TAYLOR SWIFT - SPEAK NOW REVIEW

Country sensation Taylor Swift returns with her third studio effort Speak Now and there are no real surprises to be found on the 14-track Collection. And that could be a good thing considering how well she's done with her established formula.

Swift's songwriting ability continues to grow by leaps and bounds in terms of maturity and musical complexity with the help of Mentor/Producer Nathan Chapman, who has guided much of the 20 year-old Superstar's career. Overall, the tracks go deeper and this results in longer tracks which get caught in  moments like Dear John, rumoured to have been inspired by a failed relationship with John Mayer, some years her senior. Although there are no instantly accessible smashes on the set like 2008's Love Story or 2009's You Belong With Me, there are some gems like big-chorused Enchanted, Back to December (both tracks punctuated with Strings) and album closer Long Live.

Recurring themes in Swift's music are her habit of transferring blame on her ex-Boyfriends, which proves entertaining as it gives her songs that reading-out-of-a-Diary charm. Never Grow Up encourages the young the enjoy the simplicity of their youth, while she reflects also upon the sad realities and disappointments of Adulthood.  The track musically takes a cue from The Best Day off of her sophomore effort. The Story of Us with its Pop Rock leanings, rides off the success of her singles' Pop Versions and actually is radio-ready. Mean strikes back gently at her bitter Detractors who criticize things like her singing ability, for example. She couldn't possibly be referencing a certain  Rapper who is just coming out of hiding, now could she?