Taylor Swift is ‘entertainer of the year’ because she didn’t pole dance

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Wow, Taylor Swift just received another honor. Taylor has been named “Entertainer of the Year” by the Associated Press – she was chosen by a survey of editors, producers and AP members. Last year’s pick was Tina Fey, and the year before that was Stephen Colbert. Good for her. Although I know some people just love to be nasty about Taylor, I really do think this was her year to shine, and she proved to be a very classy young lady. One of the funniest quotes about Taylor came from Danielle L. Kiracofe, who is the entertainment editor for Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper. Kiracofe said about Taylor: “In a time of ‘made’ musicians, she writes her own songs and has her own sparkly style. She’s managed to do all of this with grace, class and poise – and without uttering a swear word, dancing on a pole or wearing next to nothing. At the age of 20.” Gee, pole-dancing?!? Whoever could she be speaking about?

It’s a love story, baby. Taylor Swift sang those words about a young romance, but they apply just as well to America’s feelings for the 20-year-old country singer. Swift, adding to the heap of awards already bestowed on her, has been voted The Associated Press entertainer of the year.

Swift was chosen by newspaper editors and broadcast producers across the country in a survey of AP members. She follows last year’s winner, Tina Fey, and 2007’s pick, Stephen Colbert.

“I am so honored and so excited,” Swift said in an interview by phone with the AP. “This was so unexpected, and I could not be more grateful.”

Though her second album, “Fearless,” came out in late 2008, Swift was ubiquitous in 2009. She found critical acclaim for her autobiographical and infectious songwriting, exemplified in tunes such as “Love Story” and “White Horse.” She led a sold-out tour across 52 cities in North America.

She won album of the year from the Country Music Awards and the Country Music Association Awards. She hosted “Saturday Night Live” and performed at the Grammys. She won five American Music Awards, including artist of the year. At one point, she had eight songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Swift said that several nights of her year were “golden and shiny and I’ll remember forever.” Hosting “SNL” was one of those.

“That entire week was life-changing, honestly,” said Swift. “It makes you feel so thankful to be a part of the music industry, but more than that, to me, ‘SNL’ is show business.”

Another live show, the MTV Video Music Awards, was more of a mixed blessing for Swift. She was accepting the award for best female video (the first VMA to be given to a country act) when Kanye West stormed the stage and interrupted her speech. West’s stunt set off a media storm that perhaps said as much about Swift’s popularity (fans and musicians alike came to her defense) than it did about West’s.

Among those who voted for Swift for entertainer of the year was Danielle L. Kiracofe, entertainment editor for the Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper.

“In a time of ‘made’ musicians, she writes her own songs and has her own sparkly style,” said Kiracofe. “She’s managed to do all of this with grace, class and poise – and without uttering a swear word, dancing on a pole or wearing next to nothing. At the age of 20.”

Ellis Widner, style editor for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, applauded Swift for superseding generational boundaries.

“She defines crossover appeal and would seem to be a strong business model in a declining music business,” Widner said. “And to her fans, she’s the real deal. On MySpace and in her songs, she wrote what she felt and sang about her experiences.”

At year’s end, Swift’s life is in flux. She’ll soon move out from home with her family, making this Christmas an emotional one for her. She may well have more trophies to haul in, too: In January, she’ll be attending the Grammys, where she’s nominated for eight awards. She’s already begun to look beyond 2009.

“The second that I put out `Fearless,’ the moment that album came out and I was done with it, I started writing for my next album,” said Swift. “I love to plan 20 steps ahead of myself, and it’s really fun competition game that I play with myself, trying to top what I’ve done last. For this next record, that’s all that I’ve been thinking about, that’s all that my mind has been fixated on for the last year, and it’s all that I’m going to be thinking about for this next year.”

[From Huffington Post]

In addition to this honor, Taylor also made the cover of People Magazine’s “Best of 2009” issue, which basically means that every mother in America loves some Swifty. Which might mean that a big crossover is coming – like Taylor Swift, movie star. Taylor has a supporting part in Valentine’s Day, the ensemble piece about love and whatever, and it comes out you know when. Now there’s a rumor floating around Disney that Taylor might be cast as Supergirl, a superhero for tween girls. It’s an interesting concept, but nothing stops a promising career faster than a big, expensive bomb. I’m just sayin’. Be careful, Taylor!

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22 Responses to “Taylor Swift is ‘entertainer of the year’ because she didn’t pole dance”

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  1. Atticus says:

    Please, please, please Taylor…am so happy for her that she is getting all this acclaim, I do think she has earned it and deserves it – and I, as a mom of a young girl, hope she keeps on keeping on. But please Taylor, don’t try to strike while the iron is hot and end up way overexposed doing stupid projects! She’d do far better to keep her head on straight and just keep going with her music.

  2. Sumodo says:

    I’m with Atticus. Brittany Spears took the same route, and made a horrible movie. Yet, who says she can’t be another Ashley Judd? OK, Ashley just “rode the bus” with her famous sister and mother, but was a sweet kid who made good movies. So far, Taylor’s management has made good decisions with her, and will keep it up.

  3. diva says:

    I hope she doesn’t burnout after recieving so many accolades at such a young age and then having the expectations placed on her to surpass them. I would have liked to see them vote for Michael Jackson, his movie proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was truly the best entertainer the world has ever seen. An entertainer should be held to standards that they are able to mesmerize their audience and I don’t think Taylor meets that criteria.

  4. artsyfartsy says:

    Im 50, dont have young kids, but LOVE Taylor – she is appealing to any age, her songs and music are the best. I agree with Atticus and Diva.

  5. Obvious says:

    @diva, while that may (or may not be true) he did not perform at all this year. he was gearing up for performances, and the movie came about after his death made up of rehersal footage (i could be wrong i did not see it), that hardly qualifies him as entertainer of the year, you may be correct about him being the greatest though.

    that being said, i love taylor but the award should have gone to Toby Keith, of all the musicians out there he sold out over 100 shows this last year all to large venues among other things. he accomplished what most artists only dream about and while he did not recieve the recognition in his efforts as Taylor, I think he defines entertainer of the year more than her, but again i love taylor so i’m happy either way.

  6. diva says:

    @Obvious the fact that Michael Jackson broke worldwide records with just “rehersal footage” at 50 speaks for itself that he is truly the best entertainer post-humously. I seriously doubt there will ever be any artist who could capture an audiences attention and break worldwide records by simply rehearsing, it is unheard of.

  7. ! says:

    Yeah, diva, ’cause you know we’ve all had that chance to see posthumous rehearsals for all the major dead performers *eye roll* Apparently, Elvis and The Beatles never existed.

  8. Obvious says:

    @Diva, i never said you were wrong. i never said you were right. however, we are talking about his year alone not his lifetime acheivements and such. for only this year he did not deserve the award.

  9. MSat says:

    Adorable girl, very marketable, and nice image for tweens. But her singing voice is very weak without studio magic. Yeah, I said it.

  10. Kat says:

    @obvious Toby Keith is racist, why would he ever be in line for any mainstream entertainment awards?

  11. J-Lin says:

    Diva, I agree. MJ would have been great. Hell, I would have chosen Lady Gaga.

    She’s young, dumb, and has minimal talent. She’ll burnout soon and the world will be on to the next person they feel sorry for

  12. Obvious says:

    @kat, i’m talking based purely on sales and revenue. he is the winner by a long shot. this has nothing to do with being racist, it has too do with being the top entertainer.

    michael jackson may or may not have been a pedophile but he was a great entertainer, toby may be or may not be racist but he is also a great entertainer.

  13. Kermit says:

    Taylor really isn’t an entertainer. She isn’t that entertaining. What she is is a fine songwriter. Her voice is weak, she doesn’t dance and entertain a la Beyonce or even Britney Spears. She’s a nice musician whose strength is songwriting. Sweet, very tall, nice as well as interesting looking, nice public personality (as few of us know how public people really are). But the “entertainer” label is off.

  14. Kermit says:

    J-Lin
    I have to agree about Lady Gaga. That’s an entertainer and very, very talented as a musician (entertainers aren’t always good musicians). She could make it on her powerful singing voice and piano playing even without the spectacle of her performances.

  15. Post title win. Haha. Not so sure if Taylor is that entertaining, though.

    -meream

  16. Cat says:

    I can’t help but cringe whenever TS wins an award. The more famous she gets, the more likely it is that the industry will eat her alive. The music business has a rep for taking nice young girls and turning them into easy sluts, trashy desperate hos, or suicidal druggies. I hope not in her case though!

  17. ViktoryGin says:

    Taylor Swift.

    *Clap*…*Clap*

    *Crickets*

  18. Dena says:

    She should really thank Kanye West. He is the only reason the national press became interested in her.

    That’s the real truth.

  19. For Sooth? says:

    I beg to differ. She DID pole dance, you guys just didn’t watch the CMA’s. She doesn’t deserve that pass that she is getting. And I bet a dollar to a donut she will ratchet up the raunch factor just like Britney, Miley, Christina, et al did in order to further their CD sells and “widen” their appeal. It’s called – Spread Your Legs For Money, Honey.

  20. Spooge says:

    yup… it’s all downhill from here. This is where Lindsay Lohan was years ago when she appeared on SNL. Look what happened to her. Let’s hope she can handle the next 10 years cause when you’re the ‘best’ at something, there’s only one thing to go. Throw in the aging and inevitable loss of looks and some people just can’t handle it.

  21. lucy2 says:

    I wish the best for her – she seems genuinely grateful for all the awards, and (so far) she’s a good role model in a sea of Britneys and Mileys. I agree she doesn’t have a super strong voice, but has a great songwriting talent, something most manufactured stars do not. She was very good on SNL, but a movie…I don’t know. We’ll see.
    Either way, deserving or not of all the awards, I hope she manages to keep her head on straight and not take the Lohan path out of child stardom.

  22. She’s my favorite. She’s great and sexy.