Taylor Swift Ticket Giveaways and E-Cards Sing
With Taylor Swift concert tickets selling out in minutes every time they go on sale, this giveaway sounds like a no-brainer. You just become a fan of American Greetings on Facebook. (They say the contest is open to all ages, but technically, you need to be at least 13 to be on Facebook. So if you aren't, see if your parents will help you out.) Then they'll do random drawings every week for concert tickets in ten major cities plus other prizes. The contest ends on May 31. And while you are on their site, check out Swift's new e-cards that come complete with bits and pieces of her songs. I know everyone loves getting real cards in real envelopes in the real mail, but e-cards have come a long way. So for the Swift fan in your life, these are pretty perfect. And if you win the free tickets, even better.
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AC says:
Love Taylor! Here comes the hate..
icarly says:
Tay Tay is so over after being humiliated by talented singers/performers and song writers at the ACM’S.
Jonah says:
Boy, those e cards must sound horrible. Taylor can’t sing to begin with.
barb b says:
ts would do anything for more fans
like she dosent’s have enough fans
she needs more
Olive says:
Am already a fan, hopefully I get ticket to see you…You are such an inspiration to me. Love you Taylor and you really rocked the house with the change performance. Everybody in my house is buzzing about it and how you lit up the stage with your energy!
homeslice says:
Is anyone else curious if there will be a change in image? She begged her fans to vote at her concerts, on youtube, on twitter, etc, yet she lost to someone who was deemed to be the alsoran(love Carrie btw) by the mainstream. Maybe she can’t diguise that she can’t sing any longer.
S says:
I’m hoping that her 15 minutes are almost up.
homeslice says:
She could come roaring back with the CMT awards. But maybe Miranda will take those too.
homeslice says:
Yeah, pick on someone who spelled every other word correctly and just made one little typo. A very strong argument indeed.
Candy says:
@S; Get your facts straight, This is Taylor’s 4th year in the music scene.
It’s shameful and disgusting that Adults of today spend their time tearing down a young girl. What is even more shameful is that most of them are married.
It is Ironic how Carrie always talk about God yet her fans are filled with haterade. She should be proud of breeding this generation of FANS aka HATERS
nscomet68 says:
After seeing the really nasty comments that supposed country music fans post on these boards, I think I’ll move on to something a little kindler and gentler
Granna says:
I read a review from the Brooks & Dunn salute and the writer gave their favorites(Carrie’s was one) and went on to say later that Taylor’s performance was off & a little strange. DUH!! Aren’t they all! Wonder if she stripped during that performance! We all know she slung her hair though!
Jim says:
I’ll take Taylor’s singing,song writing and performance over carrie’s bland performance,motionless somebody elses words goo goo stuff any day. Love swift’s originality.
AC says:
Here’s the thing. Taylor has gone 4 years without any troubles selling out concerts and albums. What makes you all think that NOW she needs to worry? Taylor has a legion of fans backing her that don’t necessarily care all that much about her singing voice. I for one have been a fan since early 2007, and I know Taylor’s voice isn’t the best, but it doesn’t have an impact on how I feel about her as an artist. It’s sad that grown people can hate on a 20 year old girl living her dream. Keep doing your thing, Taylor!
Katie says:
Just because someone loses at an award show, doesn’t mean they’re over. I mean, look at all the other people at the ACMs who got shut out. Like Reba, and George Strait, and the Rascal Flatts, and Sugarland, and Keith Urban, and Toby Keith, and many other nominees. And think about all the people who seem to be nominated by never win. It just happened to be Lady Antebellum and Miranda Lambert’s night. Who knows who will dominate at the next award show. No need to tear people down.
But I would very much like to see Taylor Swift live because I think it looks very entertaining.
NOT HAPPY! says:
Katie- The difference between those nominees that you named is that THEY CAN SING- Sorry, but Taylor Cannot! I feel embarassed for her when she sings on Live Shows.
Riley says:
This pic of Taylor is great!
Robin says:
She’s not a “girl”. She’s a grown women singing like “she’s a girl”. That part is almost worse than the off key singing. Here’s me still hoping her next album is actually good.
Phil says:
Sorry to bust all your bubbles but she’s not going anywhere.Her new album will be out in the fall and I will be back here saying I told you so!!!!!!!!
Candy says:
Why should you feel embarrassed for her? It’s obvious you hate her, despite the fact everyone knows she can’t sing hasn’t stopped her Album from selling. Maybe you should be embarrassed that Artiste(s) who can sing better than her are still not making headlines or selling much.
Just so you know, Taylor’s performance was the most watched segment at the ACM. The internet is still buzzing about her brilliant performance.
I feel sorry for a lot of Artiste(s), they are always overshadowed by Taylor. Carrie breaks a record yet little attention is paid to her the same thing can be said for beyonce.
Robin says:
But, with that said, she wasn’t really shut out. The other artists just won as they should have. Kenny Chesney’s been “shut out” several times at award shows as was Carrie at the CMA’s, but those are two of the biggest stars of the genre. She’ll be awarded again, I’m sure. That’s fine, I just wish they’d keep her awards to a minimum as she does not deserve the “over praise” that she’s been receiving for the little talent that she has.
Candy says:
If there is anyone that has little talent that will be Carrie. A prove of that is to look at the credits on “Revolution” “Play on” and “Fearless”..The odd one out is “Play on”. Carrie needs to take a cue from Kelly Clarkson who recently said that her next album will include her writing her songs and writing with unknown songwriters as opposed to famous songwriters. The only award Carrie is entitle to is Vocalist award but now she has a competition (Miranda). Keith Urban is a definition of “shut out”
homeslice says:
Criticism is not equal to hate. Hating would be saying she’s ugly, she’s a brat, etc. That’s hating. Saying someone cannot sing is not hating. Furthermore, she is a woman. 20 years old is not a little girl nor a teenager. She is a grown woman who is being paid for something she cannot do. It’d be like paying a fireman who can’t climb a ladder, aim a hose, or carry anyone out of a burning building.
D Trotter says:
Granna said: ” I read a review from the Brooks & Dunn salute and the writer … went on to say that Taylor’s performance was off & a little strange. DUH!!”
Sorry, Granna, I read all those “Last Rodeo” reviews, including the one by Melinda Newman that you are referencing, and even that one just says the song Taylor did, “Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You”, was a “strange fit” because, at 20, she seems too young to be the singing the lyric about being hammered by heavy blows.(Obviously, Melinda has never visited the CMT blogs to see Taylor getting hammered by some of you fun people!:)
The reviewer likewise thought Reba’s song was an “awkward choice”.
She also mentioned her 5 or 6 favorite performances from the show, noting that Jennifer Hudson’s rendition of “Believe” was far and away the most buzzworthy.
So, Granna, either you completely misunderstood the reviewer’s comments (in which case the only accurate portion of your comment would be the “DUH!!” part) or you purposely misconstrued it to suit what you wanted to say about Swift. Either way, it’s just wrong.
Robbie says:
Candy, you actually think Carrie Underwood has little talent? Are you serious? And you think that because she doesn’t write her own songs? Well, with your theory then, George Strait has no talent because he usually does NOT write his own songs. What a idiotic thing to say.
barb b says:
candy carrie does not have to take
a cue from anyone and as far as talent
she has more talent than any of them
are you that jealous of her remember
she is eoty she won it fair and square
sy the way carrie writes her own songs
you are idiot
Candy says:
Really? How low can you go? It takes a creative mind to pen down a song and give it a tune, it does not take creativity nor craft to sing a song. So you figure it out. Every artiste(s) has his/her strength. She won eoty but couldn’t win Album of the year atleast Taylor won hers when she released Fearless.
If young females like Miley, jordyn, Miranda and Mallory can write their songs without a co-writer, why can’t Carrie. She is older than all of them.
Peacock Queen says:
I have always agreed with Homeslice. Just because you are not a fan of someone’s music does not make you a hater. I am constantly amazed at the comments on here from people who will tell someone they are “heartless” or “full of hate” for simply offering an opinion on music. On a website that is devoted to allowing music lovers to offer their opinion on music. If you don’t agree, that is fine. We each have our own. But to tell someone that they are full of hate or heartless simply because they do not enjoy the vocal talent or songwriting abilities of a recording artist is simply childish and does show some anger issues, in my opinion.
D Trotter says:
Peacock, I know you try to be respectful in your opinions and enjoy having the right to state them, pro or con. But ongoing negative comments, especially when exaggerated, overstated and repeated, repeated and repeated, have a CUMULATIVE EFFECT that can be hurtful and damaging, and not just to Taylor.
Let’s take the first few negative comments above;
1.”Tay Tay is so OVER after being HUMILIATED by TALENTED singer/performers and songwriters at the ACM’s.”
You don’t find the word “humiliated” over the top? She lost some awards to some fine artists. Must she now go crawl into a hole and die or something? The fact that she owns one of the most prestigious streaks of honors ever seen in a single year now means nothing?
2.”Boy, those e cards must sound horrible. Taylor can’t sing …”
Did anybody actually bother to follow the link to these cards before making a negative comment? They are really pretty, and the music is from songs like “Love Story” — only the #1 MOST PLAYED SONG on radio and the net last year. Besides the comment having NO substantive value beyond simple negativity, it is also ridiculous! People will be singing that song for 50 years.
3. “ts would do anything for more fans
like she dosent’s (sic) have enough fans
she needs more”
Now we get a picture of somebody desperately starved for attention, and that’s the reason for the e cards. This is a musical opinion? Not mean-spirited?
People need to put themselves into the other person’s shoes. Is there anyone who would ENJOY having 20 people jump onto EVERY SINGLE blog, no matter what it’s about, and say how talentless and how “OVER” their favorite is? Some of Taylor’s fans are young, very passionate in their love for her music.
I just read a blog on the LA Times — a “Taylor Swift Fairytale” — by a male adult (and not even a Swift fan) who took his daughter to see Taylor’s show — and realized he had witnessed something remarkable. pPartly because the music was much better than he imagined it would be, BUT ALSO FOR THE AMAZING JOY IT BROUGHT TO HIS DAUGHTER.
Now for one minute, just imagine YOU’RE the father or mother of this girl, and then your ecstatic daughter is greeted with 20 comments like the ones I quoted (and there are FAR worse ones). How would your daughter feel? How would you feel? Is this non-harmful?
Imagine that EVERY time you read try to enjoy some little tidbit about your favorite, there’s the same mean-spirited comments coming at you, again and again. What would do? Might you start getting angry and nasty yourself?
Or would you just go away? Get away from negative people? Read the comments. More and more Taylor fans are saying they’re done with these blogs. People who were literate and loved to comment just don’t come on anymore. Remember Kayko?
The Taylor-Apocalypse people want to think she is “over” and her fans are leaving her. That sure doesn’t seem to be the case at her concerts! But there is another scenario:
Maybe all those fans Taylor brought to Country Music didn’t like their taste of “old-fashioned Country Hospitality” on these blogs … and are just going away again! Not from Taylor — just from Country Music?
That was the exact statement of one recent post. Another one who had never been on CMT blogs before said she couldn’t believe the level of nastiness and would never be back.
I doubt they will be the last to leave.
Lizzie says:
My suggestion is to go somewhere and be around like-minded people who enjoy Taylor rather than hanging around where there is so much animosity. You cannot, singled handedly change the minds of these people. You can talk, explain, rationalize and none of it will sink in. You might argue that if there is a blog about Taylor you have every right to be here and comment on it. Agreed. But the information given on these blogs about Taylor can be had on Taylor’s own site, I would imagine. So why bother to even read this stuff here and drive yourself insane with responses. You’re trying to change something that will NEVER change. It’s a sad commentary for sure.
I don’t know. Maybe you enjoy beating your head against a brick wall.
Peacock Queen says:
D. Trotter,
Don’t misunderstand me. I was agreeing with Homeslice when he/she said “Criticism is not equal to hate. Hating would be saying she’s ugly, she’s a brat, etc. That’s hating. Saying someone cannot sing is not hating.” That is to what I was referring. There is a lot of hate on here, but it isn’t simply directed at Taylor and Carrie. I cannot believe the people who will come on here and say that Faith Hill is ugly, question Kenny Chesney’s sexual orientation by calling him certain horrible names (as if it is any of our business and what does that have to do with singing, anyway?), call Miranda Lambert and other ladies “fat”, say Tim McGraw is ‘p**&* whipped’ because he LOVES his wife, or imply Taylor has the body of a boy (which is terribly hurtful to a young lady), etc. Yes, there is hate, and it needs to be defended. However, I do agree with Homeslice that if you are talking about a particular artist’s vocal ability or a song or video that you don’t particularly care for, that is not hate.
There IS a big difference in blaming Carrie Underwood for a truckdriver’s untimely death, or saying her engagement to be married is a “publicity stunt to get ahead of Tay” and saying “I don’t care for the song ‘Cowboy Casanova’ all that much, but I love most all of Carrie’s other songs.”
Right?
D Trotter says:
Peacock, you put much effort into your examples. I agree, #1 & 2 are fair opinions (though you might have to ask Faith how she felt about the dress comment, lol).
There are a good many “squinty-eyed, ratty hair” types of hate comments thrown at Taylor on these boards — those are the obvious hate remarks.
But remarks can be hateful in many ways. There can also be a CUMULATIVE EFFECT that borders on HARASSMENT. Even opinion, if stated harshly enough and/or exaggerated enough, or if is repetitive to the point of badgering, can become a weapon of INTOLERANCE and bigotry. It’s just another schoolyard bully.
Peacock,allow me to use your own multiple choice device and ask, in your opinion, WHICH of these statements ARE, or are NOT, hate:
a.I don’t like her singing. I don’t care for her voice.
b.I HATE her singing.
c.I HATE her singing. I HATE her voice. I HATE her writing. I HATE her acting. I HATE her. She is the lamest thing I’ve ever seen. She is the worst singer in the history of mankind. She has never been in tune on a single note in her entire life.
d.I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HER SINGING. (Note: REPEAT THIS STATEMENT EVERY DAY, ON EVERY BLOG ABOUT TAYLOR, FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS).
e.I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT HER!! I want her to go away where I never have to look at her again or hear her horrifying voice again! (Repeat every day, 10 times a day, for the next 2 years).
f.I don’t care if she sells millions of records! Her fans are morons. They are all stupid babies and I hate them too!
g.I’m so glad she was humiliated by Carrie who is so much more talented than she is. Even though she BEGGED her fans, PLEASE VOTE ME ME, she LOST ANYWAY! She’s FINISHED as an artist.
Very interested to know what you think.
Peacock Queen says:
To me, (a) is not hate. Just an opinion. I love Kenny, but Granna doesn’t. I don’t get bent out of shape over it because Granna is never nasty about it. Grann simply states an opinion in a well-mannered, mature way. I don’t disagree with her because there isn’t any need to do so. I like him, she doesn’t get him. That is just not a big deal to me.
As for the rest, well, if you say HATE, then I guess you mean HATE! I do not hate her. I don’t hate anyone, especially not a lovely young woman who tried so hard to make her dream come true. I read where she practiced playing the guitar until her fingers bled. I admire that in anyone.
I believe one of the problems a lot of country (all subgenres included so I don’t get in trouble with Red) music fans have with her is also one of the problems I have with her, and it is the way she performs. Country music has traditionally been about the song and the vocals. Look at George Strait. He simply stands and sings, but his career has spanned nearly 30 years with him on top. Taylor exhibits a very young, but also a very rock-influenced attitude toward performing. The head slinging, pole sliding, laying on the floor, ripping off coats to reveal tiny dresses underneath, etc. is just not something most country music fans are used to seeing. The first time I saw Taylor do that was when she performed “Picture to Burn” on the CMT awards and I think was jaw hit the floor. But, each generation has its own and sometimes us old fuddy duddies just have to learn to adjust.
If I took my nieces to a Swift concert, I bet I would enjoy the show, too. But at her concerts with several hundred teenagers screaming, how Swift performs doesn’t matter. But on a country music award show where fans of ALL ages are watching, I think it doesn’t do her any favors. I have already stated that I did enjoy Swift’s rendition of “Breathless” at the Hope For Haiti Benefit simply because she sang without any bells and whistles and I thought she did a good job vocally with that song. It was refreshing to see a more “mature” Swift and I think toning down the “entertainment” aspect of the song allowed her to focus and do a much better job.
I am happy for Carrie Underwood, but I do not agree that Carrie fans should be gloating. What if the shoe were on the other foot? How would Carrie fans feel? I doubt Carrie would like it, either.
Joanne says:
I’m a lurker. I like to read the blogs and look in on the comments as well. Only once did I post a comment on a comments thread and it was pertaining to Taylor Swift. Her “talents” were being discussed (brought on by the many awards she’d been winning). Anyway, I said that I thought she was very entertaining but I felt her voice was one dimensional - a little flat and that personally, it didn’t appeal to me. I was immediately jumped on by more than several people (one which was D Trotter) telling me basically that my opinion was just because I was a hater.
So Peacock Queen, I appreciate your message here. It’s difficult to voice an opinion that is in any way negative, even though it’s done respectfully because everyone goes on the defensive. Taylor fans just believe that Taylor subject blogs are for Taylor fans and that no one else has the right to comment unless it’s praise. Anyway, the sentiment you’ve expressed here is something I can agree with.
D Trotter says:
Peacock, thanks for answering, and I really appreciate that your criticisms are your honest feelings given in a constructive way. Actually, I probably would accept b. as an opinion too — admittedly a very strong one — and even half of c.
But d. and e. become sheer badgering — one can picture a group of these people actually cornering someone and taunting them, yelling obscenities and threats w/o any problem. In f., personal attacks are made on her fans as well.
These things have happened again and again on Taylor boards. Sadly, it has the effect of making fans reactive and trigger-happy to fire back, even at legitimate opinions and constructive criticism.
The first time I read your remarks about Swift’s live performance of “Forever and Always”, I thought your comments of her hair-slinging and pole swinging (especially the latter since it conjures up the image of Striptease poles) were malicious; now I recognize how deeply these actions ran counter to your value system and sense of tradition and decorum. And I think it’s very cool that you’re making an effort to understand this younger gen, lol.
I don’t totally disagree that Swift’s image (and singing rep) might benefit from varying her style and doing a concert type of approach from time to time. For one thing, EVERY singer who doesn’t use prerecorded music or autotune, does much better when they aren’t running around the stage, jumping off of things and getting out of breath — you can’t stay in pitch when you’re vibrating your entire body with gymnastic routines.
Look at the times Swift HAS planted herself to sing:
the Alan Jackson Tribute where she sang “Drive”;
the George Strait Tribute where she sang “Run”;
The Hope for Haiti Concert, with “Breathless”;
and the Saturday Night Live” rendition of “Untouchable.”
All songs by other people, some traditional Country, and Swift receive almost universal praise for her performances on all of them. (By the way, take those performances, add her own “Crazier” from the Hannah Montana movie and the “Come In With the Rain” bonus track from Deluxe “Fearless” — and you’ve got yourself one-half of a really good COUNTRY album!)
One other occasion worth noting: The CMA Music festival last year, where she sang “Love Story”, “You Belong to Me” and “15″, all done just standing at the mike. She was so subdued, in fact, that some fans commented she didn’t seem herself. Well, it turns out she WAS reportedly under the weather. But, far from that being an excuse for a bad vocal performance, she delivered some of her best singing in a show of this nature, with even her critics begrudgingly admitting that”she sounded pretty good.”
But that really isn’t Taylor. She likes to surprise. She has said she doesn’t think concerts should just be a recital, she wants to entertain and involve the fans. Every time she puts on a performance she tries to make it an event.
For the ACM’s, she had just performed 2 back-to-back sold-out shows at the Staples Center in LA, yet she sometime found the time and energy to find a college choral group, incorporated them into the act along with some choreography and a hover-craft. And while some trad country fans found it a bit much, the internet was buzzing with praise at the inventiveness and energy of the performance.
That’s why I think it’s a joke when people say she can’t stay relevant. I saw a V-Fest outdoors concert from England where Taylor transformed herself into a rock star — think Mick Jagger, Steven Tyler, Bruce Springsteen. Not many female singers can go there, but she did, and her band was very impressive and up to the task. Her voice, too.
Like they say, girls just like to have fun!
Peacock Queen says:
;0)
Joanne, Thanks! I appreciate that! I am happy to see that someone understands what I am trying to say!
D. Trotter, yes, my first comments on here about Swift did sound malicious. I admit that, and I am not exactly proud of it, either. Not only was I not a fan of the songs Swift had out at the time, but I was soooooooo tired of her! After the Kanye incident, there was simply too, too much of Swift, like being force-fed sugar! Sweet, but too much will make you sick!
Anyway, I heard “Fearless” on the radio today, and I turned the volume UP, not down as usual. I really like that song! So, it just goes to show how things can work out. Despite all of my anti-Swift posturings in the past, here I am liking one of her songs and even singing along with it! You have to laugh about it. Life, or more importantly, GOD tends to work things out for people, in time. So I guess some of the other people who come on here and post “hate” (although I don’t agree that it is always hate) about Taylor, Carrie, Brad, Kenny, Miranda, Keith, Faith, etc. will some day find something about them they can appreciate, maybe even one of their vocal performances! So don’t take too much of the negative posts to heart, O.K.? (Although I know it is really hard sometimes, especially when comments are so malicious, it hurts.)
D Trotter says:
Joanne, I personally am very doubtful that I ever “jumped on” anyone JUST for saying Taylor’s voice didn’t appeal to them.
When people go over the top, use hyperbole or grossly exaggerated generalizations about her, I may debate it, and I almost always use hard facts as opposed to sheer opinion. When people pad their opinions with fabricated “facts” and made-up stories (e.g., Taylor’s Daddy buying her success) that are totally ridiculous, THEN I will jump on them, and counter their myths with real facts. And if people use language and descriptions that are personal, rude and derogatory, well … the love you get is equal to the love you give.
It’s possible you took the brunt of a whole bunch of REPETITIOUS hate comments (as discussed in my previous posts above) after I heard enough, and if that’s the case I would apologize. If you can name the blog this occurred, I would love to go back and check.
tryecrot says:
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