CMT Blog: Taylor Swift

Before I got this gig as a country music writer, I did some time writing greeting cards. It was some of the best money I ever made. The American Greetings company would send me blank white cards, I'd draw pictures and come up with words and send them back in. For every idea they bought, I made $150. So on a really good, super clever day, I could make $1,500. And now Taylor Swift is getting in on it, too, although I'm guessing, for her, it's not about the money. But I can see why hiring her makes sense because greeting cards are so much like songs. There's an idea, and then inside there's a twist. So the inside of the card is like the bridge of a song, where you give people that a-ha moment. "My idea of a great song is a song that says how I feel better than I could," Swift said. "I feel the same way about greeting cards." Swift's cards will hit shelves and online stores in 2010, and if the company is lucky, they'll sell as well as her records.

I really want to plead the fifth on this topic. But the comments just won't stop coming on Taylor Swift's recent CMA entertainer of the year win. So I will say nothing this time, and let some country artists do the talking via a feature in People magazine:

Faith Hill: "I think she worked her tail off the last couple [of years] and she deserves to win."

Tim McGraw: "I've been doing this a long time, and she's got a better head on her shoulders than I do, so I don't know how anybody could complain about that."

Randy Travis: "As a writer, she is a phenomenal talent. When you look at the body of work that she has written at the age when she came into this business, it's remarkable. It really is. But do I think that entertainer of the year might have been a little early? In my opinion, yes, for whatever that's worth."

Photo credit: Rick Diamond/Getty Images

In this special section on Maxim.com, they list who they consider to be the 18 hottest women of country music. And it's pretty much the usual suspects, like Julianne Hough, Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, Kellie Pickler, Jennifer Nettles, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Sara Evans, Gretchen Wilson and the girls from Little Big Town. But it's the little remarks and photo captions that are worth checking out. From the introduction line ("We know why the devil really went down to Georgia. He was looking for these country divas.") to the comments about sexy newcomer Jessie James ("the smokingest thing to happen to country music since Willie Nelson rolled his first joint") and about Danielle Peck ("grabbed our attention with her pantsless video for "Bad for Me." Which was, ironically, very, very good for us."). This story may not be for the girls who hate men's magazine, but guys who dig country will love this photo gallery.

Photo Credit: Frederick Breedon/Getty Images

If you can only read, afford or rationalize one magazine this month and you love reading about lifestyles of the rich and down-to-earth country stars, you will have to make a very tough choice. On newsstands right now are two tempting reads. There's the People Country "I Count My Blessings" issue with Alan Jackson and his wife, Denise, on the cover, as well as the December InStyle with Taylor Swift.

People is typically a lifestyle read and not so much about the music, so I was pleased to see sections on the 10 songs that changed Keith Urban's life, the music teacher who gave Carrie Underwood the courage to sing, the song that makes Martina McBride happy (Bach's "Air on a G String") and the story behind Dierks Bentley's "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes."

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Wynonna's critical remarks on Taylor Swift's early success caused some trouble at the CMA Awards last week. However, during a visit to the pressroom backstage during the ceremony, she cited Lady Antebellum and Darius Rucker -- who both won trophies that night -- as two of her personal favorites. Speaking about Lady A, she said, "Their voices are real -- and their harmonies. I love harmony and I love it when I can really hear someone's voice and I can vibrate to it. I resonate to it. I like the way that they sing together. I mean, they're real. They're real vocalists and real entertainers. So I'm excited about them. I love Darius. He's very down to earth and a very grateful, humble person. What a concept. We do see it all and backstage we watch to see who's kind to the limo driver and who's paying attention to the hairdresser, not just the lady giving the award. I like Darius a lot. We're going to write together."

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After the CMA Awards, it is certainly no secret that Taylor Swift is in style. But now she is, quite literally, InStyle. The December issue of the thick-as-a-phonebook fashion magazine features Swift on the cover. But not just any old glam shot. This one is in 3-D. Gimmicky? Sure. But cool enough for any and all Swift fans to rush out and buy one on their local newsstands next Friday (Nov. 20). You apparently just hold the cover up to your webcam and watch Swift come to life. A red bow will unravel off the page, snow will start falling and Swift will welcome viewers with a holiday greeting. Sorry for the spoiler alert. But if it's just sitting there on the magazine rack, you may not know all the 3-D fun that's in store for you.

Everyone is entitled to her own opinion. But would it have killed Wynonna Judd to keep hers to herself? I mean, she could've thought to herself, "Wow. Taylor Swift is up for entertainer of the year? That makes no sense. She doesn't deserve it." But instead, Judd told USA Today, and I quote, "You want my honest comment? It's too much too soon. Time is God's way of keeping everything from happening at once. It's just too much of a good thing too soon." And these comments were made before Swift had even won the big entertainer of the year award. So really, it's like Judd was saying Swift didn't even deserve to be in the running yet.

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When you watch an awards show on television, there's only so much emotion you feel. But when you see it unfolding before your eyes live, like I did at last night's CMA Awards, everything's a bit more raw. The highs are higher, and unfortunately, the lows are lower. What might have just felt like a heartfelt acceptance speech from Darius Rucker when he won new artist of the year had I been watching at home, last night moved me to tears -- especially when he got the first standing ovation of the night. Or when it started snowing on Lady Antebellum during "Need You Now." I realize it wasn't real snow but it sure made the yearning in their vocals feel real. Or when Brad Paisley accompanied Carrie Underwood on a few parodies of older country tunes. Simply lovely.

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Here's the first thing Brad Paisley told reporters backstage last night at the CMA Awards: "I had the best time I've ever had at an awards show." That's big praise, considering he's won 13 CMA Awards in all. Paisley picked up his third consecutive male vocalist award and also accepted his fourth CMA Award in the musical event category for "Start a Band," his upbeat collaboration with Keith Urban. "Any time you can streak in a category - careful! - it's not only some pressure but it's a rare, rare sort of honor," he said. "I'm really proud to carry that badge another year."

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It was mostly the usual suspects who got nominated for the awards that were presented Wednesday (Nov. 11) in Nashville, but the winners in some of the categories make you wonder what's going on among the voters who are card-carrying members of the Country Music Association. (I should mention that I am a CMA member, but I'm not sure I could locate my card if I had to.) Lady Antebellum had a great year, but what does it mean when they win over the longtime favorite, Rascal Flatts? And while there was much discussion about whether Taylor Swift would win the entertainer of the year award, I really thought CMA voters would make her wait at least another year before presenting her with the organization's highest honor. And when people accuse country music of sounding like pop music, the song of the year prize somehow goes to Jamey Johnson's "In Color." At the risk of stirring things up, what are your thoughts about the winners at the CMA Awards show?