Taylor Swift holding GRAMMYs

Taylor Swift

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Taylor Swift, '1989': For The Record

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Revisit T-Swift's 2014 pop masterpiece that led to her history-making GRAMMY moment
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jan 18, 2018 - 1:40 pm

Not only did Taylor Swift's fifth studio album, 1989, establish her as a fully emerged pop powerhouse, her unforgettable Album Of The Year GRAMMY acceptance speech proved she is a force to be reckoned with.

For The Record: Taylor Swift's '1989'

Swift also made history by becoming the first woman to win the GRAMMY for Album Of The Year twice for her solo recordings.

In all, 1989 yielded a total ten GRAMMY nominations (including three nods for the album's first single, "Shake It Off" for the 57th GRAMMY Awards) and three wins for the 58th GRAMMY Awards including Album Of The Year, Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Music Video for "Bad Blood." The album also hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and spent its entire first year in the Top 10, only the fifth album to ever accomplish this feat.

But the significance of 1989 was far greater than its accolades and chart success. The album punctuated Swift's bold transition from endearing country singer/songwriter to pop powerhouse with a resounding exclamation point. Swift not only co-produced and co-executive produced 1989, but also stood up to the pressures of traditionalist music industry executives, judgmental critics and closed-minded fans, among others, ultimately proving herself as one of her generation's strongest artistic and cultural voices and experiencing "the greatest feeling in the world" with her night's big wins.

Terri Lyne Carrington

Terri Lyne Carrington

Photo: Alexandra Wyman/Getty Images

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Terri Lyne Carrington's 'The Mosaic Project' | For The Record

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Look back at the jazz drumming prodigy's ambitious project that's chock full of stellar collaborations and mind-bending grooves
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jun 14, 2018 - 1:20 pm

By 2011, Terri Lyne Carrington had established herself as not just one of her generation's greatest drummers, but one of its most talented and inspired artists. But that year, Carrington applied her unique blend of jazz, R&B, soul, rock, blues, and pop elements to a new collaboration-rich project that would launch her career — and her legacy — to another level.

Terri Lyne Carrington's 'The Mosaic Project'

The Mosaic Project arrived on July 19, 2011. True to its name, the album contained an ambitious amalgam of jazz styles and guest vocalists. Carrington's effortless ability to fuse the accessible with the intellectual tied the larger vision of the project together, making it immediately stand out from anything comparable.

"There's one part of me that's kind of a jazz head who likes complex, thought-provoking melodies and harmonies," said Carrington, when asked about the album. "Then there's another part of me that really likes funk and pop and things that are accessible."

From the daring rendition of the Beatles' "Michelle" to romantic seduction on her take on Al Green's "Simply Beautiful" to the to the powerful social statement of "Echo," The Mosaic Project covers a ton of musical and lyrical ground. Stepping in to deliver the melody across the album, several vocal greats joined Carrington, including GRAMMY winners Dee Dee Bridgewater, Esperanza Spalding, Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, and more.

Carrington eared her first career GRAMMY Award for The Mosaic Project. The album was named Best Jazz Vocal Album at the 54th GRAMMY Awards, a testament to the strength of its many singing contributors. But the thread of deep groove, inventive rhythms and conversational musical interplay between Carrington and all the project's musicians is where her genius shines brightest on the album.

Carrington would go on to win additional GRAMMYs, taking home Best Jazz Instrumental album two years later for Money Jungle: Provocation In Blue at the 56th GRAMMY Awards and Best Jazz Vocal Album again for Beautiful Life at the 57th GRAMMY Awards. However, it was The Mosaic Project that set a new jazz standard for just how much a single album can contain and achieve — and catapulted Carrington into the ranks of the jazz elite.

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Sugarland

Sugarland

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Watch: Sugarland's Latest Video "Babe" Featuring Taylor Swift

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See Swift as a redheaded vixen in the "Mad Men" inspired video chronicling an ill-fated love triangle
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jun 12, 2018 - 8:30 am

Travel back in time to the early 1960s for a classic story of love and betrayal in Sugarland's latest video for "Babe," featuring none other than Taylor Swift.

The video traces the tale of a man having affair with a co-worker, played by a redheaded Swift. But when his wife, played by Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles, catches on, she shuts him out for good. The other half of the Sugarland duo, Kristian Bush, also makes a series of cameos from nosy neighbor to weatherman on a fuzzy black-and-white television in the "Mad Men" inspired clip.

As it turns out, Swift not only co-wrote the song with the band, she also wrote the treatment for the video.

"She actually reached out to us and said, 'I've got a great idea for the video,' and she wrote the treatment," Nettles told People. "She loves this song. ... She loves our recording of it. She's been such a champion of ours, not only for many, many years, but also where this project is concerned. She's just super excited that we're doing it."

The "Babe" video arrived just one day after Sugarland's sixth studio album, Bigger, which marks the band's first new release since 2010's The Incredible Machine. The band is currently on tour across North America through Sept. 9, where they wrap up in Philadelphia at The Mann Center.

Swift is also on the road, in the middle of her Reputation Tour, which kicked off May 8 in Glendale, Ariz, and continues through North America and Europe, wrapping up Oct. 6 in Arlington, Texas.

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Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood

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Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton Win Big At The 2018 CMT Awards In Nashville

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Little Big Town, Florida Georgia Line and Backstreet Boys also take home awards as Kelly Clarkson, Chris Stapleton, and more deliver memorable performances in Music City
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jun 7, 2018 - 8:49 am

Nashville, Tenn., was the place to be on June 6 as the 2018 CMT Awards took over Music City, bringing the brightest stars in country music together under one roof. The evening's big winners included Blake Shelton, who took home two awards, and Carrie Underwood, who held court as the all-time leader by winning her 18th CMT Award with her win for Female Video Of The Year for "The Champion" featuring Ludacris.

Shelton's pair of awards came for his video for "I'll Name The Dogs," which earned him both Male Video Of The Year and the coveted Video Of Year honors. The singer also regaled the Nashville crowd with a performance of "Turn Me On" early in the night, just after a dazzling opening number by Little Big Town.

Speaking of Little Big Town, the group pulled double-duty as hosts of the show and performers, opening the evening with a confetti-drenched rendition of "Summer Fever," marking the first time the GRAMMY winners had performed their new single live.

In another memorable moment, Florida Georgia Line debuted their song "Simple" in an aptly stripped-down backyard set. The duo also won the award for CMT Performance Of The Year for their "CMT Crossroads" delivery of "Everybody" with the Backstreet Boys, who added some pop flair to the night by singing their new song "Don't Go Breaking My Heart."

Sam Hunt, Chris Stapleton, Kelsea Ballerini, and Kelly Clarkson also performed, and Sugarland took advantage of a commercial break to tease their new video for "Babe" featuring a redheaded Taylor Swift. The video drops June 9.

Landing other notable wins, rising star Carly Pearce took home the award for Breakthrough Video Of The Year for her debut single, "Every Little Thing," while Dan + Shay scored Duo Video Of The Year honors for "Tequila," the lead single from their upcoming self-titled sophomore album, due out June 22.

The evening closed with a special "troublemakers" sing-along with Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Charles Kelly, and Darius Rucker, performing their version of the raucous Drivin N Cryin song "Straight To Hell."

For a full list of winners from the 2018 CMT Awards, head to the network's website.

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Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift

Photo: John Shearer/TAS18/Getty Images

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Taylor Swift Delivers Speech Celebrating Pride Month At Chicago Concert

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The GRAMMY winner offers words of support to the LGBTQ community during the closing night of the first leg of her Reputation Tour
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jun 4, 2018 - 8:18 am

Taylor Swift kicked off Pride Month with an inspired speech during her June 2 Chicago concert, offering support and encouragement to the LGBTQ community.

“It’s very brave to be vulnerable about your feelings in any situation, but it’s even more brave to be honest about your feelings and who you love when you know that it might be met with adversity from society,” Swift said during a break between songs, according to Billboard. "This month and every month I want to send my love and respect to everybody who has been brave enough to be honest about how they feel, to live their lives as they are, as they feel they should be, as they identify.”

Taylor Swift; Album Of The Year speech for '1989'

With Pride Month underway, Swift took the opportunity to celebrate of the progress made in the continuing struggle for equality, but also pointed out there is more work to be done.

“This is a month where I think we need to celebrate how far we’ve come, but I think we also need to acknowledge how far we have left to go," Swift said. "I want to send my love and respect to everybody who hasn’t felt comfortable enough to come out yet ... and may you do that on your own time and may we end up in a world where everyone can live and love equally and no one has to be afraid to all say how they feel.”

June is celebrated as Pride Month across the country, with major events planned in New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Anchorage, Alaska, Boston and Chicago. Many of the Pride Month celebrations commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion in New York City on June 28, 1969, when demonstrators fought back against the rising number of police raids on bars catering to LGBT patrons, a significant event in the movement for LGBT equality, according to GLAAD.

Swift delivered the speech at Chicago's Soldier Field on the final night of the first leg of her Reputation Tour, which commenced on May 8 in Glendale, Ariz., and is one of the hottest tour tickets this summer. Swift now heads across the pond for six dates in the U.K. before returning to the U.S. for the second leg of the North American tour, which runs from June 30 in Louisville, Ky., and wraps up Oct. 6 in Arlington, Texas.

Ticket availability and information for Swift's Reputation Tour can be accessed via Ticketmaster. A list of Pride Month events across the country can be found here.

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