Fearless (Taylor Swift album)
Encyclopedia
Fearless has been well-received by music professionals, with many praising Swift for her introspective lyrics, as well as her mature sound. According to the music review aggregator Metacritic
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 73 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Newsday
gave the album an "A" rating, calling it "wise beyond her years". James Reed of the Boston Globe also gave the album a strong review, saying the "Young country star's 'Fearless' proves she's just that, and more". Allmusic quote the way Swift writes her music and how she matured into her new album: "Swift's gentle touch is as enduring as her song craft, and this musical maturity may not quite jibe with her age but it does help make Fearless one of the best mainstream pop albums of 2008." Rolling Stone
magazine said that her "music mixes an almost impersonal professionalism - it's so rigorously crafted it sounds like it has been scientifically engineered in a hit factory - with confessions that are squirmingly intimate and true."
The album was listed as the 39th best album of 2008 by Rolling Stone.
in November 2007. Of those 592,000 copies, 129,000 were digital copies—the fourth biggest week for a digital album since Nielsen SoundScan
began tracking them in 2004. In July 2009, Fearless was announced as the top-selling album of the first half of 2009 in the United States. Fearless has eventually been certified 6x Platinum by the RIAA for shipments of 6 million plus copies. As of the week ending on September 12, 2010, Fearless surpassed the 6 million copies sold in the U.S alone. As of May 2011 the album sold 6,306,000 copies in the USA. Fearless has sold 713,000 digital copies as of March 2011.
Fearless is the fifth longest-running No. 1 album by a female artist in the Billboard 200 history, as well as the longest-running No. 1 album by a female country artist in the Billboard 200 history. As of March 2010, the album spent 58 non-consecutive weeks in the top 10 on the Billboard 200, also making it the longest-running country album in the top 10 in the history of Billboard. This also makes Fearless one of eight albums to have spent more than a year in the Top 10 of Billboard 200, the others being Michael Jackson
's Thriller
in 1983–84, Hootie & The Blowfish's
Cracked Rear View
in 1995-1996, Alanis Morissette
's Jagged Little Pill
in 1995–96, Celine Dion
's Falling into You
in 1996–97, Shania Twain
's Come On Over
in 1997–1998, Britney Spears
' ...Baby One More Time
in 1999–00, and Nickelback
's All the Right Reasons
in 2005–06.
In November 2009, with eight singles from the re-release of Fearless, Swift set a record for the most songs by a female artist simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100: "Jump Then Fall" at No. 10, "Untouchable" at No. 19, "The Other Side of the Door" at No. 22, "Superstar" at No. 27 and "Come in with the Rain" at No. 30, "You Belong with Me
" at No. 14, "Forever & Always" at No. 34, and "Fifteen
" at No. 46. Additionally, the song "Two Is Better Than One
" by Boys Like Girls
featuring Swift debuted at No. 80. This gave Swift six debuts in one week, the largest number of debuts by any female artist of all time, meaning setting another record for the largest number of charting songs by the same female artist in the same week at a total of nine.
With "Fifteen", Swift also tied Beyoncé Knowles
with 20 Top 40 singles as the female artist with most Top 40 singles this decade. Her collaboration with John Mayer
on "Half of My Heart
" for his studio album Battle Studies
however, gave her the lead after the song debuted at No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100..
" was the lead single from Fearless and was released in September 2008 to the United States. The single was later released to other continents in spring 2009. The song became Swift's first top five single on the US charts, and was her third non-consecutive No. 1 on the US country
charts. The music video for "Love Story" also premiered in September 2008 on CMT
. "Love Story" made Swift the first country singer to have a top 10 hit in the UK since Shania Twain's
"Party for Two
," which charted at No. 10 in 2004.
"White Horse
" was the second US single from Fearless and was released in November 2008. With "White Horse" debuting at No. 13 in the US, Swift then tied for second place with Mariah Carey
and The Beatles
for the most top 20 debuts in a career in the 50-year history of the Billboard charts. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, but did reach #1 on the Mediabase chart. The single was also released to Australia two days after the release of "Love Story" in spring 2009.
"You Belong with Me
" was released on April 21, 2009 as the third single from Fearless. The song became Swift's best-charting single in the United States; it peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified triple platinum by the RIAA.
"Fifteen
" was the fourth US single from Fearless and was released for airplay in August 2009. The single was officially released to the US in September 2009, and peaked at #7 on the Hot Country Songs chart and No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Fearless
" was the fifth and final single from Fearless and was released in January 2010 as a digital single from the album. The song peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #10 on the Hot Country Songs chart, becoming her lowest-charting single on the Billboard country chart.
" (No. 10), "Fearless" (No. 9), "You're Not Sorry
" (No. 11), and "You Belong with Me" (No. 12). On March 5, 2009 a remix of "You're Not Sorry" called "You're Not Sorry (CSI Remix)" was released on iTunes as a single. In November 2009, "Jump Then Fall" and "Untouchable" off of Fearless: Platinum Edition debuted at No. 10 and No. 19 respectively, making Swift the artist with the most Top 20 debuts in a career. Although "Forever & Always" was not released as a single, it was certified Platinum.
, 51st Grammy Awards
, Academy of Country Music
awards show, 2009 CMT
Awards, and 2009 MTV Video Music Awards
. Some of these performances have been alongside other artists, including Stevie Nicks
.
To promote the album, she has additionally performed on several major syndicated television shows, including Late Show with David Letterman
, The Ellen Degeneres Show
, Saturday Night Live
. To promote the album in the UK, she has appeared on music/talk show T4
, Loose Women
, and BBC Breakfast
. In September 2008, "White Horse
" was played during the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy
.
Swift also used Clear Channel Communications
's Stripped to help promote the album.
In spring 2009, Swift headlined a massive, sold out 52-city Fearless Tour
in the United States
and Canada
, with opening acts Kellie Pickler
, Gloriana
, and Molo Eight. Following Fearlesss success in the UK, Swift later brought the tour to London and Manchester in the fall, as well as performed at Bishop Ireton High School
in Alexandria, VA, after the school won a performance by her as part of a promotional contest sponsored by Verizon Wireless
.
According to Country Standard Time
, the tour "feature[d] an incredibly theatrical presentation of graphics, sets and visual elements designed by Swift herself." Each show consisted of performances by Swift on five guitars and the piano, as well as multiple costume changes and an illuminated fairy-tale castle. Most of Swift's shows sold out within hours; her August 27, 2009, show at Madison Square Garden
sold out in less than 1 minute after its availability.
After wrapping up the first leg of her Fearless Tour, Swift launched the second leg on March 4, 2010 after returning from a five-show tour in Australia
in February 2010. The tour was set to end on June 5, 2010.
According to a posting by her to her official YouTube Channel, the Fearless Tour sold out in a total of 63 cities in four different countries.
Strings
composed, performed and arranged by Jonathan Yudkin.
Finger snaps
on "Hey Stephen" by Andrew Bowers, Nicholas Brown, Carolyn Cooper, Burlas Cox, Lauren Elcan, and Martina McBride
's two daughters, Delaney and Emma McBride.
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 73 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
gave the album an "A" rating, calling it "wise beyond her years". James Reed of the Boston Globe also gave the album a strong review, saying the "Young country star's 'Fearless' proves she's just that, and more". Allmusic quote the way Swift writes her music and how she matured into her new album: "Swift's gentle touch is as enduring as her song craft, and this musical maturity may not quite jibe with her age but it does help make Fearless one of the best mainstream pop albums of 2008." Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine said that her "music mixes an almost impersonal professionalism - it's so rigorously crafted it sounds like it has been scientifically engineered in a hit factory - with confessions that are squirmingly intimate and true."
The album was listed as the 39th best album of 2008 by Rolling Stone.
Chart performance
Fearless sold 592,000 copies in the United States its first week—the largest sum for a country album since Eagles' Long Road Out of EdenLong Road Out of Eden
Long Road Out of Eden is the seventh studio album by American rock band Eagles, released in 2007 on Lost Highway Records. Nearly six years in production, Long Road Out of Eden is the first studio album from the Eagles since 1979's The Long Run, and along with the four original tracks on 1994 Hell...
in November 2007. Of those 592,000 copies, 129,000 were digital copies—the fourth biggest week for a digital album since Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
began tracking them in 2004. In July 2009, Fearless was announced as the top-selling album of the first half of 2009 in the United States. Fearless has eventually been certified 6x Platinum by the RIAA for shipments of 6 million plus copies. As of the week ending on September 12, 2010, Fearless surpassed the 6 million copies sold in the U.S alone. As of May 2011 the album sold 6,306,000 copies in the USA. Fearless has sold 713,000 digital copies as of March 2011.
Fearless is the fifth longest-running No. 1 album by a female artist in the Billboard 200 history, as well as the longest-running No. 1 album by a female country artist in the Billboard 200 history. As of March 2010, the album spent 58 non-consecutive weeks in the top 10 on the Billboard 200, also making it the longest-running country album in the top 10 in the history of Billboard. This also makes Fearless one of eight albums to have spent more than a year in the Top 10 of Billboard 200, the others being Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's Thriller
Thriller (album)
Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall...
in 1983–84, Hootie & The Blowfish's
Hootie & the Blowfish
Hootie & the Blowfish is an American rock band that enjoyed popularity in the second half of the 1990s. They were originally formed in 1986 at the University of South Carolina by Darius Rucker, Dean Felber, Jim Sonefeld, and Mark Bryan. The band has recorded five studio albums to date, and has...
Cracked Rear View
Cracked Rear View
Cracked Rear View is the major-label debut album by Hootie & the Blowfish, released on July 5, 1994 by Atlantic Records. It was the highest-selling album of 1995, with 10.5 million shipments that year alone, eventually shipping 16 million copies to retailers by March 31, 1999...
in 1995-1996, Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
's Jagged Little Pill
Jagged Little Pill
Jagged Little Pill is the third studio album by Canadian recording artist and songwriter Alanis Morissette. It was Morissette's first internationally released album, and her first studio album after the three year hiatus following her break with MCA Records. The album marked a shift from her style...
in 1995–96, Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
's Falling into You
Falling into You
Falling into You is an album by Canadian singer Céline Dion, released on March 8, 1996. It is her fourth English-language album and twenty-first overall...
in 1996–97, Shania Twain
Shania Twain
Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...
's Come On Over
Come on Over (Shania Twain album)
Come On Over is the third studio album recorded by Canadian singer Shania Twain. It was released on November 4, 1997. It became the world's best-selling country music album and the best-selling studio album ever released by a female artist in any genre...
in 1997–1998, Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
' ...Baby One More Time
...Baby One More Time
...Baby One More Time is the debut studio album of American recording artist Britney Spears, released on January 12, 1999, by Jive Records. In June 1997, while Spears was in a negotiation with manager Lou Pearlman to join female pop group Innosense, her mother asked family friend and entertainment...
in 1999–00, and Nickelback
Nickelback
Nickelback is a Canadian rock band from Hanna, Alberta. Since 1995 the band has included guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist and back-up vocalist Ryan Peake and bassist Mike Kroeger.. The band's current drummer and percussionist is Daniel Adair who has been with the band since 2005....
's All the Right Reasons
All the Right Reasons
All the Right Reasons is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band Nickelback, released on October 4, 2005. It is the band's first album with former 3 Doors Down drummer Daniel Adair, who replaced Ryan Vikedal in January 2005...
in 2005–06.
In November 2009, with eight singles from the re-release of Fearless, Swift set a record for the most songs by a female artist simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100: "Jump Then Fall" at No. 10, "Untouchable" at No. 19, "The Other Side of the Door" at No. 22, "Superstar" at No. 27 and "Come in with the Rain" at No. 30, "You Belong with Me
You Belong with Me
"You Belong with Me" is a country pop song performed by American recording artist Taylor Swift. The song was co-written by Swift and Liz Rose and produced by Nathan Chapman with Swift's aid. It was released on April 21, 2009, by Big Machine Records as the third single from Swift's second studio...
" at No. 14, "Forever & Always" at No. 34, and "Fifteen
Fifteen (song)
"Fifteen" is a country pop song performed by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Swift self-penned the song and co-produced it along with Nathan Chapman. "Fifteen" was released on September 1, 2009 by Big Machine Records, as the fourth single from Swift's second studio album, Fearless...
" at No. 46. Additionally, the song "Two Is Better Than One
Two is Better than One
"Two Is Better Than One" is the title of a song written by Martin Johnson. It was recorded by Boston alternative rock group Boys Like Girls. It is included on their second studio album Love Drunk, which was released in 2009. The song is the second official single from the album and features country...
" by Boys Like Girls
Boys Like Girls
Boys Like Girls is an American rock band from Massachusetts. Formed in 2005, the group gained mainstream recognition when it released its self-titled debut album. Boys Like Girls was the co-headliner with Good Charlotte for the Soundtrack of Your Summer Tour 2008 that toured across the United...
featuring Swift debuted at No. 80. This gave Swift six debuts in one week, the largest number of debuts by any female artist of all time, meaning setting another record for the largest number of charting songs by the same female artist in the same week at a total of nine.
With "Fifteen", Swift also tied Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
with 20 Top 40 singles as the female artist with most Top 40 singles this decade. Her collaboration with John Mayer
John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
on "Half of My Heart
Half of My Heart
"Half of My Heart" is a song by American rock singer John Mayer featuring American country pop singer Taylor Swift. It is the third single from Mayer's 2009 album, Battle Studies.-Music and lyrics:...
" for his studio album Battle Studies
Battle Studies
Battle Studies is a book by Ardant du Picq, a colonel in the French Army who was killed in 1870 in the Franco-Prussian War. The work was never completed, but Du Picq had written many chapters completely and left sufficient notes behind to complete the book.-Themes of the book:The theme of the book,...
however, gave her the lead after the song debuted at No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100..
Singles
"Love StoryLove Story (Taylor Swift song)
"Love Story" is a country pop song performed by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The song was written by Swift and produced by Nathan Chapman, alongside Swift. It was released on September 12, 2008 by Big Machine Records, as the lead single from Swift's second studio album Fearless...
" was the lead single from Fearless and was released in September 2008 to the United States. The single was later released to other continents in spring 2009. The song became Swift's first top five single on the US charts, and was her third non-consecutive No. 1 on the US country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
charts. The music video for "Love Story" also premiered in September 2008 on CMT
Country Music Television
Country Music Television, or CMT, is an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies of country music stars, game shows, and reality programs...
. "Love Story" made Swift the first country singer to have a top 10 hit in the UK since Shania Twain's
Shania Twain
Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...
"Party for Two
Party for Two
"Party for Two" is a song by Canadian singer Shania Twain. It was the first single from her 2004 Greatest Hits album. The song was written by Mutt Lange and Twain. Two versions of "Party for Two" were recorded: a pop mix with Mark McGrath and a country version with Billy Currington. The song was...
," which charted at No. 10 in 2004.
"White Horse
White Horse (song)
"White Horse" is a country music song performed by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The song was written by Swift and Liz Rose and produced by Nathan Chapman, with Swift's aid. The song was released on December 8, 2008 by Big Machine Records, as the second single from Swift's second studio...
" was the second US single from Fearless and was released in November 2008. With "White Horse" debuting at No. 13 in the US, Swift then tied for second place with Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
and The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
for the most top 20 debuts in a career in the 50-year history of the Billboard charts. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, but did reach #1 on the Mediabase chart. The single was also released to Australia two days after the release of "Love Story" in spring 2009.
"You Belong with Me
You Belong with Me
"You Belong with Me" is a country pop song performed by American recording artist Taylor Swift. The song was co-written by Swift and Liz Rose and produced by Nathan Chapman with Swift's aid. It was released on April 21, 2009, by Big Machine Records as the third single from Swift's second studio...
" was released on April 21, 2009 as the third single from Fearless. The song became Swift's best-charting single in the United States; it peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified triple platinum by the RIAA.
"Fifteen
Fifteen (song)
"Fifteen" is a country pop song performed by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Swift self-penned the song and co-produced it along with Nathan Chapman. "Fifteen" was released on September 1, 2009 by Big Machine Records, as the fourth single from Swift's second studio album, Fearless...
" was the fourth US single from Fearless and was released for airplay in August 2009. The single was officially released to the US in September 2009, and peaked at #7 on the Hot Country Songs chart and No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Fearless
Fearless (Taylor Swift song)
"Fearless" is a country pop song performed by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The song was co-written by Swift in collaboration with Liz Rose and Hillary Lindsey and produced by Nathan Chapman and Swift. "Fearless" was released on January 4, 2010 by Big Machine Records as the fifth and...
" was the fifth and final single from Fearless and was released in January 2010 as a digital single from the album. The song peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #10 on the Hot Country Songs chart, becoming her lowest-charting single on the Billboard country chart.
Promotional singles
Prior to the album's release, four digital-only promotional singles were released, all reaching the top 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart: "ChangeChange (Taylor Swift song)
"Change" is a song performed by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Swift self-penned the song and co-produced it alongside Nathan Chapman. The song was released on August 8, 2008, as a promotional single from Swift's second studio album, Fearless , with all proceeds being donated to the...
" (No. 10), "Fearless" (No. 9), "You're Not Sorry
You're Not Sorry
"You're Not Sorry" is a country pop song performed by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The song was solely written by Swift and produced by Nathan Chapman with Swift's aid. It was released on October 28, 2008 by Big Machine Records as a promotional single from Swift's second studio album,...
" (No. 11), and "You Belong with Me" (No. 12). On March 5, 2009 a remix of "You're Not Sorry" called "You're Not Sorry (CSI Remix)" was released on iTunes as a single. In November 2009, "Jump Then Fall" and "Untouchable" off of Fearless: Platinum Edition debuted at No. 10 and No. 19 respectively, making Swift the artist with the most Top 20 debuts in a career. Although "Forever & Always" was not released as a single, it was certified Platinum.
Promotion
Swift has performed songs from Fearless for many award shows, including the CMA Awards, American Music AwardsAmerican Music Awards
-Conception:The AMAs were created by Dick Clark in 1973 to compete with the Grammys after the move of that year's show to Nashville, Tennessee led to CBS picking up the Grammy telecasts after its first two in 1971 and 1972 were broadcast on ABC...
, 51st Grammy Awards
51st Grammy Awards
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on February 8, 2009. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the biggest winners of the night, jointly winning five awards including Album of the Year and Record of the Year...
, Academy of Country Music
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...
awards show, 2009 CMT
CMT
- Medicine :* California mastitis test* Certified Massage Therapist* Cervical motion tenderness, a sign of pelvic inflammatory disease* Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease* Chemically modified tetracyclines* Circus Movement Tachycardia...
Awards, and 2009 MTV Video Music Awards
2009 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 13, 2009, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, honoring the best music videos from June 19, 2008, to June 29, 2009. Comedian Russell Brand hosted the event for the second time in a row. The awards were held a few months after Michael...
. Some of these performances have been alongside other artists, including Stevie Nicks
Stevie Nicks
Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums...
.
To promote the album, she has additionally performed on several major syndicated television shows, including Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
, The Ellen Degeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
, Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. To promote the album in the UK, she has appeared on music/talk show T4
T4
- In airports and airlines :* The IATA airline code for Hellas Jet* Madrid Barajas Airport Terminal 4* London Heathrow Airport Terminal 4- In biology and medicine :* T4 phage, a bacteriophage* Thyroxine , a form of thyroid hormones* The T4 spinal nerve...
, Loose Women
Loose Women
Loose Women is a British lunchtime television programme, first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip...
, and BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast is the morning television news programme simulcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented live from BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items...
. In September 2008, "White Horse
White Horse (song)
"White Horse" is a country music song performed by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The song was written by Swift and Liz Rose and produced by Nathan Chapman, with Swift's aid. The song was released on December 8, 2008 by Big Machine Records, as the second single from Swift's second studio...
" was played during the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
.
Swift also used Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
's Stripped to help promote the album.
In spring 2009, Swift headlined a massive, sold out 52-city Fearless Tour
Fearless Tour
The Fearless Tour was the first concert tour by American country pop singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The tour was in support of her second studio album, Fearless. On the tour, she was joined by guests Kellie Pickler and Gloriana. Teen singer, Justin Bieber joined her for the tour when she went to...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, with opening acts Kellie Pickler
Kellie Pickler
Kellie Dawn Pickler is an American country music artist and television personality. She gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of the Fox reality show American Idol, eventually finishing in sixth place. In 2006, she signed to 19 Recordings and BNA Records as a recording artist, releasing...
, Gloriana
Gloriana (band)
Gloriana is an American country music group founded in 2008. It is composed of brothers Tom Gossin and Mike Gossin , as well as Rachel Reinert and, until July 2011, Cheyenne Kimball . Before the band's foundation, Kimball was the 2002 winner of the competition America's Most Talented Kid and a...
, and Molo Eight. Following Fearlesss success in the UK, Swift later brought the tour to London and Manchester in the fall, as well as performed at Bishop Ireton High School
Bishop Ireton High School
Bishop Ireton High School is a Roman Catholic High School located in Alexandria, Virginia. The school was founded in 1964 by the Oblates of St. Francis DeSales, an order of Catholic priests sometimes called Salesians, and originally admitted only male students...
in Alexandria, VA, after the school won a performance by her as part of a promotional contest sponsored by Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....
.
According to Country Standard Time
Country Standard Time
Country Standard Time is a website dedicated to country music and related genres such as Bluegrass and Rockabilly. It provides news and musical reviews pertaining to the genre. It was established in 1992 by Jeffrey B. Remz as a print magazine, which was first published only in New England but went...
, the tour "feature[d] an incredibly theatrical presentation of graphics, sets and visual elements designed by Swift herself." Each show consisted of performances by Swift on five guitars and the piano, as well as multiple costume changes and an illuminated fairy-tale castle. Most of Swift's shows sold out within hours; her August 27, 2009, show at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
sold out in less than 1 minute after its availability.
After wrapping up the first leg of her Fearless Tour, Swift launched the second leg on March 4, 2010 after returning from a five-show tour in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in February 2010. The tour was set to end on June 5, 2010.
According to a posting by her to her official YouTube Channel, the Fearless Tour sold out in a total of 63 cities in four different countries.
Track listing
- Specific letters were capitalized in the lyrics in her cover booklet, spelling out hidden messages for each song.
- Amazon.com also released an exclusive boxset featuring the album, a t-shirt, bracelet, poster, photo album, and a Taylor Swift Nation decal sticker.
Platinum Edition
Swift released Fearless: Platinum Edition on October 26, 2009. The album contains the same tracks plus 6 additional tracks and a DVD.- Both Fearless and Fearless Platinum Edition were made available for digital downloadMusic downloadA music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
by iTunesITunesiTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
.
Personnel
As listed on backing card.- Liz Huett – background vocals
- Nick Buddhabhatti – drums
- Colbie CaillatColbie CaillatColbie Marie Caillat is an American pop singer-songwriter and guitarist from Malibu, California. She debuted in 2007 with Coco, which included hit singles "Bubbly", "Realize", and "The Little Things". In 2008, she recorded a duet with Jason Mraz, "Lucky", which won a Grammy. Caillat released her...
– background vocals on "Breathe" - Nathan Chapman – electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, Hammond B-3 organ, accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, steel guitarSteel guitarSteel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
, percussion, background vocals - Eric Darken – percussion, vibraphoneVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
- Jessie Farinholt – background vocals
- Artie Garr (Kyle Ford) – Mandolin, Piano, Background Vocals
- Kenny Greenberg – electric guitar
- Caitlin Evanson – fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
- Tony Harrell – keyboards, Hammond B-3 organ, accordion
- Amos Heller – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Claire Indie – celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
- John Keefe (from the band Boys Like Girls) – drums
- Tim Lauer – keyboards, Hammond B-3 organ, accordion
- Tim Marks – bass guitar
- Grant Mickelson – electric guitar, acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, mandolin, steel guitarSteel guitarSteel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use... - Joel Shaw – electric guitar, acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
- Bryan SuttonBryan SuttonBryan Sutton is an American musician. Primarily known as a flatpicked acoustic guitar player, Sutton also plays many other instruments including mandolin, banjo, and electric guitar....
– acoustic guitar, mandolin - Taylor SwiftTaylor SwiftTaylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
– composer, lead vocals, background vocals, producer - Ilya Toshinsky – banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
- Al Wilson – percussion
- Paul Sidoti – lead guitar, keyboard
Strings
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
composed, performed and arranged by Jonathan Yudkin.
- Mike Meadows – Banjo
- Ben Clark – Banjo
Finger snaps
Snap (fingers)
Snapping one's fingers is the act of creating a cracking/clicking sound with one's fingers. Primarily this is done by building tension between the thumb and another finger and then moving the other finger forcefully downward so it hits the palm of the same hand at a high speed...
on "Hey Stephen" by Andrew Bowers, Nicholas Brown, Carolyn Cooper, Burlas Cox, Lauren Elcan, and Martina McBride
Martina McBride
Martina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....
's two daughters, Delaney and Emma McBride.
Production personnel
- Produced By Nathan Chapman & Taylor Swift
- Mixed By Chad Carlson, Nathan Chapman & Justin Niebank
- Mix Assistants: Steve Blackmon, Drew Bollman, Todd Tidwell & Shawn Daughtry
- Engineering: Chad Carlson, Kyle Ford, Kyle Ginther, Matt Legge, Mark Petaccia, Todd Tidwell
- Mastering: Hank Williams
Weekly charts
| Charts (2008–10) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
2 |
| Australian Country Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
1 |
| Austrian Albums Chart IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... |
14 |
| Belgian Albums Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... (Flanders) |
52 |
| Belgian Albums Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... (Wallonia) |
68 |
| Brazilian Albums Chart Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos The Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos is an official representative body of the record labels in the Brazilian phonographic market.- About :... |
18 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
1 |
| Danish Albums Chart IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... |
23 |
| Dutch Albums Chart MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
43 |
| French Albums Chart | 26 |
| German Albums Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
12 |
| Greek Albums Chart IFPI Greece International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Greece or IFPI Greece is the Greek branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and is the official charts provider and recording sales certification body for Greece. Currently two charts are compiled, one for sales of... |
19 |
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
7 |
| Japanese Albums Chart | 8 |
| Mexican Albums Chart | 37 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
1 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... |
5 |
| Russian Albums Chart | 17 |
| Spanish Albums Chart PROMUSICAE Spanish Music Producers is a trade group representing the Spanish recording industry... |
28 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
12 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 35 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
5 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
1 |
| US Billboard Top Country Albums | 1 |
Certifications
Year-end charts
| Chart (2009) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart | 4 |
| Canadian Albums Chart | 2 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart | 2 |
| US Billboard 200 | 1 |
| Chart (2010) | Position |
| Canadian Albums Chart | 14 |
| Billboard 200 | 7 |
| US Billboard Top Country Albums | 1 |
Decade-end charts
| Chart (2000s) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart | 87 |