Taylor Swift Takes On MJ For The AMAs
Taylor Swift is continuing her relentless march down 2009, collecting accolades in the hem of her skirt as she sweeps by.
The latest? She just scored herself six American Music Awards nominations today--leading the pack for the year.
The closest runner-up? Oh heck, just the King of Pop himself, the late and exalted Michael Jackson. Who only got a paltry five noms.
Not only did Tay beat out MJ for most nods--what's pretty fascinating is that she'll be going head-to-head in two categories with him. Fearless will vie for favorite Pop/Rock album against Jackson's Number Ones. And the two stars are both up for the ultimate Artist Of The Year honor.
Now, you all know that here in Viva NashVegas-land, we consider Taylor first and foremost a country gal. We know she's a pop star, yes, but we are proud to claim her first as our own.
So, looking at things from this perspective, it's pretty amazing to see a country artist take on a massive pop/urban icon with a record-breaking, lifelong-successful career. And an icon whose death created the biggest entertainment news story of the year; maybe the decade to date. (And yes, Michael Jackson's passing was a bigger story than Kanye at the VMAs, so don't even go there).
Let's add now that this country star is not even 20 yet. I've already written a bit about Taylor's impressive record thus far in her short career, so I won't go into all her achievements again. I'm just blown away that she's being placed in the same category as Michael Jackson. This further proves yet another point I've been writing about lately--Country as a genre is displaying extraordinary strength in the entertainment world these days.
The question is: Who will win? Crazy, ain't it?
Aside from MJ--Tay's got her hands full in other AMA categories as well. She's up for Favorite Female Pop/Rock Artist with the formidable competition of Beyonce and Lady Gaga. Beating these two out will probably be trickier in this case than it was at the VMAs (with "You Belong With Me").
In her own musical territory, she's pitted against Reba McEntire and Carrie Underwood (in the Favorite Female Country slot), and Rascal Flatts (for Favorite Country Album). Again, not an easy joust in either category.
She's even bleeding into the Adult Contemporary world, taking on Daughtry and Jason Mraz for Favorite AC Artist. The girl is truly everywhere.
Taylor herself summed things up succinctly, tweeting "SIX AMA nominations??? What????!!! PARTY!!!!!"
Hard to argue with that! We're proud of you, Taylor!
So--do you think our country lass will beat out the King of Pop at the AMAs? Let us know.
As always, be sure to:
