With the release of her album 1989 last year, Taylor Swift has completed her transition from 
country darling to pop queen, earning her countless millions of fans around the globe. One of the top-selling albums of the decade thus far, 1989 has given Taylor Swift the highest level of fame and success she’s enjoyed in her decade-long career.
Taylor’s Florida fans are very excited to see her in concert later this month. She will be performing at the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami on Tuesday, October 27 at 6 p.m., and at Amalie Arena in Tampa on Saturday, October 31 at 5 p.m. Vance Joy will open for her in Miami and Tampa, and Shawn Mendes will also be part of the opening roster for her Tampa appearance.
ABOUT TAYLOR SWIFT
Taylor Swift was born in 1989 in Reading, Pennsylvania, and was raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. She became interested in singing at the age of nine and it was Shania Twain that i
nfluenced her to originally pursue country music as her chosen genre. Her parents were very supportive, and helped her record a demo, which she gave to record labels in Nashville at the age of 11. By the time she was twelve, she learned how to play the guitar.
She and her family moved to Tennessee when she was 14 so she could pursue her dream. She signed an artist development deal with RCA, but they wanted her to wait until she was 18 to release an album with her own material. She and her family disagreed, causing her to jump ship for Big Machine Records. Her first album, self-titled, was released in 2006; two of her songs reached #1 on the country charts, and the single “Teardrops on My 
Pillow” was her first crossover pop hit, reaching the top twenty. She was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist, losing to Amy Winehouse.
Her 2008 album Fearless was another crossover success, with the single “Love Story” becoming one of the best-selling country singles of all time, and “You Belong with Me” reaching #2 on the pop charts. She won an MTV Video Music Award for this album, becoming the first country artist to win the coveted award. This recognition is perhaps better-remembered for its interruption by Kanye West, who infamously announced that he felt Beyoncé had a better video. The hubbub introduced Taylor to even more people who may not have heard of her previously.
Her 2010 album Speak Now was unique in that all of the songs were written by Taylor alone — a first for her. The album became one of a mere handful that sold over a million copies in its first week fo release. She won two Grammy Awards for this album, and was also named Billboard’s 2011 Woman of the Year. Her next album, Red, was released in 2012 and sold over 1.2 million albums in its first week — becoming the highest-selling album from any artist in the United States in the past ten years. The single “We Are 
Never Ever Getting Back Together” reached #1 on the pop charts — her first chart-topper on the pop side.
With lots of fanfare, her fifth studio album, 1989, was released in October 2014. It immediately became a critical favorite, with Rolling Stone remarking, “Deeply weird, feverishly emotional, wildly enthusiastic, 1989 sounds exactly like Taylor Swift, even when it sounds like nothing she’s ever tried before.” 1989 became her third album in a row to sell over one million copies in its first week of release. As a result, she was named Billboard’s 2014 Woman of the Year, becoming the first woman to ever receive this distinction twice.
So far, five singles from 1989 have been released for radio airplay and for purchase. The first, “Shake It Off,” was released two months before the album hit stores, and it debuted at #1, holding that spot for four weeks. The single “Blank Space” also topped the charts, and Taylor became the first female artist to have a #1 single one week, only to have a completely different single succeed it at #1 the next week. “Bad Blood,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, also topped the pop charts. The singles “Style” and “Wildest Dreams” reached the top ten, at #6 and #8, respectively.
TICKETS
Tickets went on sale nearly a year in advance, and if you go through the box offices at the AmericanAirlines Arena or Amalie Arena, you will find that all of their seats are sold out. However, Ticketmaster has a number of seats available for resale, starting at $130 per person for her Tampa appearance and over $400 per person for her Miami appearance. The prices may be high, but considering Taylor hinted that she may take time off from music, this may be the last chance to see her in concert for a while!
For more information on Taylor Swift, visit taylorswift.com. Follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/taylorswift and on Twitter @taylorswift13.
