The album's lead single, "Love Story", was Swift's first song to achieve commercial success outside of the United States. It reached number one in Australia, number three in New Zealand,[7] and number two in the United Kingdom and become one of the best-selling singles in the United States The album's third single, "You Belong with Me", became her biggest domestic hit, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.[8] The album itself topped the Billboard 200 for 11 non-consecutive weeks and topped the Billboard Top Country Albums for 35 non-consecutive weeks. The album was later re-released on October 26, 2009, as Fearless: Platinum Edition with six additional new songs.[9]
At the 52nd Grammy Awards, Fearless won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and Best Country Album.[10] Her Album of the Year win made her the youngest person ever at the age of 20 to receive that award, thereby eclipsing Alanis Morissette's win for Jagged Little Pill at the age of 21. Fearless was also the first album in history to win the American Music Award (AMA), Academy of Country Music Award (ACM), Country Music Association Award (CMA), and Grammy Award for Album of The Year in the same year making it the most awarded album in the history of country music.[11]
Critical reception
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".[20] Newsday gave the album an "A" rating, calling it "wise beyond her years".[21] 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".[15] 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."[22] 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."[19] The album was listed as the 39th best album of 2008 by Rolling Stone.[23]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 Eden in November 2007.[2] 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.[2] In July 2009, Fearless was announced as the top-selling album of the first half of 2009 in the United States.[24] Fearless has eventually been certified 6x Platinum by the RIAA for shipments of 6 million plus copies.[25] As of the week ending on September 12, 2010, Fearless surpassed the 6 million copies sold in the U.S alone.[26]Fearless is the fifth longest-running No. 1 album by a female artist in the Billboard 200 history,[27] as well as the longest-running No. 1 album by a female country artist in the Billboard 200 history.[28] 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.[29] This also makes Fearless one of seven 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, 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,[30] 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.[31] Additionally, the song "Two Is Better Than One" by Boys Like Girls featuring Swift debuted at No. 80.[citation needed] This gave Swift six debuts in one week, the largest number of debuts by any female artist of all time,[citation needed] 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.[32]
With "Fifteen", Swift also tied Beyoncé Knowles with 20 Top 40 singles as the female artist with most Top 40 singles this decade.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]
Singles
"Love Story" 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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] The music video for "Love Story" also premiered in September 2008 on CMT.[33] "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.[citation needed]"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.[34] 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.[citation needed] " "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 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.[35]
Promotion
Swift has performed songs from Fearless for many award shows, including the CMA Awards, American Music Awards, 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.
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 Fearless's 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.[36]
According to Country Standard Time, the tour "feature[d] an incredibly theatrical presentation of graphics, sets and visual elements designed by Swift herself."[37] 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.[37] 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.[38]
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.[39] The tour was set to end on June 5, 2010.[39]
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.[40]
Fearless has become the most awarded country album of all time
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Fearless" | Taylor Swift, Liz Rose, Hillary Lindsey | 4:01 |
| 2. | "Fifteen" | T. Swift | 4:54 |
| 3. | "Love Story" | T. Swift | 3:55 |
| 4. | "Hey Stephen" | T. Swift | 4:12 |
| 5. | "White Horse" | T. Swift, L. Rose | 3:54 |
| 6. | "You Belong with Me" | T. Swift, L. Rose | 3:51 |
| 7. | "Breathe" (featuring Colbie Caillat) | T. Swift, Colbie Caillat | 4:21 |
| 8. | "Tell Me Why" | T. Swift, L. Rose | 3:20 |
| 9. | "You're Not Sorry" | T. Swift | 4:21 |
| 10. | "The Way I Loved You" | T. Swift, John Rich | 4:06 |
| 11. | "Forever & Always" | T. Swift | 3:46 |
| 12. | "The Best Day" | T. Swift | 4:07 |
| 13. | "Change" | T. Swift | 4:40 |
| Total length: | 53:30 | ||
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar