A basketball net at the arena

Power Balance Pavilion, back when its name was ARCO Arena

Power Balance Pavilion is an indoor arena, located in Sacramento, California. Opened in 1988, it is the home of the National Basketball Association's Sacramento Kings.

Background[link]

Power Balance Pavilion hosts nearly 200 spectator events each year. The current configuration seats up to 17,317 and can host such varied events as concerts, ice shows, rodeos and monster truck rallies. Nearly two million spectators from throughout Northern California visited what was then called ARCO Arena last year. The configuration for ice shows and ice hockey actually runs perpendicular to the basketball court with the normal sideline seating being retractable to allow for an international standard ice rink.

Owned and operated by Maloof Sports & Entertainment, Power Balance Pavilion is the home of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings.

Power Balance Pavilion has played host to the Ultimate Fighting Championship 65 and 73, NCAA Men's Basketball Tournaments multiple times and was the host site for the 2007 NCAA Volleyball Championships.

Details[link]

The original ARCO Arena (1985–1988), where the Kings played their home games for three seasons (1985 to 1988), after moving from Kansas City had a capacity of 10,333 seats.

Power Balance Pavilion is located in a once isolated area on the expanding northern outskirts of the city. It was constructed at a cost of just $40 million, the lowest of any venue in the NBA. It is the smallest arena in the NBA with a seating capacity of 17,317. In 2006, there was a campaign to build a new $600 million facility in downtown Sacramento, which was to be funded by a quarter cent sales tax increase over 15 years; voters overwhelmingly rejected ballot measures Q and R,^[5] leading to the NBA publicly calling for a new arena to be built at another well-known Sacramento facility, Cal Expo, the site of California's state fair.^[6]

The original namesake sponsor of the arena, energy company ARCO, had corporate sponsorship since the arena's inception as well as the original ARCO Arena. On March 19, 2007, the Maloof brothers announced a multi-year agreement extending the naming rights of ARCO Arena.^[7]

Power Balance Pavilion has hosted and currently hosts several state high school basketball championship games (1992, 1996, 1998–2009, 2011-present)^[8][9] Power Balance Pavilion hosts many graduation celebrations for local high schools.

The facility's most attended event to date is the 1995 Billy Graham Greater Sacramento Crusade, which accounts for the four largest crowds in arena history. The facility has hosted the WWE Pay-Per-View event WWE The Bash on June 28, 2009, as well has hosted the 1993 Royal Rumble, and Judgment Day 2001. It has later hosted Friday Night SmackDown on August 12, 2011 which saw "Grotesque" Cody Rhodes win the Intercontinental title from Ezekiel Jackson

Power Balance Pavilion has also hosted a PBR Built Ford Tough Series bull riding event every year since 2005. The arena hosted World Extreme Cagefighting's first ever pay-per-view event, WEC 48, on April 24, 2010.^[10]

The naming rights for the arena, ARCO, expired in February 2011. The arena was renamed Power Balance Pavilion on March 1, 2011 for its new sponsor, Power Balance, a manufacturer of sports wristbands.^[11]

Seating[link]

The arena seats 17,317 for basketball, and has 30 luxury suites and 412 club seats.^{[citation needed]}

Baseball stadium[link]

There is an unfinished baseball stadium directly north of the arena. The stadium was never finished because the Sacramento Sports Association ran out of money during construction in 1989. The completion of Raley Field has stopped any possibility of this stadium being completed.^[12]

Popular culture[link]

There is an instrumental song called "Arco Arena" on the album Comfort Eagle by Sacramento band Cake. The band also released a version of the song with lyrics as a B-Side. The music video for Bel Biv Devoe's "She's Dope" was filmed at the arena. This was also the home for the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs until they folded in 2009.

Arco Arena set a Guinness World Record for loudest sports roar by reaching over 130 decibels on November 8, 2006.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Power Balance Pavilion

• Power Balance Pavilion official website

A Power Balance wrist band

Power Balance is a brand of hologram bracelet once claimed by its manufacturers and vendors to "use holographic technology" to "resonate with and respond to the natural energy field of the body", and increase sporting ability.^[1] Numerous independent studies of the device found it to be completely ineffective at improving athletic performance, and the manufacturer was forced to retract its claims in 2010.

The product was promoted through paid celebrity endorsements^[2] and viral marketing rather than published scientific work.^[3] Power Balance bands became a fad among professional sportsmen in 2010, leading one journalist to say that "a growing number of professional sportsmen and their attendants are starting to sound like New Age crystal healers."^[1]

Power Balance initially denied that they made any medical or scientific claims about their products,^[4] but after an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ruling, Power Balance were forced to recognize and retract their medical claims.^[5] The company has been the focus of significant criticism, particularly for false advertising. It has been described as "like the tooth fairy"^[6] and a "very successful marketing scam".^[7]

In December 2010, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) required Power Balance to do several things, including making the following statement admitting they "engaged in misleading conduct":

"In our advertising we stated that Power Balance wristbands improved your strength, balance and flexibility. We admit that there is no credible scientific evidence that supports our claims and therefore we engaged in misleading conduct in breach of s52 of the Trade Practices Act 1974. If you feel you have been misled by our promotions, we wish to unreservedly apologize and offer a full refund."^[5]

In January 2011, a suit was filed against the company for fraud, false advertising, unfair competition and unjust enrichment.^[8] Power Balance agreed in September 2011 to settle the class action lawsuit. The settlement terms entitled Power Balance purchasers to a full $30 refund plus $5 shipping. A hearing to finalize the agreement was canceled after Power Balance filed for Chapter 11 protection.^[9] In November 2011, Power Balance filed for bankruptcy after suffering a net loss of more than $9 million that year.^[10]

Evidence[link]

IIG testing Power Balance in progress, Oct 28, 2010

Chiropractic researchers from RMIT's School of Health Sciences recently (2011) reported the results of an independent, randomized and controlled trial with double blind design. They found no difference in balance between people using a real holographic wristband and those wearing a placebo.^[11]

On October 28, 2010 Olympic champion gymnast Dominique Dawes, working for Yahoo Weekend News and Independent Investigations Group (IIG), tested Power Balance bracelets for their claim that they improve balance, flexibility and strength. She states "The fact is, all athletes know that nothing can replace good old-fashioned hard work—practice, practice, practice...Can a silicone wristband with a hologram sticker really give you an added edge?" According to IIG investigator Dave Richards "There was one 'legitimate' Power Balance bracelet, and 3 'sham' bracelets that had the hologram removed from them. The experiment was double-blinded, all bracelets were wrapped with tape so no one present knew which bracelet was real and which were fakes. Neither the participants nor the people recording the scores knew which bracelet was 'real' until after all participants had completed their runs and their scores were recorded." The results indicated that there was no benefit for those that had a real holographic bracelet compared to those who had a placebo.^[12][13][14]

In December 2009, an informal double-blind test was performed on the Australian television program Today Tonight, led by Richard Saunders from the Australian Skeptics. The results showed strong evidence that any effect of the holograms is too small to measure against the placebo effect.^[15]

A study at the University of Wisconsin tested the effects of Power Balance bracelets on a group of NCAA athletes. One set of the athletes received the Power Balance bracelet, while the other received a placebo bracelet. The athletes were subjected to tests of flexibility, balance, and strength, after which, the athletes switched bracelets and performed the tests again. The study found that the Power Balance bracelet had no effect, compared to the placebo, on the performance of the athletes.^[16]

Criticisms[link]

Bill Clinton wearing a Power Balance Power Band

A group of students skeptical of the claims conducted a test which showed "no significant difference between the real wristband and the fake".^[17] Researchers commissioned by the BBC also found that the bands were placebos,^[4] and this opinion is echoed by others: Victor Thompson, a sports psychologist based in London, is quoted by the Daily Mail as saying: "I'm not aware of any research that supports the technology behind these bands". Greg Whyte, professor of applied sport and exercise science, Liverpool John Moores University was also quoted: "For generations there have been devices that claim to mediate the body's flow of energy, from acupuncture to copper wristbands and, latterly, magnets ... In most instances, the 'proof' is based on anecdotal evidence."^[18]

Commenting on "Power Balance", the Center for Inquiry noted the sellers' use of pseudoscientific applied kinesiology tests, which it described as "problematic and full of flaws". The illustrative videos on the company's website were considered vague and unclear, and the Center noted that "most people's flexibility seems to improve from their first stretch to their second stretch regardless of whether they are wearing the bracelet".^[19]. The balance test merely uses fundamental laws of physics to elicit the desired effect of improved balance. ^[20]

Harriet A. Hall writes about the Power Balance Card in this column for Skeptical Inquirer Magazine June 2010. "Tell me you use the Power Balance card and it makes you feel better, and I can readily believe you. Tell me your performance improves when you carry it, and I will believe you. But that won't convince me that the improvement has anything to do with bioresonating frequencies in the holograms—or even with the cards themselves. It's like the tooth fairy. Tell me money appears under your pillow, and I will believe you. But that won't convince me that the tooth fairy did it." ^[21]

Australian consumer advocate group CHOICE recognized Power Balance in their 2010 Shonky Awards. The Shonky Awards are intended to "name and shame the shonkiest rip-offs and scams."^[22]

Legal issues[link]

In November 2010, the Australian distributors of "Power Balance" were ordered by the Therapeutic Goods Complaints Resolution Panel to drop "false and misleading" claims that the wearers would experience "up to a 500% increase in strength, power and flexibility", and ordered the claims removed from the company's website and a retraction posted within two weeks.^[23] The Junta de Andalucia fined the Marbella-based subsidiary a sum of €15,000 for false advertising; consumer organization Facua are appealing to the Health Department for an increased fine as they consider this insufficient.^[24]

Also in November 2010 Power Balance filed suit against Microsoft for infringement of trade dress in respect of the Xbox Kinect, after the company announced a range of promotional wristbands.^[25][26]

In December 2010, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) obtained from Power Balance Australia Pty. Ltd. an undertaking to take a number of actions in relation to correcting their misleading advertising,^[27][28] including:

1. publishing, at its own expense, corrective advertisements^[29]
2. ceasing to claim that the products^[30]
   • will improve the user's balance, strength and flexibility; or
   • are "designed to work with the body's natural energy field";
   • nor, in conjunction with the Products, make claims that "Power Balance is Performance Technology" or use the phrase "Performance Technology"
3. ceasing to manufacture or import products containing the words "Performance Technology"^[31]
4. blacking out the words "Performance Technology" on its packaging^[32]
5. replacing its promotional and marketing material^[33]
6. offering full refunds, plus postage^[34]

Power Balance Australia chief executive Tom O'Dowd admitted that "we'd made claims in the start that said that our product improved strength, balance and flexibility, and we didn't have the scientific peer reviewed double blind testing or the level of proof that we needed to substantiate those claims".^[35] ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel stated "It's a crock frankly. And we're very disappointed that so many people have paid hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars to buy these Power Bands."

Power Balance Australia were required by the ACCC to run a series of advertisements in Australian media containing the following text and to unconditionally refund those they mislead:

"In our advertising we stated that Power Balance wristbands improved your strength, balance and flexibility. We admit that there is no credible scientific evidence that supports our claims and therefore we engaged in misleading conduct in breach of s52 of the Trade Practices Act 1974. If you feel you have been misled by our promotions, we wish to unreservedly apologise and offer a full refund." - Power Balance statement.^[5][36][37]

In December 2010 Italy's Antitrust Authority fined Power Balance 300,000 euros (and another company 50,000 euros) for not having scientific proof of the claims made.^[38]

In September 2010, the Dutch Advertising Code Commission (RCC)^[39] made the following decision in the case where FIR-TEX Ltd,^[40] the plaintiff, had put Surf Unlimited Trading BV, distributor of power-balance in the Netherlands, on trial with the following complaint:

"Advertiser claims on its website that the use of the Power Balance Bracelet improves balance, strength and agility. These allegations are not backed with any single (scientific) evidence. The plaintiff believes that this method of advertising is in conflict with the Dutch Advertising Code (NRC) as the link between wearing the bracelet and the health of the wearer has not been determined in any way."

The verdict of the Commission was as follows:

The Commission considers the advertisement in opposition of the provisions of Article 7^[41] NRC. It recommends advertiser not to advertise in such a way anymore.

See also[link]

• Ionized bracelet
• Quackery

References[link]

External links[link]

• Power Balance Bracelet
• Energy Bracelets Turn Athletes to Stars, If Only in Their Heads^{[dead link]}

Taylor Swift
Swift performing during the Australian leg of her Speak Now Tour in 2012
Background information
Birth name	Taylor Alison Swift
Born	(1989-12-13) December 13, 1989 (age 22) Reading, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	Country-pop, pop, country, alternative rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, actress
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, banjo, ukulele, piano
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Big Machine
Website	TaylorSwift.com

Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Swift moved to Nashville, Tennessee at the age of fourteen to pursue a career in country music. She signed to the independent label Big Machine Records and became the youngest songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house. The release of Swift's self-titled debut album in 2006 established her as a country music star. "Our Song", her third single, made her the youngest sole writer and singer of a number one song on the country chart. She received a Best New Artist nomination at the 50th Grammy Awards.

Swift's second album, Fearless, was released in late 2008. Buoyed by the chart success of the singles "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me", Fearless attracted a crossover audience and became the top-selling album of 2009. The record won four Grammy Awards, with Swift becoming the youngest ever Album of the Year winner. Fearless also received Album of the Year plaudits at the American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards and Country Music Association Awards, making it the most awarded album in country music history. In 2010, Swift released her third album, Speak Now, which sold over one million copies in its first week. She then embarked on the 111-date Speak Now World Tour, which was attended by over 1.6 million fans and has become one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time. The album's third single, "Mean", won two Grammy Awards for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance. Swift is currently recording her fourth studio album, due for release in the fall of 2012.

Swift's work has earned her numerous accolades, including six Grammy Awards, ten AMAs, seven CMAs, six ACMs and 13 BMI Awards. She has sold over 22 million albums and 50 million song downloads worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Swift has endorsement deals with Target, CoverGirl, Sony, Elizabeth Arden, Walmart and American Greetings. As a philanthropist, Swift has placed particular emphasis on arts education, children's literacy and natural disaster relief funds. In addition to her music career, Swift has appeared as an actress in the crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2009), the romantic comedy Valentine's Day (2010) and the animated film The Lorax (2012).

Early life[link]

Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13, 1989 in Reading, Pennsylvania.^[1] She is the daughter of Scott Swift, a Merrill Lynch financial adviser,^[2][3] and Andrea (née Gardner), a homemaker who previously worked as a mutual fund marketing executive.^[1][4] Swift was named after singer James Taylor; her mother believed a gender-neutral name would help her forge a successful business career.^[5][6] She has a younger brother, Austin, who attends Vanderbilt University.^[7] She spent the early years of her life on an eleven-acre Christmas tree farm in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and was educated at the fee-paying Wyndcroft School.^[8] When Swift was nine years old, the family moved to Wyomissing, Pennsylvania,^[9][10] where she attended Wyomissing Area Junior/Senior High School.^[11] Swift spent her summers at her parent's vacation home in Stone Harbor, New Jersey^[12] and has described it as the place "where most of my childhood memories were formed".^[10]

Swift's first hobby was English horse riding. Her mother Andrea put her in a saddle when Swift was nine months old and she later competed in horse shows.^[13][14] Her family owned several Quarter horses and a Shetland pony.^[14] At the age of nine, Swift turned her attention to musical theatre and performed in Berks Youth Theatre Academy productions of Grease, Annie, Bye Bye Birdie and The Sound of Music.^[15][8] She travelled regularly to Broadway, New York for vocal and acting lessons. However, "after a few years of auditioning in New York and not getting anything”, Swift became interested in country music.^[16] She was inspired by LeAnn Rimes's Blue^[17] and her maternal grandmother, Marjorie Finlay, an opera singer.^[8] When she was in fourth grade, Swift won a national poetry contest with a three-page poem, "Monster in My Closet".^[18] At the age of eleven, after many attempts,^[19] Swift won a local talent competition by singing a rendition of LeAnn Rimes’s “Big Deal”, and was given the opportunity to appear as the opening act for Charlie Daniels at a Strausstown amphitheater.^[15] She spent her weekends performing at local festivals, fairs, coffeehouses, karaoke contests, garden clubs and Boy Scout meetings.^[20][4] This interest in country music isolated Swift from her middle school peers.^[21][22]

After watching a Behind the Music episode about Faith Hill,^[23] Swift recorded a demo of karaoke covers, and travelled with her mother to Nashville, Tennessee for spring break to leave a copy of the demo with record labels along Music Row. She received label rejections and realized that "everyone in that town wanted to do what I wanted to do. So, I kept thinking to myself, I need to figure out a way to be different".^[23] Swift began performing the "The Star Spangled Banner" at many sporting events, hoping she would be offered a recording contract. On one occasion, an eleven-year-old Swift high-fived Jay-Z after singing the national anthem at a 76ers game in Philadelphia.^[24] At the age of twelve, Swift was shown by a computer repairman how to play three chords on a guitar, inspiring her to write her first song, "Lucky You".^[25][26] She then recorded a second demo of original songs.^[15] In 2003, Swift and her parents began working with music manager Dan Dymtrow, after he spotted her singing at the US Open.^[27] Swift's second demo then caught the attention of RCA Records, who offered the eight-grader an artist development deal. In 2004, Swift modelled for Abercrombie and Fitch as part of their "Rising Stars" campaign and had an original song included in a Maybelline Cosmetics compilation CD.^[28]

When Swift was fourteen, her father transferred to the Nashville office of Merrill Lynch and the family relocated to a lake-shore house in Hendersonville, Tennessee.^[1] Swift has said her parents "presented it as a move to a nice community" rather than as her chance to become a star.^[29] Her mother has said, "We've always told her that this is not about putting food on our table or making our dreams come true."^[30] In Tennessee, Swift attended Hendersonville High School for her freshman and sophomore years.^[31] Later, to accommodate her touring schedule, Swift transferred to the Aaron Academy, a private Christian school which offered homeschooling services, and earned her high school diploma in 2008.^[32]

Music career[link]

[edit] 2004–08: Nashville songwriting sessions and Taylor Swift release

Swift moved to Nashville at the age of fourteen, having secured an artist development deal with RCA Records. Her musical influences included the Dixie Chicks, Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes, Faith Hill,^[29] Tom Petty,^[33] Sheryl Crow,^[34] Melissa Etheridge, Pat Benatar,^[35] Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks,^[36] Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette.^[37] Swift had writing sessions with experienced songwriters such as Troy Verges, Brett Beavers, Brett James, Mac McAnally and the Warren Brothers,^[38][39] but eventually formed a lasting working relationship with Liz Rose.^[40] Swift saw Rose performing at an RCA songwriter event and suggested that they write together.^[41] They began meeting for two-hour writing sessions every Tuesday afternoon after school.^[42] Rose has said that the sessions were "some of the easiest I've ever done. Basically, I was just her editor. She'd write about what happened in school that day. She had such a clear vision of what she was trying to say. And she'd come in with the most incredible hooks".^[43][42] Swift also began recording demos with producer Nathan Chapman.^[41] After performing at a BMI Songwriter's Circle showcase at The Bitter End, New York,^[39] Swift became the youngest songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Tree publishing house.^[44]

Swift performing at the Maverick Saloon & Grill in Santa Maria, California in 2006

Swift left RCA Records when she was fifteeen; the company wanted her to record the work of other songwriters and wait until she was eighteen to release an album, but she felt ready to launch her career with her own material.^[45][19] She also parted ways with manager Dan Dymtrow, who later took legal action against Swift and her parents.^[28] At an industry showcase at Nashville's The Bluebird Café in 2005, Swift caught the attention of Scott Borchetta, a Dreamworks Records executive who was preparing to form his own independent record label, Big Machine Records.^[40] Swift was one of the new label's first signings.^[40] As an introduction to the country music business, Borchetta arranged for Swift to intern at the CMA Music Festival; she acted as the artist escort for Darryl Worley.^[46][47]

Swift began working on her self-titled debut album shortly after signing her record deal. After experimenting with veteran Nashville producers, Swift persuaded Big Machine to hire her demo producer Nathan Chapman.^[19] It was his first time to record a studio album but Swift felt they had the right "chemistry".^[19] In the end, Chapman produced all but one of the tracks on Taylor Swift.^[19] She has described the album as the "diary" of her early teens^[48] and most songs were written during her freshman year of high school.^[19] As a result, the songs describe coming of age experiences such as insecurity, young love, and teenage angst.^[19] She has said that, although "it sounds like I've had 500 boyfriends", a lot of the songs are observational.^[19] Swift wrote three of the album's songs alone, including two singles, and co-wrote the remaining eight with writers such as Liz Rose, Robert Ellis Orrall and Angelo Petraglia.^[49] Musically, the album has been described as "a mix of trad-country instruments and spry rock guitars".^[50]

Taylor Swift was released in October 2006 and received generally positive reviews from music critics.^[51] PopMatters hoped Swift would be "able to find an accomodation between the country tradition and her very obvious pop sensibilities, because Taylor Swift suggests she has much to offer".^[52] The New Yorker's Sasha Frere-Jones described Swift as a "prodigy". She noted that "Our Song" "stop[ed] me in my tracks" and praised the lyrics: “He’s got a one-hand feel on the steering wheel, the other on my heart".^[53] Country Weekly felt Swift demonstrated "an honesty, intelligence and idealism with which listeners of any age will be able to connect" and noted that "the more thoughtful material suggests a talent poised to last well past high school".^[54] AllMusic stated that, while listening to the album, it was "never in doubt" that "Swift is a talent to be reckoned with".^[55] Rolling Stone described Swift as "bright-eyed but remarkably seasoned", and admired "Our Song"'s "insanely hooky sing-song melody that's as Britney as it is Patsy".^[50]

Swift performing at Yahoo HQ in Sunnyvale, California in 2007

Big Machine Records was still in its infancy upon the release of the lead single "Tim McGraw" in June 2006, and Swift and her mother helped "stuff the CD singles into envelopes to send to radio".^[30] She spent much of 2006 promoting Taylor Swift in a radio tour and later commented, "Radio tours for most artists last six weeks. Mine lasted six months."^[19] Swift painted canvases (inspired by Jackson Pollock) to gift to radio station managers who played her music.^[56] She took part in "GAC Short Cuts", a part-documentary, part-music-video series designed to introduce her to country music fans.^[57][58] She also made television appearances on Good Morning America,^[59] The Megan Mullally Show,^[59] America's Got Talent,^[60] and TRL.^[61] Swift, a self-described "kid of the internet",^[62] used MySpace to build a fanbase. She wrote her own blog posts, left comments on her fans' accounts and personally respond to the messages that were sent to her.^[63] This was, at the time, "revolutionary in country music".^[64][57] Borchetta has said that his decision to sign a sixteen year old singer-songwriter initially raised eyebrows among his record industry peers^[57] but Swift tapped into a previously unknown market: teenage girls who listen to country music.^[1][57]

Following "Tim McGraw", four further singles were released throughout 2007 and 2008: "Teardrops on My Guitar", "Our Song", "Picture to Burn" and "Should've Said No". All were highly successful on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, with "Our Song" and "Should've Said No" both reaching number one. "Our Song" made Swift the youngest sole writer and singer of a number one country song.^[65] "Teardrops on My Guitar" became a minor pop hit; it reached number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100.^[66][67] The album sold 39,000 copies during its first week^[68] and, as of March 2011, has sold over 5.5 million copies worldwide.^[69] Swift also released a holiday album, Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection, in October 2007 and an EP, Beautiful Eyes, in July 2008.^[70][71]

Swift toured extensively in support of Taylor Swift. In addition to festival and theater dates, Swift performed as an opening act for several country artists' concert tours. She opened for Rascal Flatts on several dates in late 2006.^[59][72] In 2007, she served as the opening act on twenty dates for George Strait's 2007 United States tour,^[73] several dates on Kenny Chesney's tour^[74] and selected dates on Brad Paisley's Bonfires & Amplifiers Tour.^[75][76] Also in 2007, Swift appeared as the opening act on several dates for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's joint Soul2Soul II Tour.^[77] Swift again opened for Flatts for their Still Feels Good Tour in 2008.^[78] In addition to performing her own material, Swift played covers of songs by Beyoncé and Rihanna.^[79] She conducted meet-and-greet sessions with fans before and after her concerts; these lasted for up to four hours.^[80][81]

In 2007, Swift and Alan Jackson were jointly named the Nashville Songwriters Association's "Songwriter/Artists of the Year". Swift was the youngest person ever to be honored with the title.^[82] She also won the Country Music Association’s Horizon Award for Best New Artist.^[83] In 2008, she won Top New Female Vocalist at the Academy of Country Music Awards^[84] and Favorite Country Female Artist at the American Music Awards.^[85] She won seven BMI Awards for songs featured on Taylor Swift.^[86] Swift was also nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award in the category of Best New Artist, but lost to Amy Winehouse.^[87]

[edit] 2008–10: Fearless release, MTV VMA incident and media backlash

Swift's second studio album, Fearless, was released in November 2008.^[88] She wrote seven of the album's songs alone, including two singles, and co-wrote the remaining six with songwriters Liz Rose, John Rich, Colbie Caillat and Hillary Lindsey.^[49] While Swift wrote many of the songs on tour, she made a conscious effort not to include "road songs": "As a 16-year-old girl, I could never relate to those songs about playing a different city every night. I want to write about feelings and love and the lack of love".^[89] She has said that the album title "means you’re afraid of a lot of things, but you jump anyway".^[90] She co-produced the album with Nathan Chapman.^[49] Musically, the record is characterized by "loud, lean guitars and rousing choruses", with the occasional "bit of fiddle and banjo tucked into the mix".^[91]