- published: 08 May 2012
- views: 3469842
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.
Joseph Adam "Joe" Jonas (born August 15, 1989) is an American pop singer, musician, actor, and dancer. He is a member of the Jonas Brothers, a pop-rock band made up of him and his two brothers, Nick and Kevin. He starred as Joseph Lucas on the Disney Channel original series Jonas, and released his debut solo studio album, Fastlife in October 2011.
Joseph Adam Jonas was born in Casa Grande, Arizona. His mother, Denise (née Miller), is a former sign language teacher and singer, and his father, Paul Kevin Jonas, Sr., is a songwriter, musician and former ordained minister at an Assemblies of God church. Joe is of Italian (from a great-grandfather), German, Irish, English, Cherokee, and French-Canadian descent.
On August 17, 2007, Jonas, along with his brothers, guest starred in an episode of Hannah Montana. The episode debuted alongside the television film High School Musical 2 and a sneak peek of the new Disney Channel show Phineas and Ferb. The episode broke basic cable records with a record 10.7 million viewers, and became basic cable's most watched series telecast ever.