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At just 19, Taylor Swift appears to know how to handle her celebrity status, writes Alice Wasley
TAYLOR Swift just might come out of all of this unscathed. She was the highestselling artist in the US last year, finished the year with her first and second album in the top 10, performed with her good friend Miley Cyrus at the Grammys, and is on the cover of US Rolling Stone. Not a bad effort for a 19-year-old country singer but, in the current celebrity climate, one that could lead to a major fall from grace.
The thing about Swift is that when she talks about how she handles the scrutiny and the pressure, you believe she's mature enough and smart enough not to let it turn her into the next Britney Spears.
"I think being normal is just not believing your own hype," Swift says from her home in Nashville, ahead of her Australian tour.
"It's all about saying to yourself, 'Yes I'm No. 1 today but tomorrow if I don't make the right choices, I could be forgotten'.
You have to know that and you can't ever feel like you're not going to have to take responsibility for your actions. You do.
You're not exempt from life and from the hard stuff."
In her rare visits home, going along to her younger brother Austin's lacrosse games is one way for Swift to remember that she's not the centre of the universe.
Although when she's on the sidelines he's likely to feel like all eyes are not necessarily on his efforts as goalie.
"He doesn't care," she laughs.
"The funny thing about Austin is that he doesn't really care at all about how many records I've sold, he doesn't really care about how many people are coming to my concerts. That's his sister."
Though it's no surprise that...