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AMERICAN
IDOL
The celebrity wrestle that shocked the world took place on September 14 2009. Well, it raised a few eyebrows, at least. In the bling corner: the hip-hop 'visionary', fashion-plate and all-round ego-monster, Kanye West. In the gingham corner, the teen-queen of pop-country music, Taylor Swift. At the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) in New York, Swift had taken to the stage to accept the award for Best Female Video. She had sold 13m copies of her self-titled 2006 debut album and 2008's follow-up, Fearless, had made Swift the youngest winner of the Grammy award for Album of the Year. Here was a wholesome heroine to America's adolescent girls, well on her way to becoming the biggest-selling digital artist in history.
But West, self-appointed oracle of all that is really dope, wasn't happy. As a wide-eyed and thrilled Swift attempted to give her thanks, West grabbed a microphone and told the assembled luminaries and viewing millions that Beyonce was more deserving of the award.
Swift -- tall, blonde, peachy-clean and gowned like a teenager at her first posh do -- gaped. The crowd booed. Sitting down the front, Beyonce looked mortified. West strode off into another notorious night. Job done.
Revenge, thinks Taylor Swift, is a dish best served acoustically, with some pointed lyrics. Last month she took to the stage in LA to perform at this year's VMAs. The singer, who secured her first publishing deal for her songwriting aged only 14, played a new, as-yet-unreleased song from her upcoming third album Speak Now. "I guess you really did it this time," she cooed as she sat on a stool with her acoustic guitar. "Lost your balance on a tightrope/ Lost your mind tryin' to get it back/ Wasn't it easier in your lunchbox days? Always a bigger bed to crawl into... and everybody believed in you ..."
The song is called 'Innocent'. Is it all about Kanye West?
"You are just so direct!" replies Swift when I put the question to her. Really, it's not that shockingly direct a question. But Swift was born and raised in rural Pennsylvania, the daughter of well-mannered, well-groomed, well-heeled parents (both worked in finance). She moved to Nashville with her family when she was 14....