Jon Stewart on The Daily Show announcing Barack Obama had won the presidency of the United States of America.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Indecision 2008: Barack Obama Wins | ||||
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Paris Jackson, expressing her love for her father Michael Jackson at his memorial service.
And last night, watching Taylor Swift win the entertainer of the year award at the 2009 Country Music Awards.
All three of these moments were genuine, open expressions of feeling. Even though the emotions were different the honesty of their words and the power of each of these moments connected with the way I felt about these events effecting me in a profound and indescribable way.
I'll never forget the first image of Taylor Swift I saw: A striking young lady in beautiful dress singing "Love Story" from the song's music video (which I raved about in this earlier post). Here was a young girl, singing about a fantasy, capturing the hopes and dreams of teenage romanticism in a hopeful, romantic and beautiful way. It was feeling the first rays of sun rising up on a Spring morning.
One reason, Taylor Swift struck me the way she did is because the last time we saw an 18 year old explode into popular culture it was Britney Spears when she released " . . . Baby One More Time." The video portrayed Spears in a perverse school girl fantasy with suggestion lyrics and dance moves. I have nothing against sensuality in music but with Britney, it didn't feel genuine, it didn't feel right.
Early in the day on Wednesday, I started seeing stories about how Taylor Swift was nominated for entertainer of the year at the CMA's, the youngest person to ever be nominated for that honor. I've never watched the CMA's before but I figured I would record it on my DVR and scan through it.
When I finally sat down and watched the CMA's, I was amazed. The hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood made some great jokes. They were a little silly but had a lot of fun. The most shocking thing for me after watching years of the Video Music Awards on MTV and the Grammy's was when Brad would pick up his guitar and her would sing joke songs with Carrie. Not only were these songs funny but Brad and Carrie sounded amazing singing together.
Then there was the music. Chock full of performances that focused not on big productions and dances numbers but on the musicianship of the performers. Country music proved that they have within their genre were some of the greatest musicians around.
Then there was Taylor.
She opened the awards show with an energetic performance of "Always and Forever."
The first part of the song she sang without a guitar, dancing around stage displaying an understanding of stage presence and performance that is well beyond her age.
Later in the evening she performed "Fifteen" surrounded by her fans. Like singing around a campfire, Taylor performed with her fans transforming from a stadium stage performer to folk sing/story teller.
At the end of the show came the big award: Entertainer of the year. When Tim McGraw and Faith Hill announced that Taylor had the big award there was a feeling that this was something that everyone in the stadium rejoiced in. The crowd went wild and the look on Taylor's face was priceless.
Faith Hill and Tim McGraw had supported her from before her first album. Every single one of the artist who were nominated for entertainer of the year had let Taylor open for them, which Taylor mentioned in her speech. The entire country music community had rallied behind this girl from day one to get her to this point and here she was. For a moment I felt like I was right there with the crowd cheering for our girl.
It was watching someone's dream come true. It was proof that being a good person and working hard paid off. And it was a reaffirmation in what is beautiful in art and inside of our hearts.
Now there are people out there who think that Taylor Swift's image is just that, an image. It's hard for me to believe that her song about her mom, "The Best Day," which I did a post about reflecting about my own mom was just a another calculated ploy to see more records, but that doesn't mean that is an impossibility.
The way that people view Taylor swift is the way that they view the world. Pessimist who see the glass as half empty see Taylor as an act. They want to see her fail and want to tear down and they want to prove that she's nothing but a marketing tool.
But I'm an optimistic. The glass is half full in my world.
I believe that people are good.
I believe the greatest joy we get in this worlds is caring for others.
And I believe in Taylor Swift.
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