Taylor Swift has shown her charitable side by donating $100,000 to the Red Cross in Iowa.

The 18-year-old singer announced that she was handing over the cash to help the residents of the flood-stricken town at her concert in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Friday.

Cedar Rapids was devastated by the natural disaster in June, when the Cedar River burst its banks, causing millions of dollars-worth of damage.

And Swift felt obliged to help the locals after seeing the extent of the carnage first hand.

She told People.com, “The people in this town have been through so much loss this year, and my heart goes out to them. They’ve stood by me, they gave me a sold-out show. You’ve got to pay it forward in life, and that’s what I’m doing here tonight.”
But a source claims Swift almost pulled the gig altogether following the flood.

An insider says, “Taylor was going to cancel the concert, thinking few people could attend, but the mayor of Cedar Rapids asked her to carry on.”

It’s not the first time Swift has displayed her generosity. In January, she donated a brand new pink truck – a present from her record label to mark her 18th birthday – to a youth camp for kids with serious medical conditions.

And earlier this summer she gave her merchandise sales from the Country Music Association Music Festival to the Nashville Red Cross.

Source

WENN

Taylor Swift has earned her high school diploma after signing up for home tuition from a Christian school.

The 18-year-old reveals her papers recently arrived in the mail.

Swift had to give up her regular high-school education when her career took off and she turned to the Aaron Academy to help her complete her studies.

And she’s thrilled that she was able to learn on the road: “There’s something really exciting about getting to live your dream and continue your education at the same time.”

Source

WENN

Taylor Swift calls the news about Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s new baby “incredible.”

“Even just thinking about it now, I’m tearing up because I’m so happy for them,” she writes on her MySpace page. “When my mom and I got the news, we just sat there in the hotel room and got so emotional.”

She says the two are “such incredible people. They’ve always been so wonderful to people.”

When Kidman, 41, came to Nashville, Swift, 18, says the Oscar winner “treated everyone with grace and respect, and has always been so humble. I’m overjoyed for them.”

Kidman welcomed Sunday Rose Kidman Urban on Monday. The baby weighed 6 pounds, 7 ounces.

After the baby’s birth, Urban, 40, thanked fans for their “thoughts and prayers.” He said their daughter is “beautiful” and that he and Kidman were “blessed.”

Source

WENN

I used this as an excuse to post a picture of my favorite singer, Joe Elliott of Def Leppard.

So country music and heavy metal have more in common than the mullets.

Apparently teen singer-songwriter Taylor Swift has always dreamed of rocking out with British rock giants Def Leppard!

And CMT is going to make her dream come true by arranging for them to play together for Crossroads, the show that pairs country acts with stars from other genres.

Even though Def Leppard formed more than decade before the multi-platinum selling country cutey was born, the Our Song star says that they’re still her favorite rock band.

“Every time I’ve seen Crossroads on CMT I’ve always thought, ‘If I ever get to do one of those, it has to be with Def Leppard!,’” said 18-year-old Taylor, “so this is really a dream come true for me.

“I have been screaming the words to Def Leppard songs for years, so it’s amazing that I’m going to get to share a stage with them this year!”

Taylor and the five piece from Sheffield, England, will perform for an invitation-only audience in Nashville in October.

Source

WENN

Hannah Montana: The Movie is about to include more than just Hannah Montana.

Country star Taylor Swift has been added to play a cameo in the Disney movie, currently filming in Nashville.

According to the 18-year-old, “I’m just really excited about it because it’s cool when some of my little fans come up with a Hannah Montana shirt on, and I want to be like, ‘Guess what? I get to be in that movie with her!’”

Source

WENN

Teenage country star Taylor Swift is a self-confessed clean freak – and can’t stand having an unmade bed.

The singer hates having a messy bedroom at home in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and has to have everything in a particular order.

Swift says, “I’m sort of a neat freak. I need the bed to be made. It’s kind of interesting because that kind of defies the whole musician thing. I think we’re supposed to be messy … but I need everything to be neat and put away and organized.”

Source

WENN

After losing out at the Grammys to Amy Winehouse for Best New Artist, it must have felt like sweet vindication last night to 18-year-old country crossover star Taylor Swift, as she took home two of the evening’s biggest honors at the CMT Music Awards ceremony in Nashville.

“There’s nothing that’s more important to me than my fans and making them happy,” said a thrilled Taylor, who was awarded the Female Video of the Year and Video of the Year trophies for her hit, “Our Song.” “I never want to let them down. The fact that they would do this for me — would go so far and be so amazing… it’s so unbelievable. I’m absolutely so flattered and humbled. I’m having the best night I can remember.

As for the song that propelled her into the winner’s spotlight, Taylor explains, “I wrote ['Our Song'] in ninth grade for a talent show, and never thought that it was going to be on an album, never thought I’d get to record it, never thought it would be a single, never thought it would go number one, and certainly never thought it would win.”

The teen star also surprised a lot of people when she came out on stage twice without her shoes. But, Taylor says, she’s got a good excuse. “I had these gorgeous hot pink heels on and they were really awesome but they really hurt so bad and I was limping up the stairs,” she recalled after the show. “I walked past Faith Hill, and I was like, ‘This hurts so bad.’ And she was like, ‘Take ‘em off!’ And so at that point, I just took off my shoes and did not put them back on for the rest of the night. I actually accepted an award barefoot and presented an award barefoot. But you know, Faith Hill told me to, so I did it.”

Source

WENN