danefergus: Taylor Swift: From the Grammys To The 'Hunger Games'

Sunday, 12 February 2012

Taylor Swift: From the Grammys To The 'Hunger Games'

The country star, who is up for three Grammys, will take the stage for her third performance at the awards show.
By Jocelyn Vena

Taylor Swift
Photo: Getty Images

Taylor Swift is certainly no newbie when it comes to the Grammy Awards. And this Sunday, the star is ready to perhaps take home some more shining Grammy gold. And, considering she's already got four trophies on her mantel at home and she's graced the stage two times before, the always-shimmering Swift certainly isn't going into the broadcast blind.

This Sunday she'll add another chapter to her Grammy book. And as she preps for the big show, MTV News takes a look at her road to the 2012 Grammys thanks to her chart-topping, genre-busting Speak Now. With touches of Nashville charm as well as sparkling pop sensibilities, Speak Now is being recognized not for its contributions to pop radio, but for its strong country influences.

She has nabbed three nominations: Best Country Album, Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song for the twangy Speak Now single, "Mean."

The vibrant, honky tonk-inspired tune (off the million-plus selling album) is all about addressing her critics. And the video, directed by Declan Whitebloom, takes that message to the next level and tackles the bigger issue of bullying at large. "We all have similar stories in our life that hit similar emotional cues, and to open it up and make it broader about lots of people and situations ... makes it much more accessible," he said. "It means more in a general way. I think [the message] goes across the board."

In addition to possibly taking home more hardware, she's also set to take the stage once again. Having already set the bar quite high for herself, this year's performance will most likely standout as one of the highlights of the night — which also includes performances from the likes fellow pop princesses like Nicki Minaj, Adele, Katy Perry and Rihannna.

What makes this year particularly special for Swift is that it seems that she will be performing solo. There have been no reports that Swift will take the stage with anyone else. In 2009, she performed her reflective Fearless track, "Fifteen," with Miley Cyrus. In 2010, she took the stage with Stevie Nicks and Butch Walker for a medley that included "Today Was a Fairytale," "Rhiannon" and "You Belong With Me."

But there's no rest for Swift. One day after she takes the stage at the show, she's set to premiere her video for "Safe & Sound," off "The Hunger Games" soundtrack. Fans can check out the world premiere of the moody clip for the equally moody track during "MTV First: Taylor Swift" at 7:54 p.m. ET on MTV, followed by an exclusive chat with Swift herself on MTV.com.

After Monday's video premiere — which will also air live on MTV's channels in Canada, Europe, Latin America, Australia, Asia and Africa — the Grammy-nominated singer will sit down with MTV News' Sway Calloway for a 30-minute interview on MTV.com. Fans of the superstar can get in on the action by submitting questions via Twitter @MTVNews with the hashtags #AskTaylor or #MTVFirst.

CMT will air "Safe & Sound" at 8 p.m. ET, the same time the music video will debut exclusively online at MTV.com, CMT.com, VH1.com and MTV's international sites. On Tuesday morning, VH1's "Big Morning Buzz Live" will feature the video at 10 a.m. ET/PT.

The "Hunger Games" soundtrack, which also features Arcade Fire and the Decemberists, drops March 20; the movie hits theaters days later, on March 23.

Are you excited to see Taylor Swift perform at the Grammys on Sunday? Leave your comment below!

Chaos! Profanity! Wardrobe malfunctions! Don't miss our Grammy red-carpet live stream this Sunday, February 12, for a full three hours of mayhem, starting at 5 p.m. ET on MTV.com. And the fun doesn't end Sunday: MTV News has you covered for all the Grammy red-carpet fashion, Grammy winners and Grammy news until the hangover wears off!

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