Taylor didn't even release an album in 2011, but that didn't stop her from putting her thumbprint all over the year, with four top 20 hits, a $100-million-grossing World Tour, and of course, a practically countless number of award show appearances and wins. The girl was too busy in 2011 to even have a high-profile breakup with a notable celebrity, so she really must have had a damn good twelve months�though the material on her next album may suffer from the lack of drama. We'll see in 2012, but for now, check out our slideshow to relive the highlights of her 2011.
Jan. 5: Taylor Swift begins her year of trophy dominance at thePeople's Choice Awards, where she takes home Favorite Country Artist and celebrates with bestie Selena Gomez, also a winner for Favorite Breakout Artist.
Taylor kicks off herSpeak Nowworld tourin Kallang, Singapore. Before the tour comes to its close (for 2011), it takes Taylor to 111 separate venues across three continents, and grosses her north of $107 million dollars.
Taylor makes half of her trademark "heart hands" gesture with newIdolhost (and possible grandfather) Steven Tyler while hanging out at the Academy of Country Music awards. Seeing as how she's already in the building, Taylor also picks up an Entertainer of the Year trophy for her troubles.
Taylor premieres her music video for thirdSpeak Nowsingle "Mean" on CMT.The videois one of the many anti-bullying messages purveyed by major pop artists in 2011, portraying a couple kids being picked on in high school and going on to live very well as adults. Meanwhile, Taylor gets to play a vaudeville-y damsel-in-distress, tied up on a set of train tracks. (It's a metaphor.)
Just a few weeks after premiering "Mean," Taylor also busts out the"Story Of Us" video, playing out the titular tale with some unfamous dude in the Library at Vanderbilt University. Unsurprisingly, Taylor looks damn cute in a schoolgirl outfit.
Taylorco-starswith country-pop crossover predecessor Shania Twain in aThelma and Louiseparody at the intro to the CMT Awards. The duo get to brandish firearms, ride in drop-tops and lust after Brad Pitt-esque gas station attendants. "That does impress me...very much," Taylor winkingly quips about the latter.
TheSpeak Nowtour is commemorated in the form of the video for "Sparks Fly," which features clips from Taylor's many tour stops to that point. It's a little lazy, but after fourSpeak Nowvideos and 50 live dates, fans let the phone-in slide�in November, "Sparks" becomes Taylor's first song to top the country charts since "You Belong With Me" in 2009.
While on stage in St. Louis, Taylor's skirtflies up an unfortunate amount. What is revealed underneath Taylor's lavender dress is not so much scandalous at is puzzling�skin-colored spanx, undergarments not traditionally favored by the 21-and-under set. Ever the professional, Taylor continues her performance undiscouraged, and the spanx are not seen again throughout the remainder of the tour.
After playing an abbreviated version of Justin Bieber's "Baby" in his hometown of Toronto, Taylor's homeboy Bieber shows up at her show at the Staples Center in Los Angeles toduet on the song in person. Before theSpeak Nowtour is over, Taylor will also perform onstage with T.I., Usher, Hayley Williams, Tim McGraw, Flo Rida and many other pop stars new and old, keeping fans buzzing about who she might duet with next.
Months after professing her fandom for Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass" in aradio interviewand onTwitter�sending the song's popularity skyrocketing in the process�Taylor finally gets to perform her jam live with Nicki at the last of her four tour dates in Los Angeles. Nicki later repeatedly credits Taylor's endorsement with helping her career take off among a whole new subset of fans.
A few month after it is announced that Taylor has partnered with Elizabeth Arden on her first ever fragrance,the trailerfor "Wonderstruck" is released. It features Taylor spraying on some of her perfume, and being transported to some sort of fairytale land (of course) where a prince awaits her, as her song "Enchanted" plays in the background.
A pre-game ritual of Taylor's on theSpeak Nowtour was to write different lyrics on her arms before the show, depending on how she was feeling. ("It's like a mood ring," she explained). In Austin, she writes "And I never saw blue like that before across the sky around the world," a line from "Never Saw Blue Like That," bythat night's special guestShawn Colvin.
No, not really. Website Celeb Jihad publishes a picture of a topless woman who looks like Taylor but in all likelihood is not. Swift's managementthreatens a lawsuitover the fraudulent pics, prompting the site to cheekily respond: "We will remove the article if Taylor Swift simply agrees to convert to Islam." (She doesn't.)
"Hanging out with my new roommate, Meredith," Taylortweets, posting a pic of her adorable new kitten. Later, Taylor reveals that the cat's full name is Meredith Grey, named of course after the titular Ellen Pompeo-played character from TV medical dramaGrey's Anatomy.
Taylor comesone award awayfrom getting shut out of country's biggest night, but avoids the bagel by taking home the most prestigious honor of the night, Entertainer of the Year, for the second time in three years. "To win it twice is like the coolest thing that's ever happened to me happening twice," an always-excited Taylor says of the win.
Taylor's last big award haul of '11�she gets denied by the ACAs in December, somehow�comes in L.A. at theAmerican Music Awards, where she wins Favorite Country Female Artist, Favorite Country Album, and Artist of the Year. She spends the entire ceremony partying with Selena Gomez in the audience, singing along to every song being performed (including, of course, "Super Bass").
Taylor wraps up theSpeak Nowtour (until next year's swing Down Under, anyway) with two nights at the world's greatest arena, Madison Square Garden, in New York. For thesecond date, she brings out BFF Selena Gomez (for "Who Says") and her namesake James Taylor (for "Fire and Rain"), though dreams of her playing Alicia Keys in a Jay-Z-starring performance of "Empire State of Mind" unfortunately die out in the hearts of NY fans.
WithSpeak Nowtapped for singles, Taylor turns to the album's bonus tracks for her final single and music video of 2011, "Ours." The video starsMatt SaracenZack Gilford as Taylor's departed soldier boyfriend, the thought of whom gets her through her rough office days. They reunite at the airport at video's close, a lovely end to Taylor's epic 2011.
