Total Points: 114
Charted Songs: “American Honey” – #83 “Need You Now” – #5

Lady Antebellum musta started the year a bit rough when they performed “Need You Now” and Hillary Scott was attacked by a curtain on the Grammys:

But luckily, like a real artist, she didn’t let the curtain fall on her success. Either way, “Need You Now” never moved basically from January and even when you look at Billboard year end lists, it’s up there in the Top Five. I really like the song because of it’s storyline and the beautiful three part harmonies on the song.

Crossover success is a tough thing for country performers. Do you keep doing country that just happens to go into the pop charts? Do you kinda follow Taylor Swift and make pop music that has a tad bit of country twang? I really hope they stay true to themselves and keep making “good” music, no matter what the genre is.

Oh and the definitive version of “Need You Now” has to be the unplugged iTunes exclusive. That one caputres the message of the song without getting a bit too drowned out in modern country sounds.

Random Version: Listen to the Simlish version! I need to learn Simlish stat!

Taylor Swift blew up into epic proportions in the 2008-2009 era. Fueled by her cute looks, harmless lyrics, and overall wholesome attitude, Taylor Swift basically can do no wrong. Well… unless she spirals into some skanky, drug and alcohol fueled demise. Which would both be heartbreaking and amazing to watch.

Taylor Swift benefited the most from the whole Kanye situation, but I still liked her before (I loved “Teardrops on My Guitar”) that even occurred. She definitely found an audience that mysteriously transcends her young age.

“You Belong With Me” is upbeat, it’s catchy, and has a small degree of twang. I love the music video with the whole sending messages to each other from a window, and anti-Taylor (just like Mariah Carey’s Bianca!). Who wouldn’t pick simple, glasses-wearing Taylor?

Mind you, Taylor Swift blows live. It’s horrible. Miley Cyrus is better than her live, though that’s not really saying much. This song became almost painful when Taylor couldn’t hit the falsetto part in several performances I’ve watched. I just stopped watching her live.

Taylor really has benefited from a lack of Carrie Underwood for a short time, but Carrie Underwood is closer to actual country music than Taylor. With Carrie returning to music with “Cowboy Casanova,” will Taylor lose her place? Probably not, but she may have to go a little more pop than she is accustomed to.