Red
Taylor Swift
(price not yet released)
It's time for the fourth studio album by Taylor Swift. Someone's going to cash in big time.
After nailing the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with her first single, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, off her latest album, Taylor and her trademark wavy locks are on top of the world. And that's not the only impressive stat of We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together; Swift's girl-power anthem boasts the biggest digital sales week ever for a song by a woman.
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together comes with a quirky cute (true to Taylor form) music lyric video. The single alone amped up extreme excitement with the star's 34 million Facebook fans and 18 million Twitter followers.
In her webcast announcement on her new album, Swift said she chose the title Red because it best describes her "tumultuous, crazy, insane, intense, semi-toxic relationships I've experienced in the past two years." Swift is all about the intensity of her past relationships in her fourth album. "There's nothing beige about any of those feelings," she said in her webcast.
Red will contain 16 tracks. Unlike previous albums, Taylor partnered with co-writers for Red. For one song, Taylor teams up with Ed Sheeran for a duet that they wrote together on a trampoline. Hey, wherever inspiration strikes.
Taylor Swift emerged in the national spotlight with her first album, Taylor Swift, in 2006 when she was only 16 years old. Six years and millions of dollars later, Swift has officially secured the young women fan base. For more information, check out taylorswift.com.
Music From Another Dimension
Aerosmith
$12.17
Aerosmith may have celebrated the 42nd anniversary and will go down as legends, but that doesn't mean band members find it acceptable to recycle songs. No way. The band is back with 14 shiny new tracks, written by everyone from the drummer to the singer.
Frontman Steven Tyler kept the band in the public eye with his two-season stint as a judge on American Idol. Now that he's kissed reality television goodbye (for now; who knows what he'll do next?), Tyler's devoted his entire attention to the band. He went as far as to install a personalized license plate with the name of the band's classic pump-up attitude song; if you cruise by a Benz with a plate reading "Oh Yeah," you'll know you've found him.
Legendary Child, the debut track off Music From Another Dimension, rocks like an Aerosmith classic coated with Tyler's strained-yet-somehow-sweet voice. Dedicated fans have already heard the first released single, no doubt soon to be a staple of radio stations everywhere.
Music From Another Dimension also benefits from a touch of familiarity. It's the same Aerosmith sound (besides a few surprising non-rock tracks written by Tyler), of course, but the music is only part of the album production process. Aerosmith worked with the same producer who churned out four albums in the 70s.
Like true seasoned professionals, Aerosmith put the entire album together in just nine months. The band just wrapped up its Global Warming Tour with Cheap Trick. Visit aerosmith.com to keep up with the band's performances.
Katy Keenie
Katy Keenie
$6.93
Katy Keenie's sweet voice puts her a peg above on the emerging country stars list. With the release of her self-titled album, Keenie's straight on her way to stardom.
Canadian-born, Texas-transplant Keenie sang in front of a crowd for the first time at age 15 in a school talent show. A few years down the road, she picked up a guitar and learned to strum along to her voice. Her first single, The House That Built Me, preceded the release of Katy Keenie by a few months, exposing her music and getting her name out.
Our favorite song plays up our lovely town's namesake. "Fort Worth it caught your eye / What a way to say goodbye," Keenie sings in Was Ft. Worth Worth It?, a track about a straying ex-fling.
"It's about an ex-boyfriend of mine from back in high school," Keenie explained. "He cheated on me and then came back to get back with me, and I said "Heck no!" " Sorry, ex-boyfriend; she Taylor Swift-ed you in this one.
Keenie has a kind-hearted side, too. At her CD release party, she auctioned off guitars signed by George Strait, Wynonna Judd and Cactus Moser to support Cook Children's Recording Studio Project. Keenie raised $4,800 from the guitars and personally delivered the check to Cook Children's.
Keenie performs regularly in and around Fort Worth, so there's no excuse to miss one of her shows. Keenie updates her Web site with show dates. To learn more about Katy Keenie and her music, visit katykeenie.com.
