Taylor Swift - 'Fearless'

Fearless Bottom Line:

With Fearless, Taylor Swift's second album, the young artist is poised to receive even more accolades to add to her ever-growing list of accomplishments, awards, and praise. She was definitely on a roll with her last album and it keeps on going with this one. Sounds like there's no stopping Taylor any time soon.

About Taylor Swift

When a person takes a quick glimpse or an in-depth look at the list of Taylor Swift's many accomplishments, they would more than likely be surprised by her young age. Receiving such a large amount of praise must really put the pressure on the artist, but she seems to be handling it well by remaining a perfect mixture of confidence and humbleness. She credits her mom with helping her along the way throughout Taylor's career so far, and there's no doubt in my mind she'll be there for a long time into the future.

In the past there have been several "teen stars" to reach a high-level status of praise and popularity, but what really sets Taylor apart and puts her into an even better group of people is the fact she has written or co-written every song on not only her self-titled debut, but this (her sophomore release) too. That's a big feat for an artist of any age, let alone an eighteen-year-old fresh out of high school. The future is looking very bright for her, and I look forward to hearing the direction her music goes with each new album she releases.

Fearless - The Songs:

"Love Story" really is something that all little girls dream about. It is so easy to find yourself in the role of Juliet in search of that one perfect "Romeo" who will love you unconditionally and not give any thought to whatever else could stand in the way. When you are in love all you want to focus on is each other and ignore the people who don't want you to be together. This song is just like a daydream set to beautiful music.

"White Horse" was used in an episode of Grey's Anatomy, and wasn't originally scheduled to be included on Fearless. It was co-written by Taylor and Liz Rose. Instead of writing another song about what happens either right before or immediately after a breakup, it's the initial shock of realizing things are over. There's no bitterness to the lyrics, which is one of the things I like about it. The way Taylor goes from talking about how she should have known better than to wait around to be saved by that man on a white horse, to finally thinking about how "This isn't Hollywood" and "It's too late to catch me now." "White Horse" is almost like the anti-"Love Story."

Another Taylor/Liz Rose song is "You Belong With Me," which finds a girl thinking about how she's the perfect match for the guy who is being yelled at over the phone by his girlfriend. Instead of him being with the typical short skirt-wearin' cheerleader, she thinks he should give her a shot at love since they already get along so well as best friends. Instead of bringing drama into his life, all she'll do is make him happy and fill his days full of laughter.

The third and final Taylor/Liz Rose writing duo is the upbeat "Tell Me Why," which has a rolling banjo to move along the background music. When a person realizes that someone is telling/promising them one thing and doing another, they are bound to get a little (or a lot) frustrated. My favorite lines are: "Why do you have to make me feel small so you can feel whole inside? Why do you have to put down my dreams so you're the only thing on my mind?" If that doesn't say it all, I don't know what does.

"Forever And For Always" is a great reminder that sweet and reflective Taylor also has a side uncompromising when it comes to showing off songs with some attitude. Goes right along with "Tell Me Why." That's what I've loved about having the chance to review her music - the fact you get different parts of a coin, not only one side. This song gives me the same feeling as "Picture To Burn," from her self-titled debut album. Sometimes in a relationship you feel someone slipping away and there's nothing you can do about it because you know in your heart you've done nothing wrong. That's when a few weeks or a month later you find out the real reason he became so distant.

As I mentioned earlier, the fact that Taylor has written or co-written all of the songs on both albums is amazing. Some of those co-writers have already been mentioned, but I'd also like to add the collaborations with John Rich on "The Way I Loved You" and Colbie Caillat on "Breathe." Whether Taylor Swift is writing on her own or with others, fans are bound to get something from the heart.

Release date: November 11, 2008 - Big Machine Records

Fearless Track List:

1. Fearless
2. Fifteen
3. Love Story
4. Hey Stephen
5. White Horse
6. You Belong With Me
7. Breathe
8. Tell Me Why
9. You're Not Sorry
10. The Way I Loved You
11. Forever & Always
12. The Best Day
13. Change