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Taylor Swift
By Staff Writer

Along with four other Grammy's, Taylor Swift won the Album of the Year Grammy. At the age of 20, Taylor Swift has broken chart records, sold millions of albums, won VMAs, AMAs, CMAs, and has launched her own clothing and greeting card lines. What is the next step for Taylor Swift after already accomplishing so much?

For 2010, the songstress has plans to follow-up her 2008, Fearless. Swift tweets, "Studioness with all the same boys who played on Fearless. Homemade cupcakes were brought. Awkward fist-pumps happened. Onward! More recording. So excited. So excited. So excited. See, I said that three times. Once for every album we've made in this studio."

In an interview with Rolling Stones, she said, "I like to have two years in between albums, so if you take Fearless and go forward two years, that's my ideal place to put out the next record, because I think two years of growth and development and feelings and life intake, love intake, emotion output, is my preferred formula for albums right now." She also mentioned to RS that her album is influenced by Keith Urban and John Mayer, as well as, commenting earlier last year that she would like to work with Jack White. As well as being candid about her influences, she performed a hilarious "T-Swizzle" rap video at the CMT Music Awards last year. Therefore, 2010 will likely see Swift cross a few genres along with staying true to elements of her country sound.

Swift, as of now, will be on the road this spring for the second leg of her Fearless tour, as well as, appearing in the big screen romantic comedy, "Valentine's Day," opposite Taylor Lautner. She commented to MTV News, "I got to be sort of the opposite of who I was in high school; my character is pretty superficial." Though getting busy in various mediums outside of music, Swift has no immediate plans to quit that for film. "I do like acting. Music is always going to be number one. Everything in my life, whether it be love or movies or anything, is always going to come behind music. But movies are great, if you're telling the right story. I'm all about telling the right story."

Recently, Taylor Swift broke the record for first week download sales by a female artist with her newest song, "Today was a Fairytale," off the "Valentine's Day" soundtrack, according to the Hollywood Reporter. According to Nielsen Soundscan, "Fairytale" sold about 325,000 units since it dropped, soaring to a number one debut on the Digital Songs chart and to number two on the Billboard Hot 100. This is the highest Hot 100 debut of Swift's career and equals the peak that "You Belong With Me" saw last year. That song took 16 weeks to reach number two. "Fairytale" broke the digital download record previously held by Britney Spears for her comeback single, "Womanizer," which debuted in October. Swift performed "Today was a Fairytale" at the Grammy's, where she won Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Female Country Vocal Performance, Best Country Song, Best Country Album.

Selena Gomez
THE DEBUT ALBUM "KISS & TELL"
By Staff Writer

Selena Gomez took her sweet time before recording her debut album. After all, she had her hands full starring in her hit Disney Channel series "Wizards of Waverley Place," not to mention appearing in a string of movies and other TV shows. Still, music had been a core passion of hers going back to childhood. A child no more, Selena comes on strong with her Hollywood Records premiere CD, "Kiss & Tell." It is nothing less than the emancipation proclamation of a young artist with a lot to say.

She didn't get there alone. Producer Ted Bruner, along with songwriters Gina Schock, Tim James & Antonina Armato and Selena's band, The Scene, wrap her vocals with fire and ferocity. "Because it is my first record I wanted it to be amazing," Selena says. "I think of this record as a huge learning journey. I wanted to find my sound and see where I wanted to go musically."

On that journey, she clearly found her musical home base. And it rocks. Selena's blazing rock 'n' roll chops may surprise fans, especially on songs like "Kiss & Tell," with its battalion of drums, tight harmonies and Jane's Addiction-like lead guitar work. Says Selena with a laugh, "Basically this is my harsh song, but in a good way."

Selena decided to make the album "passionate, fun and empowering,' as she puts it. Thus, for the most part the 17-year-old singer bypasses the puppy love and goes straight to a righteous "guys are dogs" attitude. Songs like "Falling Down" and "I Don't Miss You At All" simmer with feminine scorn, while the pop gem "I Won't Apologize" (which Selena co-wrote) takes a stand for self-affirmation. "Girls my age tend to change themselves for others," Selena says. "Whether it's a boyfriend or trying to fit in with the 'cool kids,' this song says you're not going to apologize for who you are."

Selena tackles ballads on the wistful "The Way I Loved You" and "I Promise You," the latter a love song steeped in unadorned romance. She shakes off the sentimentality in the sophisticated put-down rocker "Stop and Erase," "I Got U," "Crush" and "As a Blond," perhaps the edgiest song yet from the legally brunette Selena. "Every girl goes through a break-up at some point," she says, "and they never feel good. I wanted to make sure that the songs about heartbreak were all empowering rather than sad. When I perform these songs I don't feel I am dwelling on pain."

She ends the album with a full-circle moment, re-recording "Tell Me Something I Don't Know," an upbeat hip-hop-flavored track she first cut several years ago and now revisits with a more seasoned point of view. "I thought it would be a fun to redo the song and add some cool techno beats," says the ever-adventurous Selena, who today stands at the brink of a thrilling new phase of her career.

Born July 22, 1992 in Dallas, Texas, Selena started acting at age seven when she landed a role in the popular television series "Barney & Friends," on which she was a regular for two seasons. There she met her best friend, actress/singer and fellow Hollywood Records recording artist Demi Lovato. Their connection has endured. "I was very lucky to have had the opportunity to go through so much with Demi," says Selena. "We have known each other for so long now that we're more like sisters."

She landed her first feature film role in 2003, when she was cast in the sci-fi action adventure film "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over." Selena went on to lend her voice to "Horton Hears a Who!" in 2008, and made guest appearances on "Hannah Montana" and "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody."

But she made her greatest impact as an actress starring as girl wizard Alex Russo in the hit Disney Channel series "Wizards of Waverly Place," which premiered in 2007. For their work on the show, Selena and her cast mates won a 2009 Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program. "I don't think I'm too much like Alex," Selena says. "She gets into a lot of trouble, and my parents would never let that happen. Overall she's confident and doesn't let anyone negative get in her way, which is a good quality to have."

Her busy schedule in front of the camera did nothing to dampen her musical dreams. Selena recorded three songs for the "Wizards of Waverly Place the Movie" soundtrack, as well as tracks for "101 Dalmatians," "Another Cinderella Story" and "Tinker Bell." But she had broader ambitions. "I have always loved music and write all the time, but to make a career out of it seemed scary," she says. "I focused more on acting at one point, which blessed me with my show and other projects I had the honor of working on. Now I'm putting more into my music."

With a new album, a hit show and more movies on the horizon, it's a wonder Selena has time left for anything else. But she makes time to give something back. She has volunteered for St Jude's Hospital for children, Disney's Friends for Change and she was twice named youth ambassador for UNICEF, a role that recently took her on a fact-finding trip to Africa. It all served to expand her perspective on life. "I am constantly growing and changing," she says, "but I like to think my morals about family and friendships haven't changed."

She's not done dreaming. In the years ahead, Selena plans to push her career to greater heights, while always remembering her fans and the faith they place in her. Summing up her goals, Selena says: "I want to inspire others, help and make an impact." With "Kiss & Tell," she won't have long to wait.

www.facebook.com/Selena
www.myspace.com/selenagomez

Get Into Trouble With James Intveld
By Elisabeth Greenbaum Kasson

Few performers can draw as varied and enthusiastic a crowd as Americana musician James Intveld. If his last Los Angeles show is any indication, we can expect to see: Mexican cowboys flirting with red-lipped, punkabilly girls, tattooed bikers and their leather clad dates, aging, faded beauties in tattered, vintage prom dresses, Japanese students in futuristic shoes, wild-haired, 60-something hippies, shark skin suited dandies with complicated hair and a hand full of live-wired, 70-somethings, all steaming up the dance floor and taking only an occasional break for an icy beer, or a quick duck outside for air.

At 50, Intveld retains the eerie, edgy beauty that still has men wanting to be him and women wanting to know him but don't let the image fool you. Appearance is only skin deep and his supple voice, beautifully burnished with age, Jack Daniels and cigarettes, transcends time and place and defies the retro label he's sometimes been saddled with.

Intveld's band, which features the talented guitarist Storm Rhodes IV, (and yes, that is his real name), plays original, classic country, with more than a hint of jazzy swing and soulful, roots ballads that taste of gospel, the delta and even the revival tent, yet won't make you feel as if church is in order. The band's covers of songs such as "Polk Salad Annie," "Modern Don Juan" and "Ring of Fire," pack enough smutty heat, that makes them worth leaving the house for.

While his current address is in Nashville, he swings through Los Angeles every couple of months, which keeps his admirers' appetites whetted. On February 13, he'll be at Joe's American Bar and Grill in Burbank. We spoke via phone and he noted Joe's special place in the pantheon of LA clubs.

"Joe's has a similar flavor to the Palomino," he says, remembering that iconic North Hollywood venue. "It's probably the last of the honky tonks left in LA and there's really nothing else like it." Although he still sounds raw and tired from the previous night's show, there's an impish smile in his voice, when he adds, "And it's a draw for the really diverse kind of audience that I like to play for."

On February 14, Intveld and company ride a few miles east to the Arcadia Blues Club. "Before I left LA, I used to have a standing Monday night gig at another place in Pasadena," he says. "I had built quite a following and lucky for me, when I moved over to the Arcadia, they followed."

For those unfamiliar with Intveld's history, he was pivotal in pioneering the Los Angeles roots revival of the early 1980s. He was a founding member of the Barn Dance, a showcase of country and roots music, which helped the launch the careers of Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakum, Jim Lauderdale and Rosie Flores. Intveld wrote the seminal country hit "Crying Over You," the song that would put Flores on the map. As a side man, he's played guitar, slap-bass and drums as needed, for nearly every country, roots and rockabilly outfit worth listening to in L.A. In the early 1990s, he took on lead guitarist duties for rock'n'roll stalwarts, The Blasters, and impossibly, managed yet another musical persona, fronting the swing orchestra Jimmy and the Gigolos.

While his music may wink at Bakersfield and Nashville, his own roots are of the diverse SoCal variety. Of Dutch/Indonesian descent, he was born in the Netherlands, came to the U.S. as a toddler and was raised in Compton and Garden Grove. His music loving parents had eclectic tastes and sang out loud to their records. Lullabies in the Intveld household, were equal parts Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, Sr., Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby and Lefty Frizzell, influences that can still be heard in his music today.

James Intveld Band at Joe's American Bar and Grill on Saturday, February 13, http://joesgreatbar.com/ and at The Arcadia Blues Club on Sunday, February 14, www.arcadiabluesclub.com. For more information www.jamesintveld.com

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