Taylor Swift Sets Tour Dates and Prepares for Duet with Miley Cyrus

Things have been going pretty well for 19-year-old Taylor Swift of late. The multi-award winning country music artist just announced a 52-city concert tour that will kick off in April in Evansville, Indiana. According to Billboard magazine, the singer/songwriter will embark on her first-ever headlining tour. Plans for the show include multiple costume changes and a "fairytale castle" prop, according to a publicist.

As Taylor Swift finishes her eighth consecutive week (nine in all) at the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart, she is not only preparing for her tour but for her performance at this weekend's 51^st Annual Grammy Awards as well. She is co-hosting the event and she is set to sing alongside teen pal Miley Cyrus at the ceremony in Los Angeles. They will perform along with U2, Kanye West, Carrie Underwood, Paul McCartney, Coldplay, and others.

Both Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus, even though they have set several sales and charts records in the past year, were snubbed by the Grammys, receiving not one award nomination between them.

Her album, "Fearless," which will be dethroned next week by Bruce Springsteen's "Working On A Dream," has sold 2.4 million copies since its release on November 11.

"American Idol" finalist and fan favorite Kellie Pickler will open up for Taylor Swift on all tour dates. Kellie Pickler and Taylor Swift worked together on "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" show with Ryan Seacrest. Newcomer Gloriana will also open. All tour dates and information for tickets and memorabilia can be found at TaylorSwift.com.

Swift has three more shows to do before her tour starts. One of those will be before a crowd of 71,000 people in Houston on March 20. She, Kellie Pickler, and Gloriana will perform at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

There are also plans in the works for European dates and even a few shows in Japan.

Swift began her rise to the top at the age of fifteen when she refused a deal with RCA to develop her talent because she would not have been allowed to record her own songs. Writing her own material since she was twelve, Swift was soon noticed by Scott Borchetta, who signed the young singer to his new record label, Big Machine Records.

Taylor Swift released her first single, "Tim McGraw," from her eponymous debut album in the Summer of 2006. The album would follow in October. "Taylor Swift" was certified three times platinum in May 2008.

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Sources:

Billboard.com

Wikipedia.org

TaylorSwift.com