Taylor Swift, as she is so gifted at doing, took the opportunity of the release of her highly anticipated third album, Speak Now, to get closer to her fans. Yet again. And this time, she went global.
Her October 25 release party was held at New York City's Metropolitan Pavilion, hosting fans from around the world, as well as providing a live stream hosted by MTV, CMT, VH1, and a variety of international MTV Networks properties for all her remote admirers.
As usual, Swift was open with her fans, giving hugs and chatting warmly throughout the evening. Dressed in a sunny yellow frock, she performed three songs off Speak Now--"Mine," "Back to December" and the title track--as well as fielded an extensive question-and-answer session from the audience.
Swift discussed inquiries on a wide variety of topics, not the least of involving her overall inspiration for writing Speak Now. "I think for me, Speak Now was inspired by the last two years of my life," she explained to fans. "You can learn a lot of lessons in two years. You have all these revelations, and you figure out that all these things are happening in your life."
On her songwriting process, she noted, "My process of songwriting began when I was 12 years old. I would sit there in a room and write a song about my life. I'm very happy to say that, at 20, it's the same way.
"It's a personal process," she added. "These are messages to people in my life."
Swift has received criticism in the past for her songs being too open and reflective of her life and loved ones; however, she doesn't see that as a disadvantage. "As far as music being about my life, that just feels right," she asserted. "As soon as things stop happening in my life--and love stops being fascinating and you stop finding interesting things in everyday life--I guess the songwriting could stop.
"But I'm really, really excited and interested in life at this point in time."
Swift has a busy week ahead of her. She'll be performing Tuesday on Today and the Late Show With David Letterman. On Wednesday, following an appearance on Live With Regis & Kelly, she'll hit up the JFK Airport for a set at the JetBlue terminal, and then join a handful of lucky contest winners for a flight to Los Angeles (where she will be performing again at 30,000 feet). Once landing in L.A., Swift will appear on the Ellen DeGeneres Show November 1, followed by a spot on Dancing With the Stars November 2. We'll stop there, with the quick note that she'll also be performing on country music's biggest night, the CMA Awards, November 10.
Congrats, Taylor, on a great kickoff to release week!
As always, be sure to:
Follow Yahoo! Music on Twitter