FANS OF CMT CROSSROADS, THE SHOW

RTS
. ROBE
BY M.B
FANS OF CMT CROSSROADS, THE SHOW
that pairs country stars with popular
artists from the worlds of rock, pop
and R&B, have come to expect the
unexpected. But Taylor Swift and Def
Leppard? Whose wild idea was that?
Credit Taylor Swift’s mom.
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CMT
LIFE. SET TO MUSIC.
“My mom listened to Def Leppard’s music while
she was pregnant with me,” says 18-year-old
singer. “I grew up being obsessed with Def Leppard.
I always said if I get a chance to do a Crossroads,
they would be my first choice. The fact that I’m
getting to do this show with my musical heroes is
just insane!”
Country music fans are well acquainted with
Taylor, who burst on the music scene in 2006 with
the consecutive chart-topping hits “Tim McGraw,”
“Teardrops on My Guitar” and “Our Song.” Her
debut album, Taylor Swift, has sold more than 3
million copies and she’s piled up several awards,
including the 2008 CMT Music Video Artist of the
Year and Female Video of the Year, CMA Horizon
Award and the ACM Top New Female Vocalist.
At the age of 17, Taylor became the youngest
person to single-handedly write and sing a
No. 1 country single, “Our Song,” which
spent six consecutive weeks atop
Billboard’s Country Singles Chart. She’s
also the first female solo artist in country
music history to write or co-write every
song on a platinum-selling debut CD. And
she’s consistently ranked as country’s
top artist on MySpace.com.
Despite all this success, it
wouldn’t be surprising to most
people—including Taylor—if the
guys in Def Leppard, one of
the top arena rock bands ever,
turned out to be unfamiliar with
the music of a teenage country
star known for songs about boys
who broke her heart.
But that certainly wasn’t the
case.
“You can’t not be familiar
with her music, really,” says Def
Leppard guitarist Phil Collen. “It’s
everywhere. You go to Starbucks
or the mall, or you’re in the line at
the grocery store and here it comes
blasting out!”
To prepare for this episode of Crossroads,
Def Leppard had to move beyond familiarity with
Taylor’s songs. They had to break them down, learn
them and make them second nature.
“What’s so interesting is that when you sit down
with these songs, especially ‘Should Have Said No,’
‘Picture to Burn’, things like that, you actually hear
some of the Def Leppard stuff in there,” says Collen.
“You may not hear it just listening to the song on
the radio, but when you sit down with a guitar, you
realize, that’s a bit familiar. It’s wonderful when an
artist is influenced by someone else and they use it
as an inspiration. I think that’s what she’s done. It’s
a wonderful compliment.”
Regarding musical preparation, Taylor had an
edge over her Crossroads partners. After all, she’s
been singing Def Leppard songs, such as “Pour
Some Sugar on Me” and “Photograph,” in her
bedroom, at the top of her lungs, for years.
“Their melodies and harmonies are so incredible,”
says Taylor. “Just when you feel like you can’t love
the song any more, it goes to a different level.
Their songs just keep on building.”
As soon as they decided to team up
for this show, the veteran band with a 30plus year career and the rising star found
plenty of common ground in their music.
Something else they have in common?
Country superstar Tim McGraw.
As anyone with a radio knows,
Taylor’s debut single was named
for and inspired by Tim. She also
toured with him and his wife,
Faith Hill, last year. But some
country fans may not realize that
Tim co-wrote and performed with
Def Leppard on “Nine Lives,” their
debut single from Songs from the
Sparkle Lounge, the album they
released earlier this year.
“Tim knew Rick Allen, our
drummer, for years,” says
Collen. “We thought we should
really hook up at some point.
Then we ran into each other
at the Hollywood Bowl. I had
this idea for a song and literally
hummed it for him. We were
standing in a corridor, surrounded
by 100 people! We got really excited
about it and went from there. It was a
real collaboration. He’s such a lovely guy, full
of so many ideas! He’s inspiring to be around.”
Speaking of inspiration, fans may be wondering
if Taylor, who often writes songs about her own
life, will put pen to paper after her Crossroads
experience. Or, even better, maybe she’ll team-up
on a tune with her hard-rock heroes.
“You never know!” she says. “I would love to
write a song with them. That would be the most
amazing thing ever.”
CMT Crossroads: Def Leppard and Taylor Swift
premieres Friday, Nov. 7 at 9/8c.
CMT
LIFE. SET TO MUSIC.
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