How Taylor Swift Shot to the Top

Sarah Evans: "At least you were wearing underwear"

(NEWSER) - Ludacris made a surprise appearance—as did Sheryl Crow's underwear (click here for the video )—at the CMT Music Awards last night. Lady Antebellum laid down a funky beat with Charles Kelley doing a Don Henley impression. Fans audibly gasped as Shania Twain slipped and fell on her way to the stage. But they also gave out awards: Taylor Swift's fans gave her the night's top honor—the fan-voted video of the year award for "Mine." Lady A opened with its record-setting single "Just a Kiss," but then switched to Prince's "Kiss" with singer Kelley hopping onto drums. Jason Aldean topped off the night with a surprise version of his hip hop-infused hit "Dirt Road Anthem" with rapper Ludacris. More»

Royal Shakespeare Company performs tragedy on Twitter

(NEWSER) - Four hundred-plus years after the first production of Romeo and Juliet, the star-cross'd lovers are playing out their tragic tale in a new medium: Twitter. The Royal Shakespeare Compan's production of Such Tweet Sorrow will play out in real time over the next 5 weeks, with six actors improvising as they go along and incorporating input from the audience, the Guardian reports. More»

Swift named Entertainer of the Year at Country Music Awards

(NEWSER) - Taylor Swift was the biggest winner at last night’s Country Music Awards, winning all four categories she was nominated in. Swift’s entertainer of the year award made her the youngest-ever winner of country music’s top honor, and the first solo female to win since 1999, the AP reports. Swift also won album of the year, female vocalist, and music video. More winners, from the Los Angeles Times : More»

(NEWSER) - Just when the Kanye West-Taylor Swift meme was starting to ebb a bit, there’s this from the rumor mill: West, awards-show interrupter, will make a cameo when Swift, awards-show interruptee, hosts Saturday Night Live on Nov. 7. Quoth gossip maven Perez Hilton: “Sources tell us this is very likely to happen!” (Italics, exclamation his.) Stay tuned, then. More»

Police say Oteri's father killed by his songwriting partner

(NEWSER) - A hit-making Nashville songwriter was charged yesterday in the pocketknife murder of his producing partner, who—in a headline-grabbing twist out of an old country ballad—is the father of former Saturday Night Live comedienne Cheri Oteri, TMZ reports. Nashville police said Oteri’s father had a "significant laceration” to his wrist, the AP reports. More»