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Kanye West Writes For Taylor Swift

American rapper Kanye West has apparently written a song for country singer Taylor Swift.

It's a scene familiar to millions across the globe. Taylor Swift won 'Best Female Video' at last year's MTV VMA ceremony, when Kanye West suddenly stole the microphone away from the singer.

Praising Beyonce, the rapper caused outrage after ruining the country star's big moment. Widely discussed, the moment was repeated across news channels around the globe. Even Barack Obama got in on the act, with the President overheard describing Kanye West as a "jack ass".

Apologising for the incident, Kanye West has lain low for almost a year. Invited back to this year's VMA ceremony, the rapper has promised to be on his best behaviour for the duration of the awards.

Speaking to fans on Twitter, the rapper explained that he has even written a song for Taylor Swift. "With the help of strong will, a lack of empathy, a little alcohol and extremely distasteful and bad timing I became George Bush overnight."

"Remember in (Will Ferrel film) Anchorman when Ron Burgundy cursed on air and the entire city turned on him? But this wasn't a joke. This was and is my real life."

Continuing, Kanye West went on to explain that he has written new music for the country star to sing. "I wrote a song for Taylor Swift that's so beautiful and I want her to have it," he wrote. "If she won't take it then I'll perform it for her."

He's not joking. Recently Kanye West has played a series of impromptu shows, even dropping by the head offices of Facebook for a guerilla concert.

The rapper then repeated his apology to Taylor Swift. "I would never ever again in a million years do that," he wrote.

"It is distasteful to cut people off as a general rule. What's the point of dressing tastefully if I'm going to act the complete opposite? When I woke up from the crazy nightmare I looked in the mirror and said, 'Grow up Kanye'. I'm sorry Taylor."

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Analysis: How COTA used Taylor Swift to save the US GP

Analysis: How COTA used Taylor Swift to save the US GP

Wednesday's confirmation that the United States Grand Prix will go ahead on schedule addressed the big question mark over the 2016 Formula 1 calendar.

The race had been listed as provisional by the FIA, but now it would appear that we are guaranteed the first ever 21-race season.

It's clearly good news for the sport, because Austin has been a very successful and popular venue, and everyone wants to have a race in the USA. To lose it in the first season of Haas F1 would have been a PR disaster.

Confirmation of the race's survival came not from the FIA but from the venue itself, and via the unusual medium of a press release about a Saturday evening concert, albeit one that adds a new dimension to the weekend's schedule.

October 22nd at COTA is the only show currently scheduled in 2016 for Taylor Swift, one of the biggest names in the music world.

The general idea is that she will bring the US GP to the attention of her 72.6 million Twitter followers – a number that even our sport's biggest names can only dream about.

Race start

Subsidy cut

The doubts over the race followed the rain-hit 2015 event and a cut in funding from the Texas authorities. The whole project was originally conceived by its founder Tavo Hellmund on the basis that a significant chunk of public money would help to make it viable, and more specifically, would go a long way to paying Bernie Ecclestone's sanctioning fee.

The Texas Major Events Trust Fund justifies payment to organisers and promoters on the basis that they bring people from outside the state who spend money in hotels, restaurants and shops, generating extra tax revenue.

Before the COTA project got off the ground, it was agreed that $25m would be paid each year for the first 10 years of the race, and that helped to provide the momentum to get the track built.

However, after a change of administration in Texas last year, and with the folk who signed off on that deal no longer involved, the promised fee was cut to $19.5m.

The reasoning was simply that the original number had not been properly calculated, and that the F1 race hadn't brought in enough tax revenue to justify the higher payment.

That shortfall of over $5m was hugely significant for COTA, especially coming after the rain-hit event last year, which left many visitors frustrated.

Chairman and CEO Bobby Epstein made that clear when he told the local newspaper: “I think we’re screwed.” There didn't seem to be a Plan B...

Fernando Alonso, McLaren MP4-30

A Swift revival?

However, over the past few months Epstein has been looking for a way to make the event work, and adding Taylor Swift to the F1 weekend's bill is at the heart of his plans. He's convinced that her presence will bring in new people and create a sell-out.

“There were several hurdles that needed to be overcome and things that that need to come together in order to make this happen,” Epstein told Motorsport.

“It took this long to cross those milestones. It was everything from being comfortable with the state, to our local property tax, to whether we could get a way to make sure we can sell enough tickets, by securing Taylor. All that takes time.”

Swift's name has also resonated with Texas state officials. They now have to be convinced that this upgraded event package will justify the funding.

“The reimbursement programme hasn't changed, but we'll increase our impact, and we believe the state will be there for us. Hotel rooms will be full of more people, families will come...

"The state just wants more people to come from outside the state, bring their money in, and spend it. And this is a great way to do that.”

Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari SF15-T

Long-term planning

Epstein sees Swift's appearance as an investment for the long term. He regards it as an opportunity to bring people to COTA and to F1 who would otherwise not make the trip, to a greater degree than Elton John managed last year.

The hope is that some will want to come back in future years, even if the concert headliner isn't as big a name as Swift. It might be an optimistic approach, but it's worth a go.

“What's important to us to is to try and make an investment in the future and try and figure out ways to expose the sport to new fans," said Epstein. "That's why it was very important to the overall goal.
"Really that is our goal, how to get new fans not just this year, but in the future. Until we bring them out, they have no reason to come out of just natural curiosity. So we're telling them to do it...”

Last year, COTA faced an extra challenge in the form of the return of the Mexican GP. The first three years of the Austin race saw a significant influx of fans from south of the border, and as expected, that didn't happen last year.

Epstein is hopeful that the numbers will pick up again: “I think for the first couple of years they will go to Mexico City, then I won't be surprised if they go to other races.

"Some will come back to Austin. We can't rely on them to make up our attendance, but we can make it a good experience for them, and I hope that they do come.”

Mindful of the Mexican GP issue long before last year's race, COTA extended its marketing efforts in the rest of the USA, and that process will continue: “We just have to do more of it, Taylor Swift will help a lot with that. The tickets will sell out...”

Will the arrival of Haas F1 help to increase interest?

“I think it adds an additional awareness to it, because Haas is very successful in NASCAR, and that's obviously a bigger audience in the US, so it gives us a chance to get exposed to more race fans. I hope that Haas buys a lot of tickets from us and spends a lot in town!”

Fans in the grandstand

Weather woes

Even without the funding issue COTA has had a difficult time since last year's race, thanks to the impact of the bad weather. In the end, come Sunday, we had one of the best GPs in years, but a lot of fans had a bad experience.

“It was categorised by the meteorologists and a once in every 2500 years weather event," said Epstein. "So I hope it doesn't repeat itself, and I hope not to be here in 2500 years!

"We've got a lot of ways to cope with it, but that sort of deluge again is quite unlikely.”

Inevitably, COTA received a lot of written complaints from disgruntled fans. “We did, and some of the reasons they wrote and complained, they were absolutely right to complain about it.

"Those are issues that are easily fixed, so we're going to fix them. A lot of it is simply they don't mind getting wet, they don't want to get stuck in mud. They don't want to have to walk though mud, so I think we can do a lot to help them.

“That's why we have offered the fans a promotion. If it rains 2.5 inches in the 24 hours before the race, you get all of your money back plus an additional profit, and the event can still happen.

"So it's not just a refund for a cancellation. Let's have people root for the rain, and if they get it, they make money!”

COTA is prepared for the worst: “It's a risk for the insurance company. It's expensive for us, but it's a risk for the insurance company...”

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Taylor Swift 1989 Chinese clothing line risks Tiananmen Square row

Singer announces plans to launch merchandise for upcoming 1989 live tour – a date censored by Chinese authorities since 4 June massacre


 

Taylor Swift on her 1989 world tour in Bossier City, Louisiana, in May 2015. Photograph: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for TAS

Taylor Swift may have inadvertently walked into a political maelstrom in China with merchandise soon to be on sale there displaying a potentially subversive message.

The singer is launching her own Taylor Swift-branded clothing line next month, on the platforms of local e-commerce giants JD.com and the Alibaba group, with t-shirts, dresses and sweatshirts featuring the politically charged date 1989.

The date – as well as being Swift’s year of birth – refers to her album and live tour of the same name, which she will perform in Shanghai in November.

But the date – and the initials TS – are particularly sensitive in China, as they signify the Tiananmen Square massace in 1989, when hundreds of students were killed in pro-democracy protests.

A promotional video featuring Swift posted to Weibo. Photograph: screengrab

A promotional video posted to China’s microblogging site Weibo by Heritage66Company, the Nashville-based branding company that is representing her in China, features Swift introducing the clothing line to her fans and greeting them in Chinese.

“Ni hao, it’s Taylor Swift. Be sure to check out my new authentic merchy [merchandise], now available in China,” she says.

The video also features a number of models, and Swift herself, wearing official merchandise emblazoned with 1989.


Taylor Swift 1989 merchandise to be sold in China. Photograph: screengrab

So sensitive is the date that censors have blacklisted any consecutive combinations of the numbers 6, 4 and 89 on Chinese social media sites. Chinese internet users have proved adept at using coded language to refer to the politically sensitive event, often referring to it as “May 35” instead of “June 4” to avoid the censors’ attention.

Swift’s US website features bracelets, bags and hairties emblazoned with “T.S. 1989”. For Chinese consumers, the initials could stand for Taylor Swift or Tiananmen Square. It’s not clear whether these items will be made available for Chinese fans.

So far Swift has managed to shake off China’s censors – JD.com already sells the1989 album on its online store.

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Taylor Swift is definitely in New Zealand, media in New Zealand determines

The possibility that Taylor Swift might be in New Zealand sent the news media and Swift fans on a ‘wild goose chase all over South Auckland’


 

Taylor Swift performing in Shanghai, China, in November. The singer is now in a slightly smaller and less populated country. Photograph: ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images

It’s a test of the butterfly effect, updated for 2015: can an innocuous and wryly worded tweet, sent from Los Angeles International Airport, spark a “wild goose chase” and breakdown within news media on the other side of the world?

The possibility that Taylor Swift might be bound for New Zealand was first flagged in a wry tweet from the American author Maggie Shipstead at LAX.

This corresponded with Swift’s conspicuous absence from the American Music Awards ceremony at the Microsoft Theatre in LA on Sunday, at which she wasnominated for six awards (and later won three).

New Zealand media and Taylor Swift fans and the individuals intersecting the two raced to follow up Shipstead’s tweet, prompting what Fairfax news website stuff.co.nz described as a “wild goose chase, all over South Auckland”.
Both stuff.co.nz and the New Zealand Herald quoted Auckland comedian Melanie Bracewell’s tweet that she “just saw Taylor Swift at the Auckland Airport” on Monday morning which, it later transpired, was a joke.

Stuff.co.nz amended their story.

A string of others followed suit.

A high school student posted to Facebook that Swift had been spotted at a shipping and marine supplier in an east Auckland suburb for some reason. The Herald’s entertainment writer Chris Schulz followed up with a phone call, which he reported on Tuesday:

The nice lady who answered the phone told us there was indeed a single film crew on location but “that isn’t unusual ... and they’re just finishing up for the day”. She also admitted she wouldn’t know what Taylor Swift looked like if she was standing in front of her.

“So, Taylor Swift, where in the world are you?” concluded Schulz’s story.

Despite being in her home town for the annual celebration of her success, the New Zealand Music Awards, known Swift associate Lorde unhelpfully did nothing to fuel or dispel the rumours on social media.

On Monday afternoon the Herald reported that “Taylor Swift probably isn’t in New Zealand”.

But soap actor Ido Drent then confirmed that he had been on the same flight from LA with Swift, his statement that she was “definitely here” replacing Bracewell’s joke tweet as the news media’s most promising lead.

Drent was “changing his son’s nappy on-board flight NZ3 when he claimed he stumbled across the Bad Blood popstar”, reported One News: “Yeah, had a good chat to her on the plane outside the lavatory.”

On Tuesday morning the Herald reported that “Taylor Swift is definitely in New Zealand,” verified by her label Universal Music.

Guardian Australia can confirm that Swift arrived at Auckland International airport on the NZ3 flight direct from Los Angeles on Saturday 21 November, as speculated, in a party of eight.

She did not have a return flight booked, but it seems reasonable to assume that she will fly to Sydney before her show there on Saturday.

Reliable sources say she is in New Zealand to shoot the video for her next single from 1989, thought to be Out of the Woods.

The Sydney Morning Herald’s Andrew Hornery put a rumour that she would be shooting in the Blue Mountains on Thursday to Universal and was told: “Look I can’t tell you anything. I’m not trying to throw you a curve ball ... and don’t quote me.”

3News reporter Hayden Donnell followed up with Shipstead to ask her “whether it was weird stumbling into the middle of a possibly fake news story in a small country at the bottom of the world”.

“She said it was definitely weird, but the story was real.”

The saga had shades of the Ryan Gosling hunt of 2012, when a possible sighting of The Notebook star on Auckland’s Ponsonby Road sparked a Tumblr page (“Hey Girl, I Love New Zealand”) and #NZGoslingHunt to trend nationally.

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