The country-pop genre was dominated several years ago by Miley Cyrus, but her crown has been stolen by fellow teen queen Taylor Swift. The 20-year-old singer-songwriter from Nashville is the youngest artist in history to pick up a Grammy for album of the year - and she even writes her own music.
Armed with a guitar and backing band, Swift has been storming the US charts with wide-eyed, family-friendly pop that delves earnestly into such topics as first dates, unrequited crushes, and girl-on-girl jealousy. Her latest album, Speak Now, for instance, is a collection of confessions Swift wishes she had made to a first boyfriend, a thieving friend and so on.
Her vocals are polished smooth, as are the studio-perfect arrangements and deftly played guitar - by Swift, no less. If high-school angst is your poison, her lyrics are well written - if a little prosaic for anyone not female and under 15. Luckily, that's exactly who her millions of fans are, and who are likely to make up the majority of the audience when Swift performs at AsiaWorld-Expo on February 21.