#asw1989

[howyougetthegirl-blog]

A collage I made of some of us LA SSers with the album! Thank you for sharing this album with us early. We love you. taylorswift

[poetrydude66]

The Agony of the 1989 Secret Sessions (WARNING: Graphic Cat Burrito Photo May Be Too Shocking For Younger Viewers)

ONE: Your reaction, upon learning that 300 fans have heard the entire 1989 album, and Taylor Swift walked them through each song personally, while simultaneously working the crowd, passing out homemade cookies, and acting out each song:

TWO: Your response after all of these fans tell you "don't worry it's great you will love it, but we cannot tell you any song titles, any song subjects, any song details, any details of how Taylor described the song, any musical detail, or any other detail that would help you to understand any aspect of the music":

THREE: Your attempt to sneak into the next 1989 Secret Session, trying to dress like one of the "cool kids":

FOUR: Your appearance in the middle of the night, after security kicks you out and you end up sleeping on the cold, hard ground:

FIVE: Your next attempt to break into a 1989 Secret Session, this time dressed as something Taylor Swift could never resist - a cat burrito** - which would have worked great except that they were only serving pizza.  Security mistakenly believes you might be a suicide cat bomber, clears the area, and calls in a SWAT team:

SIX: Your sad look when your girlfriend visits you in jail and tells you she is rethinking your relationship, since she is a reclusive heiress, and now you have an arrest record and the FBI has questioned you in order to rule out any connection to the terrorist organization "Al Cata":

SEVEN: Newly single, and still without music, you gain a few pounds as you engage in binge eating behavior in the weeks prior to the release of 1989.  The photo recording this period was a little bit fuzzy, due to the fact that there might also have been some alcoholic beverages consumed  (cropped out of the photo because this is a Taylor Swift blog after all):

EIGHT: Finally, you accept your fate, and you close your eyes in silent resignation to the fact that you will know nothing about this music and you have been shut out by your fellow Swifties:

This is the agony of being a taylorswift fan.

** No real cats were harmed in the making of the cat burrito.

[pinktwink3-blog-blog]

Can't believe its been four days since this happened........ taylorswift

[placeswecanhide]

My Experience At 1989secretsessions (I know I'm late)

It all started on September 15, 2014 at around 4:00pm when I received a confidential email from Taylor Nation asking me to provide my contact info if I were interested in going to an “exclusive” Taylor Swift event. Being a fan for 7 years or so, I immediately replied back. Several hours later, I got a reply that stated I should expect a call the following day.

The next day, I was impatiently waiting for Taylor Nation to return my call because I was so eager to know what was going on. At about 1:30 PM, I received a call from a number I’ve never seen before, so I quickly picked up the phone. One of her management workers (who by the way, was super nice!), asked me if i lived in the LA area, if I was 18 and older, and if I would be able to make it to the LA area on September 20th. At first, I was so bummed to hear that it was on September 20th because I was going to vegas on the 19th and staying till the 21st to see Taylor perform at the iHeartRadio festival. I asked the kind lady who spoke to me if I could give her a call back because I needed to consult the people I was going to vegas with to see if I can alter my plans. In my head, I knew I had to make this happen. I told my group of friends that I was going with that I had to go back on the 20th for something important. Being a top secret event, I wasn’t able to fill them in on what was going on. I decided that I was going to come back the by 4:30 on the 20th. After settling my plans, I quickly called them back and confirmed that I was going to be able to make it no matter what. She then proceeded telling me the details of where to meet and such. I was skeptical at first because she told us to meet at this random church in Studio City and that we had to come ourselves and bring no guests. However, in my head, Taylor was worth this risk. 

So on the 20th, after getting about 2 hours of sleep due to iHeart Festival, I quickly came back from vegas at around 7:45AM in the morning. Around 4:40 I arrived at the church and I saw a tent set up and some limousine busses, which made me a little calmer that it wasn’t just a set up. There were around 35 of us and we checked in and proceeded to load onto the busses. We weren’t allowed to take anything with us except for our IDs. I was in the second bus with probably the best swifties ever. (Shoutout to bus 2)!!! We all had excitement that we tried to contain because none of knew what was going on. We decided to sing Taylor songs in the bus while getting to our destination.

It was a 10 to 15 minute ride from the church to the destination. We were all speculating our surroundings and all we see our residential areas. Someone in the bus joked that we were going to Taylor’s house and another person joked that we are going to building 1989 (perhaps she rented a place for us to be). No one could’ve imagined her inviting normal people like us to her house. When we arrived, we went through the gate and were wanded by security. We stepped into the back patio where there were a bunch of mismatched vintage tables and chairs. There was so much food offered too, but my friends and I couldn’t eat because we were so nervous and excited. We looked into the large windows of the cottage-looking home, and we see so many clues leading to the fact that it was Taylor’s house. We saw some of the awards she has won (including MTV, grammys, AMAs), the shoe lamp that she instagramed, a platter of cookies in the kitchen, etc. About 20 minutes later, we went into the living room and we all sat on the couches, and the floor where there were many many fluffy pillows. Everyone of us was just absorbing everything in the surroundings and the fact that we were in Taylor freaken Swift’s home. I personally have never met Taylor, so this was very special to me. I looked up to her for so long.

After many thoughts roaming in my head, Taylor herself just jumps around the corner and says “Hey Guys!” She stood there looking beautiful and perfect as ever with her red lips and perfect eyeliner. She was wearing a white crop top with a yellowish skirt. Trust me guys, she looks more beautiful in person than in any picture. Pictures don’t give her actual beauty justice. She proceeded to tell us why we were there. She said she has been planning this for 6 months and she’s been stalking our instagrams and twitters and hand picking who she wanted to be at this event. I almost died when she said that because of the fact that she knew I existed and picked me out herself. After introducing herself and explaining why we were there, she asked us if we would be interested to listen to the ENTIRE 1989 album. All of us obviously shouted and big fat YES. She explained her inspiration and reason behind each song. I was just tearing up during first, two songs because I was just so proud of how far Taylor has come. I was so proud to be a swiftie and I was still trying to get myself o believe that I was in her home. After about half the songs, she said we were going to take an intermission. She said she was going to go get some baked goods that she made. She baked us some pumpkin chocolate chip cookie and it was the best thing ever!!! It tasted like heaven. She then brought Olivia out for us to see, hold and pet. She was the fluffiest thing I’ve ever seen. She was so calm. I was able to pet her and hold her for a little bit. Later, Taylor asked us if we were ready for the second half of the album.  I sat down and was so ready to hear the rest. Overall, I loved the 1989 album so much and I’m sure all of you guys will!! To me, it’s the best one yet!!! She’s going to take home all the grammys guys!! One of the funny parts of the day was when she explained the whole track 5 thing to her mom :P She knows about it!!

After all the tracks, Taylor played “Shake it Off” and we had a dance party in her living room! It was so surreal because I was dancing less than 2ft from Taylor. She was the cutest dancer ever. She was booty popping several fans as well. She’s just the best. We basically just danced and shouted the whole song at the top of our lungs and it was seriously the best experience ever. When the song ended, she asked if we wanted pictures, BUT “Backseat Freestyle” came on on her playlist so she decided to rap the whole song before proceeding to taking pictures/polaroids with us. ALL OF US CAN CONFIRM THAT SHE KNOWS 1989% OF THE SONG. EVERY SINGLE WORD. It was one of the best things we got to witness. When it was time for pictures, I thought we were going to only taking a group one, BUT it turns out we were going to be taking individual polaroids/pictures with Taylor. I was asking myself if this night could be getting better than this. I was waiting for my turn, and Mama Swift came up to me and took a selfie with me. It talked to her for a little bit and asked her if she remembered me and my friends at the red tour. I told her we were the three crazy girls with the onesies and lights at the Staples Center and she said YES! Omg. (She moved us to the sound stage during the red tour)

When it was my turn to take a picture with Taylor, I was shaking walking up to her and I wanted to start crying. She was perfect. I just couldn’t believe I’m finally meeting my idol of 7 years. I told her how much her lyrics mean to me and how much I loved her. She told me, “I love you more than you can ever imagine, and I thank you so much for coming.”  She gave me the tightest hug ever. Those words will never ever leave my mind. I got to talk to her for about 5 minutes and we took our pictures. She smelled like heaven and I wanted to hold her grammy so I asked her if I could hold it for our polaroid. She was so nice about everything. Before I left, I hugged her one more time and she said, “See ya on the Web.” I just smiled and said I love you. 

When I was walking out I received a 1989 tote bag with a bunch of merch inside. It had 2 T-shirts, 1 tank, 1 exclusive keychain, and 2 calendars. I was just so excited still even though I knew it was over. My new swiftie bffs and I were just standing outside reminiscing about the night while waiting for the bus. We decided to come up with a hashtag so that we could all find each other and go to her next tour together. Yes, our  official LA 1989secretsessions group is going to take up an entire section on her next tour. I’m beyond stoked for that. It was just an enchanting day meeting people that I can talk to super easily and Taylor herself. This day will probably be the best day of my entire life time. 

With all this said, I just wanted to say to you guys who have never met Taylor, Never Give Up because the unexpected will happen and catch you by surprise one day. This is what happened to me. I’ve always dreamed of all the ways I will meet Taylor one day, but never did I dream of meeting her in her own home. I’m very blessed and humbled by this experience. After this experience, it seriously confirmed that Taylor is the most genuine celebrity in this entire universe. She cares about her fans like no one else. I will always be fully supportive of her.

I love you, taylorswift <3

[joellecharming]

I Met Taylor Swift

I haven’t actually written my story about how I met Taylor Swift on Saturday night, so here it goes.

It’s no secret that I adore T. I mean, I have her in my freaking bios for goodness’ sake, and I tend to (completely seriously) refer to her as my BFF on social media.

I’ve patiently waited to meet her for FIVE years now, refusing to become one of her tween groupies, crying on Twitter for her to follow me or hang out outside the back doors of her concerts. I’ve always known that I would meet her, however and whenever it happened. 

On Thursday, I got a direct message from Taylor Nation on Twitter, asking me if they could call me about a TOP SECRET opportunity. I said yes, because duh, and we played a bit of phone tag while I was at FedEx trying to ship some packages. 

I won’t lie - it seemed super sketch at first, but the woman on the phone was sweet and how could I not? I mean, they were basically asking me to NOT ask any questions, meet in a random parking lot in Studio City by myself, and not tell my family anything about where I was going. Obviously, super safe. 

But I did it anyway, because Taylor, and it was fucking worth it. 

There were about forty of us altogether, and they herded onto shuttles after confiscating everything (literally, I couldn’t bring my sunglasses or lip gloss - and the staff had to hold onto my tampons). There were a few girls who knew each other, but most were like me - alone - and we all had our theories about what we were doing and where we were going. 

Most thought it was for a music video or maybe a surprise performance. I don’t think ANY of us expected what happened next.

I don’t know if you’re familiar with Los Angeles at all, but we were driving through Coldwater Canyon, and I immediately knew something was up when we turned right on Beverly instead of going straight. Keep going and you’ll hit Beverly Hills and the city. I’ve never turned right before. 

We pulled up to the most adorable house in the history of the universe (no joke). It seems fairly accessible - there was a gate, and plenty of security, but I don’t know that it hit me just yet where we were. 

The house was more like a cottage than a house, really, and not terribly large. There was a smaller guest cottage as well, and both reminded me of something from a cute little English village - definitely not Los Angeles. 

I mean, not surprising, when you realize that we were at Taylor Swift’s HOUSE. I wouldn’t expect any less from her. 

We went through another round of security, to make sure we hadn’t had a chance to smuggle anything onto the bus, and then were warmly welcomed into the backyard. There were food and drinks waiting for us (sadly, no wine - my nerves could have used it), and we got to hang out for a bit with each other.

I met some awesome YouTubers, but other than that? Everyone seemed relatively normal. I mean, there were some younger girls with Taylor specific fan accounts, but most were just normal and most without even a blog (like me) at all. Just a common love for Taylor Swift. 

The backyard was just as adorable as the front, with a cute blue dining table and a fun four-seater bicycle. I don’t think it hit me that this was Taylor Swift’s house until I needed to use the restroom and noticed the monogrammed hand napkins. 

Yes, I used her actual bathroom.

The nerves and excitement were dialed up about ten thousand percent when we were asked to make our way inside, to the living room. We all piled onto the couches and pillows splayed all over the floor. I snatched up a dining room chair, on the edge of the living room, with a perfect view of the hallway and only about six feet aways from the conspicuously empty armchair in the corner. Nobody dared sit there. 

And then, there she was. I saw her first, because of my seat, and I instantly burst into tears. She was just was beautiful as I imagined her to be - I had seen her before, of course, but never this close up. 

She was graceful and elegant, wearing a short yellow plaid skirt and cropped white turtleneck with platform mary janes. Her hair was a little curled, like the she wears it these days, and she was wearing red lipstick, of course. 

Her smile though…if you’ve wondered if Taylor Swift is sincere about her kindness and love for her fans, please don’t wonder. She seemed so genuinely excited to see us, and it endeared all of us to her, even more. 

She welcomed us into her home, which pretty much looked like it came straight from an Anthropologie catalog (obviously, my dream home), and asked if it would be okay if she shared her new album with us. 

I mean, as if she needed to ask?

She then told us that she had handpicked each and every one of us. 

You guys. She handpicked us. SHE picked me. 

ME.

Mama Swift was there too, validating our invitation by T herself, telling us that Taylor has been sending her names for months. 

Holy whoa. 

We listened to her album WITH her. She didn’t perform persay, necessarily, but she didn’t need to. We were experiencing this with her - we danced, we laughed, we clapped together. She performed along with the songs, singing to the tracks, from that cute leather armchair in the corner, while we watched, tears in our eyes. 

She told us the story of every single song on the 1989 album. We got to hear, firsthand, the importance of those songs. When it comes out, we don’t need to listen to the speculation about what the songs are about - she told us. 

Taylor Swift is really a very open person in so many ways, but she’s also very private. The fact that she allowed us into her home truly made it feel as if we were friends, somehow. She acted with us the way that she would act with her true friends. She didn’t hold back, she didn’t skirt around subjects or play it coy like so many magazines like to accuse her of. She answered our questions, and we listened to every. single. word. 

There was an intermission about halfway through, and some got up to use the restroom. Taylor, however, went into her kitchen to grab a platter of cookies. She had even made gluten free cookies for her guests too. 

Don’t tell me she doesn’t care about her fans. Don’t tell me that she is fake or just doing it for publicity. 

She cares about us. We could have done this in a more public venue - we could have done this in someone else’s home or other location. But we didn’t. We were in HER home, eating HER cookies. She let us hold HER cats - Meredith doesn’t really like people, FYI, but Olivia was perfectly content sleeping on our laps the rest of the night.

She spent time with us, talking to us and asking us about ourselves. She wasn’t whisked away during the break, to freshen up or just get away from us. She was one of us. There were no bodyguards holding us back - if we wanted a hug, she gave us a hug. She greeted some of us by name. She made conversations with us about our own lives - and she listened patiently while we told her how much she meant to us. 

Every one of us had our own story about why we were there. She understood that, and she loved us for it. 

I don’t think it would be possible for me to adore her any more than I already did, but that’s bullshit. How can you not love someone when they invite you into their home and share such a personal experience with you?

I saw her music room, where she writes so many of her songs. 

I gave her mother a hug. 

I saw the photos of her family on the walls in her hallways. 

Nobody is perfect, I know that more than anyone, but she’s pretty damn close. 

We listened to the rest of the album, and then had a massive dance party to Shake It Off in the middle of her living room. Me, being the anxious introvert I am, swayed a little on the sidelines, but I experienced it nonetheless.

Part of me wishes that I were more outgoing or funnier or more clever, so that I could have made a bigger impression on her. I didn’t participate much, kind of just sat in my seat, wringing my hands and a cried a little while listening to her. But I was taking it all in. That’s what introverts do - we don’t find experience in the middle of everything, necessarily - and I can’t regret that. 

After Shake It Off, we listened to Backseat Freestyle. And she rapped the entire. thing. 

I think that’s one of the things that I love about Taylor Swift most. So many people complain that she’s too clean or fake, but she’s not. At all. She’s just aware of her image in public - and doesn’t do stupid shit. 

She’s very deliberate about how she says things, both in her songs and in her life, and it can be construed, or MISSED completely, in so many ways. She’s unapologetic about her feelings, but presents them in a relatable way. 

She’s REAL. I’ve never doubted it before, and this only solidified that opinion.

At the end of the night, we got to take photos with her and were then given a bag of goodies to take home, with a few t-shirts and a keychain. 

Oh, and just in case you’re wondering…

1989 is fucking AMAZING.

[daisies-in-june]

A little late on my tumblr posting game... but OH MY GOSH!! I still can't even believe that I was there at Taylor Swift's house! I listened to 1989! I held Olivia Benson (who meowed really loud in-between songs while I was holding her). All because of an email and my decision to drive 12 hours in one day on the whim that this would be an amazing day. And it definitely was!! Completely worth my 12 hour drive! and I would do the same exact thing again in a heartbeat!! I can't even believe that this is my life. 

I'm so excited for everyone else to hear the new album! It's still Taylor, still her personality, still her desire to provide help and comfort through her music. She is an amazing person and I was fortunate enough to be invited to a once-in-a-lifetime event that I will cherish forever

<3

[september20th2014]

It's finally time I write up exactly what happened to me this weekend. For those not interested in reading long stories, in short, I was invited to Taylor Swift's house on Saturday and hung out with her while listening to her unreleased new album, 1989. For the long version, read on...

Thursday, September 18th, 2014 -- I received a private message via Twitter from Taylor Nation. I was offered an exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but was sworn to secrecy. If I was interested (IF?!?!), I was to reply with my full name and phone number. When they finally called me, I was told I needed to be available the following Saturday. I was given a meeting place, a time to meet, a password to provide when I get there and exactly ZERO other details. I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into.

Saturday, September 20th, 2014 -- I arrived at the meeting location at 4:30pm and was joined by 30 other fans. We were checked in by Taylor's team and turned in all of our belongings including our phones and purses. We still were not given any details about what we were there for. We were all put on a shuttle bus and that is when we had all resigned ourselves to meeting Taylor. We weren't officially told that is what we were going to do, but it was implied and we deduced it was the only reason why they would be so secretive and take all of the precautions that they did.

The bus drove us through a Beverly Hills neighborhood until it finally pulled into a driveway. We had arrived at THE Taylor Swift's house. I repeat, we had arrived at TAYLOR SWIFT'S HOUSE. We each had to go through a last security check to make sure we had no belongings on us.

We were led through her backyard where there was quite the impressive food set-up. We were told to help ourselves to anything we wanted. There was pepperoni pizza, vegetarian sushi, fruits and veggies and a dessert table filled with brownies, cookies and so much more. I will never be able to process the thoughts that went through my head while having a meal in Taylor Swift's backyard. I was chatting with my new friends, completely comfortable in the situation, until it would dawn on me all over again about the absolute insanity that I had somehow ended up in Taylor Swift's home.

When we were done eating, they filed us inside and we made ourselves comfortable in her living room. There were candles everywhere, framed photos of her and Selena, amongst many other pics of her other friends and family, various awards on her shelves and a cute, comfy chair placed right in the front of the room.

That's when Taylor herself walked into the room and we all lost it. There were a ton of tears, laughter and hugging. Tissues were passed around. Taylor was so happy to see us and so excited that we were so excited. She told us that she had been planning this for months and had been looking at all her fan's social media accounts to find the ones she wanted to invite. She thought it was so weird to see our photos on the internet and then to see us in real life. Yeah, ditto, Taylor.

She finally explained that the reason she invited us over was so she could play her unreleased album, 1989, for us. She said the only thing she asked of us is that we keep the song titles and lyrics to ourselves. She went through each song and described the song-writing process and inspiration behind each one. If I chose one word to describe the album, it would be SASSY. I cannot wait for the rest of the world to hear it! It's so bold and impressive and the lyrics are to die for. I already have a favorite that I hope will be the next single because it's absolutely brilliant, so I'm crossing my fingers! Taylor lip-synched along to each song and was loving it. She loved our reactions even more.

Halfway through the album, she announced it was a time for a break. We could use this break to go to the bathroom if needed (I think everyone suddenly and conveniently had the urge to) or get a snack. Some people got to go upstairs to use her second bathroom. That was when she brought our her cat, Olivia Benson, for us to meet and play with. She tried to bring out her other famous cat, Meredith, but Meredith was fussy and wanted nothing to do with us so she put her away. There was a room near the livingroom with the door open and a huge piano inside. This has relevance later in my story.

Next, she brought out a tray of homemade pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that she baked herself. She walked around and passed them all out to us. 

When the break was over, we all headed back into the living room and started up the listening session again. When describing one of the songs, Taylor's mom interrupted by saying, "Taylor, tell them where you wrote this one!" to which Taylor replied, "Oh! In the piano room right there!"

The final song she played was, of course, Shake It Off. She stood up and had everyone stand up with her so we can dance with her. I had a dance party with Taylor Swift in her own living room! It was so great! She was very interactive with each one of us. We were all shouting the lyrics along with her and she was so happy. My favorite part was the talking section in the middle of the song because we all had those lyrics memorized and were screaming along to it. When the song ended she asked if we wanted to take pictures (naturally) and she put her music on shuffle. The first song that played was Backseat Freestyle by Kendrick Lamar. She spoke in a recent article about knowing every single lyric to that song and I can now confirm to you that she absolutely knew every. single. lyric. It turned into round 2 of a dance party and she sang along to it. You don't know humor until you've witnessed Taylor Swift sing the words, "I pray my dick get big as the Eiffel Tower, so I can fuck the world for seventy-two hours."

It was finally time to take our photos with Taylor. She took us one at a time and let us pose however we wanted with her. When it was my turn, she greeted me with a hug and the first thing she told me was that I was beautiful. When I told her that she was as well, she said, "no, really you are." I told her that I had told my friends just a few weeks prior that I had made a goal for myself to meet her this era and I never, ever imagined that it would happen in this capacity. She said she thought this experience was as equally cool for her as it was for us. I also told her that I recently cut about 10 inches off my hair, inspired in part by her recent hair cut, and she told me she loved it and that I'm going to keep wanting to go shorter. I asked if I could hold her Grammy for the photo and if she could pretend like she was presenting it to me, which made her laugh and say, "That's such a good idea!" After that photo, it was time to say goodbye and as I was walking away, she asked the girl taking the photos, "Isn't her hair so pretty?" TAYLOR SWIFT THINKS BOTH MY HAIR AND MY FACE ARE PRETTY. As I walked out the side door, I was given a Taylor Swift tote bag filled with all sorts of 1989 merchandise, including a key chain that was engraved with, "1989 Secret Sessions - Los Angeles, Ca".

With that, the best day of my life was over. We were shuttled back to the meeting place and, once again, given instructions not to share any details about the songs or lyrics.

I would like to thank taylorswift for being the incredible, humble, gracious human being that she is. Opening up her home to me and a few other lucky fans was beyond any of our wildest dreams. She was so genuine and appreciative of everything we said to her. I still am trying to process that it actually happened to me and that it wasn't a dream. It really happened.

Taylor Swift invited me, Sammie Carter, to her home and I will never forget that night for as long as I live.