News Makers

Swift, Beyonce scoop Grammy nominations

Taylor Swift (pictured) has won just about every top music award there is this year, but the possibility of winning not just one, but eight Grammys, had the 19-year-old screaming for joy as the nominations were announced.

"I started freaking out and jumping up and down," Swift said yesterday (Beijing time) after learning of her nominations, which included album of the year for her sophomore CD Fearless and mentions for song and record of the year.

"I'm ecstatic, and blown away and so so thankful," the stunned country sensation said.

Swift's haul of eight nods was only second to another blonde superstar - Beyonce, who got 10. The multi-hyphenate diva, who had an amazing year even on Beyonce terms, including performing at the inauguration for President Barack Obama and the first lady and a No. 1 movie with Obsessed, was rewarded for her fierce year. The Grammy-winner was nominated once again, this time for album of the year for her double CD, I Am ... Sasha Fierce, song of the year for her ubiquitous anthem, Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) and song of the year for Halo, as well as other awards.

Susan Boyle tops charts in debut

Move over Beyonce. Step aside Taylor Swift. There's a new queen of pop, and her name is Susan Boyle (right).

The British talent sensation sold just over 700,000 copies of her debut album, I Dreamed a Dream, debuting at No. 1. Her record label, Columbia Records, says that not only gives her the best first week sales of 2009, but also the best-selling album debut by a woman in the Billboard SoundScan era. It's been a whirlwind year for the 47-year-old Boyle, who became an instant star when she appeared on Britain's Got Talent.

Sherpas win leadership award

The Nepali mountaineer duo Apa Sherpa and Dawa Steven Sherpa have bagged World Wildlife Fund's "Leaders for a Living Planet", the group said in Kathmandu on Wednesday. Apa Sherpa, also known as "Super Sherpa", is the 19-time Mt. Qomolangma Summiteer and World Record Holder; Dawa Steven Sherpa is an enthusiastic young Mt. Qomolangma summiteer. The two will tour 10 European cities starting in Prague and ending in Copenhagen at the climate summit.

AP-Reuters-Xinhua

(China Daily 12/04/2009 page10)