Country queen Taylor Swift has been known to cross over audiences with her music, but she should draw the line on rap. Despite LL Cool J’s best efforts, Swift squeaks her part in a new Grammy commercial. Still it looked like it was good fun, and Taylor, 22, seems to have no problem laughing at herself at the end of the 30-second spot.

Cool J, 44, will be hosting the 2012 Awards show, and Swift will be one of the feature performers along with Katy Perry, Adele, Rihanna, Coldplay, Paul McCartney, Bruno Mars, Kelly Clarkson, Jason Aldean and Nicki Minaj .

Swift looks sassy in the spot for the Feb. 12 show. She’s wearing a little black cocktail dress with a plunging neckline and her hair is straight with bangs. Cool J starts things off with a steady beat and tossed to Taylor, who joined in with some springy boings. The sound is probably closest to the metallic sound of a Jew’s harp. But she quickly loses the beat.

“Oh my god,” Mr. Cool says. The spots goes the only place it can go; Cool J breaks out in laughter and Swift quickly follows. “I love it,” he laughs. Swift can’t keep it together either. Nonetheless, she looks super hot.

She’ll be joined on stage by Bruce Springsteen and Adele, 23, will be making a comeback from throat surgery. “It’s an absolute honor to be included in such a night, and for it to be my first performance in months is very exciting and of course nerve-wracking, but what a way to get back into it all,” she said in a statement.

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Pop star Taylor Swift will donate 14,000 books to a library in Tennessee. The 22-year-old is re-stocking the Nashville Public Library, while some of the new Scholastic titles will be sent to low-income children, pre-schools and daycare centres.

According to a website, each book will have a donation plate on the inside cover declaring: `A Gift to the Children of Nashville from Taylor Swift and Scholastic Inc.` Swift has previously shown her support for literacy in the US by donating $68,000 worth of reading material to a library in Pennsylvania.

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Taylor Swift has been replaced by Samantha Barks, to play the character of Eponine in the forthcoming musical adapted film ‘Les Miserables’. The 22-year-old ‘Fearless’ singer Taylor Swift replaced by Samantha Barks, 21-year-old British actress in the upcoming Hugh Jackman starrer musical adapted movie ‘Les Miserables’.

Earlier, Taylor Swift was considered for the role of Eponine, which now goes to Samantha, after she successfully portrayed the role in ‘Oliver’ play at the Manchester Playhouse in England. The Taylor Swift replacement by Samantha Barks was announced by producer Cameron Mackintosh on Tuesday, January 31, 2012.

Samantha Barks might be new to the big screen industry, but she had played the role of Eponine in the London production of 2010’s ‘Les Miserables’. She reprised the iconic character during the 25th anniversary of the play, which was held at the O2 arena, London in the year 2011.

Barks could not control her excitement, after she was picked to join the high-profiled project. Samantha said that, she could not believe that, she is going to play Eponine, the role that is close to her heart she had played in the West.

As per the Victor Hugo classic novel, the character of Eponine who is also known as Jondrette girl is a pampered child of her parents The Thenardiers, who later ends up as a street urchin and dies trying to save the life of Marius, the man whom she falls in love with. The stars like Scarlett Johansson, Evan Rachel Wood, Lea Michele have been circling for the role of Eponine.

It was also reported that, the ‘Speak Now’ hit maker Taylor Swift was formerly offered the role. Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Aaron Tveit and Eddie Redmayne are the cast of the movie. The upcoming musical adaptation ‘Les Miserables’ has been scheduled for US release on December 7, 2012.

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Taylor Swift and rapper LL Cool J banter away in a trio of new spots promoting the upcoming 2012 Grammy Awards, which air on CBS on Feb. 12. Swift is set to perform, while LL has been tapped as the host. The duo have terrific comedic chemistry and timing in these cute, short and sweet ads.

They are both dressed in their Sunday best as they zing each other playfully. It makes us think Swift could handle the lead in a romantic comedy with ease! Her transition to acting is a no-brainer … down the road, of course. And doesn’t she look adorable in her black party dress, too?

In ‘The Host,’ Swift is espousing the awesomeness of the Grammys as a whole, gushing about the one-of-a-kind performances. LL interjects, hinting at his own greatness, saying, “The host,” to which Swift reacts, “There’s a host?” Hello, awkward moment. She tries to backpedal, but it’s futile. He’s “offended.”

For ‘Get That Spot,’ Swift is polishing the giant Grammy prop with LL barking out directions, telling her to “get that spot, get that spot.” He then takes the towel to show her how it’s done, and she walks off screen. He suggests viewers tune in to the Grammys to “see who cleans up … it may not be Taylor Swift,” joking that she won’t come away with a statue. We hear her shouting “Come on!” off camera.

In ‘Impressive,’ Swift coos about how impressed she is by the giant Grammy. LL thinks she means him, and they verbally spar again. Maybe producers oughtta have Swift co-host with LL Cool J. They certainly have the yin and yang that a show like the Grammys needs.

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Taylor Swift is deeply inspired by Sir Paul McCartney's music. The 22-year-old songstress has been a big fan of the Beatles musician all her life. Taylor is in awe of what Paul has achieved during his career. 'His music makes me feel there's more good in the world than we think, and maybe love can really exist in a pure form,' Taylor told People magazine.

'And isn't that what we want to feel when we listen to music? To see Paul doing what he's doing at 69 is so inspiring. He's out there continuing to make his fans so happy. Any musician could only dream of a legacy like that.'

Taylor went on to reveal that Paul has been a huge influence on her own work. The singer-songwriter spent her childhood listening to his impressive back catalogue of hits.

'I discovered his music on my own as a child, then bought all of the Beatles and Paul McCartney tapes and CDs I could find,' Taylor shared. 'Paul writes about his life and the things he's learned about love in such a brilliantly simple way. I feel as if I've been let into his heart and his mind.'

Taylor was thrilled when she got the opportunity to meet her idol. She says the legend was nicer in person than she could have dreamed. 'When I met him backstage at his 2010 concert in Nashville, I remember being excited that he was such a kind person,' she recalled. 'Seeing him sing Blackbird live will always be a moment I won't forget.'

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Taylor Swift dated Jake Gyllenhaal more than a year ago, but the country songbird is reportedly “haunted by that relationship,” a source told Us Weekly. The source went on to say that the “Brokeback Mountain” star “totally screwed with her mind.” So does that mean that Tay-Tay has channeled her hostility toward Jake into her music? Absolutely! Another source confirms that a song on Taylor’s new album is all about her breakup with the actor. Why is it always the men? Did she ever think maybe it’s her?

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Taylor Swift makes one fan’s day as she poses for a picture outside of her London, England hotel on Thursday (January 26). The 22-year-old country cutie has been in London for several days, taking meetings for her reported upcoming film Les Miserables and doing some sightseeing. Taylor was recently nominated for three Academy of Country Music Awards!

Taylor is up for Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, and Video of the Year for her song “Mean.” Congrats, Taylor! The award show airs on April 1. Also pictured inside: Taylor home from London on Friday (January 27) antiquing with her mom Andrea in Santa Monica, Calif!

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In addition to writing kiss-and-tell songs about her bad romances, country singer Taylor Swift has also penned lyrics which talk about the Kennedys. The 22-year-old singer was inspired to write about the iconic American family after reading a lot of books about them, reported Ace Showbiz.

"She really just loves my mother which is so sweet. I`m a huge fan of hers, I have young girls and we had been to a few of her concerts. I met with her at one of them and she had read a ton of books about our family. She was inspired and wrote a song," said Rory Kennedy, niece of President John F Kennedy.

Rory, a documentary filmmaker and producer, recently invited Swift to the red-carpet premiere of her movie `Ethel` at the Sundance Film Festival. The `Love Story` hitmaker came to the event, which was attended by a total of 23 Kennedy members, in a cream-colored coat and a pair of boots. "The only time in my life I have ever been starstruck was meeting Caroline and Ethel Kennedy (Rory`s parents). I got to spend the afternoon with Ethel a couple of weeks ago," Swift said.

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In addition to writing kiss-and-tell songs about her bad romances, Taylor Swift has also penned lyrics which tell about the Kennedys. The country/pop music singer was inspired to write song about the iconic American family after reading a lot of books about them, so Rory Kennedy told ABC News.

"She really just loves my mother which is so sweet," Rory gushed. "I'm a huge fan of hers, I have young girls and we had been to a few of her concerts. I met with her at one of them and she had read a ton of books about our family. She was inspired and wrote a song."

Rory recently invited Taylor to the red-carpet premiere of her movie "Ethel" at the Sundance Film Festival. Upon arriving at the Park City in Utah, the singer was embraced by Ethel Kennedy. She came to the event, which was attended by a total of 23 Kennedy members, in a cream-colored coat and a pair of boots.

Talking about her love for the wife of Robert Kennedy, Taylor told Vogue for its February issue, "The only time in my life I have ever been starstruck was meeting Caroline and Ethel Kennedy. I got to spend the afternoon with Ethel a couple of weeks ago."

She added, "She is one of my favorites, because you look back at the pictures of her and Bobby, and they always look like they are having the most fun out of everybody. You know, 11 kids, all these exotic animals on their property. I've read a lot about them."

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Rory Kennedy and Taylor Swift: They’ve been quite the odd couple at Sundance, where the country/pop singer somewhat inexplicably showed up to the red carpet premiere of Kennedy’s HBO documentary about her mother, “Ethel.” On Sunday, Kennedy opened up about their budding friendship, telling ABC News Now’s “Popcorn with Peter Travers” that she and the 22-year-old Swift are so close that Swift has written a song about the iconic American family.

“She really just loves my mother which is so sweet,” Kennedy said. “I’m a huge fan of hers, I have young girls and we had been to a few of her concerts. I met with her at one of them and she had read a ton of books about our family. She was inspired and wrote a song.”

After that, Kennedy extended an invitation for Swift to come to the Sundance premiere of “Ethel,” and on Friday, there she was. Kennedy also said that while the family’s a fan of Swift, they themselves are not so musically inclined. ”My uncle Teddy, he had a good voice,” she said. “We are actually terrible, terrible singers but we love to sing.”

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