On the heels of her first all-pop album, this year's CMA Female Vocalist of the Year nominee, Taylor Swift sits down with Esquire magazine (on newsstands today) to discuss her latest song, living in New York City, the Nashville work ethic, the attention she gets on her dating habits and the binder of men who have threatened to kill, kidnap, or marry her. Yikes!

On moving to New York - My life has changed drastically in the last year and a half. I never thought I'd live in New York, because I thought I'd be too overwhelmed by how busy and bright and crazy the city is. Then all of a sudden, this year, all I wanted to do was live in New York. I never thought I would be so happy being completely unattached to anyone romantically.

About all the attention her dating habits get - I think with every celebrity story there has to be a "Yeah, but …" Take Beyoncé: She's incredibly talented, gorgeous, perfect role model for girls, empowering women all over the world. Yeah, but … let's try to pick at her marriage. I think that every celebrity has that. And predominantly women, unfortunately. I would date someone, figure out we weren't compatible or figure out we didn't work out, and then we'd break up. That seems like a very normal thing for a young 20-something to do, and that is my biggest scandal. I think it's healthy for everyone to go a few years without dating, just because you need to get to know who you are. And I've done more thinking and examining and figuring out how to cope with things on my own than I would have if I had been focusing on someone else's emotions and someone else's schedule. It's been really good.

About controlling what the press says about her - The only thing I can't control is the spin in the press. And so if I know I can't control that, I have to let it go. In some ways, though, you can control it. I really didn't like the whole serial-dater thing. I thought it was a really sexist angle on my life. And so I just stopped dating people, because it meant a lot to me to set the record straight—that I do not need some guy around in order to get inspiration, in order to make a great record, in order to live my life, in order to feel okay about myself. And I wanted to show my fans the same thing.

What the country music industry taught her - Country music teaches you to work. You hear stories about these artists who show up four hours late to a photo shoot, and in Nashville that doesn't happen. In Nashville, if you go four hours late to a photo shoot, everyone leaves. In Nashville, if you don't care about radio and being kind to the people who are being good to you … It's a symbiotic relationship, and if you don't take care of it, then they won't take care of you. I've never been more proud to have come from a community that's so rooted in songwriting, so rooted in hard work and in treating people well. It was the best kind of training.

She has security guards with her at all times - I fought the idea of having security for a very long time, because I really value normalcy. I really do. I like to be able to take a drive by myself. Haven't done that in six years. They have to be in a car behind me. Because just the sheer number of men we have in a file who have showed up at my house, showed up at my mom's house, threatened to either kill me, kidnap me, or marry me. This is the strange and sad part of my life that I try not to think about. I try to be lighthearted about it, because I don't ever want to be scared. I don't want to be walking down the street scared. And when I have security, I don't have to be scared.

On seeing herself in The Giver - I saw the movie. It's hard for me to separate myself from myself. I just see me in a brown wig and I think, Oh, I look so weird there. Why does my face look so weird? Oh, I hate the sound of my voice. Music is the only thing that's ever fit me like that little black dress you wear every single time you go out. Other things fit me for certain seasons, but music is the only thing that I would wear all year round.

This year's CMA Awards will again be seen live on ABC-TV, Newschannel 34 in Binghamton and simulcasted on 98.1 Binghamton's HAWK.

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