At last year's MTV Video Music Awards, Kanye West stole the microphone as Taylor Swift took the stage to accept the "Best Female Video" award, saying that Beyonce was more deserving of the honor. It was a jarring moment for the 19-year-old Swift — the first time her "air of invincibility had been punctured," as The New York Times put it — and an influential one. Swift revisits the incident in "Innocent," a song from her hotly anticipated new album, Speak Now. Did the incident, as some say, ultimately boost her career? (Watch Kanye West discuss the incident)
Yes, it introduced her to a new audience: "The Kanye incident brought attention to Taylor, to an audience that did not really know her or her music," says Scott Borchetta, the president of Swift's label, as quoted in The Wall Street Journal. "And when they did check it out, they discovered that they really liked it."
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