CALGARY - She's only 19, but Taylor Swift has already climbed her way to the pinnacle of Nashville's elite.

It's not hard to see why.

She's vivacious, fun and has a decent set of pipes on her.

And while country music lays claim to her, Swift regularly inhabits the upper tier of the Top 40 pop music charts.

Her accessibility to both genres' audiences has made Swift's current Fearless Tour one of the hottest tickets of the summer.

Which is probably why the more than 13,000 fans who took in her sold-out Saddledome show last night were so boisterous and welcoming towards the young star.

It wasn't a diverse crowd by any stretch -- gaggles of teenage girls dotted the venue, while the younger tween set had their parents in tow.

There was the odd love-struck male fan staring adoringly from the main floor hoping to catch her eye and a smattering of older couples tapping their feet, but Swift appeals largely to her own age group.

Swift is a confident, but charming performer and knows exactly how to work her audience.

After a theatrical entrance in which Swift was dressed as a marching band leader, she launched into her first song, You Belong With Me from her latest platinum-selling album Fearless.

From then on, the strong-lunged audience sang along to every word.

Though she didn't name names, there were a few instances when Swift poked fun at the boys who have treated her badly in the past (if gossip reports are to believed, ex-boyfriend Joe Jonas is the likely target).

This is the appeal of Swift to her legion of young fans.

While us older folk might roll our eyes at the drama of teenage heartbreak, it is like she's mirroring the emotions of fans her age.

And for that, they are completely dedicated.

Backed by a seven-piece band, Swift skipped and shimmied across the stage and up the catwalk to the ear-piercing screams of thousands of glow stick-wielding girls.

Her energy was infectious, but regular 'humourous' video interludes slowed down the pace of the show.

Also, the sound was so high-pitched throughout that depending on where you were sitting, it was hard to make out the lyrics as they were often muddled.

As popular as Swift is, it's quite feasible Kellie Pickler could have attracted almost the same number of people had she headlined the show herself.

The American Idol finalist arguably has a stronger voice than Swift -- as she showed in the power ballad Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You and the catchy single Red High Heels.

Dressed up in a black tasselled top, black tights and sparkly silver sky-high heels, Pickler was bubbly and inviting.

She may have shown a supreme lack of geographical knowledge on Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? a few years back (seriously, look it up on YouTube -- it's astonishing).

But Pickler was bright enough to realize fashionable shoes don't always work in your favour, especially if you're trying to dance or run across a huge stage.

She wisely discarded the torture devices in favour of bare feet as she began the breezy Anything But Me.

Four-piece Gloriana had the tough task of warming up a crowd already hyped up to see Swift and Pickler.

But band members Cheyenne Kimball, Rachel Reinert and brothers Tom and Mike Gossin did an admirable job of getting the audience on its feet with their soul-tinged country.

Gloriana's flawless four-piece harmonies is what sets them apart from other modern country acts.

However, they still face the same problem as the headliners. Gloriana is just too slick.

It was frustrating to hear a potentially amazing melody get weighed down by a overly dramatic solo vocal delivery from Kimball or Reinert.

There's a sense the Nashville hit-making machine has strangled anything remotely cool out of Gloriana.

But they are far from a lost cause.

Sun Rating: 3 out of 5