Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift headed to Columbia

The top-selling artist of 2006 in all music genres and the 18-year-old starlet who stole the hearts of country music fans all over the country in 2006 are coming to South Carolina.

The Rascal Flatts "Bob That Head" Tour, featuring opener Taylor Swift, will rock the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia on Thursday, Oct. 23.

With the best-selling country music tour for the first quarter of 2008, multiplatinum country group Rascal Flatts has played to 1.2 million fans over the last year and are currently on tour in support of their fifth studio album, "Still Feels Good."

Since their career launched in 2000, Rascal Flatts has sold more than 17 million albums, scored nine No. 1 singles, 17 Top 10 hits and each of their five albums are multiplatinum sellers. Reigning CMA Vocal Group of the Year for the past five consecutive years, Rascal Flatts has been honored with 12 CMA Award nominations and six wins. Their latest hit, "Bob That Head," is rising on the country singles charts.

The group saw its newest album's first No. 1 single, "Take Me There," become its fastest rising ever.

Rascal Flatts members Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney have accomplished great things since they first broke onto the music scene. One of every 14 country CDs sold last year was a Rascal Flatts record, and their previous CD, "Me And My Gang," sold more than 721,000 copies in its first week, leading the band to become the top-selling artist in all of music.

The band's 2006 tour played to more than 1 million fans in 74 cities, with 61 of those appearances being sellouts. Rascal Flatts has also become one of the most consistently awarded acts in history, with its 2007 ACM Vocal Group of the Year award tying it with all-time supergroup Alabama for most consecutive wins in that category.

Opening for Rascal Flatts is the Grammy Award nominee 18-year-old Taylor Swift, who has taken the music world by storm. She broke onto the music scene in 2006 with the single, "Tim McGraw," from her self-titled debut album. This song was the first of five singles from her debut album that were Top 40 hits. She recently became the only country female artist to have five consecutive Top 10 singles from a debut album on the Billboard country charts.

This talented young artist wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on her first album, which sold more than 61,000 units during its first week.

Swift's newest album, "Fearless," debuts on Nov. 11. Already, her new album's lead-off single "Love Story" has become her highest Hot 100 hit yet.