As the saying goes, hard work pays off. Not only did Taylor Swift wrap up the European leg of her Speak Now world tour on Wednesday, but the pop/country superstar was also presented with a commemorative plaque in honor of reaching a career milestone of 20 million albums sold worldwide.
Before Swift took the stage for her sold-out show at London's O2 Arena, her record company presented her with the plaque for her achievement, which includes total sales of her three studio albums. Swift told The Associated Press that she's still trying to wrap her mind around the big-time accolade.
"I'm absolutely blown away by the 20 million records plaque," she gushed after the presentation. "It's just sort of beyond my comprehension to get a plaque like that, and the fact the fans have done that much for me in such a short period of time is just unreal. I'm so excited and so thankful."
As a sales power player, Swift's latest feat shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, as the 20-year-old singer is known for smashing records. In late 2010, her latest album, Speak Now, sold 1,047,000 units in its first week out in the United States alone.
As for whether the songstress had ever envisioned reaching such a milestone, Swift said that she never thought it was possible. "I remember coming up in the music industry and I would make goals for myself that were just ahead of the last goal that I had just accomplished. I would never make a goal that was so far down the line that I felt it was unobtainable."
With the most recent leg of the Speak Now outing complete, the country singer told the AP that she "couldn't think of a more perfect way to end this European run."
"I've gotten to experience parts of the world I never thought I'd get to see, nonetheless play shows in and have the crowds singing the words back to me," she said. "As a songwriter, to have the people singing the lyrics back to you in countries where they don't even really speak English is so gratifying."
Swift is scheduled to kick off the Stateside leg of her tour in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 27 before making her way throughout the country and wrapping up in New York City in November.