It is finally time to shift our gaze forward.

For the last couple of weeks, Sound Check, CultureMap and the rest of the free world have waxed nostalgic about the events that shaped not only 2009, but the first decade of this millennium. At long last the calendar has flipped, and it is now time to ponder the sights and sounds of a new year.

Who knows? With any luck one of these artists or events could, in a year or even 10, become the first entry in a story looking back on the most important events of the next decade.

Predicting the future is tricky business, of course, and I’ve never been that handy with Tarot cards or the Ouija board. Call these premonitions more like educated guesses based on past precedent or early hype about what 2010 might sound like.

Taylor, Taylor, Taylor
Every good year in pop music has to have a young female voice to fixate on. In recent years the public and paparazzi haven’t been able to get enough of the public personas and private lives of Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga. In 2010, that bottle is about to take a spin for the wholesome when all camera shutters turn toward Taylor Swift.

It all starts Jan. 31 when Swift, 20, walks down the red carpet at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Wearing what will, no doubt, be a fabulous gown, she heads into the ceremony with eight nominations including album of the year for Fearless and record and song of the year honors for “You Belong With Me.”

She has stiff competition from Beyoncé (a leading 10 nominations), Lady Gaga and Fergie (along with the rest of the Black Eyed Peas), who all head to the Grammies with multiple nods and a chance to take home the night’s most prestigious awards.

Don’t be surprised if, by night’s end, a fair share of those golden gramophones belong to Swift.

And between a huge arena tour, a burgeoning acting career and a swollen smile that Renée Zellweger could envy, don’t be surprised if Swift is the breakout superstar of the year.

Justin, Justin, Justin
Not to undermine Swift, but because pop music has the attention span of a gnat, it’s only fair to be looking to the “next big thing” beyond her. If I were a betting man, I’d put my money on Justin Bieber.

The Canadian-born Bieber is a perfect candidate to represent the modern teenie-bopper. He’s 15 years old, he was discovered on YouTube and his debut album, My World, was overseen by R&B superstar Usher. Four songs from that album, including, “One Time,” “One Less Lonely Girl” and “Love Me,” have already been top 40 hits, pushing My World to more than a half-million in sales.

And Bieber is just getting warmed up. This year he’ll release the follow-up, My World (Part II), which should be followed by a tour that should stand as one of the biggest pop events of 2010.

First out of the chute
A few of the really big names already scheduled to play RodeoHouston from March 2-21 at Reliant Stadium: Dierks Bentley, The Jonas Brothers, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley and Brooks & Dunn. The rest of the line-up will be announced next week and names like Toby Keith, Clay Walker and ZZ Top are always pretty good guesses to be included.

Two names that should not be expected this year are Kenny Chesney who, after a decade of non-stop touring, is finally taking a break from the road in 2010, or George Strait (more on that in a moment).

One surprise that wouldn’t be all that surprising to play the rodeo: The Judds.

The mother-daughter duo of Naomi and Wynonna Judd was mostly dormant in the last decade, but the ladies have recently been whispering about getting together to mount another tour.

Last year the most successful female country duo of all time got the band back together for a test run at the CMA Music Festival in Nashville. It only makes sense that the next step might be some one-off gigs at rodeos and casinos. Then, if crowds pack the aisles to hear hits like “Why Not Me” and "Mama He’s Crazy” like they did in the '80s and '90s, they can start thinking about pouring money into producing a large-scale tour of their own.

Really Big Show
RodeoHouston is not the only marquee live event coming to Houston to start 2010. On Feb. 22, the year in hip-hop officially gets underway when Jay-Z drops his tour in support of his latest album, The Blueprint 3, into the Toyota Center.

Any appearance by this New York City rapper/magnate has a unique subtext for Houston. Between his affiliation with Bun-B of regional rap icons UGK on career-making hit “Big Pimpin,” and his marriage to Beyoncé, there’s no telling who might end up onstage at this show.

Historic Country Couplings
With Brooks & Dunn set to call it a career after 19 years of hits, country radio fans need a duo to root for in 2010. George Strait and Reba McEntire will be more than happy to fit the bill.

Last year is going to be a tough act to follow for Pearsall’s favorite son. In April, Strait was named Artist of the Decade by the Academy of Country Music and two months later he was the first artist to play the Dallas Cowboys new state-of-the-art stadium in Arlington. His latest album, Twang, has already sold 500,000 copies largely on the strength of lead single, “Living For the Night.”

McEntire is enjoying a bit of a recording rebirth after years of being more well-known as a sitcom star. Her latest album, Keep On Loving You, is her first in six years and has already netted one No. 1 country single, "Consider Me Gone.”

Strait and McEntire already have mapped out a tour schedule for the first half of the year (as of yet there is no date set for Houston, but there are still plenty of open spaces on their calendar to fill), and there is little doubt that this pairing will be the biggest pure country show of 2010.

As it stands, McEntire will be Strait’s opening act, but what would really set this show apart is if these two 50-somethings find some musical common ground that allows them to share the stage for a song or two.

Now that would be worth talking about at the end of year.