There is no doubt that the past 15 years have been a whirlwind for global superstar Taylor Swift, with the past decade in particular being anything short of extraordinary. Due to her unwavering success, Swift has not only been nominated but awarded an unbelievable amount of times throughout her career, 2019 marking a pivotal year with both the American Music Awards and Billboard honoring her with the “Artist of The Decade” award.
“Taylor’s impact on music this decade is undeniable and her performances on the American Music Awards have been truly spectacular,” says Dick Clark Productions’ executive VP when asked about the American Music Awards upcoming show at the time.
Topping Charts
Having won over 300 awards thus far, Swift has become the most decorated artist across multiple platforms. This year’s AMA’s brought Swifts all-time total under the award show to 29 , surpassing Michael Jackson’s record of 24 and continuing her domination as most awarded female artist in history. She continued to be the most accomplished musical artist this year upon the release of her seventh studio album, “Lover,” which took the charts by storm and sold well over 500,000 copies in the first week. Swift now holds five No. 1 albums, five No. 1 hits, and 25 top ten hits all on the Billboard charts showcasing her amazing success over the decade.
Commitment Within and Beyond The Music Industry
The past decade Swift has not only shown us her talent in singing and songwriting but her commitment to protecting creative rights, music education, literacy programs, cancer research, disaster relief and the Time’s Up initiative among many other programs.
Swift has been committed to protecting artist’s rights since day one which has been seen throughout her many publicly written letters to streaming services such as Apple Music and now the current owner of her masters, Big Machine Label Group by Scooter Braun. Scooter Braun, a mega-manager of top artists such as Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber and Kanye West, acquired Swift’s six-album catalog this past June causing numerous publicized issues since.
The most recent issue being that he along with the rest of the label stated that Swift would not be allowed to perform any of the songs on her past six albums during her honorary “Artist of the Decade” performance at the AMA’s due to them believing it would be Swift re-recording her songs that they now owned (Swift not being allowed to re-record until November of 2020). After Swift released a letter notifying her followers of the situation, fans and fellow artists in the industry took over every social media platform posting support of Swift and stating how unfair and cruel it was for Scooter and Big Machine to stop her. After multiple days following her publicly posted letter and statements back and forth, Swift regained the ability to perform her old songs during the much anticipated performance.
Taylor Swift is “The Man”
Swift took the stage by storm and made history as she took the audience and fans sitting at home through her most epic songs of the decade that resonated with people across the globe. The medley included “Love Story,” “I Knew You Were Trouble,” “Blank Space,” and “Shake It Off” — yet she kicked off the performance with her song “The Man” off her most recent album, “Lover,” to make a statement about the double standards and sexism seen in the music industry. The performance ended with a beautiful rendition of her title single “Lover,” where Swift sat behind a beautiful rose colored piano covered in song titles from her albums over the years, as well as having ballet dancers Misty Copeland and Craig Hall perform next to her on stage.
“All anyone in this room wants is to create something that will last. The fact that this is an award that celebrates a decade of hard work and art and fun and memories — all that matters to me is the memories I’ve had with you guys, the fans, over the years. Because we’ve had fun, incredible, exhilarating, extraordinary times together and may it continue,” says Taylor Swift upon accepting her Artist of The Decade award.
Time and time again Taylor Swift writes all of the emotions we can’t seem to put into words into beautiful albums that seem as if they are going to last decades. It is undeniable that she is one of the most talented singers and songwriters of the decade and will continue to elevate the music industry with each consecutive album and performance she creates.
Here is to the next decade of phenomenal and influential singers and songwriters. Until then dance, sing and cry your heart to Taylor Swift’s beautiful collection of work from the past 13 years.
1 Comment