I believe it is fair to say that Taylor Swift was an evident choice as the 2019 Artist of the Decade recipient, simply based on her success in the music industry. I remember listening to “Tear Drops on my Guitar” back in 2008, wondering why Taylor would fake a smile so Drew wouldn’t see—I was in middle school, it was a confusing time. My generation has grown up with T Swift from the very beginning, which is why it was rewarding to see someone earn such a prestigious award over other artists. Some adore her, others do not care for her, and if you are like me, you love her as a person and are indifferent about her music now. While watching the American Music Awards, I learned so much about Swift’s accomplishments including outnumbering Michael Jackson in the number of AMA’s she has won thus far—the literal King of Pop. Prior to accepting her Artist of the Decade Award from Carole King, Swift performed a mix of her most popular songs, including “The Man”, “Love Story”, “Blank Space”, “Shake It Off”, and “Lover”, just to name a few. We cannot forget to mention the dancers, one being Misty Copeland, one of the best female African American ballerinas in the world. My favorite part? Swift’s stunning outfit choices throughout the performance.
At the beginning of the performance, Swift is seen wearing a white dress shirt-style dress, with the names of each of her albums printed on it in black stencil font. While in her first outfit, she sang “The Man” and was accompanied by child dancers. I found this outfit to speak in its own way, showing her pride in the albums she has devotedly created within the past ten years—almost like her introduction in proving why she deserves to be the 2019 Artist of the Decade. I would go as far as to question whether opening with the child dancers and older songs were to represent the fans who have been following her since the beginning, since we were around the same age as them when she made her debut. The outfit, strapped with her album names all over it, shows how long her fans have stuck with her and how loyal her fan base has been. My final remark on this outfit is that I enjoyed the subtle secretiveness of it, with a looser fit and basic draping design. In my opinion, this outfit had my eyes glued on her from the beginning, questioning what was going to come next.
While I was day dreamingly reminiscing, listening to Swift sing “Love Story”, I missed the part where the loose dress shirt disappeared. Instead, suddenly, Swift was in a flirtatious sparkly gold body suit—with fringe on the side—accompanied with metallic, gold booties and tights. After taking a closer look, it seems as though there are straps hanging loosely on her upper thighs, almost in a garter-style way. Now, I am a firm believer that my dancing skills become substantially better when I am in an outfit that makes me feel confident. This is proven true as Swift worked those dance moves on stage, hip swivels included—who would have thought? With this being noted, however, one of the major characteristics that I love about our girl T Swift is the amount of importance she places on modesty and being a role model to those younger than her. In no way was this outfit risqué (especially compared to some of her comrade’s outfit choices that night), but simply, it showed the confidence she has built with her experience—and I think we can all be perfectly okay with that. Evidently, I can guarantee that all eyes, minds, and hearts were on Taylor Swift after she rocked this bedazzled little number.
Finally comes my absolute favorite outfit of the night: Taylor’s final, royal-like cape. As we watch the beautiful Misty Copeland perform a duet while Swift sings her most recent song, ”Lover”, Swift is suddenly positioned wearing a stunning rose colored cape, made from what seems like a sheer fabric and beaded with gold accents to match the bodysuit as previously mentioned. I could not think of a better outfit to put her in when listening to this song. Besides, can we talk about the matching grand piano she elegantly played? After finishing her performance, Swift stands and begins to walk up to accept her award from King. This is when we as the viewers can see the true queen that Taylor Swift has become, with the long, flowing cape, confident gold body suit, and the notable awkward, yet kind personality that she brings to life. While our T Swift can definitely still sing “Tear Drops on my Guitar” like it’s 2008 and the Black Eyed Peas were still a thing, it is our responsibility as fans (and even non-fans) to be proud of how far she has come personally and professionally. Serious props to her stylist for this performance, as they nailed each aspect of her personality and the evolution of her as an artist.
Hey, at least Kanye didn’t snag the microphone from her again while she was accepting her award.
So, cheers to you, Taylor Swift—you deserve it.