On Oct. 2, Taylor Swift and her cat Meredith announced on Good Morning America that she will be opening the American Music Awards with a performance of “I Did Something Bad” on October 9, 2018. Later in the day, she posted the same video shared with GMA on her Instagram and fans are loving it.
Taylor has received 19 awards from 25 nominations at the American Music Awards and is currently nominated for four more awards this year, including Favorite Tour of the Year for her Reputation Stadium Tour and Artist of the Year. Swift last performed at the AMAs in 2014 with the song “Blank Space.”
If we remember anything from 2014 … or literally any Taylor Swift performance … we know to expect BIG things, so what should we expect from this performance? Will this performance be the same performance from her tour set? Doubtful. Swift is known for her creative flares not only in songwriting but on the stage as well. The first thing to expect is the unexpected. But here are a couple of things we can look for.
Her tour dancers
Taylor has been on tour since May of 2018 and at this time she has worked closely with a large group of talented dancers. I would expect her performance to include the dancers that have been with her through the tour.
Fire
I had the pleasure of attending the Reputation Stadium Tour shows in Atlanta and Tampa. Fire was included in the performance of many songs on the setlist (including “I Did Something Bad”), just as it was incorporated in Taylor’s last AMA performance of “Blank Space.” Regardless, I expect “I Did Something Bad” to be an explosive performance, with or without fire.
Hidden Messages
Everything Taylor Swift does has a meaning. Everything she performs is rehearsed to perfection and so each movement, prop and any changes to the original composition of the song all have significance. Pay close attention and see what you can pick up on!
Lighting!!
Lighting plays a significant role in almost every musical performance, but Taylor is known for exceeding those expectations. On her tour, every guest had a bracelet that lit up in sync with the music and seat location. This added to the light show because not only could the audience look to the stage to see flashes of light and colors galore, they could look at their surroundings and see the entire audience lit up and dancing along. Lighting will have a significant presence in this performance, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us!
A dark wardrobe
As we’ve seen through the Reputation era, the costumes and merch are a lot darker and subtler than that of past albums. What I experienced at the tour, including during the performance of “I Did Something Bad,” was a majority of black and low-energy colored costumes with high energy lighting, fire and music. With these aspects combined, the performances of the Reputation era are epic.
Tune in to the American Music Awards on Tuesday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. EST on ABC to catch Taylor’s performance.