Taylor Swift is not only making music. She is making history. As if making another No. 1 selling album, Midnights, and single, Anti-hero, and nine other singles, which occupied the Top 10 in the Hot 100 for the first time ever, she was off and running with more historic firsts only a few days later.
Ticketmaster crashed for the first time because there were too many Swiftie fans trying to buy tickets for her upcoming ERAS tour in the US. There were two million tickets sold in one day, the most for any artist or show in history, and about the same number of angry fans who were not able to buy any.
Then, she led the winners at the MTV European Music Awards (EMAs) held in Germany last Nov. 12, with Best Pop, Best Video and Best Longform Video for All is Well: The Short Film and EMAs’ biggest prize, the Best Artist Award. A week later, she was again the big winner at the American Music Awards.
Swiftie’s harvest at the AMAs is as follows: Artist of the Year; Favorite Pop, Female; Pop Album, Red (The Taylor Version); Video All Too Well (The Taylor Version), Favorite Country Female; and Country Album Red, of course, The Taylor Version. Take note that Taylor has already won a total of 40 American Music Awards and was proclaimed the AMA Artist of the Decade in 2019.
Now, there are better singers and songwriters than Taylor. She herself has produced better albums and songs than Midnights and its contents. But all of what is happening regarding Taylor is fueled by fan adulation in tremendous measures. So to please her, they vote for her in popularity awards, they stream, download and buy physical copies of her albums and they buy tickets for her shows, preferably on the first day of availability. Remarkable devotion, I must say. It all makes me wonder what amazing thing those fans will do for her next.
As for the VMAs, Bad Bunny, who got the most nominations with eight nods, managed to bring home only two trophies, Latin Favorite Male Artist and Favorite Album, Un Verano Sin Ti. Here are the rest of the winners:
Favorite New Artist: Dove Cameron
Collaboration of the Year: Elton John and Dua Lipa, Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)
Favorite Pop: Male Artist, Harry Styles; Duo or Group, BTS; Song, As It Was
Favorite Country: Male Artist, Morgan Wallen; Duo or Group, Dan and Shay; Song, Wasted on You by Morgan Wallen
Favorite Hip-Hop: Male Artist, Kendrick Lamar; Female, Nicky Minaj; Song, Future ft. Drake and Tems, Wait For U; Album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
Favorite R&B: Male Artist, Chris Brown; Female, Beyoncé; Album, Renaissance by Beyoncé
Favorite Rock: Artist, Machine Gun Kelly; Song, Beggin’ by Maneskin; Album, Impera by Ghost
Favorite Latin: Female Artist, Anitta; Duo or Group, Yahritza y Su Esencia; Song, Dos Oruguitas by Sebastian Yatra from the soundtrack of Encanto
Favorite Afrobeat: Artist, Wizkid
Favorite K-pop: BTS
Favorite Dance/Electronica: Artist, Marshmello
Favorite Gospel: Artist, Tamala Marin
Favorite Inspirational: Artist, For King & Country
Favorite Touring Artist: Coldplay
Favorite Soundtrack: Elvis
That was a sweet goosey tribute to this year’s Icon awardee Lionel Richie. Stevie Wonder, who has been a music star for nearly 60 years, played a musical tennis match against Charlie Puth, who has been around for five years at the most. It was a deuce throughout. They were two great voices and two great piano players performing the music of Richie.
And what songs they were. Three Times a Lady, Easy, All Night Long, Say You Say Me, Brick House, Jesus is Love and We are the World. It was a pity they did not have more time to also do Dancing on the Ceiling, Hello, Stuck on You, Lady, Endless Love and others. Richie is really an icon.