The 2020 Academy of Country Music Awards were originally set to take place back in April in Las Vegas. In a rare case of the pandemic leading to something arguably better, the ceremony was pushed to Wednesday night, September 16th, and moved to the heart of country music, Nashville, for the very first time. What’s more, during the delay, Taylor Swift ended up releasing a new album, folklore, which gave the ACMAs the opportunity to book her for a performance.
The night was split between remote and in-person appearances, and Swift was one of those actually in attendance at the Grand Ole Opry House (though apparently via a pre-taped segment). She took the stage to deliver the live debut of her latest smash single, “betty”. It’s a strange thing — amongst a year of strange things — for an artist of Swift’s caliber to drop an album and give absolutely zero performances behind it. Thus, even though she simply sat in front of a white light and strummed out an acoustic version of the sweet song, it was surely a huge treat for fans.
On top of that, this marked Swift’s first appearance at a country music awards show since 2013. Watch a replay of Swift’s “betty” performance below.
Editors’ Picks
In addition to releasing what quickly became the year’s best-selling album, Swift has been more politically active than ever in 2020. She’s called for the removal of “racist” Confederate statues and taken Trump to task for “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism.” She’s also looking out for the little guys during the pandemic, sending signed copies of folklore to indie record stores at no charge.
We’ll have you, and we want you, @taylorswift13! It is so great to have Taylor back on the #ACMawards stage. Tune-in to @CBS to watch the show now! pic.twitter.com/nchgiiYzAV
— ACM Awards (@ACMawards) September 17, 2020
I could watch this forever🤍 @taylorswift13 @taylornation13 #ACMawards pic.twitter.com/UsYM5I0z1c
— chynna | 𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙞 𝙜𝙞𝙡𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣 (@folklorechynna) September 17, 2020
The superior Taylor Swift, argue with a wall pic.twitter.com/ZsxBgoCbvt
— 𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒍 (@WitnessMeFlop) September 17, 2020