On Sunday night Taylor Swift was queen of the AMAs as she collected Artist of the Decade and sang through some of her biggest hits.
The singer, who has recently been embroiled in a legal dispute over her music, let her work do the talking with an AMA performance that brought the house down.
But in classic Taylor Swift style there were a few cryptic clues thrown into the performance too - the button up shirt Swift was wearing and choice of first song appeared to make a pointed statement about her old label Big Machine Records.
Swift and Big Machine Records have been in a dispute since June, starting when owner Scott Borchetta sold the company to super-agent Scooter Braun (who represents Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato). According to a record deal signed when Swift was starting her career, Big Machine Records owns the masters to her first five albums and by purchasing the label, Braun effectively owns much of her back catalogue.
Calling it her “worst case scenario” in an essay, Swift claimed she had been bullied by Braun and alleged she had not been allowed to buy her masters before the sale went through.
Due to the ongoing legal battle, a week ago Swift claimed she had been blocked from performing her own music by Braun and Borchetta at the American Music Awards. The pair later denied the allegations, with Braun releasing a statement claiming he and his family had been the subject of “numerous death threats” and wrote that he wanted to “publicly ask for us to come together and try to find a resolution”.
As shown by her AMAs performance, Swift was able to deliver her own music at the awards ceremony where she was honoured with the Artist of the Decade award.
In what some have perceived as a call out, Swift opened her performance wearing a literal fashion statement: a white shirt covered in the names of all her albums that Braun and Borchetta own the masters to.
She also notably opened with her song “The Man”, which includes lyrics that read, “I’m so sick of running as fast as I can, wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man. And I’m so sick of them coming at me again because if I were a man, I’d be the man.”
It also featured sound effects including glass breaking as Swift punched the air, which appeared to reference a glass ceiling. She later changed out of the shirt and wore two different gowns on the night.
Taylor Swift’s AMA wins went beyond her Artist of the Decade award, as the star also took home Artist of the Year, Favourite Music Video for "You Need to Calm Down", Favourite Female Artist - Pop/Rock, Favourite Album - Pop/Rock and Favourite Artist - Adult Contemporary.
With Swift winning a total of six awards at the 2019 AMAs, it brought her overall total to 29 AMA wins - breaking a record previously set by Michael Jackson for the most American Music Award trophies.
To celebrate, Swift posted a picture of herself surrounded by the crystal trophies along with the words, “Hi guys have I told you lately that I LOVE YOU.”
