Where’s the trophy? Running over to Taylor Swift, again.
Fresh off the Eras Tour, Swift is now the winningest artist in Billboard Music Awards history — surpassing Drake — thanks to the 10 trophies she nabbed Thursday night.
“Hello, I just wanted to say hi and thank you,” Swift said in a pre-recorded video acceptance speech. “Thank you to the Billboard Awards and thank you to the fans, because Billboard is counting your stuff. They’re counting what you listen to, the albums that you’re passionate about. And so I count these as fan-voted awards because you guys are the ones who care about our albums and come see us in concert.”
She added: “Everything that’s happened with the Eras Tour and The Tortured Poets Department, I just have to say thank you. It means the world to me that you guys have embraced the things that I’ve made. And the fact that you’ve cared so much about my music. This is like, the nicest early birthday present you could have given me. So thank you very much. I love it. It’s exactly what I wanted.”
(Swift turns 35 on Friday.) It’s unclear when or where the video was filmed, though Swift seems to be wearing the same 14 karat yellow gold sapphire and diamond necklace by Effy Jewelry that she first donned while out in New York on Nov. 19.
Her newest BBMA accolades in full:
- Top artist
- Top female artist
- Top Billboard 200 artist
- Top Hot 100 artist
- Top Hot 100 songwriter
- Top streaming songs artist
- Top radio songs artist
- Top Billboard global 200 artist
- Top Billboard global (excl. U.S.) artist
- Top Billboard 200 album for The Tortured Poets Department.
Both Swift and Drake began the evening tied for the ultimate title with 39 awards each. This year, Swift was nominated for 16, while Drake was nominated for eight. He finished the night with three wins: top rap artist, top rap male artist and top rap album for For All the Dogs.
Swift was among several big-name artists who won awards but were not in attendance, including Beyoncé, Chappell Roan, SZA, Bruno Mars, Noah Kahan and Doja Cat. Earlier in the day, Swift was photographed visiting patients at the Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, home of her boyfriend, Travis Kelce — though the Kansas City Chiefs tight end was not in attendance.
That didn’t stop her from being a topic of conversation at the award show, though. Country music star Jelly Roll said ahead of the show that he had been listening to “a lot of The Tortured Poets Department.’ Taylor, I thought, had a great album.”
A package that aired prior to Swift’s video appearance celebrated her decorated career: ” In the past five years, Taylor hasn’t just broken records — she’s redefined them.”
Swift last attended the BBMAs in 2019, when she was nominated for top female artist and top touring artist, and opened the show with “ME!” featuring Brendon Urie. Last year, she nabbed 10 awards including top artist, which she accepted via pre-taped video, shot behind the scenes at the Eras Tour while she wore on of her opening “Lover” bodysuits.
Her next bid for music awards is in February at the 2025 Grammys, where she’s up for six categories: album of the year, song of the year, record of the year, best pop duo/group performance, best pop vocal album and best music video. She also set a new Grammys record for most album of the year nominations, with seven.
Taypedia 