Taylor Swift’s message to The Man! Furious singer takes aim at Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta during AMAS performance and reflects on her ‘hardest’ year ever in acceptance speech
- The 29-year-old began her performance at the American Music Awards on Sunday wearing a white dress shirt with the titles of all her older albums on it including 1989 and Fearless before symbolically shedding it
- Swift later won Artist of the Year en route to earning most wins of all-time eclipsing Michael Jackson with 29
- During her speech she said that this year brought her some of the ‘hardest things I’ve gone through in my life’
- Her second to last song during her medley was mega-hit Shake It Off as she was joined by Halsey and Camila Cabello whom both have been very vocal in support of Swift
- Earlier in the night Billie Eilish, 17, earned the very first award for Favorite Artist – Alternative Rock
- The teenage superstar became the first artist to hit the stage twice to accept awards as she later earned Favorite New Artist
- Carrie Underwood won two country genre awards: Favorite Album and Favorite Female Artist
Taylor Swift took aim Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta during her highly-anticipated Artist of the Decade performance amid their highly-publicized feud before revealing to the audience that she has had the ‘hardest’ year ever.
The 29-year-old hitmaker began her performance at the American Music Awards on Sunday wearing a white button-down dress shirt with the titles of all her older albums on it including 1989 and Fearless.
She sang her female empowering hit – The Man – before shedding the top to symbolically hit back at the record executives as they own her old catalog of music despite her writing all of it.
Taking a stand: Taylor Swift began her performance at the American Music Awards on Sunday wearing a white dress shirt with the titles of all her older albums on it including 1989 and Fearless
Tremendous trio: Her second to last song was mega-hit Shake It Off as she was joined by Camila Cabello (left) and Halsey whom both have been very vocal on social media in support of Swift
Iconic: It truly was Taylor’s night as she earned the top honor of Artist of the Year which lead her to eclipse Michael Jackson with 29 wins at the annual event for most of all-time
Eyes on the prize: Taylor took home a total of six awards on the night as she proudly posed with them backstage
The song plays with the perception of men and women in society as she previously explained to Vogue: ‘If I had made all the same choices, all the same mistakes, all the same accomplishments, how would it read?’
Taylor has been known to always have an eye for the details as she turned her back toward the crowd and camera to show ‘Fearless’ over her shoulders before ditching the garment to unveil her glittering gold look.
It truly was Taylor’s night as she earned the top honor of Artist of the Year which lead her to eclipse Michael Jackson with 29 wins at the annual event for most of all-time. She had walked into the event winning 23.
She shed a little bit of light on the challenging year she’s had as she said: ‘I really don’t have anything articulate to say. Just the fact that the last year of my life has had some of the most amazing times, and also some of just the hardest things I’ve gone through in my life and not a lot of them are things that haven’t been public.’
‘This industry is really weird’: She shed a little bit of light on the challenging year she’s had during her acceptance speech after being presented the award by Regina King
‘Some of the hardest things I’ve had to go through in my life’: Swift was likely alluding to her mother’s (Andrea Gardner Swift) battle with cancer
Sweet: Her mother, Andrea Gardner Swift, was obviously emotional as she had tears running down her face during her daughter’s speech
Icons: Taylor ended the show on-stage as Ciara announced that she was the most winning artist in the history of the award show
Moving and grooving: Taylor busted a move with Shania Twain
Good times: Shania closed out the show with a performance of modern songs and her old hits
Vibes: Taylor had a big smile on her face as the confetti rained down
Issa vibe: The backing dancers and Taylor, Ciara, and Shania seemed to be having a blast
Pretty in pink: Taylor and Shania proudly posed together
Swift was likely alluding to her mother’s battle with cancer. Her mom Andrea Gardner Swift was seen several times throughout the event with tears in her eyes as she supported her talented daughter.
Taylor continued: ‘This industry is really weird where like sometimes people who do what we do feel like, as I’m sure some of you feel like this too with your lives, like you feel like your stock is either up or down and people either like you or they don’t or you’re feeling bad about yourself.’
‘I don’t know what I’m talking about other than the fact that this was just like this year for me has been a lot,’ she added. ‘It’s been a lot of good, it’s been a lot of really complicated, and so on behalf of my family and me — thank you so much for being there and for caring.’
Her second to last song in her medley was mega-hit Shake It Off as she was joined by Halsey and Camila Cabello whom both have been very vocal in support of Swift.
Taking a stand: She opened her performance with female empowering hit – The Man – before shedding the top to symbolically hit back at the record executives as they own her old catalog of music despite her writing all of it
Interesting: The song plays with the perception of men and women in society as she previously explained to Vogue : ‘If I had made all the same choices, all the same mistakes, all the same accomplishments, how would it read?’
Shaking it off: The 29-year-old hitmaker then unveiled her glittering gold look
Back in August, Camila voiced her support for Taylor while saying she believed that Taylor had been ‘f***ed over’ in an interview with Variety.
The 22-year-old Cuban-American singer said: ”With the Scooter thing, I feel her frustration. An artist of her caliber just getting f*cked over like that and not being able to have her masters? That sucks. When you think about how artists have to slave to make these things, and then you don’t own them, that is kind of a ridiculous concept.’
Halsey previously commented writing on her Instagram Story: ‘Not only are we looking at an awful business movie but this is just mean.
‘This is punishment. This is hoping to silence her from speaking about things by dangling this over her head.’
The performance came after Swift was been cleared to perform any of her previous hits amid all the controversy.
What a moment: Back in August, Camila voiced her support for Taylor while saying she believed that Taylor had been ‘f***ed over’ in an interview with Variety
Sisterhood: Halsey previously commented writing on her Instagram Story: ‘Not only are we looking at an awful business movie but this is just mean’
Fierce: The three women looked absolutely gorgeous during the inspiring performance
A statement read: ‘The Big Machine Label Group and Dick Clark Productions announce that they have come to terms on a licensing agreement that approves their artists’ performances to stream post show and for re-broadcast on mutually approved platforms.
‘This includes the upcoming American Music Awards performances for Thomas Rhett and former Big Machine Records recording artist Taylor Swift.’
It was quite the setlist as she played Love Story, I Knew You Were Trouble, Blank Space, and Shake It Off in that order sandwich between The Man and Lover.
She was joined by ballet dancers Misty Copeland and Craig Hall for her finale.
Interesting: The performance came after Swift was been cleared to perform any of her previous hits amid all the controversy
Wow factor: She looked absolutely stunning in a shimmering gold bodysuit featuring a frilly detailing
Incredible: It was quite the setlist as she played Love Story, I Knew You Were Trouble, Blank Space, and Shake It Off in that order sandwich between The Man and Lover
Shining star: Taylor put on a fantastic peformance
Legends: She was joined by ballet dancers Misty Copeland and Craig Hall for her finale
Just desserts: The crowd gave Taylor a standing ovation for the fantastic career-spanning performance
Big Machine Records’ Scott Borchetta first signed Swift as a teenager, but she has been trying to purchase back the masters of her first six albums, to no avail.
When Scooter Braun bought into Big Machine, she described him as ‘an incessant, manipulative bully.’
Scooter’s acquisition of the company also prompted Taylor to announce her plans to re-record her albums originally recorded under Big Machine this coming 2020.
Days ago Scooter revealed he had received death threats since Taylor claimed he won’t let her perform her back catalog at the awards, which he denies.
Posting to Instagram on Friday and tagging Taylor in a length statement, he also shared a screengrab of one of the threats.
He wrote: ‘It is important that you understand that your words carry a tremendous amount of weight and that your message can be interpreted by some in different way .
‘This morning I spoke out publicly for the first time saying I wouldn’t participate in a social media war. However I came home tonight to find my wife had received a phone call threatening the safety of our children as well as other threats.’
Swift’s astronomical success throughout the decade certainly makes her worthy of the honor.
‘I can’t believe it’s you who gave me this award’: Taylor was presented the Artist of The Decade Award by songwriting legend Carole King and paid tribute to the You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman hitmaker during the acceptance speech
Mutual admiration: Taylor and her idol Carole shared a sweet moment on stage together
Her five albums released during this decade, between 2010 and 2019 – Speak Now (2010), Red (2012), 1989 (2014), Reputation (2017) and Lover (2019) – were all #1 on the Billboard charts.
Among her other accomplishments include three singles that hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles, plus three worldwide stadium tours and two Billboard Woman of the Year awards.
Taylor was presented the Artist of The Decade Award by songwriting legend Carole King and paid tribute to the You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman hitmaker during the acceptance speech as she said: ‘I can’t believe that it’s Carole King — that it’s you — who gave me this award.
‘My parents are here tonight and they would listen to Tapestry and all your other records in high school…when they had my brother and I, they played those records for us. When I fell in love with music, it was right around when I realized how marvelous it was an artist could transcend so many different phases and changes in people’s lives. You taught me that’s a possibility.’
Her mother was obviously emotional as she had tears running down her face during the performance and her daughter’s speech.
Earlier in the night she tied the deceased pop star when she beat out Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish to win the Favorite Album trophy for Lover at the star-studded event.
During her acceptance speech she said: ‘This is amazing! That was a really tough category, thank you to the fans! This album really felt like a new beginning and I really love my record label.’
Loving it: Earlier in the night, Taylor tied Michael Jackson for most wins at the annual award show when she beat out Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish as she earned the Favorite Album trophy for Lover at the star-studded event
Tough competition: The 29-year-old hitmaker beat out Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish as she earned the Favorite Album trophy for Lover on Sunday
Happy: During her acceptance speech she said: ‘This is amazing! That was a really tough category, thank you to the fans! This album really felt like a new beginning and I really love my record label’
‘Thank you for being so generous’: As her very public feud with Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta has been headline-making news in recent weeks she seemingly shaded the two execs while putting over her new record company
As her very public feud with Braun and Borchetta has been headline-making news in recent weeks she seemingly shaded the two execs while putting over her new record company.
She said: ‘UMG and Republic Records, thank you for being so generous and letting me make the music I want. I love you guys!’
She also won Female Artist of the Year and Favorite Music Video en route to her six wins on the night. She has now won more awards at this show than anyone else during this decade.
Earlier in the night Billie Eilish, 17, earned the very first award at the AMAs in Los Angeles on Sunday night.
She was presented Favorite Artist – Alternative Rock by Chadwick Boseman as she was seemingly in disbelief upon receiving the honor.
Eilish seemingly had trouble finding the right words before saying: ‘I feel like I can’t say more to the fans and supporters because like you made this all happen man.’
Staking her claim: Billie Eilish earned the very first award at the American Music Awards in the Favorite Artist – Alternative Rock category
Sweet: Eilish seemingly had trouble finding the right words before saying: ‘I feel like I can’t say more to the fans and supporters because like you made this all happen man’
‘I grew up being in love with all of you’: She admitted that she was shaking before continuing by talking about how much she admired all the artists in the room who came before her
Hamming it up: She sucked on a lollipop as she greeted some fans while exiting the stage
Double duty: The teenage superstar became the first artist to hit the stage twice to accept gongs as she later earned Favorite New Artist beating out stiff competition including Luke Combs , Lil Nas X, Lizzo and Ella Mai
Winning: She won two of the biggest awards of the night
Rocking it: Sje later put on a fiery performance of her hit song All Good Girls Go To Hell
Flames: Billie donned a baggy black top and shorts combination with red sequins emblazoned to resemble fire
Lit: She jumped up and down as she hit the high notes
She admitted that she was shaking before continuing: ‘Sorry to be in this category, to even be considered in this category is insane to me.
‘I grew up being in love with all of you, everybody in this row, everybody in that row, everybody in this room and the fact that you guys are all looking at me, that’s crazy!’
The teenage superstar became the first artist to hit the stage twice to accept gongs as she later earned Favorite New Artist beating out stiff competition including Luke Combs, Lil Nas X, Lizzo and Ella Mai.
She later put on a fiery performance of her hit song All Good Girls Go To Hell.
Proud: Halsey earned the second award of the night as she won Favorite Song – Pop/Rock for her single Without Me
Lovely: The 25-year-old star stunned in a low-cut white maxi dress with a thigh high split
Clean: Halsey had a busy night as she also performed Graveyard
Artsy: She and a dancer threw paint all over one another on a completely white set
Colorful characters: The performance was living art as the two even got very intimate
Vibes: Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes won Collaboration of the Year for their smash hit Seniorita
Chart toppers: Shawn and Camila performed the track together earlier in the night
Packing on the PDA: The two stars – who are a current couple – put on quite the steamy performance and even almost kissed
Get a room: The two kept very close during the very intimate performance
Wonder in white: In addition to the duet and joining Taylor, Camila also had a solo peformance of Living Proof
Wonder in white: The Cuban-American singer looked super sultry in lacy white lingerie including fishnet stockings
Quite the display: She was joined by several other scantily-clad dancers
Proud: Happy couple Camila and Shawn showed off their new trophy backstage
Sweet: The two seemingly couldn’t stop teasing cameras by pretending they were about to kiss
Eilish is competing for six AMAs, including favorite female pop/rock artist and favorite pop/rock album. Her debut — When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? — is one of the top-selling albums of the year. It launched multiple Top 40 hits including Bad Guy, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Halsey earned the second award of the night as she won Favorite Song – Pop/Rock for her single Without Me.
As she was snubbed out of a nomination when the Grammy Awards were announced earlier this year, she made a pointed statement about award shows while thanking the AMAs for being the biggest fan voted show.
Top of the world: Carrie Underwood was the biggest winner in the country music genre as she earned Favorite Album – Country beating out Kane Brown and Dan + Shay
Double dipping: When the 36-year-old hitmaker hit the stage she was surprised by actress and presenter Cobie Smulders with a second award in the Favorite Female Artist – Country category
Can’t stop her shine: Carrie posed up with her two shiny trophies in the press room
Making their name: Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney of Dan + Shay are seen accepting the Favorite Song – Country award for Speechless
The 25-year-old artist said: ‘I grew up watching shows like this, and I would sit at home, wide-eyed, and watch artists in these beautiful gowns and handsome suits stroll up and hold these awards. They were usually gold-plated and shiny and weighted, these metaphors, right?’
She went on to say that the trophies represented the ‘kind of validation for the soul-crushing and heartache-inducing work of bringing a song to life. I really believed that fairy tale. When I was a kid, I used to believe this award was the ultimate validation, and I would come up here and laugh and cry, and my fans at home would rejoice, but the truth us, I am older now and I’m also an artist.’
Regardless of her conflicted feelings she praised the award show for fan participation as she said: ‘I’m here right now and I am so thankful to the AMAs because they’re the world’s largest fan-voted awards show and I’m thankful to the fans. I’m thankful to the AMAs for giving those people a voice. I’m going to keep making music for them and for us. Sometimes you grow up and the stuff you believed in starts to lose its magic. But music never does, because real fans and real music keep that magic alive.’
Stunning: Selena Gomez kicked off the show with an emotional performance of number one single Lose You To Love Me
Wow factor: She looked gorgeous in a black long-sleeved maxi dress
Seeing triple: There were projected images of herself in the patterned background
Start the show: Dancers then came out and things popped into color as Selena slipped out of her black maxi dress into a sequined silver bodysuit as she performed Look At Her Now
Colorful character: She looked absolutely fantastic
Cheering section: Selena had the support from Taylor and Halsey as they sang and danced along
Absolute legend: Shania Twain closed out the night with a medley performance including herself covering Swift and Drake songs on the acoustic guitar
That impresses me much: Shania then ditched the guitar and put on a high-octane performance of her hits
Steamy: Shania rubbed the abs of a very hunky backing dancer
Respect: Taylor was seen fangirling over the country legend during the peformance
Camila Cabello was also a big winner as she and boyfriend Shawn Mendes won Collaboration Of The Year for Seniorita.
The couple also put together a steamy performance for the snaps which saw them singing and getting very close together and even touched noses at one point.
Carrie Underwood was the biggest winner in the country music genre as she earned Favorite Album – Country beating out Kane Brown and Dan + Shay.
Good as hell: Lizzo performed Jerome for the first time on television
Simply stunning: She looked gorgeous in a flowy burgundy tulle maxi
Ravishing in red: Dua Lipa hit the stage for a performance of Don’t Star Now
Simply stunning: Dua showed off her incredible figure in a clinging red bodysuit over matching black tights and suede booties
Shimmering: She was joined by dancers in metallic silver bodysuits
Wonder in white: Legendary R&B singer Toni Braxton hit the stage to perform her 90s classic Unbreak My Heart
Racy: She donned a lacy white number featuring plenty of sheer paneling
Dark prince: British rocker Ozzy Osbourne, 70, who has been sidelined by serious health problems for a year, was mostly seated as he took to the stage
Skull crushing: Post Malone joined the Black Sabbath frontman on stage for their single Take What You Want
Unlikely pair: The two music stars definitely span generations with their fandom
Tremendous trio: They were also joined by Travis Scott
Sunday serve us: Kesha performed a gospel-inspired number alongside Big Freedia
Big voice, bigger sleeves: Christina Aguilera performed Fall On Me with A Great Big World
Glow: Christina donned a flowy gold number featuring huge puffy sleeves
Rocking out: Country star Thomas Rhett looked super cool in ripped blue jeans and brown suede Chelsea boots
No American idiots: Punk rockers Green Day got the audience to its feet as they marked the 25th anniversary of their 1994 breakout album Dookie and they performed Basketcase
When the 36-year-old hitmaker hit the stage she was surprised by actress and presenter Cobie Smulders with a second award in the Favorite Female Artist – Country category.
Selena Gomez kicked off the show with an emotional performance of number one single Lose You To Love Me.
The 27-year-old songtress’ world premiere performance was televised in black and white as there were projected images of herself in the patterned background.
Shining star: Host Ciara then hit the stage in a shimmering gold romper while kicking off the show
Killing it: She impressively danced and rapped while performing a song about melanin and chocolate
Supporting cast: SHe was joined by several backing dancers
Dancers then came out and things popped into color as Selena slipped out of her black maxi dress into a sequined silver bodysuit as she performed Look At Her Now.
Host Ciara then hit the stage in a shimmering gold romper as she she impressively danced and rapped with several backing dancers while performing a song about melanin and chocolate.
British rocker Ozzy Osbourne, 70, who has been sidelined by serious health problems for a year, was mostly seated as he took to the stage with rappers Post Malone, Travis Scott and rocker WATT for their single Take What You Want.
A-lister: Regina King looked fantastic in a shimmering black number with a cutout at the chest
Dynamic duo: Knives Out co-stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Katherine Langford presented together
Looking good: Billy Porter looked excellent in an all white look including intricate hat and Thom Browne coat
Just us: Ben Platt and Misty Copeland hit the stage together
Straight up: Paula Abdul looked fabulous as she presented
Goals: Stumptown co-stars Michael Ealy and Cobie Smulders had a good time as they presented on-stage
Pretty in pink: Constance Wu presented the Favorite Song – Pop/ Rock
Flower boy: Tyler, The Creator introduced Billie Eilish’s performance
Hero: Chadwick Boseman had the esteemed honor of being the first to present as he gave Billie Eilish the Favorite Artist – Alternative Rock gong
Emotional rockers: Rivers Cuomo of Weezer (left) and Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy (right) gave emo kids the thrill of a lifetime as they presented together
The man in black: Kane Brown looked handsome as he spoke on stage
Punk rockers Green Day got the audience to its feet as they marked the 25th anniversary of their 1994 breakout album Dookie.
Other performers included the Jonas Brothers, Kesha, Halsey, Christina Aguilera and Shania Twain.
The show will aired live on ABC from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Tremendous trio: Taylor was flanked by Billy Porter and Halsey
Dynamic duo: Swift and Halsey looked gorgeous as they were seated next to each other
Just us: The two looked in great spirits as they supported fellow artist Selena Gomez during her performance
Lovely: The A-lister looked in good spirits
Old friends: Swift proved she hasn’t forgotten about her country roots as she posed with Kelsea Ballerini
Rising stars: Billie and Dua Lipa posed for a cute snap together
Bond: Billie happily posed with her mother Maggie Baird
Proud: Billie showed off her shirt which read ‘no more music on a dead planet’ in sequins
So in love! Power couple Camila and Shawn posed for a snap as they sat in the crowd together
Sweet: The two were joined for a snap by WATT
Country roots: Lil Nas X cuddled up with Shania Twain
AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS WINNERS 2019
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Drake
Ariana Grande
Halsey
Post Malone
Taylor Swift – WINNER
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Luke Combs
Billie Eilish – WINNER
Lil Nas X
Lizzo
Ella Mai
COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper “Shallow”
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus “Old Town Road”
Marshmello & Bastille “Happier”
Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello “Señorita” – WINNER
Post Malone & Swae Lee “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)”
TOUR OF THE YEAR
BTS – WINNER
Ariana Grande
Elton John
P!nk
Ed Sheeran
FAVORITE MUSIC VIDEO
Billie Eilish “bad guy”
Ariana Grande “7 rings”
Halsey “Without Me”
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus “Old Town Road”
Taylor Swift “You Need to Calm Down” – WINNER
FAVORITE SOCIAL ARTIST
BTS – WINNER
Billie Eilish
EXO
Ariana Grande
Shawn Mendes
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Drake
Khalid – WINNER
Post Malone
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Billie Eilish
Ariana Grande
Taylor Swift – WINNER
FAVORITE DUO OR GROUP – POP/ROCK
BTS – WINNER
Jonas Brothers
Panic! At The Disco
FAVORITE ALBUM – POP/ROCK
Billie Eilish “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?”
Ariana Grande “thank u, next”
Taylor Swift “Lover” – WINNER
FAVORITE SONG – POP/ROCK
Halsey “Without Me” – WINNER
Jonas Brothers “Sucker”
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus “Old Town Road”
Panic! At The Disco “High Hopes”
Post Malone & Swae Lee “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)”
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Kane Brown – WINNER
Luke Combs
Thomas Rhett
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Kelsea Ballerini
Maren Morris
Carrie Underwood – WINNER
FAVORITE DUO or GROUP – COUNTRY
Dan + Shay – WINNER
Florida Georgia Line
Old Dominion
FAVORITE ALBUM – COUNTRY
Kane Brown “Experiment”
Dan + Shay “Dan + Shay”
Carrie Underwood “Cry Pretty’ – WINNER
FAVORITE SONG – COUNTRY
Luke Combs “Beautiful Crazy”
Dan + Shay “Speechless” – WINNER
Blake Shelton “God’s Country”
FAVORITE ARTIST – RAP/HIP-HOP
Cardi B – WINNER
Drake
Post Malone
FAVORITE ALBUM – RAP/HIP-HOP
Meek Mill “Championships”
Post Malone “Hollywood’s Bleeding” – WINNER
Travis Scott “Astroworld”
FAVORITE SONG – RAP/HIP-HOP
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus “Old Town Road” – WINNER
Post Malone “Wow.”
Travis Scott “SICKO MODE”
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
Chris Brown
Khalid
Bruno Mars – WINNER
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
Beyoncé – WINNER
Lizzo
Ella Mai
FAVORITE ALBUM – SOUL/R&B
Chris Brown “Indigo”
Khalid “Free Spirit” – WINNER
Ella Mai “Ella Mai”
FAVORITE SONG – SOUL/R&B
Khalid “Talk” – WINNER
Lizzo “Juice”
Ella Mai “Trip”
FAVORITE ARTIST – ALTERNATIVE ROCK
Billie Eilish – WINNER
Imagine Dragons
Panic! At The Disco
FAVORITE ARTIST – ADULT CONTEMPORARY
Maroon 5
P!nk
Taylor Swift – WINNER
FAVORITE ARTIST – LATIN
Bad Bunny
J Balvin – WINNER
Ozuna
FAVORITE ARTIST – CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL
Lauren Daigle – WINNER
for KING & COUNTRY
MercyMe
FAVORITE ARTIST – ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC (EDM)
Avicii
Marshmello – WINNER
The Chainsmokers
FAVORITE SOUNDTRACK
“A Star is Born” by Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
“Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen – WINNER
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
A Timeline: Taylor Swift’s feud with Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta
Taylor Swift signed to Big Machine Records in 2006, which has released all but one of her albums.
In 2018, Swift signed with Universal Music Group, but Big Machine Records still retains the exclusive rights to her entire back catalogue of master recordings.
Timeline of a feud: Taylor Swift, seen here this summer, is in dispute with Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta over her back catalogue
Here’s how the public feud began:
June 30, 2019: Braun’s $300million deal is announced
The Wall Street Journal reported that Scooter Braun reached a deal of more than $300million to purchase Big Machine Records and with it, all of Swift’s old music.
On the same day, Swift shared a blog post saying that for years she pleaded for a chance to own her work but was only given an opportunity to sign back up to Big Machine Records and ‘earn’ one album back at a time, ‘one for every new one I turned in’.
She claimed in the post that she ‘walked away because I knew once I signed that contract, Scott Borchetta would sell the label, thereby selling me and my future’.
Long working relationship: Taylor Swift signed to Big Machine Records in 2006, which has released all but one of her albums; she is seen with Scott Borchetta in 2013
July 1, 2019: Scott Borchetta releases statement on the sale
Borchetta, the man who sold Swift’s catalog to Braun, says the singer has been misleading about the situation, claiming she had the chance to purchase her work and knew well ahead of time of the deal.
In an open letter on the label’s website, Borchetta, 56, who founded Big Machine Label Group, claimed the songstress had a shot earlier at buying the work, which fell through when she inked a pact with Universal Music Group.
On the same day, celebrities voiced their views. Halsey and Cara Delevingne rushed to support Swift as Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato and Braun’s wife, Yael Cohen, voiced their support for him.
July 2, 2019: Braun faces backlash for bragging about purchase
Braun faced furious backlash over his now-deleted Instagram post that bragged about him ‘buying Taylor Swift’ as he claimed he tried to have a mature conversation with her about the purchase of her catalog of past albums.
When the news first broke – and before Swift responded angrily – Braun was re-posting messages of congratulations from friends and colleagues on his Instagram story.
One of the messages that Braun re-posted and later deleted from his Instagram story congratulated him on ‘buying’ the 29-year singer.
Controversial sale: Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun in June 2019
July 3, 2019: Swift’s lawyers deny she knew about $300m sale
Her lawyer denied claims that Swift had an opportunity to buy her masters before it was eventually sold to Braun.
Borchetta had previously claimed that Swift knew about the sale.
The lawyer refuted claims that the Shake It Off singer was informed months in advance that Big Machine was up for sale.
August 21, 2019: Swift confirms she’s re-recording songbook
The singer announced her plans to re-record her songbook to regain control of her master recordings.
August 23, 2019: Swift celebrates release of first album not owned by Braun
Swift told Good Morning American that her Lover album is so special because ‘it’s the first one that I will own’.
On the same day, Swift slammed Braun in a separate interview, saying: ‘And the person who bought my art, he’s never made any art in his life, so he doesn’t know what it’s like.
‘He could never understand that personal connection. When you make something and then someone buys it out from under you…’ she said, referring to Braun.
August 25, 2019: Swift blasts Borchetta for selling her music
Swift told CBS Sunday that she only found out about the secret $300million deal when it was news online.
‘I found out when it was online, like, when it hit the news,’ she said.
‘I knew he [Scott Borchetta] would sell my music, I knew he would do that,’ she began.
‘I couldn’t believe who he sold it to, because, we’ve had endless conversations about Scooter Braun and he has 300 million reasons to conveniently forget those conversations.’
September 16, 2019: Braun insists he had no ‘malicious intent’ when buying Taylor Swift’s back catalogue masters
Braun insisted he had no ‘malicious intent’ when he bought Big Machine Records.
‘I don’t do anything with malicious intent,’ the 38-year-old power broker told Tony Gonzalez’s Wide Open podcast.
‘I try to do things above board. I try to do the right thing. Not everyone’s gonna be happy with everything that you do, and I think in the long-term, I’ve learned this over time, the truth always comes out, and I’m confident in that.’
November 14, 2019: Swift says she’s banned from singing on TV
Swift claimed that Big Machine Records founder, Borchetta, and music executive Braun have effectively told her ‘shut up or you’ll be punished’.
She claimed they told her that she wouldn’t be able to perform a planned medley of her greatest hits at the American Music Awards next Sunday where she is due to receive Artist of the Decade.
They have also allegedly denied permission to use her old songs on a Netflix documentary that has been two years in the making.
November 15, 2019: Big Machine Records releases statement denying her claims
Swift’s former record company hit back at the singer for making ‘false’ claims that the label banned her from singing her own songs on television.
In a statement, Big Machine Label Group alleged that Swift owes ‘millions of dollars’ to their label and that her social media posts are threatening the safety of their employees.
November 22, 2019: Scooter Braun makes public appeal to end feud after his family received death threats
Braun shared a public letter on Instagram which read in part: ‘Since your public statement last week there have been numerous death threats directed at my family.’
He also said: ‘I assume this was not your intention but it is important that you understand that your words carry a tremendous amount of weight and that your message can be interpreted by some in different ways.’
He made it clear he wants to ‘rectify the situation’ and is ‘open to ALL possibilities.’
Scooter ended his letter with another plea for a resolution – but admitted ‘many’ had told him it was unlikely he and Taylor would meet face-to-face as she’s more interested in creating her own ‘narrative’.
Scooter ended the post with a screenshot of a threatening message he’d received towards his himself, his wife Yael Cohen and their three young children.
Taylor Swift’s face off with Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta
Earlier this month Taylor Swift went public via a tweet alleging music execs Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta had been blocking her from performing her hits at the American Music Awards unless she agreed not to rerecord her back catalog, which they own.
In a post captioned, ‘Don’t know what else to do’, Swift said: ‘I’ve been planning to perform a medley of my hits throughout the decade on the [AMAs]. Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun have now said that I’m not allowed to perform my old songs on television because they claim that would be re-recording my music before I’m allowed to next year.
Public feud: Taylor Swift, seen in April, has publicly berated Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta for their handling of her music sell off
‘Additionally – and this isn’t the way I had planned on telling you this news – Netflix has created a documentary about my life for the past few years. Scott and Scooter have declined the use of my older music or performance footage for this project, even though there is no mention of either of them or Big Machine Records anywhere in the film.’
Celebrities started showing public support for Swift after she made the revelation on Thursday.
As #IStandWithTaylor began trending, Braun and Borchetta faced death threats from the 29-year-old’s fans after Swift attempted to force them to rethink their decision.
Former colleagues: Swift worked with Borchetta for most of her career
Then the next day, Swift’s original label, Big Machine Label Group, hit back at the singer for making ‘false’ claims that the label banned her from singing her own songs on television.
In a statement, Big Machine Label Group alleged that Swift owes ‘millions of dollars’ to their label and that her social media posts are threatening the safety of their employees.
On November 22, Scooter Braun made a public appeal to end the feud after his family received death threats.
He claimed he was ‘shocked and disheartened’ by Taylor’s previous comments slamming his acquisition of her master recordings and suggested the Blank Space singer had no interest in resolving the tension between them, but he is willing to do anything to do so and is open to ‘ALL possibilities’.
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