Apple announced the winners of its second annual Apple Music Awards, and Taylor Swift was named Songwriter Of The Year, following the surprise release of her critically and commercially acclaimed album, Folklore, which has gone on to become the first album of 2020 to sell more than one million copies.
During a recorded acceptance speech, the pop superstar emphasized the importance her songwriting has played in a year where musical artists’ ability to tour and play in front of a live audience has come to a screeching halt due to COVID-19.
‘Winning Songwriter of the Year in any capacity in any year would be so exciting, but I think it’s really special because this particular year was a year where I really feel like songwriting was the one thing that was able to keep me connected to fans that I wasn’t able to see in concert,’ Swift said in an Apple Music press release.
Dressed in a black top and a white turtle neck she added, ‘I wasn’t able to reach out my hand and touch somebody’s hand in the front row, I wasn’t able to take pictures with fans, so this, it means a lot to me.’
The 10-time Grammy winner went on the share how her songwriting, and feedback from fans, has also helped keep her spirits up during these uncertain times over the last eight months since the coronavirus was deemed a pandemic in mid-March.
‘My songwriting, and the way that fans respond to the songs I write, and the kinda dialogue back and forth, and that kind of emotional exchange, is what I feel like has really kept me going this year. And I really want to say thank you to the fans for that,’ Swift concluded.
Along with her blonde tresses in a bang-cut and red lipstick in the Apple Music Awards video, many of her so-called Swiftie fans have been commenting about how similar her style is to her Red era (2012), which she just spoke about in her recent interview with Rolling Stone.
Folklore debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, making it her seventh consecutive number-one album in the United States, which is a first for a female artist. It spent eight weeks atop the chart, making it the longest-running number-one album of 2017 to 2020.
Written and recorded while in isolation due to COVID-19, Swift collaborated on 11 of the 16 new songs on the album with multi-instrumentalist Aaron Dessner of the indie rock band The National.
The Apple Music Awards honour achievements in music across five categories.
Songwriter Of The Year, Artist of the Year, and Breakthrough Artist of the Year are chosen by Apple Music’s global editorial team
Top Song of the Year and Top Album of the Year is based on streaming data of what Apple Music subscribers have been listening to this year.
The other winners in 2020 included: Lil Baby for Artist Of The Year, Megan Thee Stallion took home Breakthrough Artist Of The Year, and Roddy Ricch won Top Song Of The Year for The Box and Top Album Of The Year with Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial.
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