Taylor Swift brought cozy cabin vibes Sunday night.
The 10-time Grammy winner made her highly-anticipated return to the Grammys stage Sunday with a mystical medley of “Cardigan,” “August” and “Willow.” This marks her first Grammys performance since opening the awards show in 2016 when her first official pop outing “1989” earned album of the year.
Swift opened her performance on a remote stage with an intimate rendition of “Cardigan” while laying on a grassy roof in the middle of a dreamy forest. She then entered a cabin and picked up a guitar to join Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner on “August.” (Both songs are from “Folklore,” up for album of the year).
The pop star also highlighted her “Folklore” sister album “Evermore,” released in December, with a performance of “Willow,” during which she spun repeatedly in a whimsical dress.
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“Cardigan” was up for song of the year. The Grammy went to H.E.R. for her song “I Can’t Breathe.”
Swift entered into Sunday’s ceremony with six nominations, tied with Dua Lipa and Roddy Ricch, trailing only behind Beyoncé’s nine nominations.
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Swift’s performance arrives a tumultuous stretch for the star following a public battle with music tycoon Scooter Braun. Braun sold the masters to Swift’s first six albums to a private equity firm in November 2020 after he controversially acquired her catalog in June 2019 without, she claims, her knowledge or permission.
Although Swift called the deal her “worst case scenario,” the superstar reclaimed her narrative and power in August 2019 by announcing plans to re-record her first five studio albums – “Taylor Swift,” “Fearless,” “Speak Now,” “Red,” and “1989” – as a means to gain ownership of her catalog.
“I’ve spoken a lot about why I’m remaking my first six albums, but the way I’ve chosen to do this will hopefully help illuminate where I’m coming from,” she wrote on Instagram Feb. 11. “Artists should own their own work for so many reasons, but the most screamingly obvious one is that the artist is the only one who really ‘knows’ that body of work.”
She continued: “This process has been more fulfilling and emotional than I could’ve imagined and has made me even more determined to re-record all of my music. I hope you’ll like this first outing as much as I liked traveling back in time to recreate it.”
So far, Swift has re-recorded her 2008 album, “Fearless.” Her newly recorded edition, titled “Fearless: Taylor’s Version,” will be released on April 9.
Contributing: Patrick Ryan
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