Taylor Swift is back on top! The singer surpassed Whitney Houston for the most wins by a female artist with 22 American Music Awards on Tuesday, October 9.
“I just want to say to the fans, you have been so nice to me. And fun. And you’re so funny. And you’re so cool,” the 28-year-old began as she took the stage to accept the award for Artist of the Year. “And so loyal, and I am so — it’s not lost on me. I understand how lucky I am to have anyone that cares about me or my music. And, wow.”
Swift, who opened the show with a performance of “I Did Something Bad,” also accepted the awards for Tour of the Year and Pop/Rock album (Reputation) during the ceremony.
Taylor Swift accepts Favorite Album – Pop/Rock for ‘Reputation’ onstage during the 2018 American Music AwardsKevin Winter/Getty Images For dcp
“I just, every time that you have made me lucky enough to ever get to stand on a stage and have something really sparkly in my hands and say thank you, every single time this happens, it means something differently to me,” the Grammy winner continued. “It means something different every time, represents something different. This time, it represents encouragement and motivation for me to be better, work harder, and make you guys proud as much as I possibly can. So, thank you for this incredible symbol of encouragement.”
She concluded: “I wanted to make a mention of the fact that this award and every single award given out tonight were voted on by the people. And you know what else is voted on by the people is the midterm elections on November 6th. Get out and vote. I love you guys.”
Swift’s acceptance speech marks her second reference to the upcoming midterm elections. After staying silent throughout the controversial 2016 presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, the “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” singer endorsed two Democratic candidates in Tennessee on Sunday, October 7, via Instagram.
“In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now,” she wrote in part on Sunday. “I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country.”
Comedian Billy Eichner acknowledged Swift’s Instagram during his appearance at the AMAs, encouraging the crowd to “go to VOTE.gov like Taylor Swift told you to.”
A source told Us Weekly exclusively that Swift broke her silence on politics because “she realizes that she’s at the peak of her career and doesn’t care about haters at this point.”
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