The American Music Awards were last night, and if you missed them then I've got you covered. It was a three-hour live show, so I'm not going to talk about everything that happened because why would I? Here are my thoughts on what I think are the most important moments of the night: 1. Selena Gomez must be protected at all costs Selena Gomez opened the show with a performance that had people criticizing her on social media. It was reported that she was dealing with anxiety and had a panic attack before taking the stage, so maybe everyone just should consider being quiet! She started with "Lose You To Love Me", a song about Justin Bieber that I've been listening to on repeat. Not only is this her most vulnerable (and arguably best) song in a long time, but it also makes me wonder how someone like Justin Bieber ever got someone like Selena Gomez. After breaking our hearts with this intro, she transitioned into her other new song, "Look At Her Now", a self-empowerment song that I like to also refer to as "Sucks To Suck, Justin." 2. Halsey gave a speech while also giving zero f*cks While accepting her first ever AMA for "Favorite Pop/Rock Song" for "Without Me", she seemingly called out the Grammys (who snubbed her of any nominations) and referred to the AMAs as a show that actually matters because it's fan voted and fans are the only people who actually give a sh*t about the music. The camera eventually cut to Taylor Swift cheering her on in the crowd, who also brought the speech up later on in the show, saying that Halsey's speech won the night. I don't know about you, but I think that two of music's biggest female artists teaming up to call out music industry politics deserves an award of its own. 3. Kesha performed "TiK ToK" and added ten years to my life As if opening her gospel-inspired performance by throwing subtle shade at Kanye West with the line, "This is OUR Sunday Service" wasn't enough, Kesha surprised everyone in the audience and me at home when she started singing "TiK ToK." This song was not only her first big hit, but it's also part of the soundtrack to my middle school years, so you can imagine how much I freaked out at the exact moment I heard, "Wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy." 4. The Jonas Brothers weren't even at the show but their performance was still one of the best The Jo Bros are currently on their "Happiness Begins" tour, so the AMAs essentially Skype'd into their Boston concert while they performed their current single, "Only Human." If you know me at all, then the fact that I loved their performance shouldn't come as much of a shock to you, and I was definitely bopping along with them from my couch. Also, this was probably a good move on JB's part considering I immediately wanted to buy concert tickets to another one of their shows even though I was just at one three months ago. 5. Taylor Swift delivered a medley of songs and emotions before being awarded as "Artist of the Decade" I'd been waiting for this performance for weeks and I wasn't disappointed. I'm going to break this down song-by-song, so buckle up: "The Man" Taylor began her performance with "The Man", a female-empowerment anthem from her newest album, Lover. Not only did she wear a shirt with all of her past albums (currently owned by her old record label and Scooter Braun) written in a prison mugshot font (because they were locked up and taken away from her and need to be freed!) BUT she also brought a group of young girls (seven to be exact, just like the number of those albums!) on stage to dance alongside her while she ended the male population. "Love Story" This is the song that essentially jump-started Taylor's career, and ten years later it's still so good. When she ripped off The Man Shirt TM and revealed a Fearless-era style dress, I yelled so loud that my brother knocked on my door to make sure I was ok. "I Knew You Were Trouble." A transition from a romantic pop song to a beat-dropping breakup anthem? It's called range, sweetie, look it up. "Blank Space" This was one of the biggest songs of the decade, so it's only natural that Taylor included it in this performance. Taking the rumors and gossip surrounding her life and turning it into one of the biggest pop songs of all time is literally just Taylor Swift things, and I, personally, love to see it. "Shake It Off" Taylor brought out fellow female superstars Halsey and Camila Cabello to perform with her, and I guess my invite got lost in the mail but I'll get over it. Something I won't get over? Taylor's kiss to her haters at the end. "Lover" If you look closely, all of Taylor's album titles are written on her piano, as well as song titles like "Eyes Open" and "Ours". From the tiny details to her princess dress to the ballet, Taylor brought "Lover" to life and closed her performance on a note that only she can hit! Special Mention: The Speech Taylor began her speech by thanking Carole King for presenting her with the award and for teaching her how "artists could transcend so many different phases and changes in peoples' lives." In true Taylor fashion, she went on to thank her fans and note how important that connection is to her, saying that all any artist like her wants is to create something that lasts. As someone who's been listening to her music from the start, I'm not crying, you are. Taylor was not only awarded "Artist of the Decade," but she also took home trophies for "Artist of the Year" and "Favorite Pop/Rock Album" for Lover - making her the most awarded artist in AMAs history and giving her a reason to run through the crowd looking like literal royalty. Well, you've made it to the end of my highlights for this year's AMAs and if I didn't include something you think I should have, then you're wrong. Sorry, I don't make the rules.
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Taylor Swift posted an open letter to fans on social media yesterday to reveal that Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun won't allow her to sing her biggest hits in her performance at the American Music Awards this year in celebration of her "Artist of the Decade" award. Here's the letter in full: Quick back story here: Scooter Braun (manager to the likes of Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, and Ariana Grande) purchased Big Machine Records from label head Scott Borchetta for $300 million back in June. Included in this purchase were the masters (original recordings) of all the music that Taylor wrote during the 13 years she was signed to Big Machine. After the announcement, Taylor revealed her disappointment over the fact that she was not given an opportunity to buy back the rights to her music, as well as her concern over the fact that her life's work was sold to a man who she says has bullied her for years (Scooter has also managed Justin Bieber and Kanye West, both of whom have had public disputes with Taylor.) After reading Taylor's letter and realizing that I couldn't text her to ask if she was ok, I decided to break this whole situation down and write out some of my thoughts to share with you: 1. A live performance is not the same thing as a recording but maybe if Scott and Scooter knew anything about being a pop superstar they would know this! Like I mentioned, Taylor is being honored as the "Artist of the Decade" at this year's AMAs. Anyone with half a brain cell would know that a proper performance in honor of this award would include Taylor singing all of her biggest hits from the past decade. However, Scott and Scooter seem to think that Taylor performing HER SONGS would be in violation of some rule that doesn't allow her to re-record her albums until next year. However, Taylor has already publicly performed songs like "Shake It Off" since Scooter gained the rights, but now that she wants to perform them under the pretense of an honor like "Artist of the Decade", it's suddenly a problem. Clearly, Scott and Scooter and their big egos can't fathom the idea of Taylor being celebrated for something they couldn't buy - her contributions to the music industry and the impact she's had on millions of fans. 2. If Scott and Scooter are the reason we don't get the Netflix documentary about Taylor Swift that we all deserve then we riot at dawn. Included in Taylor's letter was the revelation that she's been filming a documentary with Netflix about her life over the past few years. I love a good documentary about my favorite musicians, so the fact that Scott and Scooter are being difficult about Taylor using past songs and performance footage in the film is enough to make me start a petition to get them both sent to outer space. It seems like they're doing everything in their power to stop people from appreciating Taylor and her past work, which makes me wonder what's the point of spending millions of dollars to acquire her entire music catalogue. Just kidding, I know why - it's because they're manipulative and egotistical and want to use it as leverage over Taylor for not sitting back and shutting up and letting them do what they want, duh! 3. Scott and Scooter are clearly scared of Taylor re-recording her albums next year and are doing everything in their power to stop it. Taylor is legally allowed to re-record all of her old albums by this time next year, and everyone knows her loyal fans will listen to those instead - making the masters that Scooter purchased for personal gain rendered useless. Giving her the chance to perform her old songs on the condition that she agrees to not record copycat versions is such a tell-tale sign of what their true motive is, and I have no idea how it's considered "business" for executives in the music industry to hold an artist's work hostage until they get what they want. Also: Taylor can't be a copycat of Taylor! Just because she's making new recordings doesn't take away from the fact that the original recordings are also written and sung by her. Honestly, the stupidity on Scott and Scooter's part is exhausting! I also have to take a moment to acknowledge the fact that Scott is also essentially asking Taylor to stop being mean to him and Scooter, which is so funny to me. If you don't want to go head-to-head with Taylor and her army of fans then maybe think twice before purchasing all of her work just for a power trip! 4. If Taylor Swift feels this helpless in the music industry then how bad is it for other artists? Taylor Swift is one of the most famous artists on the planet, so you'd think that she'd be able to get things done without asking anyone for help. If she feels so helpless that she has to turn to her fans and peers for help, then what are these industry leaders getting away with in regards to new artists or just anyone who isn't on Taylor's level? Scott and Scooter clearly have no problem trying to intimidate Taylor into giving them what they want, so I can only imagine what goes on with artists that they actually represent. 5. Speaking of other artists, Taylor does so much to help her peers so won't the real Taylor allies please stand up? While some artists with taste like Selena Gomez, Halsey, and Camila Cabello have taken to social media to voice their support for Taylor, others (especially those managed by Scooter) have been more inclined to take a back seat; I'm not really one to name names, but Ed Sheeran and Shawn Mendes. Both of these artists were invited to open up on tour for Taylor at the start of their careers, and they've both gone on to feature on songs with Taylor (Ed has "Everything Has Changed" and Shawn has a remix of "Lover" that literally dropped this week.) Obviously, I don't know what goes on behind closed doors with these artists (trust me, I've tried), but even if they do reach out privately to support Taylor, at this point it's not enough. You can't just publicly support someone when it's convenient and then turn a blind eye when it might impact you. In her letter, she even calls on artists backed by Scooter to try to talk some sense into him, which makes me believe that she feels just as upset by the lack of support from them as her fans do. Taylor always tries to help other artists, even when it makes her look *insert mean adjective typically said about Taylor here.* Remember when she took a stand against unfair royalty payments from music streaming services and pulled her music until they changed the way they compensate artists but instead of being recognized for her efforts people called her a b*tch and said she had enough money and completely missed the point of her taking a stand because I do! At the end of the day, not a lot of other artists would put up with the sh*t that Taylor does to improve the music industry for all artists, so if they're actually good friends with Taylor like their social media would lead me to believe then the least they can do is show some support for someone who doesn't hesitate to support them! 6. Overall, thinking about Scott and Scooter owning the rights to the music that makes up the soundtrack to my life makes me want to scream into a black hole. When Taylor signed with Big Machine Records, she signed the rights to her songs to Big Machine - NOT Scooter Braun. When she signed with Big Machine at 16 YEARS OLD, she couldn't possibly have imagined that the label head she trusted and a grown man named Scooter would join together in the future to stop her from performing her biggest hits or having any sort of control over her own music. I've been listening to Taylor for over a decade, so naturally I have an endless amount of memories connected both to her as a performer and to all of the songs that she's written. The emotional attachment I have to her music is a feeling shared by millions of her fans, and I don't think I'm alone in saying that she deserves to own her music. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go listen to Taylor's new SELF-OWNED album, "Lover", on repeat and this is your daily reminder from me that you should to!
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