‘The main event’: Taylor Swift is doing something she hasn’t done ‘in 10 years’ at the Grammys on Sunday

The upcoming 67th Annual Grammy Awards is shaping up to be a truly special occasion, because not only is Taylor Swift attending for her numerous Tortured Poets Department nominations, but she’ll also be doing something she hasn’t done in the show for a decade.

Now that the Eras Tour is finally over, having become the highest-grossing concert in history, you mostly glimpse Taylor’s name these days in the context of her beau Travis Kelce’s football matches, where she plays the role of dazzling spectator and team sweetheart. But even disregarding all those gatekeepers who say Taylor’s presence steals the spotlight away from the actual sport (only to be shut by the real experts, who see the value of the Chiefs games being turned into star-studded events), it’s been a while since we saw Taylor in her element last. That is, it’s been a while by Swift’s own standards, who doesn’t seem to be able to go a few months without absolutely dominating the charts and reminding everyone why her fans jokingly refer to her as the music industry.

Unfortunately for Swifties, a new album is nowhere in sight, but that will hardly stop them from singing Taylor’s praises in two days when the 67th Grammys is held in Los Angeles. The record-breaking singer has just been announced as the first presenter for the main awards ceremony, a feat she previously performed a decade ago in 2015.

As you might have expected, the fandom is already calling this the main event, and I can’t quite blame them.

Some wonder if Taylor will finally unveil reputation (Taylor’s Version) at the event. Swifties have patiently awaited it for months, even if Taylor is content to let the anticipation simmer. Whenever there’s the tiniest hint that the remastered version of reputation will see the light of day, the fandom goes into overdrive, only to be disappointed, a cycle they amusingly refer to as “clowning.”

Swift has been known to drop bombshells at award ceremonies (e.g. the Midnights announcement at the 2022 VMAs or The Tortured Poets Department during the 2024 Grammys), so it’s not entirely unreasonable to assume that the same could happen at the 67th Grammys on Sunday, though you should probably expect it if she ends up winning any trophies. Who are we kidding? When she wins a trophy.

Taylor has been nominated in six categories this year: Best Music Video, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year (all for “Fortnight” ft. Post Malone) as well as Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year (for The Tortured Poets Department) and lastly, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Us” in collaboration with Gracie Adams.

Swift broke a record by becoming the first female artist to earn seven nominations for Album of the Year. Throughout her career, she has been nominated a total of 58 times for a Grammy, winning 14 and becoming one of the most celebrated singers in history, a number that’s bound to only increase in a few days when she bags even more trophies for the acclaimed Tortured Poets Department.