On Wednesday night, Taylor Swift returned to the Academy of Country Music Awards stage for the first time in seven years to give the live debut of her Folklore cut “Betty,” which the pop star has released to country radio.
Swift’s performance found the singer-songwriter in khaki pants and a sequined turtleneck, seated in front of a glowing stagelight. With just her guitar and a harmonica player, it was an appropriately subdued performance for the sweet love song, and despite nearly a decade passing since she left Nashville for pop, Swift slipped back into her country music mode with ease. There was one notable edit, however: in the album version of “Betty,” she sings, “if I just showed up at your party…would you tell me to go fuck myself?” On the ACMs, she changed it to, “tell me to go straight to hell.”
The two-time ACM Entertainer of the Year winner performed at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House, where Keith Urban hosted the ACMs and artists like Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, and Morgan Wallen all took the stage.
For the first time in the ceremony’s 55-year history, the ACMs are being held in Nashville due to the coronavirus pandemic, with artists performing at the Opry House, Bluebird Cafe, and, in pretaped segments, from the Ryman Auditorium.
From Rolling Stone US
