Taylor Swift Honored With AMAs’ First-Ever Dick Clark Award: ‘I’m So Unbelievably Ecstatic’ (Video)

The 24-year-old gushes over her relationship with fans during acceptance speech at Sunday’s American Music Awards

At just 24 years old, Taylor Swift received the inaugural Dick Clark Award for Excellence on Sunday during the 42nd Annual American Music Awards at NOKIA Theatre LA Live.

Iconic singer Diana Ross was on-hand to praise AMAs founder Dick Clark for his contributions to music and getting music on television with his groundbreaking show “American Bandstand,” among other pursuits including the AMAs.

Ross then introduced a video citing Swift’s impressive achievement of being the only artist in chart history to have three consecutive albums break first week sales of 1 million units.

“Oh my God, I’m so blown away for having just received an award from Diana Ross, who over the course of her career stood up for herself so many times in a time when it was not popular for a woman to stand up for herself,” a grateful Swift said upon taking the award from Ross.

Named for the late legendary broadcaster and producer, the Dick Clark Award is “given to an artist who achieves a groundbreaking feat or creates a landmark work,” according to the show’s producers. The prize is “bestowed upon someone whose spirit and excellence capture the visionary passion that Dick Clark himself incorporated into everything he did.”

“Dick Clark was a visionary,” the singer continued. “He fought for music to be at the forefront of our minds and on our televisions as much as possible. I’m so unbelievably ecstatic that his family chose to honor me and that the AMAs chose to honor me with this.”

And lastly, you, you guys,” she continued. “To the fans that went out and bought over a million copies of my last three albums. What you did by going out and investing in music albums is you’re saying that you believe in the same thing that I believe in, that music is valuable and music should be consumed in albums and albums should be consumed as art. And, I love you so much. I love getting to know you. I love talking to you online and I love having a glimpse into your life. And I’m so unbelievably happy that you want to have a glimpse into my life. Thank you so much.”

Although, she most recently delved into pop music with her current album “1989,” her roots in country were celebrated by her the Grand Ole Opry. The country music concert venue in Nashville, Tennessee, which has become the home of many legendary and current country music stars, sent Swift a tweet regarding the AMA honor.

Earlier in the evening, the mega-selling Swift sang “Blank Space” live for the first time with an elaborate set, running through a series of fatal attractions with handsome suitors. The song, a wink at her serial romances with high profile men, saw her dining in mid-air, setting fire to flowers, beating up guys in smoking jackets and other scorned shenanigans.

Watch Swift accept the Dick Clark Award.

Comments