For the first time in 7 years, Taylor Swift returned to the 55th annual Academy of Country Music Awards Wednesday night to perform quintessential stripped-down version of her song, “betty.” The country singer turned global popstar went back to her Nashville roots, playing in the center of the Grand Ole Opry stage with nothing but a single spotlight and guitar. “Betty” is one of the many tunes from Swift’s surprise eighth studio album, folklore. And for those who say Taylor Swift isn’t ‘country’ anymore, last night certainly proved the haters wrong.
Taylor Swift is no stranger to the ACM Awards. She’s won a variety of ACMs over the years including Top New Female Vocalist in 2007, Album of the Year (Artist and Producer) in 2008, and the highly-coveted Entertainer of the Year award in 2010 and 2011. This stripped-down, flawless performance of ‘betty’ however was the first time since 2013 that she’s performed on the ACM stage. Her last performance, 7 years ago in Las Vegas, Nevada, was a group performance of ‘Highway Don’t Care’ alongside Tim McGraw and Keith Urban.
