Taylor Swift tied Beyoncé’s record for most MTV Video Music Awards of her career on Wednesday night after winning seven awards in one night. They now have 30 awards each.
The “Fortnight” singer came into the show with 12 nominations, more than any other artist. Before her first win of the night for Song of the Summer, Swift had 23 VMAs.
According to Guinness World Records, Beyoncé has performed at 30 VMAs in total, including two with her former band Destiny’s Child and two with her husband. The “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer didn’t win any new awards at Wednesday’s show and was also shut out of the Country Music Association Awards earlier this week.
Swift, 34, won the award for best video of the year at the end of the night, making it the third consecutive year she won the award. She thanked everyone who worked on the “Fortnight” video, as well as her boyfriend Travis Kelce.
“When you watch that video, it seems really sad, but it was honestly the funniest video I’ve ever made. … At the end of every take, I would always hear someone from across the studio cheering, like, ‘Woo!’ and that one person was my friend Travis,” Swift said.
“Everything this man touches turns into joy and fun and I want to thank him for bringing that to our shoot,” she added.
She also took home Moon Person statues for Best Pop, Female Artist, Director, Collaboration and Editing.
At the end of her speech, she reminded all adults to participate in the presidential election.
Swift endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris after Tuesday’s presidential debate, a moment that was highly anticipated as speculation grew about whether she would continue to speak out politically.
On Instagram, she told her followers that she would vote for Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, after reading up on their political positions.
“I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes that I believe need a fighter to represent them,” Swift wrote. “I think she is a calm, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country when we are led by calm, not chaos.”
Swift captioned her post, “Childless cat lady” – a reference to the phrase used by Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance (Republican of Ohio), to describe childless women. She paired the endorsement with a photo of Benjamin Button, one of her three cats, who was also featured on her Time Person of the Year cover in December.
In her post, Swift urged her fans to do their own research and learn about early voting dates. She reiterated this sentiment onstage at the VMAs by again urging fans to register to vote.
It was a big night for Swift after one of the biggest years of her life. She has been touring since March 2023 and has performed more than 100 shows in the US, Europe, South America, Asia and Australia.
Swift will return to the stage in Miami next month, with further performances in New Orleans and Indianapolis before finishing her Eras tour in Canada.
