AMAs 2019: See Taylor Swift’s Parents as She Wins Artist of the Decade

Taylor Swift’s parents, Andrea Swift and Scott Swift, were in the crowd as their daughter received the Artist of the Decade award at the 2019 American Music Awards on Sunday night. Among a crowd of other celebrities and musicians, Swift’s parents were spotted proudly watching as the 29-year-old “Lover” singer took the stage to receive the honor, giving an impassioned speech.

Introduced by Carole King, Swift took the stage with a medley of her hits throughout the year, kicking her performance off with her new song, “The Man,” as she wore a white shirt with the name of her albums on it. Stripping out of the ensemble in favor of a sparkly gold bodysuit, the singer continued with her hits “Love Story,” “I Knew You Were Trouble,” and “Blank Space” before being joined on stage by Halsey and Camila Cabello for “Shake It Off.” Her performance ended with a rendition of “Lover,” from her recently released album of the same name.

The Grammy winner, who set a monumental record when she brought her total number of AMA wins to 29, then took to the podium with a touching speech, thanking her fans for their support over the past decade.

“First of all, I want to say that getting to share the stage with Misty Copeland and Craig Hall and Camila Cabello and Halsey and all those amazing dancers tonight was absolutely… a dream come true. So, that performance was even more fun than I hoped it would be,” Swift began.

“I cannot believe that it’s Carole King, it’s you who gave me this award,” she continued. “My parents are here tonight and they would listen to Tapestry and all those other records in high school, and then they took those records with them, packed them up in boxes and took them to college with them, and then when they met they and they got their own house, they took those records with them there. Then when they had my brother and I, they played those records for us.”

“The fact that this is an award that celebrates a decade of hard work and art and fun and memories, all that matters to me is the memories I’ve had with you guys, with you, the fans, over the years. And guys, we’ve had fun, incredible, exhilarating times together,” she said. “Thank you for being the reason I am on this stage, from the very first day of my career until tonight. I’m so lucky to get to do this.”

Swift also took home the award for Artist of the Year.