Taylor Swift’s Me! from the 2019 Billboard Music Awards

Taylor Swift is a pop music artist who has been making music since 2006. She started out performing country music, and fully switched to pop music in her fourth album, 1989. She is also known for writing or co-writing the majority of her songs, and her albums are typically reflective of her personal life. Swift has earned 10 Grammy awards and has sold over 200 million records over the course of her career. The song that will be focused on during this ethnography is from her seventh album, Lover, and features the lead singer of Panic! at the Disco, Brendon Urie.

The performance that has been selected is from the 2019 Billboard Music Awards which occurred on May 1, 2019. There also will be references to the music video posted to Swift’s YouTube channel on April 26, 2019. The Billboard Music Awards were held in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2019, filled with an audience who knew who Taylor Swift was and most likely knew the song that she was performing. When the camera panned over to the audience, the person was always dancing or singing along to the song. There also was a large audience reaction when Brendon Urie came onto the stage, indicating that the audience was not expecting him to be a part of the performance and were excited to see him. This performance was also the opening to the awards show, so the audience was extremely engaged and energized.

The actual performance opens with an extravagant drumline introduction, which is not a part of the studio recording of the song or the music video. However, the inclusion of the drumline can be interpreted as a nod to the music video, as there is a sequence where Swift and Urie are dressed as drum majors. The most striking aspect of this performance is the colors used in both the costumes and the background visuals. There is an extravagant pastel theme throughout all of the costumes, including the all pink drumline. Swift’s outfit features an array of colors with sequins to match them, while Urie is dressed in a holographic suit. The dancers are in different pastel colored suits, which were also featured in a segment of the music video. This song in particular does not feature particularly strong vocals from either performer, but it is evident that both Swift and Urie are actually singing live. The dancing is not a featured aspect of the performance, as the majority of the choreography is identical to the music video. The majority of the performance is an homage to the music video, from the choreography, to the outfits, to the entire pastel aesthetic of the backgrounds. The inclusion of the drumline is the most intriguing aspect of this performance to me, as there is no particular reason a performer like Taylor Swift would open an event like the Billboard Music Awards with a drumline. There is no drumline in the studio version of the song, and even though I do think it adds another layer to the performance, it is an odd choice to me. It is a striking opening to the song and commands the attention of the audience, both the people in the room and the people watching from home.

Written by Katie Loalbo