13 Iconic Taylor Swift Songs She Should Be Able To Perform At This Year's AMAs

    Justice for "Love Story", please.

    Ellie Bate
    by Ellie Bate

    BuzzFeed Staff

    It was announced in October that Taylor Swift will be honoured as the Artist of the Decade at this year's American Music Awards. As she should be!

    Emma McIntyre / Getty Images

    Previous recipients of the honour include Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Stevie Wonder, and Michael Jackson, and Taylor is the first female artist to be given the title.

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    But on Thursday, in a heartbreaking Tumblr post, Taylor revealed that she is being blocked from performing any of her old songs at the ceremony after the drama surrounding the rights to her master recordings this past summer.

    Taylor Swift @taylorswift13

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    If you'd like an in-depth breakdown of what actually happened then and what it means, go here!

    In the post, Taylor claimed Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun would only allow her to perform music from her first six albums if she agreed not to rerecord her masters when she is legally able to next year, and if she stopped publicly talking about the situation.

    Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images

    "The message being sent to me is very clear," she wrote. "Basically, be a good little girl and shut up. Or you’ll be punished."

    She is being honoured as Artist of the Decade, but thanks to Borchetta and Braun, Taylor likely won't be performing any of the songs she released before 2019. Here are some of the iconic songs she ~should~ be able to sing at the show...

    1. "Love Story"

    Big Machine

    Written by: Taylor Swift

    In 2009, "Love Story" was named BMI's Country Song of the Year. It's Taylor's biggest-selling single ever, and was certified 8 times platinum in 2015.

    2. "You Belong With Me"

    Big Machine

    Written by: Taylor Swift and Liz Rose

    The song was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 2010 Grammys, has been certified seven times platinum, and the music video recently reached 1 billion views on YouTube.

    3. "Blank Space"

    Big Machine

    Written by: Taylor Swift, Max Martin, and Shellback

    This one also received Grammy nominations for ROTY and SOTY and has been certified eight times platinum. With "Blank Space", Taylor became the first female artist in history to replace herself at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (the previous No. 1 was "Shake It Off").

    4. "Sparks Fly"

    Big Machine

    Written by: Taylor Swift

    This was the fifth single from Speak Now, Taylor's completely self-written third album, and was written when she was sixteen years old. It was certified platinum in 2014.

    5. "Shake It Off"

    Big Machine

    Written by: Taylor Swift, Max Martin, and Shellback

    As of July 2019, "Shake It Off" was Taylor's most-streamed song ever, with more than a billion streams. It was nominated for three Grammys, certified nine times platinum, and was Taylor's first song to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

    6. "All Too Well"

    CBS

    Written by: Taylor Swift and Liz Rose

    It may not have been a single, but "All Too Well" is a cult favourite among Swifties, and has been included in Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Songs of the Century and Pitchfork's best songs of the decade.

    7. "I Knew You Were Trouble"

    Big Machine

    Written by: Taylor Swift, Max Martin, and Shellback

    The song received several awards, was nominated for Video of the Year at the MTV VMAs, and has been certified seven times platinum.

    8. "Look What You Made Me Do"

    Big Machine

    Written by: Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff

    Upon its release in 2017, "LWYMMD" became Taylor's fifth No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 and broke the record for the most-viewed music video on YouTube in its first 24 hours, and it has since become Taylor's second-most streamed song ever after "Shake It Off".

    9. "Mean"

    CBS

    Written by: Taylor Swift

    In 2012, "Mean" won the Grammy awards for both Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance.

    10. "Tim McGraw"

    Big Machine

    Written by: Taylor Swift and Liz Rose

    This was Taylor's first ever single, and was certified platinum in 2009.

    11. "Teardrops On My Guitar"

    Big Machine

    Written by: Taylor Swift and Liz Rose

    This was Taylor's breakthrough single in the US and reached No. 13 (of course) on the Billboard Hot 100. It was awarded Song of the Year at the 2008 BMI Country Awards.

    12. "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"

    Big Machine

    Written by: Taylor Swift, Max Martin, and Shellback

    Upon its release, "WANEGBT" broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest-selling single in digital history. It was nominated for Record of the Year at the Grammys and became Taylor's first ever No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

    13. "22"

    Big Machine

    Written by: Taylor Swift, Max Martin, and Shellback

    The song was certified three times platinum in 2015 and has irreversibly changed 22nd birthdays for the entire population of the world.