Entertainment Music Taylor Swift's Unforgettable Acceptance Speeches from Some of Her Biggest Awards Show Wins As one of music's most celebrated artists, the singer-songwriter has given her fair share of thanks. Here are the most memorable acknowledgments from her decades-long career By Zoey Lyttle Zoey Lyttle Zoey Lyttle is an Editorial Assistant at PEOPLE. She writes digital specials across all entertainment verticals and has been working at PEOPLE since July 2022. People Editorial Guidelines Published on August 31, 2022 03:17PM EDT Close 01 of 10 2007 Country Music Association Awards: Horizon Award Scott Gries/Getty Taylor Swift earned one of her first major decorations at the CMA Awards in 2007. She radiated glee as she took the stage to accept the Horizon award, which recognizes up-and-coming musicians. "This is definitely the highlight of my senior year," a 17-year-old Swift proclaimed after giving her thanks. 02 of 10 2010 Grammy Awards: Album of the Year Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Swift's sophomore album, Fearless, cleaned up with four Grammys in 2010. She even accepted the highest regard of the evening, album of the year. "When we're 80 years old and we are telling the same stories over and over again to our grandkids and they're so annoyed with us," she said on stage. "This is the story we're going to be telling over and over again: in 2010 that we got to win album of the year at the Grammys." 03 of 10 2013 American Music Awards: Top Artist of the Year Ethan Miller/Getty The "I Knew You Were Trouble" singer poked fun at her own reputation as she received her eighth award of the evening. Coming off the success of her 2012 album, Red, Swift acknowledged the "crazy emotions" behind her lyrics and alluded to the catalog of heartbreaks that shaped her songs. "To the fans, who come to the shows and buy the albums, I just want you to know this one thing: You are the longest and best relationship I've ever had," she said. 04 of 10 2016 Grammy Awards: Album of the Year Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic By 2016, Swift was hardly new to the Grammys stage, with seven wins already under her belt and five previous performances at the event. Her fifth studio album, 1989, earned the award for album of the year, a historic achievement that crowned Swift the first female artist to win the coveted honor twice. "There are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame," Swift said, addressing the young women in the crowd as she accepted the honor. "But if you just focus on the work and you don't let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you're going, you will know it was you and the people who love you who put you there, and that will be the greatest feeling in the world." 05 of 10 2018 American Music Awards: Artist of the Year Frederick M. Brown/Getty In 2018, Swift brought her political beliefs to the American Music Awards stage. With the fan-voted award for artist of the year in hand, she highlighted another occasion when viewers could use their voices. "And you know what else is voted on by the people," Swift said as she wrapped up her speech. "is the midterm elections on Nov. 6. Get out and vote." 06 of 10 2019 Video Music Awards: Video of the Year Dimitrios Kambouris/VMN19/Getty The star-studded video for "You Need to Calm Down" won Swift her second video of the year accolade at MTV's 2019 award show. While the Lover track's lyrics call out online bullying and rally for LGBTQ+ rights, the accompanying visuals feature a diverse ensemble of stars, from actress Laverne Cox to the cast of Queer Eye. Swift — who directed, produced and starred in the video — used her acceptance speech to remind fans of the video's political impact. "At the end of this video there was a petition — and there still is a petition — for the Equality Act which basically just says we all deserve equal rights under the law," she said. "It now has half a million signatures, which is five times the amount it would need to warrant a response from the White House." 07 of 10 2019 American Music Awards: Artist of the Decade Jeff Kravitz/AMA2019/FilmMagic Swift led with gratitude as she accepted the American Music Award for artist of the decade in 2019. Instead of addressing the dispute over the ownership of her master recordings, the winning songstress focused on the legacies of the women who paved her way. Swift's acceptance speech paid special tribute to one of her greatest inspirations, Carole King, who fittingly presented the award. "When I fell in love with music it was right around the time I realized how marvelous it was that an artist could transcend so many different phases and changes in people's lives," Swift said to King, who is nearly 47 years her senior. "So, you taught me that that's a possibility." 08 of 10 2019 Billboard Women in Music: Woman of the Decade Award Rich Fury/Getty Images To celebrate being named Billboard's Woman of the Decade, Swift reflected on the whirlwind career she began at 16 years old. The genre-bending artist took the opportunity to both celebrate women and address the industry's inequalities, namely "the unregulated world of private equity coming in and buying up our music as if it is real estate." Swift divulged the details of the war over her music's rights but still ended on an empowering, impassioned note. "And no matter what else enters the conversation, we will always bring it back to music," the industry icon said. "And as for me, lately I've been focusing less on doing what they say I can't do and more on doing whatever the hell I want." 09 of 10 2021 Grammy Awards: Album of the Year Taylor Swift. The Folklore artist gave a very personal speech during a mid-pandemic Grammys ceremony in 2021. Her surprise release, indie-folk record reigned as album of the year, and Swift shared her appreciation for her loved ones that made it happen. "Joe, who is the first person that I play every single song that I write, and I had the best time writing songs with you in quarantine," the "Cardigan" singer said, nodding to her boyfriend for the first time at an award show. She went on to thank her friends Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, "who are the second and third people that I play every new song." 10 of 10 2022 Video Music Awards: Video of the Year Jeff Kravitz/Getty As she accepted the 2022 VMA for video of the year, Swift shared some exciting news: she's releasing all new music this fall. "I wouldn't be able to re-record my albums if it weren't for you. You embolden me to do that," she said to the crowd while holding her Moonperson award for "All Too Well (10 Minutes Version) (Taylor's Version)," an extended track off her most recent re-recorded album. "And I had sort of made up my mind that if you were going to be this generous and give us this, I thought it might be a fun moment to tell you that my brand new album comes out Oct. 21." Still the singer-songwriter left her fans wanting more, simply adding, "And I will tell you more at midnight," before making a swift exit. Within the hour, the artist revealed her upcoming album's cover art, a few details and its title, Midnights.