Fans hopes for Reputation TV dashed as Swift avoids AMAs

It was a case of Reputation gone wrong at this year’s AMAs after Swifties failed to get the show they were waiting for.

Taylor Swift had been unusually quiet over the past six months but fans had believed she was about to come back in spectacular fashion with a new album.

Swifties had become convinced she would announce Reputation (Taylor’s Version) at the American Music Awards.

The singer has been steadily rerecording her albums ever since her feud* with music executive Scooter Braun who owns the masters* to much of her original work.

She also has a history of launching albums at music awards shows. The star previously announced the release of The Tortured Poets Department at last year’s Grammys and Midnights at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards.

However, fans were left with an unquenched thirst after The Swift proved a no show.

The 35 year old mega star didn’t attend the AMAs, despite being nominated for six awards. She didn’t win any awards at this year’s event.

HOW DID THE REP TV RUMOUR START?
The theories of a Taylor’s version of Reputation (Rep TV, as fans called it) exploded last week after Swift’s rerecorded version of Look What You Made Me Do from Reputation appeared in Episode 9 of a popular adult’s TV series The Handmaid’s Tale.

Fans were quick to start speculating* that the song meant another Taylor’s version was on its way and even came up with the wild theory that Swift herself appeared in the episode as a silhouetted* figure during the scene when the track played.

However, The Handmaid’s Tale star Elisabeth Moss, who plays the main character of June, poured cold water on the theory.

“God, I love (the theories),” Moss told TVLine.

“Of course it’s not her. Oh my God, that’s hilarious. I love that idea, though.”

Despite having that particular theory shut down, fans weren’t put off, posting a raft of others online, including that Swift posted 26 times about the recently wrapped Eras tour and that the music awards would be held on May 26, American time.

They also noted she had posted a total of 676 times to Instagram (the last time being in December) with the number equal to 26 squared.

They claimed the final piece of “evidence” was that Swift had discounted much of her merchandise to 26 per cent off in her online store in a sale she labelled the Apparel, Music, Accessories sale – a name sharing the same acronym as the American Music Awards.

The awards ceremony was held in Las Vegas on Tuesday morning AEST.

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GLOSSARY

• feud: ongoing argument
• masters: original recording of a song
• speculating: coming up with theories based on no actual evidence
• silhouetted: dark against a light background so that you can’t see the person’s features

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QUICK QUIZ
1. Which awards ceremony did Swifties believe Taylor Swift would announce a new album at?
2. Why has Taylor Swift been rerecording her albums?
3. What song featured in The Handmaid’s Tale?
4. What have fans nicknamed the mythical Reputation (Taylor’s Version)?
5. What is 26 squared?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Taylor’s Version
What is all the hype about Taylor Swift’s new album?

What were the clues that led Swifties to believe she may have been announcing her new album?

What is it about Taylor Swift that makes her so popular all around the world?

If you had the chance to ask Taylor one question, what would it be?

What do you think is next for Taylor Swift’s career?

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, The Arts, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Billie Eilish and Gracie Abrams were both big winners at the American Music Awards which are voted on by fans. Like Taylor, what makes these artists so popular with the fans?

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, The Arts, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.

Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.

Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?

Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.