2 min readIt’s a big night for Taylor Swift. The showgirl, who has a long and storied history with the MTV Video Music Awards (who could forget the 2009 Kanye West situation?), made history tonight when she became the most-awarded artist in the ceremony’s history. In addition to the evening’s nine nominations, which included Artist of the Year and Video of the Year, she was recognized with the inaugural Artist Director Honor—presented to her by longtime friend Dakota Johnson, who just starred in her music video for “Patient Zero.”
“Taylor has spent the majority of her life on set, telling tales and building worlds,” Johnson said on stage, introducing the star with a touching tribute. “She is a visionary with a relentless drive for perfection in everything she does, and still holds the artistry and the cardinal virtue to never lose sight of the ineffable magic spark at the center of it all.”
Accepting the honor, Swift reflected on the past two decades of her career. “I got to start making music videos 20 years ago and since then I’ve gotten to be a part of making roughly 60 music videos. 18 of those I wrote and directed,” she said. “I really love writing and directing music videos. The main reason I love writing and directing music videos is because you, the fans, make it so much fun. You make it so rewarding.”
According to MTV, the award was created to celebrate “groundbreaking music artists whose work behind the camera has expanded the possibilities of music video and advanced the art of visual storytelling.”
Swift, wearing a sparkling showgirl look from Tamara Ralph’s Fall/Winter 2027 couture collection, then took the opportunity to debut her new music video, showing the crowd some of the magic that earned her that award. Starring Johnson and Colin Farrell alongside Swift, with cinematography by Academy Award-winner Emmanuel Lubezski, the visuals for her freshly-released single, “Patient Zero,” offered a new side to the world of The Life of a Showgirl, rounding out the album as part of the Encore extended version.