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But why do it at the AMAs?

In Swift-land, there’s no right time to do anything (you know, another day, another drama). But speculation has been building that the AMAs could be the moment. Swift holds the record for the most AMAs won in history, with 40 awards, and her presence at this year’s show has fuelled rumours that the long-awaited Reputation re-recording could be revealed during the broadcast.

Let’s not forget she has form in this (tortured poet’s) department. At the 2024 Grammy Awards, Swift announced her coming album, The Tortured Poets Department, during her acceptance speech after winning the best pop vocal album award for Midnights.

On top of all that, a teaser of Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor’s Version) was featured in Execution, the penultimate episode of the sixth season of The Handmaid’s Tale, which went to air on May 20. This marks the first time we’ve heard proof that tracks from Reputation (Taylor’s Version) are mixed and ready to go.

Naturally, Swifties began melting down at this realisation, which also led to speculation that Swift herself made a cameo in The Handmaid’s Tale.

Wait – is Taylor Swift in the final season of The Handmaid’s Tale?

No. The opening episode featured a scene in which an unidentified member of the Mayday rebellion got out of a vehicle, prompting Swifties to speculate that the silhouette belonged to the 35-year-old singer. Admittedly, the silhouette is kind of tall and Swift is kind of tall too, but that’s where the similarities end.

In an interview with TVLine, Handmaid’s Tale star Elisabeth Moss promptly quashed the rumours: “Of course it’s not [Swift]. Of course, it’s not her. Oh my God, that’s hilarious. I love that idea, though.” Moss did, however, add that using a snippet of Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor’s Version) felt right because it is the “perfect song for a perfect moment”. Perfect because we’re about to get the album, right?

Who else is nominated for an AMA?

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After his record-breaking year, Kendrick Lamar is leading the pack with a whopping 10 nominations, including artist, album and song of the year. In addition to Lamar and Swift, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Morgan Wallen, Post Malone, Sabrina Carpenter, SZA and Zach Bryan will battle it out for artist of the year.

Album of the year is similarly stacked with Swift getting a nod for The Tortured Poets Department, but Charli XCX is the one to beat thanks to the cultural behemoth that was Brat. Lamar will probably repeat his Grammy heroics and take home the AMA for song of the year with Not Like Us.

How do I watch the AMAs in Australia?

The American Music Awards will be live and on demand on Stan* from 10am on Tuesday.

*Stan is owned by Nine, owner of this masthead.

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