Taylor Swift was the most-nominated artist at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards, and she took home 10 trophies.
“Well, this is unreal. The fact that you guys have given me 10 Billboard Awards — I’m talking to the fans, specifically — none of this happens without you,” Swift said in an acceptance speech recorded from the road.
She continued, “Billboards base everything off of what you are listening to and what you’re passionate about. And I’m so honored that this year you made the tour, The Eras Tour, so magical. You went and saw the movie, you cared about my rerecords. I just, like, I love you so much. I feel like the luckiest person in the world to have you in my corner and caring about the music that I make. So thank you, thank you, thank you, 10 million times, for this.”
The awards show took place on Sunday, November 19, while Swift, 33, is on the international leg of her Eras Tour, with a concert at Estádio Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday. She already played two sold-out shows at the venue on Saturday, November 18, and Sunday, November 19. She will next travel to São Paolo for her final tour stop of the year, putting on three concerts from Friday, November 24, to Sunday, November 26.
Swift has dominated the music industry in 2023, which was reflected by her nominations at the BBMAs. She received nods in 20 categories, the 10 she won for being Top Radio Songs Artist, Top Song Sales Artist, Top Billboard Global 200 Artist, Top Billboard Global (Excluding U.S.) Artist, Top Hot 100 Songwriter, Top Female Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist, Top Artist, Top Selling Song (“Anti-Hero”).
Ahead of the Sunday awards show, Swift was the top female BBMAs recipient in history with 29 wins. Drake had the most BBMAs overall, with 34 and 14 additional nominations for 2023.
If Swift surpasses Drake as the most-awarded BBMAs artist of all time, it will be the latest in a string of records she has broken this year. With regard to her success on the charts, her 2019 hit “Cruel Summer” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in October. Weeks later, Swift’s song “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault]” — from her rerecording of her 1989 album — took the spot of “Cruel Summer” when it went to No. 1. She subsequently became the only artist to ever replace herself three times at No. 1 on the chart as “Cruel Summer” returned to the top.
Meanwhile, the Eras Tour is set to become the highest-grossing tour of all time and has already made Swift a billionaire. After a two-month hiatus, she will resume the international leg in Tokyo in February 2024 and travel around the world before bringing the tour to a close in Canada in December 2024.
Amid her professional success, Swift’s personal life has also been making headlines due to her relationship with Travis Kelce. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 34, attended Swift’s Argentina concert on November 11. She notably changed her “Karma” lyrics to “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs” in reference to Kelce, and the two shared their first public kiss after the show.
