Taylor Swift to Perform at CMA Awards for First Time in 13 Years

Taylor Swift is returning to the CMA Awards stage for her first performance at the ceremony in 13 years, the CMAs announced on Friday (Nov. 13). The 60th Annual CMA Awards will air live from Nashville Wednesday, Nov. 18, on ABC and Disney+ (and available the following day on Hulu).

Swift, who has won CMA entertainer of the year winner twice, is nominated for a CMA Award this year for single of the year for “I Knew It, I Knew You,” which marks her 26th career CMA nomination. The pop superstar wrote and recorded “I Knew It, I Knew You” — which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks — for the animated movie Toy Story 5, which released earlier this year. Swift also co-produced the track with Jack Antonoff.

Swift has earned 10 total CMA Awards to date. The singer-songwriter, who was just inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame during a Music City ceremony a few weeks ago, has never won a CMA in the single of the year category, though she was previously nominated in the category in 2013, for her work on “Highway Don’t Care,” recorded with Tim McGraw and Keith Urban.

The 14-time Grammy winner first attended the CMAs in 2006, and picked up her first win the following year with the horizon award. In 2009, she became the youngest CMA entertainer of the year winner in history.

The 2013 CMA Awards saw Swift earn the pinnacle award, which had previously been awarded to artists including Tim McGraw, George Strait, Faith Hill, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley and Rascal Flatts. That year, she also performed her hit “Red” with Vince Gill and Alison Krauss, marking her most recent performance on the CMA Awards stage.

The 60th Annual CMA Awards is a production of the Country Music Association, with Robert Deaton serving as executive producer, Alan Carter serving as director, and Jon Macks serving as head writer. 

Ella Langley leads this year’s CMA Awards with nine nominations, followed by Miranda Lambert with five. Lainey Wilson will host the CMAs for a third consecutive year.