Taylor Swift Will Perform at the CMA Awards, Her First Time Since 2013

Taylor Swift is heading back to the CMA Awards stage. The Country Music Association and ABC announced Friday, Nov. 13, that the superstar will perform at the 60th Annual CMA Awards, her first performance at the show in 13 years.

The ceremony takes place Wednesday, Nov. 18, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. It airs live from 8 to 11 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, and will be available on Hulu the next day. Lainey Wilson returns as host for the third year in a row.

A Nomination for a ‘Toy Story 5’ Song

Swift’s return comes as she competes for Single of the Year with “I Knew It, I Knew You,” the song she wrote for the Toy Story 5 soundtrack. Swift co-produced the track with longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff.

The nomination is the 26th of her career at the CMA Awards. Swift has never won in the Single of the Year category, though she was nominated for it once before, in 2013, for “Highway Don’t Care,” her collaboration with Tim McGraw and Keith Urban.

When she first learned about her nomination, Swift celebrated on Instagram with a playful, all-caps message to the CMA. “Looks like I haven’t yee’d my last haw,” she wrote, adding that she’d see everyone at the show on Nov. 18.

A Long History With Country Music’s Biggest Night

Swift’s connection to the CMA Awards goes back two decades. She first attended the show in 2006, when she was a rising country artist, and won her first CMA Award the following year. That honor was the Horizon Award, now known as New Artist of the Year.

In 2009, she became the youngest person ever to win Entertainer of the Year, a record she still holds. She’s since won the award a second time, making her a two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year.

Her last performance at the show came in 2013, when she sang “Red” alongside Vince Gill and Alison Krauss. That same night, she received the CMA’s Pinnacle Award, an honor recognizing artists who achieve significant success in country music while helping bring the genre to a wider audience.

Swift’s most recent appearance at the CMA Awards was in 2016, when she presented Garth Brooks with the Entertainer of the Year award.

A Big Year in Nashville

The CMA performance caps a meaningful stretch for Swift in Music City. Just weeks ago, she was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, becoming its youngest member. During her speech, she reflected on the lasting impact Nashville has had on her life and her songwriting.

It’s a fitting full-circle moment for an artist who moved to Nashville as a teenager to pursue a career in country music before eventually becoming one of the biggest pop stars in the world.

Who Else Is Performing

Swift joins a lineup of previously announced performers that includes Cody Johnson, Ella Langley, Kacey Musgraves, Lainey Wilson, Luke Combs, Megan Moroney, Miranda Lambert, the Red Clay Strays, Tim McGraw, Tucker Wetmore, Vince Gill and Zach Top.

Langley leads this year’s nominees with nine nominations, including Entertainer of the Year. Lambert follows with seven, while Musgraves and Ben West have five each.

A Milestone Year for the CMAs

This year marks the 60th edition of the CMA Awards, which were first held in 1967 and remain the longest-running annual music awards program on network television. The CMA has described the show as a celebration of six decades of country music, honoring both the genre’s icons and the artists shaping its future.

Swift hasn’t revealed what she’ll perform. Fans will have to tune in Wednesday night to find out whether she sings her nominated single or has another surprise in store.

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