Taylor Swift is having a big night, announcing new music and passing-down recommendations to her army of supporters.
For example, Tracy Chapman. The veteran singer made a rare appearance Sunday night at the Grammys to dust-off her popular-again “Fast Car” and perform it with Luke Combs. The song was covered last year by the Combs, who turned it into a country hit.
His rationale for the cover was that, according to a pre-show clip, he learned to play it early in his career and loved it. So yeah, might as well cover it, he thought.
“If you think I’ve stopped thinking of Tracy Chapman’s serene beautiful victorious vindicated face for even one minute, you’re nuts,” tweeted writer Elamin Abdelmahmoud in response to the performance.
“How beautiful was that? For millions of people, I bet watching Tracy Chapman perform once again was to unlock profoundly powerful memories, and be transported to some very raw places. Savor every second. Tracy is Eternal,” tweeted the Men In Blazers soccer podcast.
Fans everywhere loved it, with her performance garnering more than 44,000 posts on X, formerly Twitter, Sunday night. Chief among them Taylor Swift.
Swift stood up and sang along, the first apparent attendee to do so in her section. A nation of Swifties took note.
Combs’ cover boasts 375,548,320 Spotify streams as of press time. Chapman’s sits at 800,227,827.
Swift was also filmed on TV applauding SZA’s Grammy win and vibing to “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus. She also sang along to Olivia Rodrigo. She also posed with Lana Del Rey and went viral on the red carpet.
“Hi Taylor, I love you” SZA said onstage during her acceptance speech.
Swift took home Best Pop Vocal Album, 90 minutes into the telecast.
“I know that the way that the Recording Academy voted is a direct reflection of the passion of the fans,” Swift said. She then promised that she’d release a new album April 19 called the Tortured Poets Department.
Minutes later, the album art appeared online along with the following apparent liner note and poem:
And so I enter into evidence
My tarnished coat of arms
My muses, acquired like bruises
My talismans and charms
The tick, tick, tick, of love bombs
My veins of pitch black ink
All’s fair in love and poetry…
Sincerely,
The Chairman of the Tortured Poets Department
Her enthusiasm in and of itself has become a meme, too.
