Taylor Swift Takes High Road At AMAs & Ignores Scooter Braun Drama In Artist Of The Decade Speech

Taylor Swift may have taken some subtle digs at Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta during her AMAs performance on Nov. 24, but the singer’s speech on stage was all about her fans.

Taylor Swift has won more American Music Awards than any other artist this decade (and ever), so she was fittingly honored as Artist of the Decade at this year’s ceremony on Nov. 24. And upon taking the stage to accept her award (after performing) from the one and only Carole King, who’s also a mega-selling singer-songwriter, Taylor thanked her fans for her success. “All any of the artists, or anyone in this room, wants is to create something that will last. Whatever it is in life. And the fact that this is an award that celebrates a decade of hard work … fun and memories … All that matters to me is the memories that I’ve had with you guys — you, the fans — over the years. We’ve had fun times together and may it continue. Thank you for being the reason why I am on this stage, from the very first day of my career to now. Thank you — I’m so lucky I get to do this,” she said.

Interestingly, Taylor refrained from mentioning Scooter Braun or her ongoing drama with Big Machine Records while thanking her fans. Instead, she kept the disses for her performance, when she wore an outfit with the names of her first six albums written across it in prison-like letters. It was obviously a nod to how Scooter and Big Machine Records hold total control of her first six albums — basically, most of her life’s work.

On a positive note, though, Taylor totally deserve this award, right? Before Taylor’s win, the American Music Awards didn’t announce an artist of the decade for the ’00s, so it’s been nearly 20 years since a musician was given the award. At the January 2000 AMAs show, Garth Brooks was revealed as the artist of the decade for the ’90s, and that same show featured announcements of fan-voted awards for the artists of the decade for the ’50s (Elvis Presley), the ’60s (the Beatles), the ’70s (Stevie Wonder) and the ’80s (Michael Jackson).

“Taylor’s impact on music this decade is undeniable and her performances on the American Music Awards have been truly spectacular,” Mark Bracco, executive vice president of programming & development at dick clark productions said in a press statement, before the show. “We’re thrilled to honor her as our Artist of the Decade and can’t wait for her to blow everyone away with an epic, career-spanning performance unlike any other!”