Taylor Swift Nails Her Shake It Off Performance at the 2014 VMAs
Posted on August 25, 2014
Taylor Swift performed her new single "Shake It Off" at the 2014 VMAs and she was just amazing. Lorde introduced Taylor remarking that on the surface she and Taylor are nothing alike.
She noted Taylor is tall and blonde and doesn't wear nearly as much black. Lorde explained that they "both base our art on the kinds of things that delight, terrify and confound us." Lorde said that because of that she is grateful that Taylor exists. She said she was proud to introduce her friend Taylor who is "at the beginning of her brand new era." Lorde is referring to Taylor's first official pop album called 1989.
Taylor ditched her red carpet onesie and instead wore a fabulous silver fringed sequined tap shorts and a bare midriff. The performance opened like a classic old Hollywood musical with nods to Marilyn Monroe's "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" from Gentlemen Prefer Blonds with the male dancers in black tuxedos. The backup dancers and the stage decorations evoked the 1920s and the popular musical revues of the day.
Taylor is such a great live performer. She knows how to work a crowd and is used to performing in huge venues where it's hard to see the stage from some seats. There seemed to be some sound mixing problems throughout the evening, but only for the live singers such as Taylor and Usher. The lip synchers never noticed.
Taylor looked fabulous and even did a very funny bit in the middle of the number where she was up high on the stage and the male dancers wanted to her jump down. Taylor stopped singing and looked down at the formidable leap down and said, "No...one second...I don't care if it is the VMAs I'm not jumping off of there..people getting bit by snakes, it's dangerous..." We then heard her breathing hard as she ran down the stairs to the stage and picked up right where she left off. It was clever, and pretty meta. She really does have great comedic timing.
Taylor was the most entertaining performer of the evening by far. Beyonce is an amazing talent and always give a great performance, but the songs chosen for her Vanguard medley were not terribly exciting in an awards show context. Blue Ivy stole the show from her mom, no question. Most everyone else lip synced. Watch Taylor shake it off: