Taylor Swift in iHeartRadio Awards speech: ‘You have to give yourself permission to fail’
Taylor Swift reflected on her legacy at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards.
The 33-year-old singer won the innovator award at the March 27 ceremony, held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, where she shared the importance of giving oneself “permission to fail.”
Before Swift accepted her award, in a video montage artists like Dolly Parton, Ed Sheeran, Simu Liu, Miles Teller and good friend Selena Gomez praised her and her career.
Phoebe Bridgers, who is currently touring with Swift, then presented the multi-Grammy winner with her trophy.
Swift began by sharing how “flattered” she was by the award, before touching on the people who were part of the video montage.
“I never a single time woke up in the morning and thought, ‘You know what I’m going to do today? I’m gonna go innovate some stuff. Things need to be innovated and I’m going to be the one that does it,’” she joked. “What I did do was try to make the right decision for me at the time, whether or not it had ever been successfully done before.
“And I think maybe that might be the key because oftentimes in any industry people are looking for a precedent or, you know, data that shows this idea is a good one, or a feasible one,” she continued. “People want an example of something working before.”
The “Lavender Haze” singer added that she thinks the coolest ideas, moves or choices “are the new ones. The ones that set a new precedent.”
She noted how privileged she was to have her fans back her up throughout her career, whether it was switching genres or rerecording her old music. She then sent a message to her fans.
“They’re shining a light on the choices I made that worked out,” she said. “The ones that turned out to be good ideas, but I really, really want everyone to know, especially young people, that the hundreds or thousands’ of dumb ideas that I’ve had are what led me to my good ideas.”
Adding, “You have to give yourself permission to fail.”
“I try as hard as I cannot to fail because it’s embarrassing, but I do give myself permission to,” she said. “And you should do so go easy on yourselves and just make the right choices that feel right for you. And someday someone might think that you’ve been innovative.”
Swift would go on to win multiple iHeartRadio awards, including song of the year and best lyrics for “Anti-Hero” and pop album of the year for “Midnights.”
The singer, meanwhile, drew inspiration from her latest album with her “Bejeweled” look for the night. Swift sparkled in an embellished hooded top and matching pants and boots by Alexandre Vauthier.
Earlier this month, Swift kicked off her Eras Tour and to celebrate, she released four previously unreleased songs. As for her highly anticipated tour, fans will be delighted to spend three hours with the artist as she performs 44 songs that span her 10 albums.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
