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Taylor Swift faced an unexpected setback at the 2025 American Music Awards (AMAs) on Monday night, leaving the event without a single win despite receiving six high-profile nominations.
Yet, just a day later, she earned a different kind of honor-one that reinforces her deep musical legacy.
The singer, who has kept a relatively low profile since February's Super Bowl alongside boyfriend and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, had been a top contender at the AMAs.
Nominations included Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for The Tortured Poets Department, and Favorite Touring Artist. It was a familiar stage for Swift, who has won more AMAs than any other artist in history.
However, 2025 marked just the second time since 2007 that Swift was nominated and didn't take home a single award. The ceremony, hosted in Las Vegas, saw a notable absence of major stars, including Swift herself.
Fans, disappointed and vocal online, speculated that the losses could be attributed to low voter turnout among her massive fanbase-many perhaps assuming her wins were a foregone conclusion.
Billie Eilish emerged as the evening's big winner, sweeping all seven categories she was nominated in, including Artist of the Year and Album of the Year-awards Swift had also been up for.
Chart success cements Swift's country legacy
Despite the AMA snub, Swift received a career-validating nod just 24 hours later. Billboard revealed its ranking of the Top Country Artists of the 21st Century, and Swift landed in third place overall-making her the highest-ranked female on the list.
Her position placed her ahead of country giants like Keith Urban, Blake Shelton, and even Carrie Underwood, who came in at No. 10.
Billboard's list, compiled from country chart performance between 2000 and 2024, highlights Swift's deep roots in the genre. She broke into the industry in 2006 with "Tim McGraw," followed by a string of No. 1 hits such as "Our Song" and "Teardrops on My Guitar." While she famously pivoted to pop in the mid-2010s, Swift never fully left country behind.
In recent years, her re-recorded albums-part of her project to regain control over her masters-have seen massive success in country markets. "Love Story (Taylor's Version)" debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs in 2021.
Her 2023 release of Speak Now (Taylor's Version) also dominated the charts, reinforcing her enduring appeal in the genre she started in.
Earlier this year, Swift dominated the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards, winning nine of ten categories including Artist of the Year and Tour of the Century for her record-breaking Eras Tour.
Though the AMAs didn't go in her favor, the past week has underscored the multi-genre legacy Swift continues to build. From her country roots to pop superstardom, and now historic recognition across both, Swift remains one of the most influential artists of the 21st century-awards or not.