We love a surprise appearance from celebrity royalty. Whether it's Beyonce's unexpected performance at 2014's Brit Awards, or The Duchess of Sussex's mike drop cameo at 2018's BFAs, there's no better way for an event to make an impact than with an A-List arrival. Clearly, it still works: Taylor Swift rocked up at last night's NME Awards, and honestly you could hear the screaming from here.
Taylor was nominated for Best Solo Act In The World at the event, but was not on the list of expected guests. Nevertheless, show up she did, to accept the award in person.
The nomination was deserved. Just look at the statistics. According to a new report by Forbes, Taylor has sold 75,893,000 individual tracks in the past decade. That is more than any other artist. Interestingly, Eminem is in second place, beating other greats like Beyonce, Rihanna and Adele.
Taylor is, after all, pretty prolific. In the last ten years, she has released five studios albums - Speak Now, Red, 1989, reputation and Lover. The three singles from this latest album Me!, You Need To Calm Down and Lover have all gone Platinum.
The awards, held at Brixton's O2 Academy, saw Emily Eavis - Glastonbury Festival co-organiser - walk away with the Godlike Genius Awards. Nominees in other categories included Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Dua Lipa and Lana Del Rey.
The appearance comes weeks after Taylor released Miss Americana, her new documentary with Netflix. In it, the singer-songwriter discusses her process. 'The ideas are my favorite part of everything I do,' she says. 'That moment where you’re like, "Oh I know what it’s called," or "I know what the hook is now."' I have to capitalise on the excitement of me getting that idea and see it all the way through otherwise I’ll leave it behind and I’ll assume it wasn’t good enough.'
Evidently, it paid off. The proof is in the pudding...
READ MORE: Wait, Is Taylor Swift Wearing An Engagement Ring In Her New Documentary?
READ MORE:****Taylor Swift’s New Documentary Covers Her Eating Disorder