Taylor Swift was awarded Tour of the Year honors during Thursday night’s iHeartRadio Music Awards in recognition of her Reputation stadium tour that ran through the second half of 2018 and included dates in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia.
The tour sold over 2 million tickets in the U.S. and grossed $345.7 million, making it the highest-selling U.S. tour by any artist.
Accepting the award, Swift was quick to address the critics who predicted she would have a “flopped tour.”
“It really did wonders for my self-esteem,” said the singer, adding that it was “great to hear” that she would be playing at “nearly empty stadiums,” according to the critics.
Swift mentioned the variables that were unknown in the lead-up to her successful tour. “I’ve learned a lot — life is really unpredictable. People can make forecasts and predictions, but they may not come true if there’s an unforeseeable factor involved. And in this case, that factor was my fans. I honestly owe everything in my life to you,” she said, thanking her fans for attending her show or even watching it on television.
Swift’s appearance at the ceremony further spurred speculation among her fans into believing that her recent public appearances — she graced the cover of Elle magazine earlier this month — meant that new music was on the way. Addressing the theories, Swift thanked her fans again for their attention to detail. “I love your passion. I love your attention to detail. I love how much you care,” she said, before adding, “When there’s new music, you’ll be the first to know.”
Swift previously teased new music while accepting the award for favorite pop/rock album at the American Music Awards in October, admitting that she’s “excited about the next chapter,” which caused speculation that she was hinting at new music on the way.
Swift’s Reputation stadium tour is available to stream on Netflix, with the singer having announced the exclusive concert in December.
The iHeartRadio Music Awards were hosted by rapper T-Pain and featured performances by Alicia Keys, Ariana Grande, Halsey, Garth Brooks, John Legend and Kacey Musgraves, among others.
