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Taylor Swift loves “dumb ideas.”
On Monday night, the 33-year-old pop superstar accepted the Innovator Award at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards, and had a powerful message for fans.
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“I’m really flattered by this award. So thank you so much to iHeart for giving this to me,” Swift said in her acceptance speech.
“I never, a single time, woke up in the morning and thought, ‘You know what I’m gonna do today? I’m gonna go innovate some stuff,’” she joked. “‘Things need to be innovated and I’m gonna be the one that does it.’ But 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.”
She continued, “And I think maybe that might be the key, because oftentimes in any industry, people are looking for a precedent or data that shows this idea is a good one or a feasible one. People want an example of something working before. But I think the coolest ideas or moves or choices are the new ones, the ones that set a new precedent.”
“You have to give yourself permission to fail” – @taylorswift13 👏👏 #iHeartAwards2023 pic.twitter.com/WC0qvrxCeN
— iHeartRadio (@iHeartRadio) March 28, 2023
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Swift referenced her jump from the world of country to pop music, as well as her decision to re-record her old albums.
“They’re shining a light on the choices I made that worked out, the ones that turned out to be good ideas,” she said of the award. “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. You have to give yourself permission to fail.”
Swift added, “I try as hard as I can, not to fail, ’cause it’s embarrassing, but I do give myself permission to, and you should too. 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. Thank you so much for this.”