Swift thanked her fans for making the 'album into what it is' as she accepted the award for her Disney+ 'Folklore' concert special.
Taylor Swift is thanking her fans for their continued support of Folklore. The "Cardigan" singer was awarded with the Gracie's Grand Award for her documentary, Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions at the 46th annual Gracie Awards on Tuesday. Swift was presented the award by Simone Biles, who thanked the singer for standing by her after she withdrew from competition at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics due to her mental health.
“It is given to a woman that has made contributions to media that go above and beyond, that shine a spotlight on issues, and display creativity and storytelling,” Biles said of the Gracie's Grand Award, before presenting Swift with the special honor.
"During the 2021 Olympics she reached out, but she also dedicated something so special to me, that I’ll never forget," Biles continued during the show's virtual ceremony, which took place on The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation's Facebook page. "She’s always been so raw, open and honest, and that’s one of the many things I love about Taylor."
Swift first thanked Biles before praising her fans for making Folklore the album it's become.
"I wanted to say, first of all, thank you, Simone Biles, for presenting this award to me. I absolutely adore you, and that just really made my heart skip a beat," the GRAMMY-winning singer began.
"Thank you for caring about all of this, thank you for being the reason we could all come together in this way," she said. "You made this album into what it is and you continue to blow me away all the time."
Swift dropped Folklore in July 2020. The album went on to win the 2020 GRAMMY for Album of the Year, along with breaking both Spotify and Apple Music streaming records at the time.
In November 2020, Swift announced that Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions was headed to Disney+.
After creating the album with Jack Antonoff, The National's Aaron Dessner, and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon from thousands of miles apart amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the film documents the group's first in-person meeting as they play through the entire album in order and share stories about each of the 17 songs.
In a clip from the Swift-directed concert movie, which was filmed in Upstate New York back in September 2020, the singer reflected on how making the album improved her time in quarantine.
"There's something about the complete and total uncertainty of life. If we're going to have to recalibrate everything, we should start with what we love the most first," she said. "It's an album that allows you to feel your feelings and it's a product of isolation."
"This could've been a time where I absolutely lost my mind and instead, I think, this album was like a real flotation device for both of us," Swift added of herself and Dessner. "I was so glad that we did [make the album], because it turned out everybody needed a good cry, as well as us. It makes you think about life a lot, where this moment could affect everything forever."
For more on Swift, watch the video below.
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