Taylor Swift has been crowned Songwriter of the Year by the 2020 Apple Music Awards.
Taylor Swift
The 'cardigan' hitmaker has been announced as the winner of the top accolade at the tech giant’s upcoming second annual music awards.
The win comes off the back of the pop superstar's record-breaking album, 'folklore', which zoomed to the top of the Apple Music albums chart and set the record for the most streamed pop album on the day of its release.
Taylor, who penned the LP in lockdown, said of the honour: “Winning Songwriter of the Year in any capacity in any year would be so exciting, but I think it’s really special this particular year because songwriting was the one thing that kept me connected to my fans. It means a lot to me because the way that fans respond to the songs I write, and the emotional exchange, is what has really kept me going this year. So I really want to say thank you to the fans for that, and to everyone at Apple Music, thank you for everything that you do.”
Rapper Roddy Ricch is the biggest winner overall, scooping both Top Song of the Year for 'The Box' and Top Album of the Year for 'Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial'.
He said: "My first phone was the iPhone. It’s crazy making music could get me to the point where a platform like Apple could honour me or put me on a pedestal. I just appreciate Apple Music to the farthest extent. Winning this award motivates me to work even harder. This is confirmation that I am on the right track and doing what I gotta do to be the greatest in my own right.”
While Megan Thee Stallion was named Breakthrough Artist of the Year following her meteoric rise to fame in 2020.
The 25-year-old rapper has dropped A-list collaborations with the likes of Beyonce ('Savage' remix) and Cardi B ('WAP'), and her Apple Music Award is the latest in a string of accolades handed to the Houston-born star this year.
The Apple Music Up Next alumni said: “I am so excited to be the Breakthrough Artist of the Year. This is a really big accomplishment for me. Apple Music has been rocking with me for so long, even before making me an Up Next artist, and I am just very appreciative and very grateful. I will forever love ya’ll as much as ya’ll love me.”
Lil Baby was also honoured with the Artist of the Year prize.
The winners will receive a physical award which is Apple’s custom silicon wafer suspended between a polished sheet of glass and a machined and anodised aluminium body, containing the same chips used in their devices.
The Apple Music Awards kick off on December 14, with a week of special performances and much more.
The winners of the 2020 Apple Music Awards are:
Artist of the Year: Lil Baby
Breakthrough Artist of the Year: Megan Thee Stallion
Songwriter of the Year: Taylor Swift
Top Song of the Year: 'The Box' by Roddy Ricch
Top Album of the Year: 'Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial' by Roddy Ricch
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