Taylor Swift makes surprise appearance at Billboard Music Awards

[Skylights]

Taylor Swift made her first red carpet show appearance in almost two years at the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday night (20May18).

The Shake It Off singer has kept herself away from the public as much as possible since 2016, even opting out of giving interviews and attending red carpet events to promote her 2017 album Reputation, but she made her return as a surprise special guest at the ceremony, held at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

And her return to the spotlight was worth it as she didn't go home empty-handed - winning Top Female Artist and Top Selling Album for Reputation. During her speeches, she acknowledged she had been away from awards shows for a while and was glad to be back, and praised her fellow female singers, giving a special shout out tourmates Camila Cabello and Charli XCX.

"I want to thank all the female artists who paved the way for us to get to do what we do the way we get to do it," she gushed. "All the new female artists who are killing it out there right now, we're so inspired by you. And I don't know, shout-out to the future female artists who just picked up a guitar or learned how to play the piano. And to the fans who care about the music that we make, thank you so much."

The 28-year-old is known for dancing along at awards shows, and she continued to enjoy herself in the audience during the night – and was even spotted mouthing along to her hit Look What You Made Me Do during host Kelly Clarkson's medley of songs. The clip shows Taylor acting along, appearing to show no interest as she inspects her nails while lip syncing.

After the ceremony, she shared a picture of her posing on the red carpet in a pale pink Versace dress and gold Casadei shoes on Instagram, and wrote in the caption: "My first award show in a few years and it was so much fun thanks to you (heart emoji) I love you guys. PS thanks @versace for this delicate dress."