Taylor Swift Strips Down ‘Red’ for All-Star Performance at the 2013 CMA Awards
Gone was the red dress from the red carpet, gone was the brash production of the official video, gone was any hint of pop trappings.
All Taylor Swift brought on stage with her for her 2013 CMA Awards performance of 'Red' was her guitar, some dim mood lighting, a whole lot of feeling -- oh, and an all-star band headed by a couple of country music legends!
For the stripped-down acoustic performance of her latest album's title track, Taylor was joined by her heroes Alison Krauss and Vince Gill, along with Sam Bush, bassist Edgar Meyer and percussionist Eric Carken. She had earlier teased that the moment would be "life-alteringly cool" for her.
"I really wanted to present 'Red' in a different way, 'cause the song is completely one thing if you hear it produced on the radio, and then it's a completely different song if you hear it the way that we're doing it," she said in an interview prior to the show.
The crowd certainly showed their appreciation, cheering loudly when Krauss and Gill took their solo verses and giving a standing ovation at song's end.