Taylor Swift to Perform at the CMA Awards for the First Time in 13 Years

Taylor Swift will perform at the CMA Awards on Wednesday, her first time on the country music show's stage in 13 years. ABC and the Country Music Association announced the performance on Friday morning.

The show airs live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, from 8 to 11 p.m. ET and PT on ABC. It is also available on Disney+. Viewers who miss it live can watch the next day on Hulu, according to Variety.

Swift is also a nominee. Her song "I Knew it, I Knew You" is up for an award. It was written for Disney and Pixar's film Toy Story 5, and it has reached No. 1 on the country radio format. Country radio is the set of stations that play country songs, and a No. 1 there means the song was the most-played title on that format's chart.

When she received the nomination earlier this year, Swift said publicly that she would attend the ceremony. The performance confirms that she will be on stage as well as in the audience.

The CMA Awards have a long history with her. She won her first CMA trophy in 2007, when she took the Horizon Award, which goes to a newer artist making an impact on the genre. In 2009 she became the youngest artist ever to win Entertainer of the Year, the show's top prize, at just 19.

Her last performance at the awards came in 2013. That year she received the Pinnacle Award, given for a career of major influence, and sang "Red" with Vince Gill and Alison Krauss. This year also marks 20 years since her first appearance at the show.

For viewers, the appearance is a rare chance to see a major artist on a live network broadcast, with a show that runs three hours in prime time. For the production team, it is one more fixed point in a live programme where timing, staging and camera work all have to land at once.

Whether Swift wins anything on the night, and what she sings, will be known only once the broadcast begins on Wednesday.