The Hot 100 No. 1 made its live debut on Saturday, alongside her Toy Story 5 song that is in Oscar contention.
Taylor Swift performed The Fate of Ophelia live for the first time on Saturday, October 17, at the sixth annual Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles. Until this set, her most recent public performance had been her August show at the Grammy Museum. The set also included I Knew It, I Knew You, her Toy Story 5 song, which continues to generate Oscar buzz as a contender for best original song.
Serving as co-chairs for the evening were Kate Capshaw, Steven Spielberg, Robert Rodriguez and Tom Ford. The honorees were filmmaker-composer John Carpenter, Colman Domingo and Charlize Theron.
The Fate of Ophelia comes from her 2025 album *The Life of a Showgirl*. It spent 10 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, the longest-running No. 1 single of her career, and it was released on Oct. 3, 2025. It is expected to be a leading contender for record of the year at the 2027 Grammys, where Recording Academy voters have just received their first ballots.
Conan O'Brien introduced her by calling her "John, Paul, George and Ringo all in one." Swift opened with Blank Space and then told the crowd what was coming:
"This song, which we are playing for the very first time for you beautiful people, this is called 'The Fate of Ophelia.'"
Next came I Knew It, I Knew You, her first time singing it live with a full band rather than in a mash-up. The track also reached No. 1 on U.S. country radio, her first chart-topper there in 13 years. So far, Swift has not received an Oscar nomination for the track. She closed with Love Story.
The show was Swift's first full-band performance since the Eras Tour. Her band included two sax players, which is not a regular part of her touring outfit, along with four singers, a guitarist, bassist, keyboard player and drummer. Regular band member Paul Sidoti wrote on Instagram that it was "Great to be playing music with my onstage partner of 19 years for the first time since The Eras Tour at a little party last night in Hollywood."
Swift invited the black-tie crowd to dance along. "Dancing is absolutely allowed. It's not mandatory, but it's more fun," she told them.
The Academy first announced the appearance on Oct. 8. Amy Homma, the museum's director and president, said in a statement: "Taylor is an extraordinary talent whose work resonates around the world."
Swift is also set to become the youngest-ever artist inducted into the 2026 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, at a ceremony on Oct. 26 at Music City Center in Nashville.
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