14 DAY TRIAL // The 50th annual Academy of Country Music Awards were held last night in Dallas, and Taylor Swift was honored with the Milestone Award. The person who presented her with the prestigious distinction was Andrea Finlay, her mother, as you can see in the video below, at the end of this post.
Taylor’s most recent studio album, the chart-topping “1989,” was pure pop fare, marking Taylor’s definitive departure from the music genre that launched her. This was something that she did not fail to acknowledge in her speech.
Taylor’s mother is the world’s proudest mom
However, perhaps the highlight of the moment was represented by Taylor’s mother, who was the one to introduce her on stage and present her with the award, but not before she held a very beautiful and emotional speech.
Andrea recalled Taylor as a kid, who loved nothing more than to play piano or guitar and put down into song whatever experience she had, good or bad. She talked about how Taylor went from a “girl with very few friends” to a woman with more friends than she could ever count, who always tried to do the right thing by others and herself.
She mentioned Taylor’s charitable work and the special relationship she had from the start with her fans. Speaking of whom, Andrea casually mentioned that the fans would get to reconnect with her daughter very soon, as the tour in support of “1989” is about to start soon.
“I am a very proud mom,” she added. “I thank the entire music community for taking such good care of her. And to the fans, I know you love her as I love her. And for that, I thank you eternally.”
When Taylor walked up on stage, she too was visibly touched by her mother’s words. She thanked the country music industry for standing by her even though she went into pop, and she thanked the fans who helped her get to where she was.
Andrea’s cancer diagnosis
Perhaps what made this moment even more touching (for the fans) was the knowledge that Andrea is currently battling cancer. Last week, in a post on her social media accounts, Taylor broke the news that her mother had been diagnosed with cancer, pleading with them to ask their parents to get themselves checked too.
She also said that it was her mother’s wish that the diagnosis be made public to raise awareness. She did not say what type of cancer Andrea had, nor whether it had been caught in a still early stage.