'Bad Blood' Singer Taylor Swift won the Milestone Award at the 2015 Academy of Country Music Awards (ACM) on Sunday, April 19. It was at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Her mother, Andrea Finlay presented the award to Swift along with a speech.
25-year-old Swift is a female country singer who made a debut in pop genre in 2014. Her latest album is "1989,' named after her birth year. All of Swift's five studio albums have sold over 4 million copies. Her recording label is Big Machine Records.
"Somebody once told me that you truly see who a person is when you tell them something they don't want to hear. You truly see who a person is when you give them news that they weren't expecting and so to the country music community, when I told you that I had made a pop album and that I wanted to go explore other genres, you showed me who you are with the grace you accepted that with. I will never forget it," said Swift.
Finlay, who was diagnosed with cancer in early April presented the award to Swift. Swift wrote in a letter to fans on Tumblr on Thursday, April 9 revealing her mother's cancer results. Finlay gave a speech in honor of her daughter.
"Like many of you out there tonight with children of your own, I am a very proud mom," Andrea said. "So I'd like to thank the ACMs for honoring her in this way "” but I'd also like to thank the entire music community for taking such good care of her."
Swift uses her celebrity status and money to help re-build communities and raise awareness about political and public affairs. When she lived in Nashville, she donated over $4 million to support Nashville's education system. Swift continued her generosity in her recent move to New York City.
"I don't think I've told anyone this before. 'Welcome to New York' is selling really, really well, which is good because I'm donating all of my proceeds to New York City public schools," Swift said in an interview with The View.
On top of supporting her cities of residency, Swift made monetary contributions to schools nationwide while advocating the importance of literacy in American youths. She is partners with the Scholastic publishing company's nationwide reading campaign. Her philanthropic deeds have been awarded by American leaders such as Michelle Obama and Kerry Kennedy.
Swift was inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010. In her music career, she received seven Grammy Awards, twelve Billboard Music Awards, and seven Academy of Country Music Awards.
