VMAs 2022: Taylor Swift’s ‘All Too Well: The Short Film’ is the Shortest Long Form Video Winner in History
Taylor Swift has been the center of some memorable moments at the MTV Video Music Awards, and the 2022 edition of the award show was no different. The singer-songwriter took home three awards for her song “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version),” including one for Breakthrough Long Form Video for the accompanying visual, All Too Well: The Short Film. In winning the Moonman for Long Form Video, Swift set a new record for the VMAs.
Taylor Swift released ‘All Too Well: The Short Film’ to accompany the 10-minute version of the song
Taylor Swift has been in the process of re-recording her first six albums so she can own her own masters. She started with a re-release of her album Fearless in early 2021. In the fall of 2021, she gave fans everything they wanted for the autumn season with Red (Taylor’s Version). The re-release included a 10-minute version of her fan-favorite song “All Too Well.” The extended cut of the song quickly became another beloved song.
To accompany the release of the track, Swift wrote and directed All Too Well: The Short Film, released the same day as Red (Taylor’s Version). The visual stars Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink and Teen Wolf‘s Dylan O’Brien as they fall in love and eventually move on to live life on their own.
‘All Too Well: The Short Film’ is the shortest winner for Long Form Video at the VMAs
All Too Well: The Short Film took home the award for Breakthrough Long Form Video at the 2022 VMAs. It beat out competitors that included Madonna’s Madame X, Kacey Musgraves’ Star-Crossed, the Foo Fighters’ Studio 666, Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles, and Olivia Rodrigo’s Driving Home 2 U.
The award for Best Long Form Video has only been awarded two other times in the past: in 1991, when Madonna won for her film The Immaculate Collection, and in 2016, when Beyoncé won for her seminal visual album Lemonade.
Clocking in at 14 minutes and 55 seconds, All Too Well: The Short Film is the shortest winner of the category in history. The Immaculate Collection had an hour-long runtime, while Lemonade ran for 65 minutes. And though it may be the shortest Long Form Video winner in history, the song itself became the longest song ever to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 2021.
“We put our entire hearts into this trying to make something that might be worthy of the love that you, the fans, have shown this song,” Swift told the audience as she accepted the Long Form Video award. “Thank you for the beautiful indication that we did something right.”
She announced a new album during her acceptance speech
During her acceptance speech, Swift also excited fans with an announcement: her tenth studio album, Midnights, would be released in less than two months on October 21. It will be her first album of new material since 2020’s Folklore and Evermore.
“I had sort of made up my mind that if you were going to be this generous and give us this, I thought it might be a fun moment to tell you that my brand-new album comes out October 21st,” Swift said in her acceptance speech, teasing that she would reveal more at midnight.
She wrote on Instagram about the project: “Midnights, the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life, will be out Oct. 21. Meet me at midnight.”
