Taylor Swift's opening act for her 2012 Grammy Awards performance was her "Hunger Games" soundtrack collaborators the Civil Wars, who took the stage to perform their track "Barton Hollow." The duo praised Swift for already winning two prizes for the night, Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance for "Mean."
"It's our great honor to welcome a two-time winner already tonight, our friend Taylor Swift," they said before the singer took the stage.
Playing a banjo, Swift wore a baggy light-pink dress and her hair done up in a loose braid for her performance of her Grammy-winning song. Her band, also wearing vintage-style clothing, backed her surrounded by abandoned-looking relics like big wooden doors and floorboards that evoked the country twang of the track.
Mid-song, Swift made her way across the stage, keeping the honky-tonk going, as she sassily looked into the camera and sang the Speak Now track. As she wrapped up the performance, she earned a standing ovation, and in true Swift style, she seemed stunned by all the love radiating her way.
The video for Taylor and the Civil Wars' "Hunger Games" song "Safe & Sound" will premiere on "MTV First: Taylor Swift" on Monday at 7:54 p.m. ET on MTV, followed by an exclusive chat with Swift.
After Monday's video premiere — which will also air live on MTV's channels in Canada, Europe, Latin America, Australia, Asia and Africa — the Grammy winner will sit down with MTV News' Sway Calloway for a 30-minute interview on MTV.com. Fans of the superstar can get in on the action by submitting questions via Twitter @MTVNews with the hashtags #AskTaylor or #MTVFirst.
CMT will air "Safe & Sound" at 8 p.m. ET, the same time the music video will debut exclusively online at MTV.com, CMT.com, VH1.com and MTV's international sites. On Tuesday morning, VH1's "Big Morning Buzz Live" will feature the video at 10 a.m. ET/PT.
The "Hunger Games" soundtrack, which also features Arcade Fire and the Decemberists, drops March 20. The movie hits theaters days later, on March 23.
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