Taylor Swift Breaks 'SNL' Tradition With Stunning 'All Too Well' Performance

Taylor Swift took the “Saturday Night Live” stage for her fifth performance last night, and it had fans seeing “Red.”

The “Shake It Off” singer first made her “SNL” debut in 2009, performing her hits “Love Story” and “Forever & Always.” She followed it up with a performance of “Untouchable” and “You Belong With Me” in November of that same year. She appeared, but did not perform, on their 40th anniversary special in 2015, and returned to perform in 2017 and 2019.

Although musical guests usually perform two songs on the “SNL” stage, Swift broke with tradition in order to perform only one song: the ten-minute version of “All Too Well.”

Swift has often commented on how “All Too Well” has been a fan-favorite song ever since her first “Red” album debuted in 2012.

“The song was never a sing, it never had a video, and somehow the fans just turned it into the song from this album,” Swift revealed in an interview with Seth Meyers earlier this week. “I used to get so sad when I would sing it and then, over time, I realized the fans were just screaming the words back to me so loudly, that it made it a very joyful experience for me to sing this song. It has been a joyful thing for me to sing. I play it all the time in concert.”

Despite the intimate lyrics detailing her breakup with ex Jake Gyllenhaal, Swift was sad for another reason. Although the full song was ten minutes long, she was forced to cut it down to five minutes and twenty-eight seconds to fit on the first album. Now, she is giving fans a chance to hear what the song was always meant to sound like.

In the same interview, Swift revealed that she had to “cut out certain verses and parts of the bridge and lots of different things that I really loved. Left some of my favorite lines on the cutting room floor, and I’m really happy people get to hear them. I’m so proud of this version of it. I think this version is the version that was meant to be heard.”

Swift spared no expense in mesmerizing her fans with the ten-minute version of “All Too Well” on the “SNL” stage. Joined by an acoustic guitar, two female backup singers, and a few musicians, Swift set the mood as she performed in front of a giant projection of the “All Too Well” short film she released on Friday night.

Swift, who wrote and directed the film, appeared in it as well. The film also starred Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien. The acting and the script has been getting rave reviews from fans so far.

Fans lauded Swift’s newest performance, with one saying that “SNL” should “make her the musical guest every week.”

“THE MOST ICONIC PERFORMANCE ON THE STAGE EVER,” another fan wrote.

“As both a longtime Swiftie and SNL stan, this was the best day of my life,” another shared.

The “cardigan” singer also surprised fans when she contributed her vocals to a musical skit starring Pete Davidson and three of the show’s writers: Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy, who also perform as the comedy group “Please Don’t Destroy.”

Swift added a few savage lyrics to the “Three Sad Virgins” music video, comparing one to a “sad Ron Weasley” and singing he “looks like if Big Bird lost all his feathers.”

SNL quickly posted the video to their Instagram page, which was showered with comments.

“THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER,” one fan wrote.

“Three Sad Virgins (10 Minute Version)(Taylor’s Version) is next,” Alex Goldschmidt teased, adding, “Yet another hit. She’s unstoppable.”

“I want to stream this song all the time,” another fan added, with several heart-eye emojis.

“I’m not even a Taylor Swift fan and I love this song,” another shared.

Another commented, “Song of the year. Period.”

Although “Red (Taylor’s Version)” just came out on Friday, fans can’t help but ask themselves…which album is Swift going to re-record next?