Entertainment Awards Shows and Events VMAs Taylor Swift Performs 'Lover' for the First Time During 2019 MTV VMAs Opener After Album Release The night marked Taylor Swift's VMAs return since 2015 when she performed her song "Bad Blood" By Karen Mizoguchi Published on August 26, 2019 08:20PM EDT Taylor Swift is back on the MTV Video Music Awards stage after a four-year hiatus from the awards show! On Monday, the pop star, 29, kicked off the night with the first-ever performance of her songs “You Need to Calm Down” and “Lover” from her new album Lover, which was released days before on Aug. 23. The stage at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, transformed into the music video set of “You Need to Calm Down” with Todrick Hall and RuPaul’s Drag Race stars (also in the “You Need to Calm Down” video) joining the stage. Also during the performance, So You Think You Can Dance alum Alex Wong wore pointe shoes after the backlash regarding Good Morning America co-host Lara Spencer’s comment on Prince George doing ballet. Noam Galai/Getty Her friends Camila Cabello and Gigi Hadid were spotted in the crowd proudly singing along to Swift’s songs. Swift wore a custom-made Versace metallic bustier and shorts and Louboutin booties for “You Need to Calm Down” and added a bedazzled purple blazer for her “Lover” performance. Here’s Every Look Taylor Swift Has Ever Worn to the MTV Video Music Awards MTV The night marked Swift’s VMAs return since 2015 when she performed her song “Bad Blood” — which took home the coveted video of the year trophy that year. This year, Swift is tied with Ariana Grande for the most nominations this year with 12 total, including video of the year, song of the year and best pop. Taylor Swift Reveals Plans to Re-Record First 6 Albums After Scooter Braun’s Big Machine Purchase “I’m so excited because the video for ‘You Need to Calm Down,’ the video for ‘ME!,’ I wrote the treatment for those videos, so it’s really exciting to be nominated,” she told Good Morning America‘s Robin Roberts on Thursday. “The fans have been so wonderful and like, it’s just … working with my friends, working with people that I love so much in the ‘Calm Down’ video especially, it was just like … seeing that get nominated was really a proud moment for me.” MTV Video Music Awards 2019: Everything You Need to Know About the Big Night Christopher Polk/Variety/Shutterstock Other music videos already released from the Lover album include “ME!” (costarring Panic at the Disco’s Brendon Urie) and “Lover.” This year’s show also marks 10 years since Swift was famously interrupted on the VMAs stage by Kanye West during her acceptance speech for best female video winner for “You Belong with Me.” The 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, hosted by Sebastian Maniscalco, airs on Monday, Aug. 26 at 8 p.m. on MTV.