As one of the six world influencers featured on the cover of this year’s TIME 100 issues, Taylor Swift was a highly-anticipated presence at the TIME 100 gala.
Before performing at Tuesday night’s ceremony honoring the 2019 TIME 100 honorees, Swift hit the red carpet in a sweeping pale pink and pastel yellow off-the-shoulder J. Mendel gown and a jeweled headband.
“It’s TIME. #time100” she captioned a snapshot of herself in the embroidered full-skirted gown posted before the event.
This marks Swift’s first public appearance since she made headlines with a countdown clock.
With her record-breaking Reputation stadium tour barely in the rearview mirror, Swift has fueled fan speculation that she’s on the verge of releasing new music by turning her website, TaylorSwift.com, into a countdown clock to April 26 and posting a series of Instagram photos captioned with the date “4.26.”
![2019 Annual Time 100 Gala, NYC; 4/23/2019 Scenes from the 2019 Time 100 Gala in New York City](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/time-100-gala-2019-taylor-swift-red-carpet.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
In a tribute to Swift for the TIME 100 issue, fellow pop star Shawn Mendes praised her ability to connect with her millions of fans. “Taylor makes the job of creating music for millions of people look easy,” he wrote. “It all comes from her—her belief in magic and love, and her ability to be as honest and raw as possible. She’s the master of putting the perfect amount of thought into not overthinking, and that’s why her music connects so well.”
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Write to Megan McCluskey at megan.mccluskey@time.com