Two years after the CMA Awards bid goodbye to Taylor Swift, the singer made her big return at the CMA Awards Thursday night – and may drop a new album soon.

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When Swift announced her fifth studio album 1989 in 2014, she made it very clear that she was leaving country music. “This is my very first documented, official pop album,” she declared at the time.

A day after country quartet Little Big Town revealed that Swift was the mysterious songwriter behind their new single “Better Man,” the 26-year-old singer made a surprise appearance in the final moments of the Country Music Association Awards on Wednesday. She presented the most-coveted prize of the night – entertainer of the year – which was awarded to Garth Brooks. She won this same prize in 2009 and 2011.

“It’s been almost 13 years since I came to Nashville with a dream of being a songwriter and a recording artist. And I learned so much about what it means to be an entertainer from the remarkable artists in this arena tonight,” Swift said.

The “Shake It Off” singer has been the subject of mockery thanks to her relationship with actor Tom Hiddleston. In the wake of her split with Calvin Harris, which exposed some of her PR tactics and reveal details about their breakup. Then came the infamous phone call between Swift and Kanye West that Kim Kardashian posted on Snapchat in July, which seemed to prove Swift wasn’t being entirely truthful about her role in the controversy over the rapper’s song “Famous.”

Since she and Hiddleston broke up in early September, she has stayed under the radar.

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As Swift excitedly posted on Wednesday night, Little Big Town’s “Better Man” is the No. 1 song in all genres on iTunes.

At the Academy of Country Music Awards in April 2015, Swift showed up to accept the Milestone Award. On stage, she delivered what sounded suspiciously like a break-up speech with country music. “Somebody once told me that you truly see who a person is when you tell them something they don’t want to hear…And so to the country music community, when I told you that I had made a pop album and that I wanted to go explore other genres, you showed me who you are with the grace you accepted that with,” Swift said. “I will never forget it.”

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