Country-pop superstar Taylor Swift opened the 2013 Grammy Awards with her smash hit 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.' The young star presented a huge production number inspired by 'Alice in Wonderland' -- a visually impressive performance that played very well on television.

Clad in white and with thigh-high boots ('Dominatrix in Wonderland'?) and a top hat, Swift strode the stage with confidence, delivering her vocals apparently live -- and at the risk of having a scathing song written about this review, that seemed apparent because her voice was weaker in the live element than on the studio record. We'll chalk it up to nerves. "I hope that I don't nerve out," she said earlier in the evening as she walked the red carpet.

Still, this was exactly the kind of production that serves Swift's talents well. She is undeniably a musical entertainer, and that's exactly what the song delivered, was an amalgam of musical and visual candy. There were so many people onstage that it tended to distract from the weaker elements of her performance, while the large number of backing vocals tended to bolster her own sometimes-shaky voice. The result was a performance that revealed why Swift is so effective as a headlining stadium act.

The song's spoken-word middle section referenced the Grammys, and may have also contained a veiled attack at recent ex Harry Styles, as Swift delivered it in a faux British accent.

Swift and the Civil Wars already won the award for Best Song Written for Visual Media with 'Safe and Sound,' from 'The Hunger Games.' She is also nominated for Record of the Year for 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.'

Watch Taylor Swift Perform 'WANEGBT' at the 2013 Grammys

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