Taylor Swift sang "I Knew It, I Knew You" at the sixth annual Academy Museum Gala. Stefanie Keenan/Oscars/Getty Images for Academy Museum Foundation

The stage was set for Taylor Swift to sing her way back into critics' hearts — and back onto the country charts — with nostalgic twang and another picture to burn .

Instead, the curtains raised to reveal a rare strategic misstep.

This week is the 20th anniversary of Swift's debut album, "Taylor Swift." For much of this year, fans had been expecting Swift to mark the occasion by releasing "Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version)" and reclaiming her place in the country-star pantheon — especially after "I Knew It, I Knew You," her cowgirl-inspired single for the "Toy Story 5" soundtrack , became a crossover hit in June, topping the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs simultaneously and finishing at No.…