reputation tour total shows

Reputation Stadium Tour

• View history
• 1 Netflix original
• 3 Critical review
• 4 Awards and nominations
• 6 Setlist changes
• 7 Surprise songs
• 8 Special guests
• 10 Tour dates

Netflix original [ ]

On December 13, 2018, Taylor thanked everyone for her birthday wishes on Instagram and also announced that there was going to be a tour movie for the Reputation Stadium Tour that would be released on New Year's Eve, titled Taylor Swift: reputation Stadium Tour . It was filmed at the last Dallas/Arlington show, which was the final US leg date. It featured the surprise song " All Too Well ".

Taylor Swift designed her own stage, complete with an elevator, and a rapid changing room for her eight costumes.

The main screen was 110 feet tall and and made of 12 columns and 1,5OO LED tiles that split into 49 individual screens that moved depending on the song. The stage design is an X shape and it also features a B & C Stage that Taylor accessed with the floating constellation and snake gondolas during " Delicate " and the " Bad Blood "/" Should've Said No " mashup. The band played right behind the main screen and during certain parts of the show, the screen opened and the audience could see them.

During " Look What You Made Me Do ", there was a giant inflatable snake named Karyn on the stage as well as smaller inflatable snakes on the B & C Stage and for the show encore, a water fountain was installed on stage. There were also fire, smoke and fireworks effects throughout the show from the stage. The LED bracelets distributed to the attendees were interactive with the songs and stage visuals.

Critical review [ ]

"This might be her most astounding tour yet – even when she’s aiming for maximum stadium-rock razzle-dazzle bombast, she gives it all the vibe of a mass communion." - Rolling Stone

Awards and nominations [ ]

The Reputation Stadium Tour won five awards from eight nominations.

Set list [ ]

Official set list for the tour.

• " ...Ready For It? "
• " I Did Something Bad "
• " Gorgeous "
• " Style " / " Love Story " / " You Belong with Me "
• " Look What You Made Me Do "
• " End Game "
• " King of My Heart "
• " Delicate "
• " Shake It Off " (with Charli XCX and Camila Cabello)
• " Dancing With Our Hands Tied " (" So It Goes... " played at some shows)
• Surprise Song
• " Blank Space "
• " Bad Blood " / " Should've Said No "
• " Don't Blame Me "
• " Long Live " / " New Year's Day "
• Why She Disappeared (spoken poem interlude)
• " Getaway Car "
• " Call It What You Want "
• " We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together " / " This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things "

Setlist changes [ ]

• On July 10, July 14, July 22, and many other dates, Swift performed " So It Goes... " instead of " Dancing With Our Hands Tied ".
• On July 14, Swift performed " Our Song " and " Wildest Dreams " a cappella after the levitating gondola used during " Delicate " malfunctioned. She did not go by the first B stage or do the crowd walk, and instead did every song she would've performed on the first B stage, on the C stage.
• On July 21, Swift performed " Clean " before the " Long Live "/" New Year's Day " mashup, because it was raining.

Surprise songs [ ]

The following songs were performed by Swift after " Dancing With Our Hands Tied ". The songs changed each night. A playlist of every surprise song is featured on streaming platforms called "Reputation Stadium Tour Surprise Songs Playlist".

• Glendale: " All Too Well "
• Santa Clara night one: " Wildest Dreams "
• Santa Clara night two: " The Best Day "
• Pasadena night one: " Red "
• Seattle: " Holy Ground "
• Denver: " Teardrops on My Guitar "
• Chicago night one: " Our Song "
• Chicago night two: " 22 "
• Manchester night one: " I Knew You Were Trouble "
• Manchester night two: " I Don't Wanna Live Forever "
• Dublin night one: " Mean "
• Dublin night two: " How You Get the Girl "
• London night one: " So It Goes... "
• London night two: " Fifteen "
• Louisville: " Mine "
• Columbus: " Sparks Fly "
• Landover night one: " State of Grace "
• Landover night two: " Haunted "
• Philadelphia night one: " Never Grow Up "
• Philadelphia night two: " Treacherous "
• Cleveland: " Babe "
• East Rutherford night one: " Welcome to New York "
• East Rutherford night two: " Fearless "
• East Rutherford night three: " Enchanted "
• Foxborough night one: " 22 "
• Foxborough night two: " Change "
• Foxborough night three: " Ours "
• Toronto night one: " Out of the Woods "
• Toronto night two: " Come Back... Be Here "
• Pittsburgh: " A Place in This World "
• Atlanta night one: " This Love "
• Atlanta night two: " The Lucky One "
• Tampa: " Invisible "
• Miami Gardens: " Breathe "
• Nashville: " Better Man "
• Detroit: " Jump Then Fall "
• Minneapolis night one: " Begin Again "
• Minneapolis night two: " Tied Together with a Smile "
• Kansas City: " The Story of Us "
• Indianapolis: " Forever & Always "
• St. Louis: " Hey Stephen "
• New Orleans: " Speak Now "
• Houston: " Wonderland "
• Arlington night one: " White Horse "
• Arlington night two: " All Too Well "
• Perth: " I Knew You Were Trouble "
• Melbourne: " I'm Only Me When I'm with You "
• Sydney: " 22 "
• Brisbane: " Starlight "
• Auckland: " Out of the Woods "
• Tokyo night one: " I Know Places "
• Tokyo night two: " Wildest Dreams "

Special guests [ ]

These artists joined Taylor on stage to sing a song together as a surprise to the fans.

• May 18, 2018 - Pasadena, California - Shawn Mendes - " There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back "
• May 19, 2018 - Pasadena, California - Troye Sivan - " My My My! "
• May 19, 2018 - Pasadena, California - Selena Gomez - " Hands To Myself "
• June 22, 2018 - London, England - Niall Horan - " Slow Hands "
• June 23, 2018 - London, England - Robbie Williams - " Angels "
• July 26, 2018 - Foxborough, Massachusetts - Hayley Kiyoko - " Curious "
• August 4, 2018 - Toronto, Ontario, Canada - Bryan Adams - " Summer of '69 "
• August 25, 2018 - Nashville, Tennessee - Tim McGraw and Faith Hill - " Tim McGraw "
• October 5, 2018 - Arlington, Texas - Maren Morris - " The Middle "
• October 6, 2018 - Arlington, Texas - Sugarland - " Babe "

Gallery [ ]

Tour dates [ ].

• 1 List of Taylor Swift's ex-boyfriends
• 2 The Tortured Poets Department photoshoot
• 3 The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived

Stage and Cinema

Arts and Entertainment Reviews

Extras | Concerts: TAYLOR SWIFT’S REPUTATION TOUR BREAKDOWN

by Jim Allen on March 5, 2024

in Concerts / Events , Extras

The Reputation Stadium Tour, Taylor Swift’s first all-stadium venture, represents a significant chapter in her illustrious career, showcasing her evolution from a small-town girl to an international icon.

This ambitious project not only highlighted Swift’s musical genius but also redefined the contours of live music entertainment . Commencing on May 8, 2018, in Glendale, Arizona, the tour embarked on an unforgettable journey that left an indelible mark on the hearts of millions.

The Genesis of a Superstar: Early Years in Reading, Pennsylvania

Taylor Swift’s journey to stardom began in Reading, Pennsylvania, where she was born and raised. From an early age, Swift displayed an uncanny knack for storytelling and melody, crafting songs that resonated with her personal experiences and aspirations. This foundation in Reading laid the groundwork for her meteoric rise, imbuing her music with authenticity and emotional depth that would become her signature.

Embarking on the Stadium Saga

The Reputation Stadium Tour marked a monumental shift in Swift’s live performance strategy. Transitioning from arenas to stadiums, Swift undertook a bold step that few artists could dream of, let alone achieve. This move was not just about the scale of the venues but also about creating a more immersive and impactful experience for fans. It was a testament to Swift’s draw as a global superstar and her ability to connect with audiences on a massive scale.

The Inaugural Show in Glendale: A Night to Remember

On May 8, 2018, the city of Glendale, Arizona, witnessed the inception of the Reputation Stadium Tour, a concert that set the tone for what was to become an epic journey across stadiums. This first show was a spectacle of lights, energy, and music, blending Swift’s new songs with her classics, and setting the stage for a tour that would be remembered for its grandeur and artistic integrity.

Paying Homage to Pennsylvania Roots: Lincoln Financial Field Performance

As Taylor Swift took her Reputation Stadium Tour across the nation, she not only showcased her musical prowess but also paid homage to her Pennsylvania roots, performing in iconic stadiums that are landmarks in the sports world.

For instance, her concert at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field was not just a musical event but a gathering place for local fans who share a love for both Swift’s artistry and the spirited competition found in sports.

This blending of music and sports culture offers a nod to the common ground shared by concert-goers and sports betting and casino enthusiasts in Pennsylvania, who revel in the excitement of a well-played game and a well-performed concert alike.

The Artistry of Live Performances: A Blend of Music and Spectacle

The Reputation Stadium Tour was not merely about the music; it was a masterclass in live performance artistry. Swift meticulously crafted each show to be a visual feast, complete with elaborate stage designs, costumes, and choreography that complemented her musical narratives. This attention to detail ensured that each concert was not just a listening session but a full-on sensory experience that captivated audiences.

The Setlist: A Musical Journey

The tour’s setlist was a carefully curated mix of tracks from the “Reputation” album alongside fan favorites and hits from her previous albums. This selection ensured that the concerts appealed to long-time Swifties as well as newcomers to her music. By balancing her newer, edgier tracks with the classic hits, Swift offered a comprehensive overview of her musical evolution.

Audience Engagement: Connecting With Fans

A hallmark of Swift’s concerts is her ability to forge a personal connection with her audience, and the Reputation Stadium Tour was no exception. Swift went beyond mere performance, sharing anecdotes and experiences that resonated with her fans, creating an atmosphere of intimacy amidst the vastness of the stadiums. This personal touch made each concert feel unique and left fans with the sense that they were part of something truly special.

The Impact on Live Music: Redefining Concert Experiences

The Reputation Stadium Tour set new benchmarks in the realm of live music entertainment. Swift’s all-stadium endeavor showcased the potential for artists to create expansive and elaborate live shows that go beyond traditional concert formats. It pushed the boundaries of what live music events could be, influencing both contemporaries and upcoming artists to think bigger and bolder in their concert presentations.

Legacy of the Tour: A Milestone in Swift’s Career

The Reputation Stadium Tour is remembered not just for its commercial success but as a pivotal moment in Taylor Swift’s career. It solidified her status as one of the most influential artists of her generation, capable of pulling off an unprecedented stadium tour. The tour’s legacy lies in its demonstration of Swift’s versatility as an artist and her unwavering connection with her fans.

Conclusion: A Testament to Talent and Tenacity

Taylor Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour was more than just a series of concerts; it was a bold statement of artistic ambition and a celebration of the bond between an artist and her fans. From its kickoff in Glendale to the finale, the tour encapsulated the essence of Swift’s journey from Reading, Pennsylvania, to global superstardom.

Through sheer talent, determination, and a deep connection with her audience, Taylor Swift redefined the landscape of live music entertainment, leaving an indelible mark on the industry and on the hearts of millions of fans worldwide.

Share this post:

Leave a Comment

• Art and Museums
• Concerts / Events
• Theater-Boston
• Theater-Chicago
• Theater-D.C.
• Theater-International
• Theater-Las Vegas
• Theater-Los Angeles
• Theater-New York
• Theater-Palm Springs (Coachella Valley)
• Theater-Regional
• Theater-San Diego
• Theater-San Francisco / Bay Area
• Privacy Statement

Search reviews by title or key words.

Please help keep stage and cinema going, while we assert that it’s time to rethink the existence of facebook, here’s our page, casino reviews betsquare.

• Search Please fill out this field.
• Manage Your Subscription
• Give a Gift Subscription
• Newsletters
• Sweepstakes
• Entertainment

Taylor Swift's Record-Breaking Reputation Tour Has Already Grossed $54 Million in 7 Shows

The Grammy winner is reportedly well on her way to earning $400 million with her massive stadium tour

Melody Chiu is an Executive Editor at PEOPLE overseeing music, events and emerging content. She has been with the brand since 2009, editing, writing and reporting across all entertainment verticals. She has written cover stories on Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Melissa McCarthy, Blake Shelton, Jordan Turpin and Sandra Oh. The Los Angeles native graduated from the University of Southern California and has appeared on Extra! , The Talk, Access Hollywood and Good Morning America .

Taylor Swift ‘s got a “bad reputation” for breaking records.

According to Billboard , the 28-year-old superstar’s massive reputation Stadium Tour has already grossed more than $54 million in just seven shows with nearly 400,000 tickets sold in one month.

The Grammy winner already broke a record on her opening night show in Arizona when 59,157 fans showed up to support Swift, whose latest album sold two million copies in its first week of release.

Swift also sold more than 107,000 tickets and raked in $14 million for her two shows at Levi’s Stadium in Northern California before heading south to the Rose Bowl where more than 118,000 Swifties filled the Pasadena stadium, reports Billboard .

• Want to keep up with the latest from PEOPLE? Sign up for our daily newsletter to get our best stories of the day delivered straight to your inbox.

The outlet adds that Swift beat U2’s 2017 record by more than $467,000 at the Rose Bowl and also broke the band’s box-office record in Denver by outselling their gross ticket sales by $1.2 million.

After staying largely under the radar for more than a year, Swift was warmly welcomed back by her loyal fans who (slightly impatiently) waited more than her usual two years for a new album.

And the star has returned the favor while busy rehearsing and traveling for her tour. In every city, Swift has had surprises in store for Swifties and also held meet-and-greets before and after each show.

During her last dress rehearsal, she welcomed her “littlest fans” — foster children from Arizona — to the University of Phoenix Stadium for an intimate concert and pizza party shortly after visiting a little girl recovering from severe burns in the hospital.

Swift has embraced the snake during her reputation era after she was bullied on social media with the reptile and previously explained to her fans why she chose to do that during a vulnerable moment with her Swifties on opening night.

“I think something that came out of it that was good is that I learned a really important lesson that I’ve been telling you from the stage for about 10 years but I never had to learn it so harshly myself. And that lesson has to do with how much you value your reputation,” she said on-stage in Arizona while acknowledging she went through “low” times in the last year.

“And I think that the lesson is that you shouldn’t care so much if you feel misunderstood by a lot of people who don’t know you as long as you feel understood by the people who do know you, the people who will show up for you, the people who see you as a human being. So thank you, thank you, thank you for taking the time to get to know me, for showing up for me, for seeing me as a human being,” she continued. “That’s you. You did that for me.”

Related Articles

• Work & Careers
• Life & Arts

Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour — the showbiz pyrotechnics of a spectacular production

• Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour — the showbiz pyrotechnics of a spectacular production on x (opens in a new window)
• Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour — the showbiz pyrotechnics of a spectacular production on facebook (opens in a new window)
• Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour — the showbiz pyrotechnics of a spectacular production on linkedin (opens in a new window)
• Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour — the showbiz pyrotechnics of a spectacular production on whatsapp (opens in a new window)

Ludovic Hunter-Tilney

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Live albums, once a lucrative staple of the record industry, have been supplanted by tour films. As listening to the average live album is only marginally more appealing than standing behind a really tall person at an actual gig, able to hear but not see the action, it is hard to mourn their passing. In contrast, the tour film — liberated by streaming services from its traditional imprisonment in costly DVDs — can provide a far more satisfying record of the sights and sounds of a concert.

Newly released on Netflix, Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour is a particularly powerful example. Recorded in Dallas at the final date of the tour’s US leg last year, it brings Swift’s spectacular production to the screen with flair. Just as the staging itself was a high-tech, big-budget affair ingeniously organised around the highly relatable figure of the singer herself — a display of showbiz pyrotechnics employed as much to humanise as dazzle — the film involves an acutely edited array of different perspectives, from close-ups of Swift to crane shots above the stadium, balancing scale and closeness (the credits list no fewer than 25 camera operators). Together with punchy sound quality and Swift’s top-drawer performance, it makes the old-fashioned live album seem a thoroughly undernourished affair.

‘Reputation Stadium Tour’ is released by Netflix

Promoted Content

Follow the topics in this article.

• Music Add to myFT
• Albums Add to myFT
• Ludovic Hunter-Tilney Add to myFT

International Edition

Taylor Swift reputation Stadium Tour Announced!

• Copied to Clipboard

The Taylor Swift reputation Stadium Tour  just announced with the first set of dates – and we are SO “ready for it!”

Remember, to get exclusive Presale access you must register for Taylor Swift Tix . Registration closes on Tuesday afternoon, November 28 at 12PM ET . 

Already registered? Make sure you’ve taken these steps  before November 28 so you’re ready for the presale:

• Visit your Taylor Swift Tix portal to confirm your mobile number
• Set your ticket preferences in your Taylor Swift Tix portal
• Log into your Ticketmaster account and make sure you have a valid credit card and updated billing information on file

The Taylor Swift Tix Presale will begin on  Tuesday, December 5  and will run through  Friday, December 8 .  Look out for an email on Saturday, December 2 assigning you your very own presale date and time.  After registration closes, you’ll hear more about special presale windows that were designed just for Taylor Swift Tix participants!

Exact pricing information isn’t available yet, but we can tell you Taylor Swift Tix participants will have the opportunity to unlock access to the best tickets at the best prices.

More details about VIP packages will be available soon and there will be a 6 (six) ticket limit.  We’ll share everything you need to know as we get closer to the presale. For now, check out the dates below and head over to your Taylor Swift Tix portal to get ready.

Taylor Swift reputation Stadium Tour

To learn more about Taylor Swift Tix visit the official FAQ .

Loading Events

• Advance Registration
• Verified Fan

You Might Like

Tout ce que vous devez savoir l’inscription préalable.

Certains événements peuvent nécessiter une inscription préalable avant la mise en vente de billets. Ce processus nous permet de filtrer les robots et les rev...

How Ticketing Works For Garth Brooks/Plus ONE 2024 Las Vegas Residency

Garth Brooks has announced new shows for his Las Vegas Residency, Garth Brooks/Plus ONE at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and is using Verified...

How Ticketing Works For Pearl Jam’s 2023 U.S. Tour

Pearl Jam will hit the road again in 2023. There will be two main ways to shop for tickets: Pearl Jam Ten Club Members-Only* Presale powered by Ticketmaster ...

• The Internet Is Losing It Because Taylor Swift Just Announced These <i>Reputation</i> Tour Dates

The Internet Is Losing It Because Taylor Swift Just Announced These Reputation Tour Dates

Taylor Swift has announced the dates and locations for her Reputation stadium tour , which will take place in the U.S. between May 8 and Oct. 6 next year.

The 27-year-old will be performing on 27 dates in more than 20 different cities across the country, kicking off at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and ending at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The tickets can be bought using Ticketmaster , and details about price and VIP packages have not yet been released. Avid Swift fans can register for Taylor Swift Tix presale access before 12 p.m. ET on Nov. 28. The presale will run between Dec. 5 and Dec. 8.

Predictably, the internet went into meltdown mode following the announcement, with many social media users voicing their frustration at not knowing when Swift is coming to their country. Date’s for the pop star’s international tour will be announced at a later date.

Taylor Swift announced tour dates but I'm at work at cannot freak out appropriately pic.twitter.com/l8iHrrxD5v — Ashley Allen (@TheBlondeAshley) November 13, 2017

OMG @taylorswift13 has just announced the first few dates for her stadium world tour. Hurry up announcing UK dates #repuatation pic.twitter.com/YlJYptk0zR — Sol Loredo (@sol_de_mar) November 13, 2017

Taylor Swift just released tour dates and I know I won't be able to go and it makes me want to scream. pic.twitter.com/FShu5EQrbq — Sam (@Samrp01) November 13, 2017

Below is the full list of dates and locations for Swift’s highly anticipated tour.

May 8: University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona May 12: Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California May 19: Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California May 22: CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington May 25: Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado June 2: Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois June 30: Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky July 7: Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio July 10: FedEx Field in Washington, D.C. July 14: Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania July 17: First Energy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio July 21: MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey July 28: Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts August 4: Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario August 7: Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania August 11: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia August 14: Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida August 18: Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida August 25: Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee August 28: Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan September 1: U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota September 8: Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri September 15: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana September 18: The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri September 22: Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana September 29: NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas October 6: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas

More Must-Reads From TIME

• The 100 Most Influential People of 2024
• How Far Trump Would Go
• Why Maternity Care Is Underpaid
• Scenes From Pro-Palestinian Encampments Across U.S. Universities
• Saving Seconds Is Better Than Hours
• Why Your Breakfast Should Start with a Vegetable
• Welcome to the Golden Age of Ryan Gosling
• Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time

Write to Kate Samuelson at [email protected]

• Statistics Stats
• You are here:
• Swift, Taylor
• Tour Statistics
• Song Statistics Stats
• Tour Statistics Stats
• Other Statistics

All Setlists

• All setlist songs  ( 1021 )

Years on tour

• 2024  ( 19 )
• 2023  ( 67 )
• 2022  ( 3 )
• 2021  ( 5 )
• 2020  ( 3 )
• 2019  ( 27 )
• 2018  ( 58 )
• 2017  ( 12 )
• 2016  ( 8 )
• 2015  ( 91 )
• 2014  ( 48 )
• 2013  ( 95 )
• 2012  ( 49 )
• 2011  ( 109 )
• 2010  ( 94 )
• 2009  ( 105 )
• 2008  ( 91 )
• 2007  ( 106 )
• 2006  ( 26 )
• 2005  ( 2 )
• 2004  ( 1 )
• 2002  ( 1 )
• 2001  ( 1 )

Show all tours

• Fearless  ( 114 )
• Speak Now World Tour  ( 114 )
• The 1989 World Tour  ( 85 )
• The Eras Tour  ( 85 )
• The Red Tour  ( 86 )
• reputation Stadium Tour  ( 53 )
• Avg Setlist
• Concert Map

Songs played by tour: reputation Stadium Tour

• May 6, 2024
• May 5, 2024
• May 4, 2024
• May 3, 2024
• May 2, 2024
• May 1, 2024
• FAQ | Help | About
• Terms of Service
• Ad Choices | Privacy Policy
• Feature requests
• Songtexte.com

Why Taylor Swift’s ‘Reputation’ Tour Is Her Finest Yet

By Rob Sheffield

Rob Sheffield

The biggest moment in Taylor Swift ‘s amazing Reputation stadium tour turns out to be one of the quietest. Near the end of the night, Swift sits at the piano by herself to play a few elusively familiar chords. “You might be wondering why there are so many snakes everywhere,” she says. The song she’s playing ends up being the 2010 Speak Now classic “Long Live,” which she transforms into a medley with the Reputation finale “New Year’s Day” – two of her best, from very different phases of her artistic evolution, but songs with a common emotional ground, whether it’s about “fighting dragons” or snakes. She eases back and forth between the songs, from the lush adolescent romanticism of “Long Live” into the mundane domestic detail of “New Year’s Day,” right up to the hook line: “I had the time of my life … with you.” What a moment – a powerhouse performance that made all the different Taylors sound like part of the same story.

Swift kicked off the first night of her hotly awaited Reputation tour last night at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, in front of 60,000 fans, and for the most part she went epic, with giant inflatable cobras, pyro, multiple stages and hordes of dancers. As always, she leaned hard into the new material, doing almost everything on the new Reputation (the one she left out was “So It Goes”), yet with her own uniquely intimate touch. This might be her most astounding tour yet – even when she’s aiming for maximum stadium-rock razzle-dazzle bombast, she gives it all the vibe of a mass communion. She didn’t reach deep into her back catalog, beyond a few earth-shaking surprises like “Long Live” or her solo-acoustic revival of “All Too Well.” Even when she goes back to the oldies, she sticks to her fanatical commitment to making them new. No pop star goes to such absurd extremes to avoid repeating herself, even when repeating herself would be more than good enough. The girl just likes a challenge, even if that means she wants to stand under a surreal inflatable snake to sing her heartfelt confessions about autumn leaves and maple lattes.

Editor’s picks

Every awful thing trump has promised to do in a second term, the 250 greatest guitarists of all time, the 500 greatest albums of all time, the 50 worst decisions in movie history.

The theme, as she did mention a time or two, was snakes. Not since Jim Morrison was alive has any rock star gone so overboard with the herpetological symbolism. As she explained, “A couple of years ago, someone called me a snake on social media and it caught on. And then a lot of people called me a lot of things on social media. And I went through some really low times for a while because of it.” But for Swift – as so often – there was a lesson to be learned in this harsh experience. “You shouldn’t care so much if you feel misunderstood by a lot of people who don’t know you, as long as you feel understood by people who do know you, who will show up for you, the people who see you as a human being…it’s you . You did that for me.”

She picked up her acoustic guitar for “Dancing With Our Hands Tied,” noting, “You guys have stuck with me through so many musical changes. You’ve let me play – you’ve let me evolve.” There were gasps through the crowd as she followed that with the opening chord of “All Too Well,” saying, “I thought I would play this song that you seem to request more than any others. It would be so cool if you sang as loud as you possibly could.” No encouragement was needed. She dashed over to the other side stage to do “Blank Space,” whereupon a male dancer in a hoodie brought her a sheer black dress and wrapped it around her. She asked the crowd, “Do you like my dress?,” which naturally led to “Dress.”

Steve Albini, Noise Rock Pioneer and 'In Utero' Engineer, Dead at 61

The results are in: kendrick lamar won the great rap war, why grown-ass women love the idea of 'the idea of you', hear the journey tune steve perry rerecorded with steve lukather's son, all 274 of taylor swift's songs, ranked.

During a clever snippet of “Should’ve Said No” she rode a serpent back to the main stage for the home stretch. “Call It What You Want” became a moody performance with a video backdrop of news headlines – which was probably the only time all night the word “squad” came up – while “Getaway Car” became a desert-noir set piece. The end came a little suddenly, with “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things,” restyled into a medley with “We Ae Never Getting Back Together.” The song didn’t necessarily feel like a resolution, musically or emotionally, and despite how well it worked as a comic romp – all Tay’s back-up singers joining in for “therein lies the issue” – it was jarring when the house lights came up afterward. No encore, just a coda on the video screen: “And in the death of her reputation, she felt truly alive.”

Swift is always an artist who feels compelled to swerve somewhere new – even in those moments where she seems like the only one in the room who wouldn’t be delighted with more of the same Old Taylor tricks. She just isn’t content to be a More of the Same artist. In a show that was packed with highlights, “All Too Well” was the moment it was impossible to beat – it’s just the kind of song that can’t be topped, and there was something sweet about the way Swift temporarily surrendered her constant urge to remake and remodel, just playing the song on acoustic guitar. As her spiritual uncle Bruce Springsteen might say, she decided for a moment to stand back and let it all be. Everybody in the stadium was wired to her voice and guitar. The only person I noticed who wasn’t singing along with “All Too Well” was a little kid who was mesmerized by the confetti in the air, still floating to the floor from “Shake It Off” a few minutes earlier. She twirled around just grabbing each piece of confetti that floated by. She was as rapt in the moment as any of us. 

“Ready For It?” “I Did Something Bad” “Gorgeous” “Style”/”Love Story”/”You Belong With Me” “Look What You Made Me Do” “End Game” “King of My Heart” “Delicate” “Shake It Off” “Dancing With Our Hands Tied” “All Too Well” “Blank Space” “Dress” “Bad Blood”/ “Should’ve Said No” “Don’t Blame Me” “Long Live”/ “New Year’s Day” “Getaway Car” “Call It What You Want” “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”/”This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things”

Neil Portnow Accuser Asks Judge to Dismiss Sexual Assault Lawsuit Against Former Grammy CEO

• Crimes and Court
• By Daniel Kreps

Superchunk Remember How Steve Albini Made Them Sound 'Bigger Than We Were in Real Life'

• RIP Steve Albini
• By Jon Blistein

Steve Albini and Big Black Played an Explosive Farewell Concert in 1987

• By Kory Grow

Live Nation Launches $25 All-In Tickets Deal for Over 900 Acts like Janet Jackson, 21 Savage, Peso Pluma

• CONCERT TICKETS DEAL
• By Sage Anderson

Nearly All Astroworld Wrongful Death Cases Settled

• By Ethan Millman

Most Popular

Emily blunt says she's 'absolutely' wanted to throw up after kissing certain actors during filming: 'i've definitely not enjoyed some of it.', jerry seinfeld's 'unfrosted' divides critics: "one of decade's worst movies", serena williams' ethereal white swimsuit photoshoot shows the way she’s exercising after baby no. 2, no a’s in attendance: oakland trails a whopping 553 u.s. teams, you might also like, disney and warner bros. discovery to launch disney+, hulu, max streaming bundle, dozens of protesters arrested at fit, the best yoga mats for any practice, according to instructors, the disney bundle just got a major upgrade with max, tko sales rise on ufc, wwe events, gets $25m nbc ‘raw’ deal.

Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Rolling Stone, LLC. All rights reserved.

Verify it's you

Please log in.

The Capital Evening Show with Jimmy Hill 7pm - 10pm

Now Playing

Don't You Worry Child Swedish House Mafia feat. John Martin Download 'Don't You Worry Child' on iTunes

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour: All The Celebrities Who've Joined Her On Stage

27 July 2018, 10:06

By Sam Prance

The 1989 World Tour is shook...

Taylor Swift tours may be most famous for their inspirational speeches and chart-topping hits but in recent years they've become notorious for something else: celebrity guests.

📸 Follow us on instagram at instagram.com/popbuzz 📸

It all started on the Speak Now World Tour when Taylor invited the likes of Nicki Minaj and Justin Bieber to perform with her and since then the impromptu duets have quickly become a Taylor staple. The Red Tour saw the 'I Knew You Were Trouble' hitmaker sing with everyone from Ed Sheeran to Jennifer Lopez and on the 1989 World Tour we were treated to surprise appearances from stars including Justin Timberlake, Serena Williams, Mick Jagger, Julia Roberts and Mary J. Blige.

The celebrity cameos became so notorious that they resulted in this incredible parody.

PLEASE WELCOME TO THE STAGE...

All jokes aside though, Swifties and casual Taylor fans alike are always eager to find out which budding young stars and iconic legends will be joining the 'Blank Space' popstar on stage and The Reputation Stadium Tour is no different.

Here all of the infamous guests that have joined Taylor on her latest world tour so far.

Hayley Kiyoko

UM @hayleykiyoko THAT WAS INSANE!! Thank you so much for coming to surprise the crowd tonight at @gillettestadium - THAT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!! So stoked this was your first stadium performance, and you absolutely killed it 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Jul 26, 2018 at 10:24pm PDT

Taylor Swift has long been supportive of Hayley Kiyoko. The 'Delicate' hitmaker often features Hayley's music in her Spotify playlists and last night the rising superstar joined Taylor on stage in Foxborough, Massachusetts to sing her critically acclaimed 2018 hit 'Curious' together. Amazing.

Robbie Williams

Still processing how special last night was, thank you London for two incredible nights at Wembley Stadium. I’ll NEVER forget the sound of the crowd when Robbie Williams showed up to sing Angels, that was UNREAL!! Thank you to Robbie, that was such a spectacular moment and it meant so much to so many people, including me. 😇😇😇 @robbiewilliams 📷 @GarethCattermole @hogieaaa @GettyEntertainment A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Jun 24, 2018 at 7:26am PDT

Robbie Williams? At a Taylor Swift gig? Who would have thought. It's no secret that Robbie Williams is a household name in the UK but his success never ever transferred properly to the US. The fact that Taylor knows and loves his music is crazy though. The two performed 'Angels' together at Taylor's second Reputation show in London and Robbie even wore a Taylor Swift t-shirt.

Niall Horan

Soundcheck at Wembley Stadium with this guy @niallhoran THANK YOU for surprising the crowd tonight!!! 📷 @GarethCattermole @hogieaaa @GettyEntertainment A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Jun 22, 2018 at 5:10pm PDT

Taylor and Niall have always had kind words to say about each other before but have never actually shared a stage. When Taylor performed in London though that changed. The two superstars wowed Wembley with a surprise rendition of Niall's monster hit single 'Slow Hands'. Incredible.

Selena Gomez

To the person I could call at any time of day, who has been there no matter what... you absolutely KILLED IT tonight and everyone was so excited to see you. I love you, and 60,000 people at the Rose Bowl loved you too. @selenagomez 📷: @Polkimaging @GettyEntertainment A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on May 20, 2018 at 2:15am PDT

I mean, I could but why would I want to? @selenagomez A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on May 20, 2018 at 2:18am PDT

Selena and Taylor have been BFFs for years so it's no surprise that the 'Bad Liar' singer has taken part in multiple Taylor Swift tours. On the Speak Now World Tour they performed 'Who Says', on the 1989 World Tour they performed 'Good for You' and now they've joined forces to sing 'Hands to Myself' in Pasedena. Not only that but Taylor also shared an adorable Instagram post about their friendship mere hours later. No. We're not crying. You are.

Troye Sivan

My my my... @troyesivan 📷: @Polkimaging @GettyEntertainment A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on May 20, 2018 at 2:20am PDT

Troye absolutely owned the Rose Bowl 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹 @troyesivan thank you so much for coming!!! A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on May 20, 2018 at 2:22am PDT

Troye and Taylor have always stanned each other from afar on Twitter so it's a joy to see them finally collaborate on stage in Pasedena. Not only did they wow the crowd with an impeccable rendition of 'My My My!' complete with superstar strutting but they also revealed the release date of Troye's highly anticipated sophomore album Bloom . The LP is dropping August 31st and features a duet with Ariana Grande called 'Dance to This'. We cannot wait.

Shawn Mendes

Thank you @shawnmendes for surprising the Rose Bowl crowd tonight. YOU ARE THE GREATEST and I’m obsessed with everything I’ve heard from your new album. My 1989 tourmate came back!!!! 📷: @KevinMazur and @GettyEntertainment A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on May 18, 2018 at 11:19pm PDT

Thank you @shawnmendes and the 60,000 people who came to the Rose Bowl show tonight! YOU WERE MAGICAL 🌹 A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on May 19, 2018 at 1:17am PDT

Shawn and Taylor have a long history together. Shawn opened for Taylor on the 1989 World Tour and the two have often spoken about how much they admire each other so a Reputation guest spot was inevitable. Shawn joined Taylor in Pasadena for a rousing rendition of 'There's Nothing Holding Me Back'. To make things even more exciting, Taylor teased that she's heard some of Shawn's new album and she's "obsessed" with it.

Camila Cabelllo

what was going through my mind at this moment : I remembered when i came to school one day (I think I was in 9th grade but could be wrong) and my friend Mariana had just seen Taylor on the speak now tour and told me she touched her hand and i was like when am I ever gonna be able to afford to go to a Taylor swift concert and touch her hand during speak now, and I just had a moment of "if you would've told me then what was gonna happen I wouldn't have believed it" and I had such an intense gratitude for everything I'm experiencing right now. I love you @taylorswift and @charli_xcx A post shared by camila (@camila_cabello) on May 9, 2018 at 2:49pm PDT

Camila has been close friends with Taylor Swift ever since her Fifth Harmony days (Taylor even hosted an epic 18th birthday party for her) so it only seems fitting that Camila is now opening for Taylor on her sold out stadium tour. As well as performing her hit singles ('Never Be the Same', 'Havana') to warm up Taylor's crowd, Camila has also joined Taylor on multiple nights to perform 'Shake It Off' with Charli XCX too.

omg guys this place is fucking huge!!!!!!! fingers crossed i don’t fall over on stage/do something dumb 🤞🏽💕 also can’t wait to watch these 2 kill it tonight 💗✨ i’ll be out in the crowd ready to party with u guys after my show!!! I play at 7pm!! let’s gooo Arizona!!!! 💕💜 A post shared by CHARLI XCX (@charli_xcx) on May 8, 2018 at 5:03pm PDT

Speaking of Charli , she is also one of Taylor Swift's supporting acts on The Reputation Stadium Tour. Charli was one of the special guests on the 1989 World Tour (the two stars performed 'Boom Clap' together) and now she is wowing Swifties night after night with all of her hits from 'Fancy' to 'Boys'. Oh and as mentioned she is also every now and then performing 'Shake It Off' with Camila and Taylor as well.

Taylor Swift News

See more Taylor Swift News

Is Taylor Swift Adding 'Tortured Poets Department' Songs To The Eras Tour Setlist?

Hot on capital, what is the most viewed video on tiktok here are the top 10, what is the most liked video on tiktok here are the top 10, selling the oc's austin victoria exposes sean palmieri's texts after threesome accusations.

TV & Film

The Idea of You Author Slams "Frustrating" Harry Styles And Hayes Comparisons

10 films to watch if you loved 'the idea of you', is kendall jenner still with bad bunny, gypsy rose blanchard slams estranged husband over 'lies' in brutal post, kim kardashian's met gala shoes explain why she couldn't walk properly, nicholas galitzine addresses being compared to taylor zakhar perez in ‘red, white & royal blue’, nicholas galitzine admits august moon bandmates called him out for one dance move, nicholas galitzine says he used to be "disgusted" by his own face, zayn reveals hilarious reason he really got into music, will there be a selling the oc season 4 here's everything we know, is selling the oc scripted here's what the cast has said, wednesday season 2: release date, cast, plot, spoilers and trailers, the best met gala 2024 after party looks you missed, every kardashian-jenner outfit at the met gala 2024, the idea of you cut two wild sex scenes from the movie, how much was anne hathaway paid for 'the idea of you' movie, tom holland showing love to girlfriend zendaya at the met gala is everything we wanted to see.

Join us on Social

Taylor Swift

Photo: Steve Jennings/Getty Images

Taylor Swift Announces More Dates For 'Reputation' Stadium Tour

The GRAMMY-winner pumps up her North American tour with seven additional dates across the U.S.

With an already massive tour planned in support of her sixth album, Reputation , Taylor Swift has given her fans even more opportunities to catch her live in 2018 by adding seven U.S. dates to her Reputation stadium tour.

The announcement comes the same week Reputation reclaimed the top spot on the Billboard 200, after being temporarily dethroned by Eminem 's Revival . Swift's Reputation tour was already on track to be one of the most talked-about tours of the year.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">New dates for Taylor Swift’s reputation Stadium Tour have just been announced! Tickets go on sale January 31st at 10a local time. Get more information at <a href="https://t.co/nl2zos8L1x">https://t.co/nl2zos8L1x</a>. <a href="https://t.co/XI9yBKTi6Q">pic.twitter.com/XI9yBKTi6Q</a></p>&mdash; Taylor Nation (@taylornation13) <a href="https://twitter.com/taylornation13/status/948556164324872192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The newly announced dates will expand the tour to add an additional show in each of these seven cities: Santa Clara, Calif.; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; Rutherford, N. J.; Foxborough, Mass.; Minneapolis, Minn.; and Arlington, Texas.

Advance ticket sales for the added dates will begin for fans registered for the Taylor Swift Presale via Ticketmaster Verified Fan starting on Jan. 5 and continuing through Jan.18. Tickets for the general public will go on-sale Jan. 31.

Lin-Manuel Miranda Plots "Hamilton" 2018 Tour

Photo: ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

11 Artists Who Influenced Taylor Swift: Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks, Tim McGraw & More

From Paul McCartney to Paramore, Emily Dickinson and even "Game of Thrones," read on for some of the major influences Taylor Swift has referenced throughout her GRAMMY-winning career.

As expected, much buzz followed the release of Taylor Swift 's 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department , on April 19. Fans and critics alike have devoured the sprawling double album’s 31 tracks, unpacking her reflections from "a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time" in search of Easter eggs, their new favorite lyrics and references to famous faces (both within the pop supernova’s closely guarded orbit and the historical record). 

Shoutouts abound in The Tortured Poets Department : Charlie Puth gets his much-deserved (and Taylor-approved) flowers on the title track, while 1920s screen siren Clara Bow, the ancient Greek prophetess Cassandra and Peter Pan each get a song titled after them. Post Malone and   Florence + the Machine ’s Florence Welch each tap in for memorable duets. Relationships old (Joe Alwyn), new (Travis Kelce) and somewhere in between (1975’s Matty Healy) are alluded to without naming names, as is, possibly, the singer’s reputation -era feud with Kim Kardashian. 

Swift casts a wide net on The Tortured Poets Department , encompassing popular music, literature, mythology and beyond, but it's far from the first time the 14-time GRAMMY winner has worn her influences on her sleeve. While you digest TTPD , consider these 10 figures who have influenced the poet of the hour — from Stevie Nicks and Patti Smith to Emily Dickinson, William Wordsworth, Arya Stark and more.

Stevie Nicks

If Taylor Swift is the chairman of The Tortured Poets Department , Stevie Nicks may as well be considered its poet laureate emeritus. The mystical Fleetwood Mac frontwoman earns an important mention on side A closer "Clara Bow," in which Swift ties an invisible string from herself to a pre- Rumours Nicks ("In ‘75, the hair and lips/ Crowd goes wild at her fingertips"), and all the way back to the 1920s It Girl of the song’s title.

For her part, Nicks seems to approve of her place in Swift’s cultural lineage, considering she penned the poem found inside physical copies of The Tortured Poets Department . "He was in love with her/ Or at least she thought so," the Priestess of Rock and Roll wrote in part, before signing off, "For T — and me…"

Swift’s relationship with Nicks dates back to the 2010 GRAMMYs, when the pair performed a medley of "Rhiannon" and "You Belong With Me " before the then-country upstart took home her first Album Of The Year win for 2009’s Fearless . More recently, the "Edge of Seventeen" singer publicly credited Swift’s Midnights cut "You’re On Your Own, Kid" for helping her through the 2022 death of Fleetwood Mac bandmate Christine McVie .

Patti Smith

Swift may see herself as more "modern idiot" than modern-day Patti Smith, but that didn’t stop the superstar from name-dropping the icon synonymous with the Hotel Chelsea and punk scene of ‘70s New York on a key track on The Tortured Poets Department . Swift rather self-deprecatingly compares herself to the celebrated Just Kids memoirist (and 2023 Songwriters Hall of Fame nominee) on the double album’s synth-drenched title track, and it’s easy to see how Smith’s lifelong fusion of rock and poetry influenced the younger singer’s dactylic approach to her new album. 

Smith seemed to appreciate the shout-out on "The Tortured Poets Department" as well. "This is saying I was moved to be mentioned in the company of the great Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Thank you Taylor," she wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of herself reading Thomas’ 1940 poetry collection Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog .

Emily Dickinson

When it comes to iconic poets, Swift has also taken a page or two over her career from Emily Dickinson. While the great 19th century poet hasn’t come up explicitly in Swift’s work, she did reference her poetic forebear (and actual sixth cousin, three times removed !) in her speech while accepting the award for Songwriter-Artist of the Decade at the 2022 Nashville Songwriter Awards.

"I’ve never talked about this publicly before, because, well, it’s dorky. But I also have, in my mind, secretly, established genre categories for lyrics I write. Three of them, to be exact. They are affectionately titled Quill Lyrics, Fountain Pen Lyrics and Glitter Gel Pen Lyrics," Swift told the audience before going on to explain, "If my lyrics sound like a letter written by Emily Dickinson’s great-grandmother while sewing a lace curtain, that’s me writing in the Quill genre," she went on to explain.

Even before this glimpse into Swift’s writing process, Easter eggs had been laid pointing to her familial connection to Dickinson. For example, she announced her ninth album evermore on December 10, 2020, which would have been the late poet’s 190th birthday. Another clue that has Swifties convinced? Dickinson’s use of the word "forevermore" in her 1858 poem "One Sister Have I in Our House," which Swift also cleverly breaks apart in Evermore ’s Bon Iver-assisted title track ("And I couldn’t be sure/ I had a feeling so peculiar/ That this pain would be for/ Evermore").

The Lake Poets

Swift first put her growing affinity for poetry on display during her folklore era with "the lakes." On the elegiac bonus track, the singer draws a parallel with the Lake Poets of the 19th century, wishing she could escape to "the lakes where all the poets went to die" with her beloved muse in tow. In between fantasizing about "those Windermere peaks" and pining for "auroras and sad prose," she even manages to land a not-so-subtle jab at nemesis Scooter Braun ("I’ve come too far to watch some name-dropping sleaze/ Tell me what are my words worth") that doubles as clever wordplay on the last name of Lake Poet School members William and Dorothy Wordsworth.

Swift revealed more about why she connected to the Lake Poets in her 2020 Disney+ documentary folklore: the long pond studio sessions . "There was a poet district, these artists that moved there. And they were kind of heckled for it and made fun of for it as being these eccentrics and these kind of odd artists who decided that they just wanted to live there," she explained to her trusted producer Jack Antonoff . "So ‘the lakes,’ it kind of is the overarching theme of the whole album: of trying to escape, having something you wanna protect, trying to protect your own sanity and saying, ‘Look, they did this hundreds of years ago. I’m not the first person who’s felt this way.’"

Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney and Swift have publicly praised one another’s work for years, leading to the 2020 Rolling Stone cover they posed for together for the special Musicians on Musicians issue . The younger singer even counts Sir Paul’s daughter Stella McCartney as a close friend and collaborator (Stella designed a capsule collection for Swift’s 2019 studio set Lover and earned a shout-out of her own on album cut "London Boy").

However, Swift took her relationship with the Beatles founder and his family a step further when it was rumored she based Midnights deep cut "Sweet Nothing" on McCartney’s decades-long romance with late wife Linda. While the speculation has never been outright confirmed, it appears Swift’s lyrics in the lilting love song ("On the way home, I wrote a poem/ You say, ‘What a mind’/ This happens all the time") were partially inspired by a strikingly similar quote McCartney once gave about his relationship with Linda, who passed away in 1998. To add to the mystique, the Midnights singer even reportedly liked a tweet from 2022 espousing the theory.  

The admiration between the duo seems to go both ways as well, with the former Beatle admitting in a 2018 BBC profile that the track "Who Cares" from his album Egypt Station was inspired by Swift’s close relationship with her fans.

From her days as a country music ingénue to her ascendance as the reigning mastermind of pop, Swift has credited the Chicks as a seminal influence in her songwriting and career trajectory. (Need examples? Look anywhere from early singles like "Picture to Burn" and "Should’ve Said No" to Evermore ’s Haim-assisted murder ballad "no body, no crime" and her own Lover -era collab with the band, "Soon You’ll Get Better.") 

In a 2020 Billboard cover story tied to the Chicks’ eighth album Gaslighter , Swift acknowledged just how much impact the trio made on her growing up. "Early in my life, these three women showed me that female artists can play their own instruments while also putting on a flamboyant spectacle of a live show," she said at the time. "They taught me that creativity, eccentricity, unapologetic boldness and kitsch can all go together authentically. Most importantly, they showed an entire generation of girls that female rage can be a bonding experience between us all the very second we first heard Natalie Maines bellow ‘that Earl had to DIE.’"

"Game of Thrones"

When reputation dropped in 2017, Swift was on a self-imposed media blackout, which meant no cover stories or dishy sit-down interviews on late-night TV during the album’s roll-out. Instead, the singer let reputation speak for itself, and fans were largely left to draw their own conclusions about their queen’s wildly anticipated comeback album. Two years later, though, Swift revealed the dark, vengeful, romantic body of work was largely inspired by "Game of Thrones."

"These songs were half based on what I was going through, but seeing them through a 'Game of Thrones' filter," she told Entertainment Weekly in 2019. "My entire outlook on storytelling has been shaped by ["GoT"] — the ability to foreshadow stories, to meticulously craft cryptic story lines. So, I found ways to get more cryptic with information and still be able to share messages with the fans. I aspire to be one one-millionth of the kind of hint dropper the makers of 'Game of Thrones' have been."

Joni Mitchell

Swift has long made her admiration of Joni Mitchell known, dating back to her 2012 album Red , which took a cue from the folk pioneer’s landmark 1971 LP Blue for its chromatic title. In an interview around the time of Red ’s release, the country-pop titan gushed over Blue ’s impact on her, telling Rhapsody, "[Mitchell] wrote it about her deepest pains and most haunting demons. Songs like ‘River,’ which is just about her regrets and doubts of herself — I think this album is my favorite because it explores somebody’s soul so deeply."

Back in 2015, TIME declared the "Blank Space" singer a "disciple of Mitchell in ways both obvious and subtle" — from her reflective songwriting to the complete ownership over her creative process, and nearly 10 years later, Swift was still showing her appreciation for Mitchell after the latter’s triumphant and emotional appearance on the GRAMMY stage to perform "Both Sides Now" on the very same night Taylor took home her historic fourth GRAMMY for Album Of The Year for Midnights .

Fall Out Boy & Paramore

When releasing the re-recording of her third album Speak Now in 2023, Swift cited two unexpectedly emo acts as inspirations to her early songwriting: Fall Out Boy and Paramore . 

"Since Speak Now was all about my songwriting, I decided to go to the artists who I feel influenced me most powerfully as a lyricist at that time and ask them to sing on the album," she wrote in an Instagram post revealing the back cover and complete tracklist for Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) , which included Fall Out Boy collaboration "Electric Touch" and "Castles Crumbling" featuring Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams .

For one of Swift’s original career inspirations, we have to go all the way back to the very first single she ever released. "Tim McGraw" was not only as the lead single off the 16-year-old self-titled 2006 debut album, but it also paid reverent homage to one of the greatest living legends in the history of country music. 

In retrospect, it was an incredibly gutsy risk for a then-unknown Swift to come raring out of the gate with a song named after a country superstar. But the gamble clearly paid off in spades, considering that now, when an entire generation of music fans hear "Tim McGraw," they think of Taylor Swift.

Taylor Swift's 'The Tortured Poets Department' Is A Post-Mortem Autopsy In Song: 5 Takeaways From Her New Album

Photos (L-R): Buda Mendes/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management, Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Clear Channel

Songbook: An Era-By-Era Breakdown Of Taylor Swift's Journey From Country Starlet To Pop Phenomenon

Upon the arrival of Taylor Swift's 'The Tortured Poets Department,' take a deep dive into her discography and see how each album helped her become the genre-shifting superstar she is today.

Editor’s note: This story was updated on April 19 to reflect the release of The Tortured Poets Department.

The world now knows Taylor Swift as a global pop superstar, but back in 2006, she was just a doe-eyed country prodigy. Since then, she's released 11 studio albums, re-recorded four as "Taylor's Version," and cultivated one of the most feverish fan bases in music. Oh, and she's also won 14 GRAMMY Awards, including four for Album Of The Year — the most ever won by an artist.

Swift has become one of music's most notable shapeshifters by refusing to limit herself to one genre, moving between country, pop, folk and beyond. A once-in-a-lifetime generational storyteller, one could argue that she is music's modern-day maverick, constantly evolving both her music and the culture around her.

Every album era has seen Swift reinvent herself over and over, which has helped pave the way for artists to explore other musical avenues. In turn, Swift hasn't just become one of the biggest artists of all time — she's changed pop music altogether.

To celebrate Taylor Swift's newest era with The Tortured Poets Department , GRAMMY.com looks back on all of her albums (Taylor's Versions not included) and how each era shaped her remarkable career.

Taylor Swift : Finding Her Place In Music

In a genre dominated by men, the odds were already stacked against Swift when she first broke into country music as a teenage female artist. The thing that differentiated her from other writers — and still does to this day — is her songwriting. She didn't want to be just "another girl singer" and knew writing her own songs would be what set her apart. 

Written throughout her adolescence, Taylor Swift was recorded at the end of 2005 and finalized by the time Swift finished her freshman year of high school. Serving as a snapshot of Swift's life and teenhood, she avoided songwriting stereotypes typically found in country music. Instead, she wanted to capture the years of her life while they still represented what she was going through, writing about what she was observing and experiencing, from love and friendship to feeling like an outsider. 

As a songwriter, Taylor Swift set the tone for what would be expected of her future recordings — all songs were written by her, some solely and others with one or two co-writers. One writer in particular, Liz Rose , applauded Swift's songwriting capabilities, stating that she was more of an "editor" for the songs because Swift already had such a distinct vision. 

The album's lead single, "Tim McGraw," an acoustic country ballad inspired by Swift knowing her relationship was going to end, represents an intricate part of Swift's songwriting process; meticulously picking apart her emotions to better understand them. With its follow-up, "Our Song" — which spent six consecutive weeks on the top of Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart — she became the youngest person to solely write and sing a No. 1 country single; she also became the first female solo artist in country music to write or co-write every song on an album. 

Although Swift's eponymous debut is underappreciated now — even lacking its own set on Swift's Eras Tour — Taylor Swift 's forthcoming rerecording is arguably the most anticipated by fans, who are eager to hear the songs with the singer's current and more refined vocals. Still, for fans who haven't properly explored Taylor Swift , it's easy to tie together Swift's earlier work to her current discography. 

On the track "A Place In This World," a song she wrote when she was just 13, Swift sings about not fitting in and trying to find her path. While her songwriting has developed and matured, feeling like an outsider and carving her own path is a theme she still writes about now, as seen on Midnights ' "You're On Your Own, Kid." 

Even as a new country artist, critics claimed that she "mastered" the genre while subsequently ushering it to a new era — one that would soon see Swift dabble in country-pop. 

Fearless : Creating A Different Kind Of Fairytale

If Taylor Swift was the soundtrack to navigating the early stages of teenhood, Fearless is Swift's coming-of-age record. More than its predecessor, Fearless blurs the line between country and pop thanks to crossover hits like "Love Story" and "You Belong With Me," yet still keeps the confessional attributes known in country songwriting. 

Most of Fearless is Swift coming to terms with what she believed love to be. On the album's liner notes, Swift says Fearless is about "living in spite" of the things that scare you, like falling in love again despite being hurt before or walking away and letting go. The 2008 version of Taylor wanted to "believe in love stories and prince charmings and happily ever after," whereas in Swift's Fearless (Taylor's Version) liner notes, she looks back on the album as a diary where she was learning "tiny lessons" every time there was a "new crack in the facade of the fairytale ending she'd been shown in the movies." 

Much of Fearless also sees Swift being reflective and nostalgic about adolescence, like in "Never Grow Up" and "Fifteen." Still wistful and romantic, the album explores Swift's hopes for love, as heard in the album's lead single "Love Story," which was one instance where she was "dramatizing" observations instead of actually experiencing them herself. 

Unlike the slow-burn of Taylor Swift , Fearless went straight to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and stayed there for eight consecutive weeks. It won Swift's first Album Of The Year GRAMMY in 2010, at the time making her the youngest person to win the accolade at age 20. To date, it has sold 7.2 million copies in America alone. It might not be the romantic tale Swift dreamed of growing up, but her sophomore album signalled that bigger things were to come.

Speak Now : Proving Her Songwriting Prowess

Everything that happened after the success of Fearless pushed Swift from country music's best-kept secret to a mainstream star. But this meant that she faced more publicity and criticism, from naysayers who nitpicked her songwriting and vocals to the infamous Kanye West incident at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

For the first time since becoming an artist, she was forced to reckon with the concept of celebrity and how turning into one — whether she wanted it or not — informed her own writing and perception of herself. No longer was she the girl writing songs like "Fifteen" in her bedroom — now she was working through becoming a highly publicized figure. Speak Now is the answer to those growing pains. 

Along with having more eyes on her, Swift also felt pressured to maintain her persona as a perfect young female role model amid a time when her peers like Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato were attempting to rebrand to be more mature and sexier. During her NYU commencement speech in 2022, she reflected on this era of her life as one of intense fear that she could make a mistake and face lasting consequences, so the songs were masked in metaphors rather than directly addressing adult themes in her music. But that also resulted in some of her most poignant lyrics to date.

Read More: For The Record: How Taylor Swift's 'Speak Now' Changed Her Career — And Proved She'll Always Get The Last Word

Writing the entire album herself, Swift used Speak Now to prove her songwriting prowess to those who questioned her capabilities. Much like her previous two albums, Swift included songs that were both inspired by her own life and being a fly on the wall. The album's title track pulled from the saying, "Speak now or forever hold your peace," inspired by a friend's ex-boyfriend getting engaged; meanwhile, "Mean" was everything Swift wanted to say to a critic who was continuously harsh about her vocals.

Retrospective and reflective, Speak Now is an album about the speeches she could've, would've and should've said. From addressing the aforementioned VMA incident in the forgiving "Innocent" to a toxic relationship in "Dear John," Speak Now also hinted that her rose-colored glasses were cracked, but Swift (and her songwriting) was only becoming stronger because of it.

Red : Coming Into Her Own

Highly regarded as Swift's magnum opus, Red sees the singer shed the fairytale dresses and the girl-next-door persona to craft a body of work that has now been deemed as her first "adult" record. On Red, Swift focused on emotions evoked from a hot-and-cold relationship, one that forced her to experience " intense love, intense frustration, jealousy and confusion " — all feelings that she'd describe as "red." 

Unlike most of her previous writing that had been inspired by happy endings and fairytales, Red explores the lingering pain and loss that can embed itself within despite trying your hardest to let go. In her liner notes, she references Pablo Neruda's poem "Tonight I Can Write," stating that "Love is so short, forgetting is so long" is the overarching theme for the album. She plays with time — speeding it up in "Starlight," dabbling in the past in "All Too Well," and reframing it in "State of Grace" — to better understand her experiences. 

After releasing country-pop records, Red toed the line between genres more than ever before. Swift leaned further into the full pop territory by working with esteemed producers Max Martin and Shellback for the dubstep-leaning track "I Knew You Were Trouble," the punchy lead single "We Are Never Getting Back Together," and the bouncy anthem "22." But even when the pop power players weren't involved, her country stylings still leaned more pop across the album, as further evidenced with the racing deep cut "Holy Ground" and the echoing title track. 

The slight change of direction became polarizing for critics and fans alike. Following the more country-influenced Speak Now , some critics and fans found the pop songs on Red were too pop and the lyrics were too repetitive, possibly indicating that she might be selling out. If that wasn't enough, Red became an era where Swift's personal life went from speculation to tabloid fodder, with misogynistic headlines and diluting her work to just "writing about her exes." It's an era that would eventually inspire many tracks on Red 's successor, 1989 , like "Blank Space" and "Shake It Off."

Commercially, Red debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and sold 1.2 million copies in its first week, becoming the fastest-selling country album and making Swift the first female artist to have three consecutive albums spend six or more weeks at the top of the chart. The impact of Red extended beyond its own success, too. Often mentioned as a record that inspired a generation of artists from Troye Sivan to Conan Gray , Swift's confessional, soul-bearing authenticity set a new standard for straightforward pop music. 

1989 : Reinventing Into A Pop Genius

The night Red lost the GRAMMY for Album Of The Year in 2014, Swift decided that her next album would be a full-on pop record. After years of identifying as a country artist and flirting with pop, Swift departed her roots to reinvent herself, no matter what her then-label or critics had to say. And in true Swiftian fashion, turning into a pop artist didn't just prove her genre-shapeshifting capabilities — it further solidified her as an artist who is at her best when she freely creates to her desires and refuses to adhere to anyone.

1989 was lauded by critics for its infectious synth-pop that was reminiscent of the 1980s, yet still had a contemporary sound. Swift opted to lean more into radio-friendly hits, which resulted in songs like "Style," "Wildest Dreams," "Blank Space," and "Shake It Off," all of which became singles. And where some might trade a hit or two at the expense of their artistic integrity, Swift didn't falter — instead, her lyrics were just as heartfelt and intimate as they were on prior albums.

After exploring pop-leaning sonics she first found with Red , Swift worked with Martin and Shellback again on most of 1989 . This reinvention brought new (and very important) collaborators as well. Swift's now-frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff credits her as the first person to take a chance on him as a producer with "I Wish You Would" and "Out Of The Woods"; both tracks exemplified how future Antonoff-produced songs would sound on albums like reputation, Lover and Midnights .

At the time, 1989 became Swift's best-selling album to date. It sold nearly 1.3 million copies within release week in the U.S., debuting atop the Billboard 200 and reigning for 11 non-consecutive weeks. The album also earned Swift several awards — including her second Album Of The Year GRAMMY, which made her the first female artist to ever win the award twice. 

Following the release of 1989 , Swift became a cultural juggernaut, and the album has had an omnipresence in music since. Swift didn't just normalize blending genres, but proved that you can create a sound that is uniquely yours by doing so. In turn, Billie Eilish , Dua Lipa and more pop stars have refused to conform or stick to what they've done prior. 

reputation : Killing The Old Taylor

For years, Swift was on a strict two-year cycle — she'd release an album one year, tour the next, and then release a new album the following year. But following the heightened scrutiny and highly publicized tabloid drama that followed the end of the 1989 era, Swift completely disappeared for a year. She stayed away from public appearances, didn't do any press, and missed the album schedule fans became accustomed to. It wasn't until summer 2017 when she returned from her media (and social media) blackout to unveil the fitting title for her new album: reputation .

Born as a response to the naysayers and name-callers, reputation follows Swift shedding her public image — which includes the pressure to be perfect, the drama, and the criticism — by declaring, "There will be no further explanation. There will just be reputation." Leaning on the same tongue-in-cheek songwriting techniques she used while penning "Blank Space," Swift wrote from the mindset of how the public perceived her.

When Swift released the lead single "Look What You Made Me Do," a song she initially wrote as a poem about not trusting specific people, many assumed the album would center on vengeance and drama. Although Swift said that the album has its vindictive moments — even declaring that the "old Taylor" is dead on the bridge of "Look What You Made Me Do" — it's a vulnerable record for her. Swift described reputation as a bait-and-switch; at their core, the songs are about finding love in the darkest moments. 

Swift still remained in the pop lane with reputation , largely leaning on Antonoff and the Martin/Shellback team. The sound almost mirrored the scrutiny Swift faced in the years prior — booming electropop beats, maximalist production and pulsing synthesizers dominate, particularly on "End Game," "I Did Something Bad," and "Ready For It…?" But the "old Taylor" isn't entirely gone on songs like "Call It What You Want," "So It Goes…" and "New Year's Day," where she lets her guard down to write earnest love odes.

Even after Swift spent some time away from the spotlight, the public didn't immediately gravitate toward her return. And even despite matching the 1.2 million first-week sales of her previous releases, some concluded that the album was her first commercial failure when compared to 1989 . With time, though, it became clear that the response to reputation became muddled with the public's overall perception of her at the time — some even claimed that Swift was ahead of her time with the album's overall sound.

For her 2023 TIME Person of the Year profile , Swift described reputation as a "goth-punk moment of female rage at being gaslit by an entire social structure." For years, she felt the pressure to be "America's Sweetheart" and to never step out of line. Writing reputation became a lifeline following the events that catalyzed it  — a way to shed the so-called snakeskin and make peace with however the public wanted to view her. 

Lover : Stepping Into The Daylight

After finding love amongst chaos with reput ation, Swift was learning to deal with the anxiety and fear of losing her partner — became a major theme of another aptly titled album, Lover . Both sonically and visually, Lover was a complete change from reputation . After touring reputation , Swift found that her fans saw her as "a flesh-and-blood human being," inspiring her to be "brave enough to be vulnerable" because her fans were along with her. Stepping away from the dark and antagonistic themes around reputation encouraged Swift to step into the light and be playful with her work on Lover .

Swift also found a new sense of creativity within this new mindset, one where she aimed to still embed playful themes in her songwriting but with less snark than that of "Blank Space" and "Look What You Made Me Do." Leaning into Lover being a "love letter to love," Swift explored every aspect of it. Tracks like "Paper Rings" and "London Boy" exude a whimsical energy, even if they center on more serious themes like marriage and commitment. Other songs, including "Death By A Thousand Cuts" and "Cornelia Street," are Swift at her most vulnerable, reflecting on a love lost and grappling with the extreme worry that comes when you could potentially lose someone. 

Looking at Lover retrospectively, it's an album that almost symbolizes a bookend in her discography. She was playful yet poignant, picking apart her past lyrics and feelings and looking at them with the perspective of someone who was once on top of the world, hit rock bottom, and survived in spite of it. This evolution is mentioned throughout Lover, particularly in a direct callback to 2012's Red , "Daylight," which sees her describe her love as "golden" rather than "burning red." 

Lover also marked the first time Swift divulged into politics and societal issues, like campaigning against Donald Trump, releasing the Pride-infused "You Need To Calm Down," and feeling disillusioned by the political climate with "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince." Swift's documentary Miss Americana explores this change further, discussing how she regrets not being vocal about politics and issues prior, in addition to opening up about her body image issues and mental health struggles.

Lover became Swift's sixth No. 1 album in America, making her the first female artist to achieve the feat. But Lover was more than any accolades could reflect — it was Swift's transitional album in many ways, notably marking the first album that she owned entirely herself following leaving Big Machine Records for Republic Records in 2018.

folklore : Looking Beyond Her Personal Stories

After the pandemic started and Swift cancelled her Lover Fest, she spent the early stages of quarantine reading and watching a myriad of films. Without exactly setting out to create an album, she began dreaming of fictional stories and characters with various narrative arcs, allowing her imagination to run free. The result became folklore , 2020's surprise archetypal quarantine album.

Crafting a world with characters like the folklore love triangle between those in "betty" and "august," as well as Rebekah Harkness from "the last great american dynasty" (who once lived in Swift's Rhode Island mansion), was Swift's way of venturing outside her typical autobiographical style of writing. She'd see visceral images in her mind — from battleships to tree swings to mirrored disco balls — and turned them into stories, sometimes weaving in her own personal narrative throughout, or taking on a narrator role and speaking from the perspective of someone she had never met. 

She worked remotely with two producers — again working with her right-hand man Jack Antonoff, and first-time collaborator Aaron Dessner from The National . Some songs, like "peace," were recorded in just one take, capturing the essence and fragility in the song's story, whereas the lyrics for the sun-drenched "august" were penned on the spot as Swift was in her makeshift home studio in Los Angeles.

Another aspect that separated folklore from her previous work was the obvious decision not to create hits made for radio play, so much so that Dessner claimed that she made an anti-pop record at a time when radio wanted clear "bops." Sonically, it ventured into genres Swift hadn't explored much outside of a few folkier tracks on Lover . Rather than relying on mostly electronic elements, Swift, Antonoff and Dessner weaved in soft pianos, ethereal strings, and plucky guitars.

folklore 's impact on the zeitgeist at a time where everyone was stuck at home helped shape people's quarantine experience. Fans rejoiced at having songs to comfort them during difficult times, and artists like Maya Hawke , Gracie Abrams , and Sabrina Carpenter credit folklore for inspiring them to create and be even more emotionally honest in their songwriting. After its release, folklore became the best-selling album of 2020 after selling 1.2 million records. At the 2021 GRAMMYs, folklore took home Album Of The Year , making her the fourth artist in history to win three times in the Category. 

evermore : Embracing Experimentation

It was exciting enough for Swifties to experience one surprise album drop from Swift, an artist who typically has an entire album campaign calculated. So when evermore was released just six months after folklore , fans were in shock. 

Like its (literally) folklorian sister, evermore was a surprise release at the end of 2020, marking the first time Swift didn't have distinct "eras" between albums. She felt like there was something "different" with folklore , stating in a social media post that making it was less like she was "departing" and more like she was "returning" to the next stage of her discography. In turn, the album served as a similar escape for Swift as folklore did.

Bridging together the same wistful and nostalgic themes as heard on its predecessor, evermore sees Swift venture even further into escapism. She explores more stories and characters, some based in fiction like "dorothea," and some real, like "marjorie," written in dedication to Swift's grandmother. 

Evermore follows folklore 's inclusion of natural imagery and motifs, like landscapes, skies, ivy, and celestial elements. In contrast to the fairytale motifs and happy endings of Fearless , evermore saw Swift become fixated on "unhappy" endings — stories of failed marriages ("happiness"), lifeless relationships ("tolerate it"), and one-time flings ("'tis the damn season"). 

Sonically, evermore is a slight departure from its sister record; where folklore relies on more alt-leaning and indie-tinged sounds, evermore takes the sonics from all of Swift's past records — from pop to country to indie rock — and features all of them on one album. Country songs like "cowboy like me" and "no body, no crime" reaches back to Swift's earlier work in narrative building, seamlessly crafting a three-party story with ease. "Closure" is a "skittering" track that has the same energy as tracks like Lover 's "I Forgot That You Existed," whereas the ballad "champagne problems" is thematically reminiscent of Swift's Speak Now track "Back To December" where she takes responsibility for her lover's heartache. 

Working mostly with Dessner on evermore , Swift was emboldened to continue creating and opted to embrace whatever came naturally to them rather than limiting themselves to a sound. Swift felt a "quiet conclusion" after finishing up evermore , describing that it was more about grappling with endings of all "sizes and shapes," and the record represented a chapter closing. Even so, its poetic lyricism and mystical storytelling cleverly foreshadowed what was to come with subsequent albums, particularly The Tortured Poets Department .

Midnights : Encapsulating Her Artistic Magic

After coming out of the folklorian woods following folklore and evermore , fans and critics alike were intrigued to see what direction Swift would take on her next studio album. On Midnights , Swift leaves behind indie folk sounds and returns to the pop production of 1989 and Lover .

Her most conceptual album to date, Midnights charts 13 sleepless nights and explores five themes, from self-hatred and revenge to "what if" fantasies, falling in love, and falling apart. They are the things that keep her up at night, like the self-critiquing in "Anti-Hero," her rise to fame in "You're on Your Own, Kid," and the anxiety of falling in love again in "Labyrinth." Similarly to Swift's cheeky songwriting style that sees her create caricatures of herself in songs like "Blank Space" and "Look What You Made Me Do," she doubles down on claims she's "calculated" on "Mastermind," a song about devising a plan for her and her lover. 

Although the album is a departure from the two pandemic sister albums, the overall creation process didn't differ too much. In addition to working alongside Antonoff (and bringing Dessner in for the bonus-track-filled 3am Edition), Swift's worldbuilding is still the throughline that connects Midnights and Swift's recent albums, whether she's dreaming of a Parisian escape in "Paris" or using war imagery as a metaphor for the struggle of love in "The Great War."

Read More: 5 Takeaways From Taylor Swift's New Album 'Midnights'

Following the success with folklore and evermore , Swift's intrigue was at a then-all-time high upon the release of Midnights . Along with breaking several streaming records — including becoming the first album to exceed 700 million global streams in a week — it was Swift's 11th No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200, and was the highest-selling album of 2022 (and, remarkably, the second best-selling of 2023).

To say that Swift's celebrity has become otherworldly since the release of Midnights would be an understatement. Celebrating her genre-defying and varied discography through The Eras Tour has resulted in old songs having a resurgence, new inside jokes and Easter eggs within the fandom, and a plethora of new listeners being exposed to Swift's work. 

As a result, there has arguably never been more excitement for a Taylor Swift album than for The Tortured Poets Department — especially because the announcement came on the heels of her lucky 13th GRAMMY win in February. Midnights helped further solidify Swift's larger-than-life status at the finale of the 2024 GRAMMYs, too, as she became the only artist in history to win Album Of The Year four times. 

The Tortured Poets Department : A Grief-Stricken Poetic Odyssey

It’s been a while since Swift has penned a full-fledged breakup album. On The Tortured Poets Department , she navigates the five stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance — after her long-term relationship ended. Taking a page from the release of folklore and evermore , she dropped a double album and announced The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology at 2 a.m. on release day. Throughout a total of 31 tracks, the prolific songwriter shelved the glittery pop radio-friendly tunes in favor of more subdued, synthy and heart-wrenching songs. 

On Instagram, Swift described the album as a collection of poetic songs that reflect the "events, opinions and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time," Swift pulled out the fountain and quill pens to craft songs about the "tortured poets" in her life — sometimes musing about lovers, sometimes taking aim at villains, and sometimes pointing the finger at herself. 

TTPD is also her most confessional album thus far. It pokes fun at so-called fans who overstep with her personal life ("But Daddy I Love Him"), says goodbye to a city that gave her a home ("So Long London"), and muses on how her own celebrity has stunted her growth ("Who's Afraid Of Little Old Me?"). To help explain this chapter of her life, Swift brings together a myriad of collaborators — from Stevie Nicks as fellow poetess, to duets with Florence Welch and Post Malone — and leans on real and fictional characters, like Clara Bow, Peter Pan ("Peter"), and Patti Smith .

In the same post, Swift declared that once she’s confessed all of her saddest stories, she’s able to find freedom. Yet The Tortured Poets Department (and its accompanying 15-track anthology) spends much time reflecting: she toys with her own lore, self-referencing past songs from albums like 1989 and poems from her reputation era. 

Fourteen years ago, Swift declared that she would never change, but she’ll never stay the same either. The Tortured Poets Department proves that in the throughline of Taylor Swift's many artistic eras is a commitment to exploration and a love of autobiographical lyricism.

All Things Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift's 'The Tortured Poets Department' Is A Post-Mortem Autopsy In Song: 5 Takeaways From Her New Album

Taylor Swift’s New Album 'The Tortured Poets Department' Is Here: The Tracklisting, Guests, Easter Eggs & More

The Taylor Swift Effect: 8 Ways The Eras Tour Broke Records & Shattered Sales

Taylor Swift, The 'Tortured Poet': 6 Times She's Used Poetry In Her Work

A Timeline Of Taylor Swift's GRAMMYs History, From Skipping Senior Prom To Setting A Record With 'Midnights'

Watch Taylor Swift Become The First Woman To Win Album Of The Year Twice In 2016 | GRAMMY Rewind

10 Must-See Moments From The 2024 GRAMMYs: Taylor Swift Makes History, Billy Joel & Tracy Chapman Return, Boygenius Manifest Childhood Dreams

2024 GRAMMYs: Taylor Swift Makes GRAMMY History With Fourth Album Of The Year Win For 'Midnights'

7 Ways Taylor Swift's '1989' Primed Her For World Domination

Photo: Don Arnold/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

"There is nothing to avenge, no scores to settle once wounds have healed," Taylor Swift wrote of her new album. From grapplings with fame to ultra-personal reflections on love lost, her latest set of fountain and quill pen songs marks the end of an era.

"All’s fair in love and poetry," Taylor Swift declared when she announced her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department , at the 66th GRAMMY Awards . 

Taken from the proverb "All’s fair in love and war," the pop phenom gave us a fair warning: there’s no limit to what she’ll go through to achieve her ends. 

On the freshly released The Tortured Poets Department , Taylor Swift has a few things to get off her chest — so much that it required a surprise second record, The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology , adding an additional 15 songs . The sprawling album is a masterclass in songwriting and so personal that it's analogous to performing a post mortem autopsy; The musical shapeshifter is here to exhume the tortured poets of her past and make peace with them. 

In an Instagram post , Swift called the record an anthology that reflects " events, opinions and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time - one that was both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure." With the release of Tortured Poets , "t here is nothing to avenge, no scores to settle once wounds have healed…our tears become holy in the form of ink on a page." 

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift)

Describing Swift’s work as a collection of tracks about boys and break-ups has always felt underbaked and disingenuous, but much of The Tortured Poets Department is just that. In true Swiftian fashion, she plays on preconceived theories, opting to toy with the five stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance — after a break-up, bringing listeners along on a peregrination exploring the depths of her relationships and personal growth. 

Analyzing her feelings to craft songs is muscle memory at this point, but with every release Taylor Swift somehow does so with a refreshed and reimagined perspective. The stories she shares with her fans in TTPD might’ve made her feel like she died, but she’s a revenant no longer tortured by the whims and words of other poets.

With The Tortured Poets Department open for business, read on for five key points to consider when listening to Taylor Swift’s new album .

It's Much More Than A Break-Up Record

Although the record orbits around a break-up, The Tortured Poets Department demonstrates Swift's ability to shapeshift as a songwriter. A song about a break-up is layered, typically forcing Swift to unveil her own flaws while wearing her broken heart on her sleeve.

The fifth track on a Taylor Swift album is typically the most emotionally cutting, and "So Long London" is no exception. On the standout track, Swift views the loss of her lover and the breakdown of her relationship to Joe Alwyn through the lens of the city they once shared together. It’s a cathartic release for Swift who point-blank notes the pain they inflicted upon her and how, in turn, they ended up just as heartbroken as she is. 

The high-spirited "Down Bad" and subdued "The Smallest Man in The World" are two sides of the same coin. The former is hopeful that a love could be reignited, whereas the latter sees Swift at her grittiest, pointing the finger at her former lover. "Smallest" poses a series of questions, accusing her ex of being a spy who only wanted to get intel on her.

On piano ode "loml," Swift looks back at the "get-love-quick" schemes she first wrote about in "Why She Disappeared," a poem for reputation . The poem originally considered the death of her reputation and how its aftermath made her stronger while she was simultaneously nursing a new relationship. 

The track has a similar energy to fan favorite "All Too Well," but is even more accusatory — seemingly unlocking another level of her songwriting prowess as she teeters between seething rage and mourning with lines about picking through a "braid of lies" spewed by a partner who "claimed he was a lion" but is really a coward. While Swift is honest about never feeling a loss so deeply, she maturely accepts that the effort she put into keeping the relationship afloat was all she could do. It’s distinctly different from the battles she bravely fought in "The Great War," "Daylight" and "long story short."

She's Grappling With Fame & Owning Her Choices

That Taylor Swift struggles with her own celebrity and the public's perception is nothing new. On reputation ’s album prologue, she stated, "We think we know someone, but the truth is that we only know the version of them they have chosen to show us." 

On The Tortured Poets Department, Swift has never been more honest about her feelings towards those who claim to know better than she does. On "But Daddy I Love Him," she doubles down on these frustrations, taking aim at self-righteous "vipers" and "judgmental creeps" who condemn her choice of a lover. Swift holds nothing back, declaring "I'll tell you something about my good name/It's mine alone to disgrace."

Swift stated that her life sometimes feels like a public autopsy with people psychoanalyzing her every thought and feeling. Following the release of Midnights and her larger-than-life Eras Tour , Swift’s been in her "glittering prime" despite experiencing her long-term relationship ending and the media hysteria around it would make anyone feel the opposite. "I Can Do It With A Broken Heart" confirms fans' theories that the GRAMMY winner was indeed putting on a brave face.  

On "Clara Bow" — a song named for the silent film actress whose public life was so scrutinized that she admitted herself into a sanatorium — Swift sings "Beauty is a beast that roars/Down on all fours/Demanding, 'More.'" Again, Swift plays with the double-edged sword of fame, comparing herself to a performing circus animal — something she sings about in "Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?" 

Taylor Swift Gets By With A Little Help From Her Friends

Swift has always looked up to and honored the greats in her music and art, and Tortured Poets is no exception. She recruits rock icon and songwriter Stevie Nicks to help build TTPD ’s world, and Nicks penned a poem featured in Swift’s physical album. Written in Texas, the poem is "For T and me..." and tells the tale of two ill-fated lovers. (Swift also namedrops Nicks in "Clara Bow," touching on the comparisons made between Clara, Nicks and herself.)

There are two additional guest appearances on TTPD : Post Malone appears on "Fortnight" and Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine is featured on "Florida!!!" (a surprisingly toned-down lead single). Swift particularly shines when paired with Welch, and the soaring "Florida!!!" sees their intertwined vocals creating a sound as infectious as the "drug" they sing about.

J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan inspired Swift on "cardigan" ("Tried to change the ending/Peter losing Wendy") but now the Lost Boy gets his own track on The Anthology ’s "Peter." The ever-inquisitive Swift pleads, "You said you were gonna grow up/Then you were gonna come find me" and confronts this man who wouldn’t grow up. She even puts herself in the shoes of Wendy who waited for Peter Pan to return but has grown tired of waiting.

TTPS Is All Quill And Fountain Pen Songs

A few years ago, Taylor Swift categorized her songwriting according to three writing devices: glitter gel pens for fun tracks, fountain pens for songs using modern imagery and lyrics, and quill pens for tracks with flowery, figurative language. Although devoid of the glittery gel pen songs that comprise many of Swift's hits, TTPD and its accompanying anthology are steeped in fountain and quill writing. 

Most of The Tortured Poets Department are fountain pen tracks — thanks to 2024 Producer Of The Year Jack Antonoff ’s sleek pop production and synth use. Tracks like "Fresh Out The Slammer" and "My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys" are sharp, snappy, tongue-in-cheek tales of love affairs about to begin and coming to an end with the same sonic exuberance of past Swift & Antonoff songs, like "Out of the Woods" and "Getaway Car."

Tracks on The Anthology , mostly produced by Aaron Dessner , are stripped-back, folk-tinged quill songs brimming with sorrow and harrowing thematics and dives even deeper into her chaotic psyche. "The Prophecy" sees Swift beg to change a prophecy that has been laid out ahead of her — likely stemming from the pressure of being a global superstar when all she wants is to be loved.

This Is The End Of An Era (Or A Chapter)

To her occasional disdain, Swift's highly personal songwriting has created a global obsession with her inner life.  Although she's tired of the "public autopsy," Tortured Poets offers her time to reflect on the "events, opinions, and sentiments" over a time that was equal parts transient and transformative. 

From her growth from the country-twanged teen singer on her self-titled debut to woman who is fearless in her pursuit of happiness, love, and peace, Swift has transformed time and time again. By viewing her work in eras — or, in this case, a chapter in a book of her life — it’s clear that Swift sees this current chapter of her life coming to a close, turning the last page and no longer longing to look back. 

One could argue that Swift is an unreliable narrator, only ever presenting her side of the story. But she says that while considering the pain described on TTPS , many now-healed wounds turned out to be self-inflicted. With these stories immortalized, Taylor Swift has spoken her saddest story and is now "free of it." The tortured poets and poems will no longer take up space in this next chapter of her life.

Songbook: An Era-By-Era Breakdown Of Taylor Swift's Journey From Country Starlet To Pop Phenomenon

Photo: Ashok Kumar/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

Just over two months after Taylor Swift announced 'The Tortured Poets Department' at the 2024 GRAMMYs, the sprawling, bracingly personal album is here. Before you open the department door, arm yourself with the following knowledge.

We’ll be wandering through this Department for the foreseeable future.

Not only has Taylor Swift unleashed an absolute maelstrom with her 16-song new album, The Tortured Poets Department ; she’s dropped a whopping 15 additional tracks via its expanded version, The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology .

Clearly, there’s an absolute treasure trove here — for Swifties and the merely Swift-curious alike. A mostly downbeat and discursive affair, The Tortured Poets Department feels like the shadow cast by the gilded, giddy, exhilarating Eras Tour , which isn’t over yet. (Which makes all the sense in the world, as she was simultaneously chipping away at the album while crisscrossing the globe.)

If you’re reading this, you’re probably bracing yourself for this long, solemn, darkly funny journey. Don’t go alone: here’s a brief breakdown of what you should know going in. (And keep checking GRAMMY.com, as there’s plenty more Taylor and Tortured Poets coming your way.)

The Tracklisting

As previously reported , here’s the standard tracklist for The Tortured Poets Department:

Side A "Fortnight" (feat. Post Malone ) "The Tortured Poets Department" "My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys" "Down Bad"

** Side B ** "So Long, London" "But Daddy I Love Him" "Fresh Out the Slammer" "Florida!!!" (feat. Florence + the Machine )

** Side C ** "Guilty As Sin?" "Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?" "I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)" "Loml"

** Side D ** "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart" "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" "The Alchemy" "Clara Bow"

The Expanded Tracklisting

Aside from The Black Dog Edition , The Albatross Edition , The Bolter Edition , and The Manuscript Edition — which consist of the standard edition of the album with its titular bonus track — here are the additional tracks that complete The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology .

"The Black Dog"

"Imgonnagetyouback"

"The Albatross"

"Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus"

"How Did It End?"

"So High School"

"I Hate It Here" "thanK you aIMee"

"I Look In People’s Windows"

"The Prophecy" "Cassandra" "Peter" "The Bolter" "Robin"

"The Manuscript"

Physical copies of The Tortured Poets Department feature an original poem by the one and only Stevie Nicks .

Titled "For T and me…," the poem starts off with "He was in love with her / Or at least she thought so / She was brokenhearted / Maybe he was too." It goes on to trace a doomed relationship — one party being "way too hot to handle" and the other "way too high to try."

Elsewhere, Post Malone lends a haunting vocal to opener and lead single "Fortnight," and Florence + the Machine elevate "Florida!!!".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiqoZyauhdA

The lion’s share of the album was produced by Jack Antonoff ; Aaron Dessner handled a handful of tunes on the standard edition and the majority of The Anthology .

The Easter Eggs

Where do we begin? For starters, most of the songs seem to be directed at ex Matty Healy of the 1975, but Joe Alwyn and Travis Kelce seem to pop up here and there as well.

In the title track, Swift describes embracing the "cyclone" of a relationship with a partner akin to a "tattooed golden retriever." And they’d be remiss to compare themselves to Patti Smith or Dylan Thomas or any other famously tortured poet of the 20th century: "We’re modern idiots… we’re two idiots."

Elsewhere, Lucy Dacus of boygenius — and Antonoff himself — pop up ("But you tell Lucy you’d kill yourself if I ever leave / And I had said that to Jack about you / So I felt seen").

Far be it from us to speculate on exact subjects, but there are shades of depression ("You sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days"), a betrothal that wasn’t to be ("You swore that you loved me but where were the clues? / I died on the altar waiting for the proof") and the racket of fame ("The circus life made me mean").

As usual, Swift has dumped puzzle pieces on the carpet — daring her ardent, global fanbase to start at the edges and work their way to the center. But never to this degree, across such an ocean of material.

Tortured poets — and those who fall in love with them — assemble!

Songbook: An Era-By-Era Breakdown Of Taylor Swift’s Journey From Country Starlet To Pop Phenomenon

• 1 Taylor Swift Announces More Dates For 'Reputation' Stadium Tour
• 2 11 Artists Who Influenced Taylor Swift: Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks, Tim McGraw & More
• 3 Songbook: An Era-By-Era Breakdown Of Taylor Swift's Journey From Country Starlet To Pop Phenomenon
• 4 Taylor Swift's 'The Tortured Poets Department' Is A Post-Mortem Autopsy In Song: 5 Takeaways From Her New Album
• 5 Taylor Swift’s New Album 'The Tortured Poets Department' Is Here: The Tracklisting, Guests, Easter Eggs & More

Taylor Swift returns to St. Louis with Reputation tour, performs with Camila Cabello and Charli XCX

The singer recently said that her fans broke the record for concert attendance at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

by Amanda Woytus

September 19, 2018

View this post on Instagram A huge thank you to everyone who came to the show last night in Indianapolis. You guys broke the concert attendance record at Lucas Oil Stadium, and I loved dancing with you. It’s pretty surreal that we only have 5 shows left in America cause it feels like this tour just started. See you in St Louis 💋 A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Sep 16, 2018 at 10:36am PDT

Taylor Swift brought her Reputation Tour, including opening acts Camila Cabello and Charli XCX, to St. Louis Tuesday night at the Dome at America's Center. (See our slideshow here. ) It's pretty safe to say the city was excited:

Did I just reference @taylorswift13 ‘s #RepTourStLouis during the news in my weathercast? Yes...yes I did! 😎🐍 #represent See you TOMORROW Tay!!!!!!!!!! @taylornation13 pic.twitter.com/oolm8q6afw — Whitney 🐍 REP Tour St.Louis! 🤩 (@WhitneyJoy88) September 17, 2018

And it likely goes both ways. It's well-documented that the "Look What You Made Me Do" singer, who has family in St. Louis, loves the city. Last night,  Fox 2 reported  that during the concert, she told fans: "I have so many incredible memories in this city. A lot of them are on stage, a lot of them are off stage."

Fans were excited that the singer performed "Hey Stephen," a hit from her 2008 album Fearless.

My view for the b stage surprise song, Hey Stephen 💛 this was so magical #RepTourSTL @taylorswift13 pic.twitter.com/5fhZ1dadeU — Montana Rose (@MontanaRose06) September 19, 2018

In September 2015, while on tour promoting her album 1989, she played St. Louis and brought Nelly on stage to sing "Hot in Herre." (The other women in the video are the members of sister act HAIM.)

BUSTING LOOSE bc Tay, Nelly & HAIM threw it back 2night w/ 'Hot in Herre' #1989TourStLouis pic.twitter.com/LJiJvaNegm — Taylor Nation (@taylornation13) September 30, 2015

This time around, she met some fans:

More fans meting Taylor at #repTourStLouis ! pic.twitter.com/ATQicqRth9 — Taylor Swift Updates (@TSUpdatesNY) September 19, 2018

She sang hits like "Style":

Style ✨ @taylorswift13 #RepTourStLouis #ReputationStadiumTour pic.twitter.com/ycevx3Tjbi — Princess Darla (@princess_darlaa) September 19, 2018

She showed off a really involved set design:

Thank you @taylorswift13 for an AMAZING night! #repTourSaintLouis #repTourStLouis pic.twitter.com/BLYxxJSrSh — Im Ready to Shake It Off - #repTourStLouis (@Kay_Lin91) September 19, 2018

...that featured a giant snake: 

. @taylorswift13 performing tonight in #STL ! #RepTourStLouis pic.twitter.com/XjCMSuIeBW — Jennifer Feldman (@jenniferfeldman) September 19, 2018

And Swift closed out the show singing on top of a fountain: 

And that’s a wrap! @taylorswift13 in #STL ! Loved every minute! #RepTourStLouis pic.twitter.com/VGiqLcHTxx — Jennifer Feldman (@jenniferfeldman) September 19, 2018

Two days ago, Swift posted to her Instagram account that her fans broke the record for concert attendance at her September 15 show at Indianapolis's Lucas Oil Stadium. That stadium seats 67,000-plus. No word yet if her St. Louis show hosted similar numbers.

P.O. BOX 191606 St. Louis, MO 63119 314-918-3000

Company Info

Publications.

• St. Louis Magazine
• Newsletters
• Custom Publishing
• Digital subscriptions
• Manage my account
• Purchase back issues

Copyright 2024 SLM Media Group. All rights reserved.

Taylor Swift is about to go back on tour: Here's what to expect on the Eras Tour in Paris

After a two-month break, Taylor Swift is revitalizing her titanic Eras Tour in Paris, and fans believe there are changes coming to the show.

If you are wondering where she's playing, if there will be changes and how to score tickets, here's everything we know.

And if you're new to the Eras Tour party, you can get caught up on the first 83 shows here .

When does the Eras Tour start again?

Swift kicks off the European leg of her tour on Thursday, May 9, in Paris. She will perform Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, as well, in the City of Light.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

What are Taylor Swift's tour dates in Europe?

There are 69 shows left in the Eras Tour: 51 in Europe, nine in America and nine in Canada.

The European leg stretches from May all the way through a five-night stand at Wembley Stadium in London in mid-August.

See a complete list of international dates here .

After she wraps up in Europe, Swift will stop in Miami, New Orleans and Indianapolis before wrapping up in Canada.

See the remaining U.S. dates here .

What is the Eras Tour set list?

The Eras Tour has featured a massive 45-song set list you can check out here . But speculation is swirling it won't look the same when Swift takes the stage in Paris.

Will Taylor Swift add 'The Tortured Poets Department' to her set list?

The tortured poet has been on hiatus keeping her stamina up by releasing a double album of 31 tracks. The 2-hours-and-2-minutes project broke a number of Billboard records as the superstar did zero press to promote it. Fans flocked to stores and streaming services to listen to all the songs from "Fortnight" to "The Manuscript."

Although the singer has not confirmed whether her 11th era album will be added to her Eras Tour set list, she did post a YouTube shorts video with two scenes that sent Easter egg decoders into a frenzy. In one of the shots, the singer is next to a railing where a "TTPD" logo appears to be (at 0:11). In the succeeding shot, her back-up dancers perform holding canes and wearing top hats, something they have not worn previously.

Swift's dancers and bandmates posted to their Instagram stories as they left for France last week. The singer did not appear at two media events with her boyfriend Travis Kelce: the Kentucky Derby and a Formula 1 race in Miami , Florida. Patrick Mahomes, Kelce's friend and Kansas City's quarterback, attended the car racing spectacular with his wife, Brittany.

Can I still get Eras Tour tickets?

Swift's show is completely sold out in Europe and North America. There are resale sites with tickets, but be wary of scams. The best way to avoid getting swindled is continuously checking links on Swift's website . There are some for resale on the sites verified by her camp.

Singapore was a hotbed for fans who traveled thousands of miles only to get turned away at the venue. In Tokyo and Australia, last-minute ticket drops happened a few days — without announcement — ahead of the shows.

Miami, New Orleans and Indianapolis — the three U.S. cities Swift is visiting in the fall — have some of the heftiest price tags with Canada closely behind. In may be cheaper to travel to Warsaw, Poland, or Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Here's a list of cities with the cheapest resale tickets, according to travel website  Islands.com .

10. Vienna, Austria — total average cost: $1,089, safety score: 69.72

9. Cardiff, U.K. — total average cost: $1,061, safety score: 61.83

8. Lyon, France — total average cost: $1,047, safety score: 44.3

7. Lisbon, Portugal — total average cost: $1,028, safety score: 70.15

6. Munich, Germany — total average cost: $1,000, safety score: 78.88

5. Paris, France — total average cost: $971, safety score: 41.83

4. Stockholm, Sweden — total average cost: $935, safety score: 53.86

3. Hamburg, Germany — total average cost: $903, safety score: 57.51

2. Gelsenkirchen, Germany — total average cost: $749, safety score: 51.33

1. Warsaw, Poland — total average cost: $712, safety score: 72.98

Catch Taylor Swift live with tickets at Vivid Seats , shop merchandise , and stream her latest on Disney+ . Purchases you make through our links may earn us and our publishing partners a commission.

Who are the opening acts?

Paramore launched the Eras Tour in Glendale, Arizona, in March 2023, so it's fitting the American rock band is opening the tour's second year. The act will open for Swift for 51 shows across Europe . The band was dubbed the 2024 Record Store Day global ambassador and surprised fans in Nashville the weekend following the release of "The Tortured Poets Department."

When the tour comes back to North America in October , Swift's opening act will be Gracie Abrams.

Where can I watch if I don't have tickets?

The Eras Tour is one of the first tours that has been followed, globally, by thousands of fans on digital platforms. Fans dedicate part of their concert experience to livestreaming as Swift performs. A few Swifties have learned how to host their own shows over social media including Tess Bohne , known as the livestream queen. Bohne goes live for (almost) every show pulling streams from Instagram and TikTok. When a livestream goes down, she fills the time with banter.

On YouTube, user @TaylorSwiftHockeyBro also livestreams the three-hour show, and on Twitch, @folkleric , is a host fans follow.

There is also an app, Swift Alert , that notifies fans who only want to watch certain eras like the acoustic, surprise set. The app sends out push alerts if there are any major announcements.

What secret songs are left?

For the past 83 shows, Swift has played an acoustic set she customizes at each stop with a guitar and piano performance. In 2024, the Eras Tour star added mashups of her songs for each stop. Here are the songs she has yet to perform:

• "Taylor Swift" (debut album): "Mary's Song" and "A Perfectly Good Heart"
• "Fearless": "The Way I Loved You," "Change," "Superstar," "We Were Happy," "That's When," "Don't You" and "Bye Bye Baby"
• "Red": "Girl At Home," "Ronan," "Forever Winter" and "Run"
• "1989": "Sweeter Than Fiction"
• "Reputation": "I Did Something Bad"
• "Lover": "London Boy," "Soon You'll Get Better" and "It's Nice to Have a Friend"
• "Folklore": "Hoax"
• "Evermore": "Happiness" and "Closure"
• "Midnights": "Paris" and "Glitch"
• "The Tortured Poets Department": all 31 tracks

Will Taylor Swift perform in 2025?

There have been many rumors that Swift will continue her show in 2025, but they are only rumors. Nothing has been announced for next year, and as of now, the tour will end in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Dec. 8.

Don't miss any Taylor Swift news; sign up for the  free, weekly newsletter "This Swift Beat."

Follow Taylor Swift reporter Bryan West on  Instagram ,  TikTok  and  X as @BryanWestTV .

Foo Fighters Launch 2024 Tour: Set List, Videos

Foo Fighters returned to the road with the launch of their 2024 Everything or Nothing at All tour on May 1 in Dallas.

The sold-out show took place at the Dos Equis Pavilion, with an estimated 20,000 fans in attendance.

Dave Grohl and his bandmates have a well-earned reputation for delivering long shows, and they certainly were up to the task on this night, rocking through 24 songs during their set.

READ MORE: Top 25 Foo Fighters Songs

Foo Fighters gave fans an eclectic assortment of songs during their tour opener. Yes, the massive hits were well represented, as “The Pretender,” “Times Like These,” “All My Life” and “Best of You” all got their time to shine. But the band also mixed in deeper cuts, like “Arlandria” (from 2011’s Wasting Light ) and “La Dee Da” (from 2017’s Concrete and Gold ).

Midway through the show, Grohl paid tribute to late Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell .

“Since we’re here in Dallas, I’m gonna dedicate this one to an old friend who lived around here,” the frontman declared. “His name was ‘Dimebag’ Darrell. How about that? Let’s hear it for Darrell. It’s called ‘My Hero’.”

Naturally, the evening ended with the Foo Fighters’ customary closer, “Everlong.” See the full set list and fan-shot videos from the concert below.

Watch Foo Fighters Dedicate ‘My Hero’ to Dimebag Darrell

Foo Fighters’ 2024 Summer Plans

Foo Fighters’ initial stretch of 2024 U.S. dates will last two weeks and include stops at the New Orleans Jazz Fest, Shaky Knees Festival and Welcome to Rockville. In June, the band heads to the U.K. and Europe for performance, before returning Stateside for a longer run of dates beginning in July. Mammoth WVH and the Pretenders will each open select concerts later in the summer.

Notably, this marks the Foo Fighters first extensive North American tour with Josh Freese as part of the band. The drummer, who took over for the late Taylor Hawkins in 2023, previously joined the group for some one-off U.S. dates and a tour of Australia and New Zealand. The Dallas show featured several songs Freese hadn’t previously performed with the band, including “Bridge Burning” and “Medicine at Midnight.” The There Is Nothing Left to Lose song “Aurora” was dedicated to Hawkins.

Foo Fighters, 5/1/24, Dallas Set List

1. ‘Bridge Burning”

2. “No Son of Mine”

3. “Rescued”

4. “The Pretender”

5. “Times Like These”

6. “La Dee Da”

7. “Breakout”

8. “Medicine at Midnight”

10. “Sabotage / Blitzkrieg Bop / The Outsider / Whip It / March of the Pigs”

11. “My Hero”

12. “The Sky is a Neighborhood”

13. “Learn to Fly”

14. “Arlandria”

15. “These Days”

16. “Shame Shame”

17. “All My Life”

18. “Nothing at All”

19. “The Glass”

20. “Monkey Wrench”

21. “Aurora”

22. “Best of You”

23. “The Teacher”

24. “Everlong”

Click here to view photo gallery

Next: Uderrated Foo Fighters: The Most Overlooked Song From Each Album

• Manage Account
• Share this article on Facebook
• Share this article on Twitter
• Share this article on Flipboard
• Share this article on Pinit
• + additional share options added
• Share this article on Reddit
• Share this article on Linkedin
• Share this article on Whatsapp
• Share this article on Email
• Print this article
• Share this article on Comment
• Share this article on Tumblr

Taylor Swift’s Record-Setting Reputation Tour Earns $54 Million in First Five Cities

Taylor Swift's Reputation stadium tour makes its first appearance on Billboard's weekly Hot Tours recap based on ticket sales from the first five venues on the trek. With almost 398,000 tickets sold…

By Bob Allen

Taylor Swift ’s Reputation stadium tour makes its first appearance on Billboard ’s weekly Hot Tours recap (see below) based on ticket sales from the first five venues on the trek. With almost 398,000 tickets sold in these stadiums, the six-month world tour that could potentially top $400 million in sales is already at the $54 million mark.

The pop star launched her tour with an opening four-week run stateside, kicking off in Phoenix on May 8. The debut performance at University of Phoenix Stadium set new venue records in both gross and attendance, topping Metallica ’s $5.2 million gross earned in August 2017 by almost $2 million. With 59,157 tickets sold, she also broke the attendance record set during One Direction ’s Where We Are tour in 2014 by 2,633 seats.

During the opening weekend on the road, Swift played her first two-night engagement on the tour at Levi’s Stadium in the San Francisco area (May 11-12). With a $14 million take from 107,550 sold tickets she topped her own gross and attendance counts set during the 1989 world tour in 2015 — her first headlining effort at the venue. Grateful Dead still has a tight grip on the box office records at that stadium, however, with $21.5 million earned from 151,650 sold seats during its Fare The Well engagement that same year.

All the Stars Who Have Stopped by Taylor Swift's Reputation Tour (So Far)

The following weekend, the Reputation tour headed to Southern California for a two-night stint at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on May 18-19, smashing even more box-office records. With more than 118,000 fans in attendance, the two-show run earned $16.2 million. It is now the highest-grossing concert engagement of 2018 by a single concert headliner, based on Boxscores reported to Billboard . It also set a new gross record for a single headliner at the venue, surpassing U2’s 2017 record by over $467,000. The Irish band was tops for one year after racking up $15.7 million from two performances on the Joshua Tree world tour in May of last year.

New gross records were also set at the next two stadiums on the schedule: Seattle’s CenturyLink Field on May 22 and Sports Authority Field in Denver three nights later. At both stadiums, Swift surpassed gross records also held previously by U2. Her $8.6 million take at the Seattle venue topped the band’s Joshua Tree sales from last May by $2.4 million, but U2 ’s box-office milestone at the Denver stadium was $6.6 million set in 2011 during its 360° trek. Swift beat that gross record by $1.2 million.

Daily newsletters straight to your inbox

More From Pro

Neil portnow’s rape accuser moves to drop case amid dispute with lawyers over name reveal.

• By Bill Donahue

50 Cent Sues Ex Daphne Joy for Defamation Over Rape Allegations: ‘Unequivocally False’

Drake & kendrick diss tracks, tiktok lawsuit, britney divorce & more top music law news, tiktok sues to overturn u.s. law forcing sale or national ban: ‘obviously unconstitutional’, cece winans tops gospel & christian album charts with ‘more than this,’ a ‘joyful collection of songs’.

• By Jim Asker

Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Billboard Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

optional screen reader

Charts expand charts menu.

• Billboard Hot 100™
• Billboard 200™
• Hits Of The World™
• TikTok Billboard Top 50
• Song Breaker
• Year-End Charts
• Decade-End Charts

Music Expand music menu

• R&B/Hip-Hop

Videos Expand videos menu

Culture expand culture menu, media expand media menu, business expand business menu.

• Business News
• Record Labels
• View All Pro

Pro Tools Expand pro-tools menu

• Songwriters & Producers
• Artist Index
• Royalty Calculator
• Market Watch
• Industry Events Calendar

Billboard Español Expand billboard-espanol menu

• Cultura y Entretenimiento

Get Up Anthems by Tres Expand get-up-anthems-by-tres menu

Honda music expand honda-music menu.