After a five-year Taylor Swift touring hiatus painfully endured by Swifties and extended by the COVID-19 pandemic, the worldwide pop sensation is finally back on the road for the live music event that broke Ticketmaster, ignited a fan uprising and spurred Congress into action: the Eras tour.
Since Swift’s epic stadium tour of the United States began March 17 in Glendale, Ariz., the internet predictably has been flooded with videos, social media posts and memes inspired by the singer-songwriter’s decades-spanning, three-plus-hour set.
“I don’t know how to process all of this and the way it’s making me feel right now,” the “Lavender Haze” hitmaker told concertgoers on opening night. “I can’t even go into how much I missed you because there’s no way to verbalize it.”
Only the lucky managed to secure tickets to the Eras tour, which features hits from all 10 of Swift’s studio albums. Thankfully for the millions who didn’t make the cut, there is already an endless amount of content available online to experience the concert event of a lifetime vicariously.
(Swift is scheduled to close out her Eras tour with five shows at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium in August.)
Speak now or for evermore hold your peace if you are not a fearless Swift lover who has stayed awake for many midnights to support her art, because the rest of this post will be teeming with red-hot viral moments and folklore surrounding the famed vocalist born in 1989 — and The Times has a reputation for printing shameless Taylor Swift puns. Here are some key takeaways from the Eras Tour so far.
When Swift’s hair defied gravity
Sparks flew and Swift’s signature blond locks unexpectedly stole the show Friday when static electricity caused the Grammy winner’s hair to stick straight up during the “Red” portion of her Glendale set.
A video of “Electro Taylor” belting “I Knew You Were Trouble” has been making the rounds on social media, where fans have been quoting electricity-themed Swift lyrics with abandon.
“i’ve been laughing all day over this,” tweeted @Princess_emm4.
“This is going to be in swifties meme book for years,, oh eras tour youre givin a lot already,” tweeted @archie90551174.
It’s unclear exactly what prompted the phenomenon (one too many fabric-rustling quick changes perhaps?), but there’s no denying that Swift’s performance was electrifying.
When she dived … into the stage?
At one point during her Eras tour set, Swift transitions from one song to the next by diving — yes, diving — through a trapdoor in the stage. And fans were not ready for it.
The ambitious stunt requires Swift to plummet headfirst through a narrow opening, while a projection of her swimming through water lights up the stage to complete the illusion. In footage from the concert, fans can be heard gasping and shrieking in shock as the musician leaps into the void.
“aside from being a 12-time grammy winner, a doctor, a director, one of the most acclaimed songwriter of the music industry, and having a record breaking career in the arts, taylor swift is now searching for that swimming olympic medal, look at that dive,” tweeted @invisibleday.
“Aight I see why she shutdown Ticketmaster,” tweeted @PrinceHAK33M. “This is entertainment.”
Even Olympic swimmer and gold medalist Katie Ledecky waded into the diving discourse, applauding Swift’s “10/10” form.
“Three-hour shows. @taylorswift13 is definitely a distance swimmer,” the athlete tweeted.
When she did the ‘Bejeweled’ TikTok dance
During the “Midnights” stretch of her Glendale show, Swift proved she could still make the whole place shimmer by frolicking around the stage in a sparkly, fringed bodysuit.
While performing the popular track “Bejeweled” on Friday, the artist paid subtle homage to her fans by strutting down the catwalk, twirling and wiggling her fingers. The whimsical move hails from a viral TikTok dance trend started by @mikaelarellano, who reacted in disbelief to Swift executing his choreography in concert.
“SHE DID THE TREND OMG DEAD RIP ME DEAD I DIED,” tweeted @MollyRhapsody.
“NOT THE TIKTOK DANCE,” tweeted @tvoodooirl.