Herald entertainment reporter Lillie Rohan speaks to Swifties queueing up to get merch ahead of tonight's Eras Tour concert at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Video / Megan Watts
The songstress played a 44-song setlist at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last night, taking her Swifties on a journey through her musical “eras”, singing songs from her first album to her last during the three-and-a-half-hour show.
While a lot can happen in 210 minutes, there were some special standout moments for both Swift and her Swifties at the Australian opener, with the pop icon being moved to tears, sharing some easter eggs about her new album, and dropping a subtle shoutout to her NFL beau.
Here are the top five things that happened at Taylor Swift’s Melbourne show, which made an already-special night even more unforgettable.
A young fan is ecstatic after receiving Taylor Swift's hat during Friday night's concert at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Photo / Getty Images
A Swiftie’s sweet exchange
Taylor Swift and a very lucky fan shared a heart-warming moment mid-concert, an experience that will probably stay with the young Swiftie for years to come.
During the Red era section of the show, the pop icon danced on to the stage decked out in an oversized white tee, black shorts and a little black hat for her 2013 hit 22. The outfit — one of 16 costume changes — was a similar ensemble to the one she wore in the song’s music video 11 years ago.
Halfway through the popular track, Swift paused her dancing and leaned over the right side of the aisle, hugging one star-struck Swiftie with a giant smile across her face. Then, the pop star took off her hat and placed it on her beloved fan’s head.
In return, the emotional mega-fan gifted the songstress a friendship bracelet, which Swift placed on her arm and wore for the next few songs. No doubt it was a special moment for both.
Taylor Swift performs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday night. Photo / Getty Images
A much-awaited sneak peek
Ever since Swift’s announcement at the Grammys, the talk of the town has been her upcoming album The Tortured Poets Department, which releases on April 19.
The star hinted at the elephant in the room during her Evermore era, and later spilled the beans on the album during her acoustic set.
“Tortured Poets is an album that I think, more than any of my albums that I’ve ever made, I needed to make it,” she admits. “It was really a lifeline for me.
“Just the things I was going through, the things I was writing about. It kind of reminded me of why songwriting is something that actually gets me through my life.”
The songstress then revealed on the screen behind her a Tortured Poets cover that “nobody has seen”.
“There’s an exclusive song on this vinyl called The Bolter so this is called The Bolter edition”, she said.
She then proceeded to sing You’re Losing Me, marking the first time the song has been played live during her tour.
Taylor Swift, who is dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, paid a subtle tribute to her NFL beau during her concert at the MCG on Friday night. Photo / Getty Images
Instead of singing “karma is the guy on the screen coming straight home to me”, Swift sang “karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me”.
Swoon-worthy? We think yes!
Taylor Swift performs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday night, to the biggest crowd of her career so far. Photo / Getty Images
A big first for the pop superstar
It’s no surprise that Swift brought the crowds to Melbourne Cricket Grounds last night. But what was astonishing was the amount of Swifties that poured into the stadium.
96,000 fans laughed, cried, sang and danced at the Melbourne opener, marking it as not only the biggest concert of the Australian leg, but the biggest so far of Swift’s career — a fact she mentioned many a time during her show.
“If I seem a little bit like I’m losing my mind over the fact that there is 96,000 people here tonight,” she shared, “it’s because it’s true.”
“This is the biggest show we’ve ever done on any tour”, she confessed.
After singing her heartbreaking ballad Champagne Problems from the Evermore album, the singer began to tear up, overwhelmed not only by her loving fans but just how many there were.
It seems the show, a first of its kind for Swift, was just as emotional for her as it was for her 96,000 adoring Swifties.
As the happy tears started to stream down her face, the crowd cheered louder and louder, which left the pop star speechless and in awe of her beloved fans.
Resting her head in her hand, she closed her eyes before mouthing: “I love you — like what?”
After a few moments of soaking up the energy, she got right back into it, jumping into Tolerate It and giving the performance of a lifetime.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is her first in five years. Photo / Getty Images
What is the Eras Tour?
Swift’s Eras Tour is her first in five years — and is on track to become the highest-grossing tour of all time. Recent predictions published by the Washington Post anticipate the shows will make US$4.1 billion ($6.7b) overall, with Time magazine reporting the tour grossed US$2.2b from the North American leg alone.
What makes the show so special is its 44-song setlist that takes fans on a journey of Swift’s “eras”, from her first album to her last — including Lover, Folklore, Evermore and Midnights, which she has never performed before.
Coming in at just over three hours, the concert is roughly twice the length of an average pop stadium show and is split into 10, non-chronological “eras” for each of her albums.
As it stands, the star begins with Lover (she performs six songs from this album), then moves on to Fearless (three songs),Evermore (five songs), Reputation (four songs), SpeakNow(one song), Red (four songs, including the 10-minute version of All Too Well), Folklore (seven songs), 1989 (five songs), Taylor Swift (one song) and concludes with seven songs from Midnights.
Show schedule
February 16, 17 and 18 — Melbourne Cricket Ground
February 23, 24, 25 and 26 — Sydney Accor Stadium
Megan Watts is a lifestyle multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald whose passions include honest journalism, Swiftie mania and doing things for the plot.
