Benjamin Jones
Taylor Swift fever hit Paris on Thursday as the highest-grossing tour in history finally arrived in Europe, with fans treated to the first performance of songs from her latest album.
The Eras Tour began its European stage with four dates at La Defense Arena, in Paris.
“I wish I had toured Europe more. This is a dream audience,” the 34-year-old megastar told the rapt audience.
There were deafening screams as images of typewriter sheets indicated which songs the new album “The Tortured Poets Department” they were starting the show late.
Emerging in a dress covered in lyrics, she ran through several of the darker new tracks, starting with “But Daddy I Love Him” and “Fortnight,” a particularly furious version of “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” and an elaborate “I Can Do it with a Broken Heart,” with choreography from Hollywood’s golden age.
Other “The Department of Tortured Poets” songs played included “So High School”, “Down Bad”, and “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived”, according to ETonline.
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“You were the first audience to see music from ‘The Tortured Poets Department,’” she said, before adding, “Or, as I like to call it, ‘Female Rage: the Musical.’”
This was a dream come true for many in the audience.
“I’ve been so excited for so long, I can’t believe this is actually happening,” said 11-year-old Emma, who flew in from New York with her mom.
Adding songs from “The Tortured Poets Department” wasn’t the only change to the show and its 45-song setlist.
Perhaps the biggest change, according to ETonline, the setlists for “Folklore” and “Evermore” were combined, cutting four songs from both albums: “‘Tis the Damn Season”, “Tolerate It”, “The 1” and “The Last Great American Dynasty”.
“On the Eras Tour, we now bring the sisters together, combining them into one chapter,” Swift said, according to the video posted on social media. “You can call it ‘Folklore, Evermore’ or you can call it Sister Albums! You can call it whatever you want, as long as you promise to sing ‘Champagne Problems’ with me.”
“The Archer” was removed from the “Lovers” portion of the show and “Long Live” was cut from the “Speak Now”-era setlist, according to ETonline.
One of the secret songs was, appropriately, the “Midnights” bonus track, “Paris.”
Parts of the show were also rearranged to make room for the new era. The “Red” era was moved from fifth to third place, according to ETonline, and the newest album was released after the “1989” set.
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The venue said a fifth of the audience was from the United States – many drawn by Europe’s rules against charging large markups for ticket resales, which can save Americans thousands of dollars compared to home shows.
Georg’Ann Daly decided to celebrate her 23rd birthday with the show in Paris. It meant flying from Nashville to Chicago to London and taking the Eurostar to Paris.
“I’ve always been obsessed with Taylor Swift,” she told AFP.
A handful of superfans have camped out since Tuesday in Paris to secure a prime spot.
“I didn’t plan it, but I came to have a look and saw the first stalls and panicked,” said Chris, 30.
Noah, 20, is attending all four shows in Paris – he used 22 email addresses to access the lottery system and secure tickets.
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After wrapping up her run in Paris, Swift will head to shows in Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Poland and Austria.
The Eras Tour has toured North and South America and Asia since its start in March 2023.
By the end of the year, it had become the first to sell more than $1 billion in tickets and is on track to more than double that amount when it is completed in Vancouver in December.
Swift’s popularity shows no signs of waning — the new album sold 1.4 million copies on its first day and broke all streaming recordsreaching one billion streams on Spotify in five days.
Swift’s dissections of her love stories have been the fuel that drives her global domination, and fans have been poring over “The Tortured Poets Department” for a long time. Cryptic clues about ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn, his brief but dramatic affair with Matty Healy (lead singer of The 1975) and his current partner, American football star Travis Kelce.
“Taylor talks toxic relationships, impossible love, politics, mental health and more,” Chris said while waiting in his tent for the big moment. “I think we can all find music that resonates with our experiences.”
