State Champ Radio Concerts
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Taylor Swift and Stevie Nicks reunited in Dublin on Sunday (June 30), with The Eras Tour headliner dedicating the night’s acoustic section to the iconic Fleetwood Mac singer.
With Nicks in attendance, it was the perfect occasion for Swift to perform The Tortured Poets Department‘s “Clara Bow” live for the first time ever; she names Nicks on the second verse of “Clara Bow,” singing: “You look like Stevie Nicks/ In ’75, the hair and lips/ Crowd goes wild at her fingertips/ Half moonshine, a full eclipse.”
“I’ve never played this song live at all,” Swift noted before “Clara Bow,” which was one of two acoustic performances at her Aviva Stadium concert Sunday, her third date in Ireland.
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“The reason I want to play this tonight is because a friend of mine is here who is watching the show,” Swift hinted. She praised this friend for paving the way for her, saying she’s “one of the reasons why I get to do what I get to do” — and that she’s been a guiding hand to many female artists.
Added Swift, “She’s a hero of mine. I could tell her any secret; she’d never tell anybody.”
“I’m talking about Stevie Nicks,” Swift announced, leading the audience in a massive round of applause.
Playing on guitar, Swift worked lyrics from “The Lucky One” — her 2012 Red song with a theme that parallels that of “Clara Bow” — into the live debut of “Clara Bow” during her surprise song set.
Swift then played “You’re on Your Own, Kid,” from her 2022 Midnights album, on piano. At Sunday’s show, there was an unsaid reason for her choice of song: it has personal meaning to Nicks.
In May 2023, Nicks expressed her gratitude to Swift for writing the song, at it’s helped her mourn the late Christine McVie, Nicks’ dear friend and bandmate who passed away in November 2022. “Thank you to Taylor Swift for doing a favor for me, and that is writing a song called ‘You’re on Your Own, Kid.’ That is the sadness of how I feel,” she said on stage last year.
“Never an argument in our entire 47 years,” Nicks said of her deep connection with McVie. “The two of us were on our own, kids. We always were. And now, I’m having to learn to be on my own, kid, by myself. You helped me to do that. Thank you.”
The rock icon was first spotted by fans in the Dublin stadium earlier at Swift’s show on Sunday, walking to and from the VIP tent that’s set up for Swift’s guests.
Nicks, in town for her own tour (with a date in Dublin on July 3), is directly connected to Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department, which rules at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart for a 10th consecutive week. The singer-songwriter penned a poem “for T — and me…” that appeared on the album art for physical copies of the set, Swift’s 11th studio album.
The poem, in part, reads: “She looked back from her future/ And shed a few tears/ He looked into his past/ And actually felt fear/ For both of them/ The answers — would never be/ Everclear/ Don’t ask questions now/ Do that later/ She brings joy/ He brings Shakespeare/ It’s almost a tragedy/ Says she/ Don’t endanger me/ Don’t endanger me.”
In the next stanza, Nicks writes: “He really can’t answer her/ He’s afraid of her/ He’s hiding from her/ And he knows — that he’s hurting her.”
More than 14 years ago, at the 2010 Grammy Awards, Swift and Nicks sang a medley of Fleetwood Mac’s 1976 hit “Rhiannon” and Swift’s 2009 hit “You Belong With Me.”
Taylor Swift debuted another Tortured Poets Department track live Saturday night (June 29). The singer-songwriter performed “The Albatross,” found on the Anthology edition of her latest album, for the first time at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.
“I’m gonna do a song I’ve never performed live before today,” she announced at the Eras Tour endstage, where she brings surprise songs (song mashups, lately) to the acoustic section of her show each night.
On guitar, she dove right into “The Albatross”: “Wise men once said/ Wild winds are death to the candle/ A rose by any other name is a scandal/ Cautions issued, he stood/ Shooting the messengers/ They tried to warn him about her,” sang Swift. “Cross your thoughtless heart/ Only liquor anoints you/ She’s the albatross/ She is here to destroy you.”
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Swift suddenly shifted to “Dancing With Our Hands Tied,” a highlight from her Rep album about a love she fears will be endangered.
“I knew there was no one in the world who could take it,” she admits on the track. “But we were dancing/ Dancing with our hands tied, hands tied.”
She expertly mashed up the two songs’ moving bridges, starting with “Dancing” — “I’d kiss you as the lights went out/ Swayin’ as the room burned down/ I’d hold you as the water rushes in/ If I could dance with you again” — and adding in her “Albatross” tale, offering: “And when that sky rains fire on you/ And you’re persona non grata/ I’ll tell you how I’ve been there too/ And that none of it matters.”
“Spread my wings like a parachute/ I’m the albatross/ I swept in at the rescue,” Swift sings on The Tortured Poets Department track.
On piano during Saturday night’s acoustic set, Swift performed 1989‘s dreamy “This Love,” which she embellished with elements of her Speak Now-era love song “Ours.”
“When you’re young, you just run/ But you come back to what you need,” she sang from “This Love,” reassuring her muse with the sweet “Ours”: “It’s not theirs to speculate if it’s wrong/ Your hands are tough, but they are where I belong/ I’ll fight their doubt and give you faith with this song for you.”
Two months after an April 19 release, Swift has now played the majority of the 31-track Tortured Poets set live at least once. Her main set list includes several songs from the album: “But Daddy I Love Him,” a bite-sized taste of “So High School,” ‘Whose Afraid of Little Old Me?” and “Down Bad,” which transitions to “Fortnight,” followed by “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” and the theatrical “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.”
She has yet to debut the album’s “So Long, London,” “Florida!!!” feat. Florence + The Machine, “Clara Bow,” “imgonnagetyouback,” “Cassandra” and “Robin” on the stage.
Below, watch clips of both acoustic performances from Saturday night. Swift’s Eras Tour will entertain the Dublin crowd with one more show on Sunday before making its way to Amsterdam for the 4th of July. Dates in Zurich, Milan and more will follow on Swift’s international trek.
IMPECÁVEL!Confira o mashup de “The Albatross x Dancing With Our Hands Tied” que aconteceu hoje em Dublin. 🤍🖤pic.twitter.com/uL5UE97zqs— Taylor Swift Brasil (@taylorswiftbr) June 29, 2024
Ethel Cain‘s performance in Central Park as part of SummerStage’s concert series largely went off without a hitch Thursday evening (June 28), with the 26-year-old musician performing a slew of mellow tracks and closing with a rousing encore of “American Teenager” and a cover of the Kim Carnes’ version of “Bette Davis Eyes.” But there was one bizarre moment that occurred midway through, with four to five people requiring medical assistance within a few minutes of each other during the same song.
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Just before launching into her ambient, unreleased song “Amber Waves,” Cain asked her audience to close their eyes and stand still to feel the energy of the song rippling through them. Some concertgoers may have taken her instructions too seriously, though, and locked their knees while listening, as a few appeared to pass out and/or suddenly require help all at once across several different spots in the crowd.
Other relevant factors: the temperature of the outdoor event was somewhere in the high 70s, according to National Weather Service, though drinks were available at concession stands. The sold-out space was fully packed as well, with a staff member instructing concertgoers before the show began to refrain from sitting down on the ground in order to make sure everyone could fit.
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When she noticed people needing aid, Cain stopped her performance in its tracks and directed medics to the spots they were needed. She also called on SummerStage workers to hand out waters, which they obliged, and at least one person was walked out of the venue by staff.
“Does anybody else need water?” the Florida native asked her audience patiently before starting “Amber Waves” from the top. “Is everyone good, is anyone feeling faint?”
Billboard has reached out to SummerStage’s rep for comment.
Cain is currently slated to tour throughout the end of September, when she’ll return to New York for the All Things Go music festival. Her debut record, Preacher’s Daughter, was one of Billboard‘s top 50 albums of 2022.
The rapid-fire incidents at Cain’s show are just the latest examples in what seems to be an upward trend of people fainting since live performances returned post-pandemic. Last year, fellow folk-rock star Maggie Rogers issued a PSA to fans about the importance of staying hydrated at concerts, noting in a TikTok video, “Something is happening on this tour that we have never ever experienced before, which is that we’re seeing more people than ever either pass out or have panic attacks in the audience.”
“Obviously, it’s been a really long time since we’ve been in crowds, and concerts may not be the most natural space after a couple of years we’ve spent in the pandemic,” she added at the time. “If you’re coming to a show, please stay hydrated, try not to lock your knees if you’re standing for a really long time, take some breaks, and just do everything you can to keep everyone safe and healthy around you.”
Watch Cain handle the pauses in her show below.
Justin Timberlake and John Legend had a sweet reunion at the former’s concert in New York City Wednesday night (June 26). In a clip posted to Chrissy Teigen’s Instagram Story the night of the Madison Square Garden show, the “SexyBack” singer greets fans on the floor of the venue before spotting his friend in the […]
At one of his recent shows, Morgan Wallen got hit in the face with a pair of women’s underwear while he was in the middle of performing his Billboard Hot 100-topping Post Malone duet “I Had Some Help.” Luckily, he didn’t need any help when it came to handling the interruption like a pro. In […]
Every composer hopes their music outlives them – and Henry Mancini’s music certainly has. Thirty years after Mancini died of pancreatic cancer at the too-young age of 70, his music came to life in a star-studded, season-opening concert at the Hollywood Bowl. The event, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Mancini’s birth (the actual date was […]
“But Daddy I Love Him,” the big song that kicks off Taylor Swift‘s Tortured Poets Department set on The Eras Tour, had Paul McCartney dancing with fans at London’s Wembley Stadium on Sunday (June 23).
The Beatles legend, who just turned 82, was a VIP guest at Swift’s third concert at Wembley this weekend. Videos showed his arrival at the stadium, but one clip in particular is quite special, capturing an experience that would be priceless to any McCartney/Swift fan.
As Swift sang the “But Daddy I Love Him” lyric about how cynics and saboteurs can’t “counteract chemistry, undo the destiny” of her relationship with the song’s muse, a group of fans simply basking in the moment caught McCartney’s attention.
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McCartney took note of the concertgoers’ dance moves and joined in.
“You ain’t gotta pray for me/ Me and my wild boy, and all this wild joy,” Swift is heard singing in the video embedded below. McCartney sways and seems to sing along to some of the lyrics, alongside a number of wonderstruck concertgoers who couldn’t have guessed this encounter would happen.
Snapshots from Wembley Stadium on social media showed McCartney was approachable earlier in the day, too, partaking in the Eras Tour tradition of trading friendship bracelets.
Also spotted with friendship bracelets at Swift’s Sunday show in London was Jon Bon Jovi, and among the many other famous faces seen during her three-night takeover at Wembley were Prince William on Friday and Tom Cruise on Saturday. Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce was in town for the London gigs, and unexpectedly made his Eras Tour stage debut during Tortured Poets‘ “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” in costume.
It’s not “So Long, London” for Swift yet. The Eras Tour revisits Wembley for five more nights in August, due to demand, but heads to several other cities before then, including Dublin, Amsterdam, Zurich and Milan over the next few weeks.
The Tortured Poets Department is currently spending its ninth consecutive and total week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
See McCartney dancing shamelessly to the album’s “But Daddy I Love Him” in London below.
London is a “special” place to bring The Eras Tour, Taylor Swift said during her acoustic set at Wembley Stadium Saturday night (June 22).
At the second of three shows this weekend, the pop star decided to perform a song she’d never played live before. She also welcomed Hayley Williams to the stage for a duet.
“We get to play Wembley Stadium eight times this summer. When I’m thinking about that, you think about just being grateful and being thankful,” Swift told the crowd, showing appreciation for their support. (She’s got her trio of concerts in London this weekend, and she’ll return to Wembley for five additional shows later this summer, from Aug. 15-20.)
“On the other hand,” commented Swift, who was about to deliver the first of the night’s two surprise song performances, “it really makes me think about how every time somebody talks s— it just makes me work even harder.”
“I’ve never played this one before. Wish me luck,” she said, and then on acoustic guitar launched into “thanK you aIMee,” from The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology. It marked the first-ever live performance of the track that has her singing, “All that time you were throwin’ punches, I was buildin’ somethin’/ And I can’t forgive the way you made me feel/ Screamed, “F— you, Aimee” to the night sky as the blood was gushin’/ But I can’t forget the way you made me heal.”
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“I don’t think you’ve changed much/ And so I changed your name and any real defining clues/ And one day, your kid comes home singin’/ A song that only us two is gonna know is about you,” she adds in a later verse.
Swift performed “thanK you aIMee” as a mashup with Speak Now‘s “Mean,” another song about how she’s triumphed over naysayers.
“Someday I’ll be singing this song at Wembley,” she quipped, singing an improvised line to the melody of “Mean.”
To top off that moment Saturday night, she brought out Hayley Williams (who had opened the show with Paramore earlier) for a live duet of “Castles Crumbling,” their collaboration from the Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) vault. Swift and Williams sat side-by-side at the piano as they sang.
Swift recalled the last time they’d played live together: on The Speak Now Tour, when she welcomed Williams to the stage to perform Paramore’s “That’s What You Get” with her at a 2011 Nashville date.
Below, watch clips of Swift’s surprise song set from night two at Wembley. Stay up-to-date with the complete list of surprise songs she’s played on The Eras tour here.
A 92-minute concert film celebrating K-pop girl group BLACKPINK‘s eighth anniversary, BLACKPINK WORLD TOUR [BORN PINK] IN CINEMAS, is slated to hit screens worldwide on July 31. The movie from Trafalgar Releasing and CJ 4DPLEX will celebrate the highest-grossing tour from an Asian act and a female group in history in a variety of formats, […]
Sabrina Carpenter announced the dates for her upcoming fall 2024 North American headlining arena tour on Thursday (June 20), with the Short n’ Sweet outing slated to kick off on Sept. 23 in Columbus, Ohio. The 29-date tour will travel across the U.S. and Canada from September through mid-November, with stops in Detroit, New York, Philadelphia, Montreal, Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta, Dallas, Vancouver, Seattle, San Diego and Phoenix before winding down on Nov. 15 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
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Support acts on the tour include Amaarae, Griff and Declan McKenna, with the singer partnering with PLUS1 to launch the Sabrina Carpenter Fund to support the well-being of people and animals to provide support for mental health, animal welfare and the LGBTQ+ community on the swing.
Presales for the tour will kick off on Monday (June 24) with the Cash App presale at 10 a.m. local time followed by the Team Sabrina presale on Tuesday (June 25) at 10 a.m. local time. The general onsale will launch on June 28 at 10 a.m. local time. The singer has also teamed up with Spotify to create the first-ever Top Listener Fan Pit at all the shows, as well as the official Sabrina On Tour playlist curated by the singer, featuring her ow songs, as well as influential tracks by Dolly Parton, Diana Ross, Shania Twain, Fleetwood Mac, Madonna, Joni Mitchell, Jungle and more.
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The Spotify Fans First Front Row presale — with tix for the Listener Pit on the floor — will launch on June 26 at 1 p.m. ET, with a very limited quantity of presale tickets available for the singer’s biggest listeners. The same day at 2 p.m. E.T. access to the Spotify Fans First Presale will give a wider range of top listeners access to presale tickets throughout the venue.
“My fans are the best, and I’m excited to share Spotify’s exclusive ticket access with them as a thank you,” Carpenter said in a statement. “For the first time, Spotify created a Top Listener Fan Pit at the front of every North American show, and we’re offering tickets to my top listeners. You’ve all been there for every step of my journey, and I can’t wait to celebrate with you on tour.”
The tour will support Carpenter’s upcoming sixth full-length studio album, Short n’ Sweet, which is due out on August 23. To date, Carpenter has released two singles from the collection, the No. 2 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Please Please Please” and her No. 3 Hot 100 hit “Espresso.” Carpenter will kick off her road trip on August 10 when she headlines San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival for the first time on a bill that also includes main stage headliners The Killers and Sturgill Simpson; Carpenter replaces Tyler, the Creator, who announced on Thursday that he was dropping off the bill.
Check out the Sabrina Carpenter Short n’ Sweet 2024 North American tour dates below:
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