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Taylor Swift has battled rain, bugs and swampy summer heat over the course of the first four months of her Eras Tour. And, as you’d expect, she handled all those challenges with her typical aplomb. So it was not surprising that the singer also had a brush-the-dirt-off-your-shoulder response to a stage malfunction during the first […]
Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour weekend in Cincinnati, Ohio, was an exciting one for Swifties. She debuted two Evermore songs live for the first time during her acoustic sets — one with an assist from collaborator Aaron Dessner — and she performed a Gracie Abrams song with Abrams.
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The superstar shared several photos from her Cincinnati shows on social media Sunday (July 2), along with a message that recapped some highlights — and reminded fans what they still have to look forward to later in the week.
“Cincinnati I couldn’t love you more,” Swift wrote. “Had the best two nights with you!!”
She continued, “Last night was so special getting to sing ‘I miss you, I’m sorry’ with @gracieabrams in the acoustic set and bringing out @aarondessner to play ‘Ivy’ in his hometown.”
Swift invited Abrams to the stage with her Saturday night (July 1), as the opening act’s set was cut due to a schedule change based on the weather forecast. The two shared vocals on Minor track “I Miss You, I’m Sorry,” with Swift on guitar and Abrams on piano, and Abrams posted her own reaction to this unforgettable moment: “@taylorswift I love you forever friend. Just thank you.”
Dessner brought Evermore‘s “Ivy” to life on the stage for the first time with Swift the same night. And on Friday (June 30), Swift sang the album’s title track, “Evermore,” for the first time live.
Dessner uploaded a video of “Ivy” on Instagram and wrote, “Cincinnati!! It’s hard to describe what it felt like to play ‘Ivy’ from evermore last night with @taylorswift in the town I grew up in, where I learned to play music in the first place. Grateful as always to Taylor and all of you for listening.”
Meanwhile, Swift wrapped up her note to fans on Sunday: “See you soon Kansas City, meanwhile I’ll be counting down the minutes til Speak Now (my version) comes out July 7th WHICH IS VERY SOON.”
Swift first announced that Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) will be arriving on July 7 at one of her Eras shows at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium in May.
She wrote about Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) on social media on May 5: “It fills me with such pride and joy to announce that my version of Speak Now will be out July 7 (just in time for July 9th, iykyk. I first made Speak Now, completely self-written, between the ages of 18 and 20. The songs that came from this time in my life were marked by their brutal honesty, unfiltered diaristic confessions and wild wistfulness. I love this album because it tells a tale of growing up, flailing, flying and crashing … and living to speak about it. With six extra songs I’ve sprung loose from the vault, I absolutely cannot wait to celebrate Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) with you on July 7th.”
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is the third re-recorded album she’s releasing, following Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) in 2021.
For more about Swift’s weekend in Cincinnati, check out Billboard‘s review of Saturday night’s concert, plus an ongoing record of the surprise songs she’s performed on tour here. Watch clips of this weekend’s special performances with Aaron Dessner and Gracie Abrams below.
Olivia Rodrigo‘s “Vampire” tops this week’s new music poll. Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (June 30) on Billboard, choosing Rodrigo’s new single as their favorite new music release of the past week. “Vampire” brought in more than 64% of the vote, beating out new music from Lil Uzi Vert, Shakira & Manuel Turizo, Charli […]
Even on one of the busiest weekends of the summer, and with competition from two hometown playoff-contender sports clubs, Saturday night (July 1) belonged to Taylor Swift. The Queen City was transformed into the pop queen’s city — SwiftCinnati if you will — during the second night of Swift’s home stand at Cincinnati’s Paycor Stadium, […]
Attention, Taylor Swift fans: Swift will be taking the stage one hour earlier than planned tonight (Saturday, July 1) at Cincinnati’s Paycor Stadium. “Hey Cincinnati – Alas we’ve got another weather situation but this just means I get to see you sooner! I’ll be going on an hour early at 7pm – we’ll open doors […]
A Taylor Swift fan skipped work to see the pop star in Cincinnati this weekend, hoping no one would recognize her when she was supposed to be home “sick.” Inspired by “Anti-Hero,” the fan hid her identity by dressing up as one of the music video’s ghosts. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news […]
It’s a jam-packed Friday (June 30), with some of today’s biggest stars gearing fans up for the long Fourth of July weekend by releasing new tracks to enjoy. Olivia Rodrigo made her long-awaited musical return with her bloody good new single “Vampire,” Lil Uzi Vert treated fans to a whole new album with Pink Tape, […]
ENHYPEN is ready to catch ’em all with the Pokémon Music Collective, as they’re teaming up for a fun new single, “One and Only.” The track is set to arrive on July 12 along with a music video, and is “inspired by the sounds of the Pokémon series video game universe by artists across multiple […]
As it turns out, Olivia Rodrigo‘s fans have a lot of GUTS. Ahead of the live premiere of Rodrigo’s new “Vampire” video at YouTube headquarters in Playa Vista, Calif., on Thursday night, one brave fan approached the singer/songwriter with a promposal.
“You wanna, like, go to prom with me?” he asked as Rodrigo walked through a crowd of YouTube creators and fans at the event, broadcast live for her Livies around the globe. “I’ve always wanted to go to prom,” she responded, adding to wild cheers: “Give me your number!”
We’ll have to wait and see whether Rodrigo ends up at prom next spring, but for now, she’s focused on her OR2 Era, premiering the “Vampire” song and video first thing Friday ahead of the release of her sophomore album, GUTS, on Sept. 8.
In addition to the video premiere, the intimate crowd of creators and fans also had the chance to shoot photos and videos around YouTube’s Spruce Goose airplane hangar, which was transformed into a series of vignettes inspired by the Petra Collins-directed music video. There were banners from the ill-fated “19th Annual Awards,” where Rodrigo’s in-video performance ends in blood-soaked fashion, as well as a grassy knoll and vintage microphone to re-create the idyllic opening scene.
“I hope you guys had fun at all the little stations,” Rodrigo told the crowd ahead of the premiere. “I know it doesn’t really make a ton of sense right now, but trust that it will make sense once you watch the video.”
Rodrigo marveled at reuniting with Collins, who also directed her 2021 visuals for “good 4 u” and “brutal” from her debut album Sour. “I made this video with my friend Petra Collins, who’s amazing,” Rodrigo said. “I’ve been following her for years. I’ve been saving her photos on my Pinterest since I was 15, so I feel really lucky that I get to make art with her now.”
See a photo of Rodrigo posing with YouTube creators and fans at the event and watch the “Vampire” video below.
Olivia Rodrigo and guests attend the revealing of the #vampireOR2 Shorts challenge and premiere the video for her single “vampire”, (Geffen Records) at YouTube Space LA on June 29, 2023 in Los Angeles.
Timothy Norris/Getty Images for YouTube
On her new single “Vampire,” Olivia Rodrigo bitterly recounts the very specific ways in which a much-older ex-boyfriend took advantage of her — and now, fans are out for blood. Released at midnight Friday (June 30), the rock opera-inspired track — which serves as the lead single off Rodrigo’s upcoming sophomore album Guts — looks […]