The Eras Tour

23 Feb 2024

Taylor Swift Announces ‘The Albatross’ Edition of ‘Tortured Poets,’ Duets With Sabrina Carpenter at Eras Concert

The surprises just kept coming at Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour show in Australia Friday (Feb. 23). During the pop star’s first night at Sydney’s Accor Stadium, she unveiled yet another version of her upcoming album The Tortured Poets Department titled “The Albatross” — complete with a limited bonus track of the same name — before bringing out Sabrina Carpenter to help sing a mashup of “White Horse” and “Coney Island.”

Swift began her regularly scheduled surprise song section by playing a 1989 fan-favorite titled “How You Get the Girl” on acoustic guitar. Then, taking a seat at her piano, she surprised the crowd by unveiling details about “The Albatross,” debuting its special edition cover on the big screens behind her.

“I’m really, really proud of this record,” she said as fans screamed with excitement. “It’s good to have options — everyone likes options. I wanted to show you something, if you will direct your attention to the main screen.”

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Shortly afterward, the “Anti-Hero” singer shared the new cover — the back of which reads “Am I allowed to cry?” — on Instagram. The “Albatross” edition marks the third version of Tortured Poets Swift has announced so far, following the album’s original “The Manuscript” layout she unveiled at the 2024 Grammys as well as “The Bolter” package, which the musician revealed during her Eras show in Melbourne Feb. 16.

All three editions of Tortured Poets are available for pre-order, and will arrive April 19.

Immediately afterward, Swift welcomed Carpenter to the stage. The “Feather” musician has served as the “Karma” artist’s opener on the Latin America, Asia and Australia legs of the Eras Tour; however, she was unable to perform her setlist Thursday due to rain delays.

“She heroically sacrificed her show, which I think is a crime against Sydney,” Swift said before Carpenter joined her on the piano bench.

The pair then dove into a mashup of Swift’s Evermore deep cut “Coney Island” and her Fearless single “White Horse,” which the 14-time Grammy winner explained was a favorite of Carpenter’s.

See clips from Swift’s Eras show in Sydney below.

17 Feb 2024

Taylor Swift Fan Killed in Car Crash While Heading to Eras Concert in Australia

A teenage girl traveling to Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour concert in Melbourne, Australia, was killed in a car accident.

On Thursday (Feb. 15), fan Mieka Pokarier, 16, was traveling with her mother and 10-year-old sister from the Gold Coast to the pop superstar’s show in Melbourne Cricket Ground when their sports utility vehicle crashed into a semi truck, TMZ reports.

Mieka died at the scene, while her younger sister was flown to a Sydney’s Westmead Hospital in a critical condition and placed in an induced coma, according to the New York Post. Their mother, who was driving, was treated by paramedics and taken to another hospital with minor injuries. The driver of the semi truck was also taken to a hospital and was in stable condition.

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Police are still investigating the cause of the crash. No one had been arrested, charged or ticketed for the accident at press time, TMZ reports.

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The sisters’ godmother, Karleigh Fox, said the girls were very excited to see Swift in concert and had bought tickets to the singer’s concerts in Melbourne and Sydney, according to the Post.

“Last night one of my dearest friends was driving from the Gold Coast to Melbourne with two of her children (my god children) when they were involved in a front on collision with a semi trailer,” Fox wrote on a GoFundMe page.

“We are heartbroken to have lost one of her children (aged 16) whilst the 10-year-old has been lifted to Westmead Hospital in critical condition, fighting for her life with brain injuries, a damaged pelvis, and a broken leg.” She added, “This was supposed to be a road trip of a lifetime with them going to concerts in both Melbourne and Sydney.”

Swift’s three-night stand at Melbourne Cricket Ground launched on Friday (Feb. 16) and wraps Sunday (Feb. 18). From there, she’s scheduled for back-to-back concerts at Sydney’s Accor Stadium (Feb. 23-25). Other international stops include Singapore, France, Sweden, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Europe and Canada.

In November 2023, another Swift, 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides Machado, died from heat exhaustion at the superstar’s Eras Tour show at Estadio Nilton Santon in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Following her death, Swift shared an emotional message on social media and postponed her concert the following evening.

15 Feb 2024

Taylor Swift Inspires ‘London Boy’ Tour of the City Geared Toward Swifties: See Details

Taylor Swift has inspired Ivy League college courses, football game snack menus and, now, a comprehensive tour of one of her favorite locales: London.

The Tours by Locals website is offering a guided journey through the city dubbed the “London Boy” tour, after Swift’s Lover track of the same name. Its description promises that tourists will visit all of the major sites mentioned in the 34-year-old pop star’s lyrics, including Hampstead Heath, Camden Market, Shoreditch and the West End.

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One version of the trek lasts about eight hours each day and is available for $495 for up to six people.

“London Boy” is one of many songs on Swift’s seventh studio album believed to be about Joe Alwyn, the musician’s now ex-boyfriend of six years. The actor was raised in North London, and the pair spent a lot of time in the U.K. together during their relationship.

“You know I love a London boy/ I enjoy walking Camden Market in the afternoon,” Swift sings on the 2019 deep cut. “Took me back to Highgate, met all of his best mates/ So I guess all the rumors are true/ You know I love a London boy.”

Ironically, one of the songs on Swift’s April-slated eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, is titled “So Long, London.” So, while hordes of Swifties may soon become more acquainted with the city via the “London Boy” tour, it seems like the 14-time Grammy winner — who is now in a relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce — might have put a pin in her love for the English capital.

The “Anti-Hero” singer announced her latest LP while accepting the best pop vocal award for Midnights at the 2024 Grammys earlier this month. Soon afterward, she posted the Tortured Poets track list on Instagram, revealing that the project has a total of 17 songs. See the full tracklist here.

09 Feb 2024

Taylor Swift Jokes About Tripping & Nearly Falling at Tokyo Eras Show: ‘My Life Flashed Before My Eyes’

This is her trying … not to wipe out in front of tens of thousands of people in Tokyo. At the Friday (Feb. 9) Eras Tours top in Japan, Taylor Swift tripped and nearly fell while performing “The 1” during her Folklore set before skillfully catching herself.

In a video captured by one Swiftie in attendance, the 34-year-old pop star closes out the song while sitting on the roof of a cabin structure. During the track’s final instrumental bars, she stands up and starts to make her way down to the main stage, but trips and lurches forward.

Swift quickly regained her footing. Before starting the next song, she breathes a sigh of relief as the audience chuckles.

“I almost fell off the Folklore cabin, but I didn’t,” she says into her microphone before joking, “And that’s the lesson. My life flashed before my eyes.”

“I’m good, it’s all good,” she adds. “I’m just so happy that I didn’t fall of the Folklore cabin, you know what I mean? What a great night in Tokyo.”

Friday’s show marked the third of four planned Eras dates at the Tokyo Dome, with Swift’s final night at the venue slated for Saturday (Feb. 10). Immediately afterward, fans expect she’ll fly back to the states in order to make it to Las Vegas in time for the Super Bowl, where her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs will face off against the San Francisco 49ers.

At Wednesday’s (Feb. 7) show in Japan, the “Karma” singer opened up about her historic album of the year win at the 2024 Grammys days earlier, and revealed how long she’s been working on her newly announced album, The Tortured Poets Department. “I’ve been working on it for about two years,” she told the crowd. “I kept working on it throughout the U.S. tour, and when it was perfect — in my opinion when it’s good enough for you — I finished it, and I am so, so excited that soon you’ll get to hear it.”

Watch Swift joke about her near fall in Tokyo below.

07 Feb 2024

Watch BLACKPINK’s Rosé Belt Along to ‘All Too Well’ at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Concert in Tokyo

Rosé may be one of the most famous K-pop stars on the planet, but at Taylor Swift‘s Wednesday (Feb. 7) Eras Tour concert in Tokyo, the BLACKPINK band member was just like every other Swiftie in the crowd — passionately singing along, especially when it came time for the 10 minute version of “All Too Well.”

The 26-year-old singer shared a five-minute TikTok after the show featuring clips of her and a friend watching Swift from the audience at Tokyo Dome, the first of four planned Eras stops at the Japan venue. In the video, Rosé belts along to the ten-minute track from start to finish, nailing every single lyric.

“Best 10 minutes in tokyo,” she captioned the clip.

The sweet moment is somewhat of a role reversal from a viral video of Swift jamming out to BLACKPINK’s performance of “Pink Venom” at the 2022 VMAs. With a drink in hand, the “Anti-Hero” singer mouthed along and made up her own dance moves from the audience as Rosé sang onstage with bandmates Jisoo, Jennie and Lisa — paying special attention to the song’s “look what you made us do” line, a possible reference to Swift’s own single “Look What You Made Me Do.”

Earlier that night, Swift shared a TikTok featuring “Pink Venom” in the background to show off her VMAs outfit with Dylan O’Brien and Rina Yang. After the ceremony — during which the “Karma” musician surprise-announced her now Grammy-winning album Midnights — she and Rosé met up at an afterparty and posed for a picture together.

BLACKPINK last released music in 2022 with the band’s sophomore LP Born Pink, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 that October. All four members nurture their own solo careers in addition to group activities, with Rosé releasing her debut solo single “On the Ground” in March 2021.

Watch Rosé’s Eras Tour TikTok below.

13 Dec 2023

Taylor Swift Grossed Almost $2B This Year From Her Music, Movie, Touring and Concert Merchandise

Most corporations would love to rake in revenues well over $1 billion in a single year. In 2023, Taylor Swift has done it — and plenty more — by herself.

Billboard estimates that the 2023 Time Person of the Year honoree has grossed approximately $1.82 billion in music sales and royalties, concert tickets, merchandise sales at concerts and movie ticket sales in 2023 through Dec. 7.

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That figure represents the total amount generated in these handful of segments of Swift’s business career, not the amount she personally pocketed. Because none of this financial information is publicly available, Billboard calculated music royalties based on data from Luminate, concert ticket sales using publicly available information and her concert merchandise revenue was estimated based on Billboard’s reporting.

While impressive, $1.82 billion isn’t even the entirety of the income Swift has derived from her music career. Billboard left many items out of the calculations due to the inaccessibility of data, including synchronization royalties for her music’s use in advertisements, films and television shows, sponsorships, and merchandise sales from her website and licensing deals.

To put Swift’s year in perspective, she took in more than the $1.4 billion global gross of the motion picture Barbie. She exceeded the $1.6 billion fetched last year by the auction of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s art collection of works by the likes of Vincent van Gogh, Georges Seurat and Gustav Klimt. And it’s almost four times the 2022 annual revenue of Deezer, a publicly traded music streaming company with 9.4 million subscribers. In fact, she grossed more than every record label besides the three majors.

Spending on tickets and concert merchandise accounted for the lion’s share of Swift’s business this year. Swift’s The Eras Tour generated approximately $900 million in ticket sales in 2023. That figure is based on Billboard’s estimate that Swift sold 3.3 million tickets to 53 concerts in the U.S. at about $250 per ticket. An additional 13 shows in Latin America likely earned another $60 million to $75 million from 750,000 ticket. At those concerts, Swift sold an estimated concert merchandise sales of $132 million of merchandise. Her per-show average merchandise sales at roughly $2 million, based on Billboard’s reporting.

Swift’s music grossed an estimated $536 million from streaming royalties, purchases — tracks, digital albums, CDs, LPs and cassettes — and broadcast radio play through Dec. 7. Swift is this year’s leading U.S. artist in terms of on-demand audio streams, album sales and track sales.

Sales and streams accounted for roughly 86%, or $461 million, of her recorded music revenue. Most of that money was collected by her label, Republic Records, and the owner of her Big Machine Music Group catalog, Shamrock Capital. These amounts include the gross amount from music purchases (CDs, LPs and downloads) and includes mechanical royalties paid by record labels to songwriters and music publishers.

Swift’s songwriting catalog generated an estimated $75 million from streaming and radio play. (Publishing royalties from streaming are not counted in the recorded music gross revenue. Unlike the mechanical royalties from purchases, mechanical royalties from streams are not passed through record labels.) The radio royalties are paid to Swift’s performance rights organization, BMI, and will be distributed to Swift, her co-writers and the various music publishers and administrators that have rights to the compositions.

Additionally, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour movie has an international gross of $250 million, according to Box Office Mojo. In the U.S., the movie grossed $179 million and debuted at No. 1 with first-week ticket sales of $95 million to $97 million. Depending on the production costs, the movie could be a financial boon for Swift considering she circumvented the traditional Hollywood distribution system and made a deal directly with AMC, the country’s largest movie theater chain. Additionally, the film is now available to rent on streaming and Swift retains the rights to license to a streaming service — both of which will earn her even more money.

Swift’s true economic impact is far larger than her gross sales outlined here. Many experts have been thinking of Swift’s business as the center of a larger economic impact that expands like concentric circles around her fans’ insatiable demand and willingness to travel to experience her concerts. The U.S. Travel Association stated in September that it believed The Eras Tour’s total economic impact will exceed $10 billion. Swift’s tour reached 20 U.S. cities and her fans averaged $1,300 of spending on travel, hotel stays and food. The association figures Swift’s fans spent about $5 billion in those destinations. Including indirect spending by others “who came to join the action around the events but did not actually attend the shows,” the association estimates the total economic impact is twice the $5 billion of direct spending. Another estimated found that her six sold-out shows at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, alone brought an estimated $320 million to the Los Angeles area’s gross domestic product, according to the California Center for Jobs & The Economy and California Business Roundtable.

02 Dec 2023

Blake Lively Applauds Taylor Swift & Beyonce for Empowering Each Other: ‘There’s Space for Us All’

Blake Lively is showing love to Taylor Swift and Beyonce following the stars’ respective blockbuster tours and concert film openings.

On Saturday (Dec. 2), the Gossip Girl alum took to Instagram after she and Swift attended the London of premiere of Bey’s Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé earlier in the week to share a strong message about female empowerment.

“When I grew up, women were always pit against one another. It took me until adulthood to see that the instinct for women to lift each other up to their highest potential is the norm not the exception,” Lively captioned a photo gallery of herself at the opening. “Most of my best friends are women who would’ve been packaged to me as threats or competition. It’s our job to show younger generations the power in aligning rather than dividing.”

She jokingly added, “All this to say, @beyonce and @taylorswift neither of you have to be threatened by my pop stardom. There’s space for us all.”

The A Simple Favor actress’ heartfelt note arrives amid Swift and Beyonce’s record-breaking Eras and Renaissance tours, along with the debuts of their new concert films.

Lively’s post featured a carousel of snapshots from the London premiere of Beyoncé’s Renaissance concert film on Thursday (Nov. 30). One pic features the actress alongside Bey and another shows her posing with Swift.

A day earlier, Swift shared her own photos from the premiere, including an image of her standing alongside Beyonce. “Got invited to London by The Queen…✨?✨ Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé is in theaters now!!” Swift captioned a series of photos.

Swift’s attendance at the London premiere arrived after Bey supported Tay at her Eras Tour film premiere in Los Angeles in October.

“I’m so glad I’ll never know what my life would’ve been like without @beyonce‘s influence,” Swift wrote after the event, sharing a gif of her and Bey posing in movie theater seats. “The way she’s taught me and every artist out here to break rules and defy industry norms.”

See Lively’s post on Instagram here.

28 Nov 2023

Eras Tour Choreographer Calls Taylor Swift a ‘Hard Worker,’ Thinks Travis Kelce Romance Is ‘Awesome’

Mandy Moore (no, not that one) is opening up about all things Taylor Swift, whose blockbuster Eras Tour dances were designed by the seasoned choreographer.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight following Dancing With the Stars‘ Swift-themed episode last week, Moore had nothing but kind words for the “Anti-Hero” singer. “I love that she is a hard worker, she cares so much about what she’s doing, she wants the fans to have the best show possible, and she stops at nothing to get that done,” she said of working with Swift.

“And I appreciate it because I like to work hard too, and we are really alike,” Moore added. “We had a really good working relationship. It was awesome.”

The So You Think You Can Dance contributor also revealed to ET that she and Swift worked closely together to dream up the many dance numbers included in the pop star’s three-hour Eras show. “It honestly was a very simple process,” Moore said. “You talk about what you’re going to do, she has ideas, and then you put it up on its feet. She’s really clear about what she wants to do and how she wants to move, and I just think the world of her. It was really a lovely experience.”

One of Swift’s favorite Eras numbers is the sexy Chicago-esque chair dance for “Vigilante Shit,” according to Moore. The choreographer told one reporter last week that the 12-time Grammy winner was over the moon about the opportunity to perform such a sensual number. “I get to do that?!” Moore recalled Swift cheering.

But what does the dance mastermind think of Swift’s romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce? “It’s awesome,” Moore told ET. “You care about people, and you want them to have the kind of life they want to have and I just, she’s a real gem. So I’m excited she’s happy.”

25 Nov 2023

Billy Joel Says He Scored ‘Cool Dad Points’ After Taking Daughters to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour

Billy Joel earned “very cool dad points” after taking his daughters to see Taylor Swift in concert.

The Piano Man opened up during an interview with People about attending the pop superstar’s Eras Tour in Tampa, Fla., on March 15 with his little pair of Swifties.

“Oh, she’s great. She’s really very good,” Joel told the publication during the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame, which opened Friday and features an exhibit in his honor. “We’re going to probably go see her again.”

After the Eras Tour show in March, the “We Didn’t Start the Fire” singer took to Instagram to share a gallery of photos that included his wife, Alexis Roderick, and their two daughters, Della Rose, 8, and Remy Anne, 6.

In the snapshots, the girls appeared to be dressed in outfits inspired by Swift’s Folklore/Evermore and Lover eras, posing for pictures before the show and later dancing along as the singer belted out “Are You Ready for It?”

“Rockin’ into our new ‘era’ thank you @Taylorswift we loved the show! #swifties #taylorswift #theerastour,” Joel captioned the images.

Della and Remy also got an extra special treat: They were able to meet Swift herself backstage alongside their mom and dad.

The legendary artist and his family are far from the first celebrities to geek out at Swift’s Eras tour. Selena Gomez, Jack Antonoff, HAIM, Aaron Dessner, Marcus Mumford, Diplo and Shania Twain are among the tour’s celebrity attendees (see a full list of all the famous guests at The Eras Tour here).

18 Nov 2023

Taylor Swift Postpones 2nd Rio de Janeiro Concert Following Death of Fan

Taylor Swift has postponed the second night of her Eras Tour concert in Brazil on Saturday (Nov. 18) due to “extreme temperatures” in Rio de Janeiro.

The last-minute delay arrives one day after the death of a fan attending the pop superstar’s opening night at Rio’s Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos on Friday (Nov. 17).

“I’m writing this from my dressing room in the stadium,” Swift shared in a handwritten note on her Instagram Story Saturday. “The decision has been made to postpone tonight’s show due to the extreme temperatures in Rio. The safety and well-being of my fans, fellow performers, and crew has to and always will come first.”

Brazilian concert promoter T4T noted in a statement on Instagram that Saturday’s concert will be scheduled for Monday (Nov. 20). Further information about rescheduled event will be shared through taylorswifttheerastour.com.br.

On Friday night, Swift expressed her sorrow on social media over the loss of 23-year-old fan Ana Clara Benevides Machado, who died after attending the opening night of the singer’s Eras Tour in Rio. The woman was treated by paramedics after she reported not feeling well and was later taken to a hospital, where she died, according to an Instagram post by T4T. The exact cause of Machado’s death had not been revealed at press time.

“I can’t believe I’m writing these words but it is with a shattered heart that I say we lost a fan earlier tonight before my show,” Swift wrote on her Instagram Story. “I can’t even tell you how devastated I am by this. There’s very little information I have other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young.”

She continued, “I’m not going to be able to speak about this from stage because I feel overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it. I want to say now I feel this loss deeply and my broken heart goes out to her family and friends. This is the last thing I ever thought would happen when we decided to bring this tour to Brazil.”

Many concert-goers complained that they were not allowed to bring in water bottles to the stadium despite a record-breaking heat wave in Rio, the Associated Press reports. Temperatures reached 102.4 degrees Fahrenheit in the city on Friday.

During Friday’s show, her first of three at Rio’s Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos, Swift paused her performance to request water for a group of fans who indicated they needed it.

“There’s people that need water right here, maybe 30, 35, 40 feet back,” the singer said, as seen in fan-captured footage on X. “So whoever is in charge of giving them that, just make sure that happens. Can I get a signal that you know where they are?”

This marks the second time Swift has been forced to postpone dates on the South American leg of her Eras Tour. Just hours ahead of her second show at the Estadio River Plate in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Friday (Nov. 10), the “Cruel Summer” singer announced that the concert was being delayed due to “truly chaotic” rainy weather conditions in the region.