Key events
Taylor is going back to high school, with the classic You Belong With Me.
And there’s a new outfit!
Taylor moves to Fearless era
We’ve arrived in the Fearless era!
I’ll admit Fearless is, still, my favourite album, and for those of us in our 30s, inextricably linked with the high school experience.
The album, which was first released in 2008, includes Taylor Swift teen romance classics such as Love Story and You Belong With Me, but also the deeply personal The Best Day, which is dedicated to Swift’s mother:
I don’t know who I’m gonna talk to now at school
But I know I’m laughing
On the car ride home with you
A re-recording, Fearless (Taylor’s Version), was released in 2021. It includes a really nice piano version of Forever & Always. Personally I’m a fan of Come In With The Rain, which was included in the new album.
Earlier in the Eras tour, Taylor sang Fearless, You Belong With Me and Love Story.
Fans are excited about the inclusion of The Tortured Poets Department tonight.
First setlist change…
Swift appears to be skipping The Archer, which earlier had been included in this part of the set. This would be the first major change to the tour.
Taylor, on stage at Paris La Défense Arena, called the city romantic.
She’s singing Lover:
We could leave the Christmas lights up ‘til January
And this is our place, we make the rules
And there’s a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you dear
Have I known you 20 seconds or 20 years?
Taylor is now transitioning to a big fan favourite, Lover (the song).
“I feel so incredibly lucky,” she tells the crowd, also asking them to cheer for Paramore.
Taylor is now moving on to You Need To Calm Down, another song from the Lover era.
Taylor Swift, who is wearing a glittering bodysuit, is now moving on to The Man.
I would be complex
I would be cool
They’d say I played the field before I found someone to commit to
And that would be ok
For me to do
Every conquest I had made would make me more of a boss to you
“I’m feeling extraordinary,” Taylor tells the crowd.
Lover Era
We’re now in the Lover era. Originally released in 2019, Lover is a confident pop album with fan favourites like Cruel Summer and, of course, Lover. I love this performance on Saturday Night Live:
The album includes feminist anthem The Man, where Swift pointedly sings:
I’m so sick of running as fast as I can
Wondering if I’d get there quicker
If I was a man
But it also has some heart-wrenching tunes like Cornelia Street:
I hope I never lose you, hope it never ends
I’d never walk Cornelia Street again
That’s the kind of heartbreak time could never mend
I’d never walk Cornelia Street again
Here’s a performance of Cornelia Street from a few years ago:
In earlier parts of the tour, Taylor played these Lover songs:
Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince
Cruel Summer
The Man
You Need To Calm Down
Lover
The Archer
She’s on to Cruel Summer.
As in previous shows, Taylor has opened with Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince.
Taylor Swift appears on stage
Taylor Swift is now on stage at the Paris La Défense Arena, for the first performance of the Europe segment of her Eras tour.
The crowd is cheering as music starts.
The countdown is on…