Taylor Swift kicked off her Reputation tour in Glendale, AZ on Tuesday night (May 8), to a roaring crowd of 60,000 screaming fans.
From her elegant — and sparkly! — costumes, to the elaborate stagings, and the fan-favorite songs she chose, Swift outdid herself with her latest offering.
It’s true that the old Taylor may be dead, but her Reputation tour is very much alive and thriving. Here are the best moments from opening night.
Related
Keeping Focus
During the 1989 tour, Swift famously brought out members of her “squad” every night for “Bad Blood”, as well as a special guest to perform. But this time, Swift kept the spotlight to herself. She invited openers Charli XCX and Camila Cabello on stage to sing “Shake It Off” briefly and offered a surprise celebrity cameo in Tiffany Haddish — who appeared as part of a pre-taped segment for “Look What You Made Me Do” — but otherwise, the night belonged to Swift and Swift alone.
Tiffany Haddish
But it is always great to see her.
Taylor’s Puns
“What’s better then beautiful?” Swift asked the crowd before queuing up “Gorgeous.” “It’s delicate,” she said of putting yourself out there in order to find happiness in any kind of relationship — and of course, she began that song off of her latest album. And then, after a costume change, she asked everyone if we liked her “Dress.” Cheesy? Maybe. But it worked with Swift’s often coy presence.
The Mashups
She needs to record a full version of the entwined “Bad Blood” and “Should’ve Said No” that she performed.
“All Too Well”
Swift said that this song was requested more than any other in her repertoire, despite it not being a single. Naturally, she gave the fans what they wanted — a beautiful rendition that brought to mind autumn leaves, scarves and crumpled pieces of paper.
Addressing the Snake in the Room
In one of her monologues, she explained the usage of snakes — from her jewelry, to the stage, to the imagery on screen, and even inflatable versions of the animal. “You might be wondering why there are so many snakes everywhere,” she said. “The reason is a couple of years ago, someone called me a snake on social media and it caught on,” she continued, alluding to her feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. “I went through some really low times because of it,” she added. But then her wisdom kicked in. “If someone is using name calling to bully you on social media — and even if a lot of people jump on board with it — it doesn’t have to defeat you. It can strengthen you instead.” Well played.
An Acoustic Change
Reputation is a far cry from Taylor’s musical roots. But she turned the assumption that her new sound doesn’t mesh with her old country persona on its head, by performing “Dancing With Our Hands Tied” with just her guitar. “I still write songs the same way,” she said.
Maybe the Old Taylor Really Isn’t Dead
While songs from Reputation made up the majority of her set, Swift threw in tunes from each of her albums — including “Should’ve Said No” from her debut, “Love Story and “You Belong With Me” from Fearless, “Long Live” from Speak Now, “All Too Well” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” from Red, and several from 1989.
Her Parting Message
The words “and in the death of her Reputation, she felt truly alive” flashed on screen as the night ended. A very perfect and poetic finish.