Imagine this. The auditorium shakes from the screams of teenagers, tears filling your eyes almost blinding you as Taylor Swift rises from the middle of the stage. Out of a cluster of purple feathers, she begins her first song with so much joy, “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince.” Her beloved fans The “Swifties” have all consecutively decided to make friendship bracelets to trade with other people at each concert it’s made a wonderful community.
“My best friend and I have given and received bracelets from people around the country,” sophomore Lyla Kath said.
The Swifties have also decided to dress up as a different Taylor Era at each show.
“Some of my favorite parts were unique and creative outfits based on different eras of Taylor Swift,” said Kath. “I’ve been to several other concerts and nothing compares to the community of the ‘Swifties.’”
The fans of Taylor Swift are such a strong group that over 2,000 people at each show would even pay $100 in parking to sit outside of the stadium and just listen to her sing. There were Taylor Nation trucks outside for each concert and people would show up hours before the concert and wait in lines that would take up to 6 hours just for a hoodie.
“My best friend and I arrived at the line a half hour early before the trucks opened and there were already hundreds of people lined up,” Kath said. “We ended up waiting that day for four hours to buy a hoodie.”
Taylor Swift’s Eras tour has been a world record-breaker in multiple categories and she’s only a third of the way through her tour. Los Angeles California was her 26th show out of 146 and she’s already broken seven records. Taylor Swift achieved a level of drama and media saturation that has not been seen since the 1980s by Michael Jackson and Madonna.
Billy Joel went to her show and all he could say to the New York Times was “The only thing I can compare it to is the Phenomenon of Beatlemania.”
According to Billboard Swift is almost just as popular as the Beatles who have been around for 60 years. Yet Swift has only been around for 13 years. Swift has been selling 14 million dollars in tickets each night, and at the end of the Eras Tour, which has dates well into 2024 could reach 1.4 billion or more. That would exceed Elton John’s 939 million dollars in tickets for his multi-year farewell tour, which is the current record holder.
She has made each show on the news event by adding two surprise songs at each show and having amazing headline grabbers like her ex Taylor Lautner, who came out on stage in Kansas City, Missouri, and backflipped across the stage.
There are people who go to the concert over and over again like comedian Nikki Glaser, who attended 8 shows. The estimated cost of all of her expenses on the Eras Tour was $25,000.
She said in an interview with the New York Times. “This year I decided not to freeze my eggs and I am going to put my money towards the thing I love the most in the world, which is Taylor Swift” Glazer said.
Swift has now had more number-one albums on the Billboard, 200 throughout her career, more than any woman, which surpasses Barbra Streisand. She has also had 10 albums on the chart and this is the first living artist since the Trumpeter and Band Leader Herb Alpert in 1966 to have four titles in the top 10 at once.
Apert 88 told the New York Times “With the way the radio is these days in the way music is distributed with streaming. I didn’t think anyone in this era could do it but she did it.”
Swift is also one of the most kind-hearted people. At the very begin- ning of her tour, she gave each person in her crew a $100,000 bonus just for doing all that they do for her.
Our widely appreciated Minnehaha Academy Nurse, Heidi Streed, went to the Eras Tour with her daughter, an alumna of Minnehaha Academy Mackenzie Streed. “It was one of the most dressed up concerts I’ve ever been to,” said Streed.
“There were people of all age groups dressed up which I’ve never seen before at a concert.” Streed talked about how intricate each part of the show was “I’ve never been to a concert where the performer takes 2 seconds to change and changes 10 times in the show. It was amazing”
Swift has 13 outfit changes and every single one is thought out perfectly. Every detail has been thought about.
“Me and my daughter haven’t done anything like this together and I feel like it made us closer,” said Streed. “We were surrounded by all of the same kinds of group, there were so many mother and daughter groups.”
Swift has also made it possible for people who can’t go to the Eras tour to see the live product filmed in the theater. It will be shown in the AMC theatres. Senior Janine Libbus says the movies are a great opportunity for everyone to get some sort of experience for the Eras Tour. “I love Taylor Swift and I tried to snag some tickets but wasn’t able to. Once I found out there was gonna be a movie I was excited! It won’t be the same but very close.” The movie is estimated to be around 2 hours and 45 minutes long, around the same length as the concert. The film is coming on October 13, 2023. Don’t miss it!
The “Taylorpalooza” has made a community of fans that have never seen before.