The night we all have been waiting for has finally arrived. Taylor Swift as officially kicked off her reputation Stadium Tour and it’s the best production we’ve ever seen.
Glendale, Arizona was in for a treat on May 8 as the night kicked off with Charli XCX singing her most popular hits like “Boom Clap” and “Boys”. Following Charli was Camila Cabello, who admitted she was both nervous and excited about performing in front of a sold out crowd of 60,000 people. But that didn’t stop her from putting on the best performance of her life. After the two opening acts, the anticipation built intensely as we all wondered what Swift would do this time around.
After a 30 minute intermission, the lights switched off and an intense opening of flashing lights and Swift saying ‘reputation’ began. And without further ado, the popstar opened up with her smash hit “…Ready For It?” Following the opening track, Swift did a new rendition of “I Did Something Bad” with vocals like we have never heard before. If there is anything we are to take away from this tour, it’s Swift’s incredible knack to perform, while also learning that her vocal performance has grown exceptionally.
While Swift sang every song from reputation apart from “So It Goes,” she also took it back to her other eras as she sang songs like “Shake It Off,” “Blank Space,” “All Too Well,” and even the country sounding “Should’ve Said No” that goes back to her debut album. Needless to say, she did not disappoint when it came to the setlist.
Most of the show was filled with flashing lights, snakes, and dance beats but leave it to Swift to always strip it down to an acoustic performance. With the piano, she sang a mashup of “Long Live” and “New Years Day” and with the guitar, “Dancing With Our Hands Tied”. And just like that, amongst the outstanding production and lights, Swift took time to connect with her audience, and it was emotional.
You might be wondering why there are so many snakes everywhere, huh?” Swift asked. “A couple of years ago, someone called me a snake on social media and it caught on,” Swift said, continuing her tradition of not naming names. “Then a lot of people were calling me a lot of things on social media. And I went through some really low times for a while because of it. I went through some times when I didn’t know if I was going to get to do this anymore.” She then paused almost as if she was about to shed some tears.
“I wanted to send a message to you guys that if someone uses name calling to bully you on social media, and even if a lot of people jump on board with it, that doesn’t have to defeat you. It can strengthen you instead,” Swift said, as the crowd cheered. “And I think something that came out of it that was good is that I learned a really important lesson that I’ve been telling you from the stage for about 10 years, but I never had to learn it so harshly myself — and that lesson has to do with how much you value your reputation.”
She concluded with a valuable lesson that she’s learned herself over the years. “I think that the lesson is that you shouldn’t care so much if you feel misunderstood by a lot of people who don’t know you, as long as you feel understood by the people who do know you; the people who will show up for you, the people who see you as a human being.” Then, Swift expressed her gratitude to the fans who have always stuck with her. “Thank you for taking time to get to know me, for sticking up for me, for seeing me as a human being”.
Nearing the end of the show, Swift covered almost every hit and song from reputation, and closed the show with a mashup of “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things”. And as fans cheered as Swift left the stage, the words “in the death of her reputation, she felt truly alive” popped up on the screen, marking the end of an outstanding performance.
View the setlist and photos from the night below:
Next: Taylor Swift Visits Fan in Phoenix Burn Unit
Did you get to see opening night of the tour? What did you think of the performance? Let us know by sounding off in the comment section below.