by Taylor Swift opened her highly anticipated Eras Tour with an epic concert in Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday night.
The 33-year-old singer kicked off her first tour since 2018, performing 44 songs from ten albums over three hours and 15 minutes.
“I can’t even get into how much I’ve missed you,” Swift told the crowd of about 80,000 fans at State Farm Stadium, per the BBC.
Taylor Swift launched her Eras Tour with a three-hour concert in Phoenix, Arizona. (John Shearer/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
When the hitmaker first announced her tour on Instagram in November, she said, “It’s a journey through all my musical eras of my career.”
TAYLOR SWIFT ANNOUNCES HIGHLY EXPECTED NEW CONCERT DATE FOR 2023, ‘ERAS TOUR’
On the opening night of her tour, Swift delivered on her promise with a set list of individual sections for each of her albums, including “Taylor Swift,” “Speak Now,” “Evermore,” “Folklore,” “Lover,” “Reputation,” “Red (Taylor’s Version),”, “Fearless”, “1989” and “Midnights.”
The Pennsylvania native launched the show with a performance of “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince” from her 2019 album “Lover.”
The singer was back on stage for the first time since 2018. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
Swift performed 44 songs from her ten studio albums. (John Shearer/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
The Grammy winner’s show featured at least 13 costume changes. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
“I don’t know how to process all of this the way I feel right now,” she said, according to Entertainment Tonight. “We have a lot of time for me to try and summarize how I feel about how much I’ve missed you and how happy I am to see you. Let me start by saying you guys feel fantastic!”
She sang some of her biggest hits including ‘Shake It Off’, ‘Blank Space’, ‘Midnight Rain’, ‘Tim McGraw’, ‘Karma’, ‘You Belong With Me’, ‘Cruel Summer’, ‘Willow’, “Look What You Made Me Do,” “Don’t Blame Me,” “Fearless,” “Love Story,” “All Too Well (10 Minute Version),” and “I Knew You Were Trouble.”
The concert featured a giant curved screen backdrop, multiple set pieces, pyrotechnics, 16 backup dancers, and at least 13 costume changes for Swift.
According to ET, she took a dive and appeared to swim across the stage in one striking moment. The outlet reported that Swift performed the entire show without taking a break.
The Grammy winner’s opening concert received critical acclaim from critics. The BBC reported that the only complaint from reviewers and fans was that she only sang one song from her third studio album, “Speak Now”.
Swift only performed one song from her album “Speak Now”. She performed “Enchanted” in a shimmering gold ballgown. (John Sheaerer/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
Swift wore a shimmering gold ballgown as she sang the power ballad “Enchanted” from the 2010 release. According to the BBC, there is already speculation that Swift will add more songs to the “Speak Now” segment.
The 52-day Eras Tour spans the US and ends August 9 in Inglewood, California. The tour sold a record 2.4 million tickets on its first day of sale, the most for any artist in a single day.
However, the first day of presale ended in a much publicized debacle as millions of fans were unable to get their hands on tickets after waiting in the Ticketmaster queue for hours.
The 52-date tour ends August 9 in Inglewood, California. (John Shearer/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
In November, registered fans were given presale codes to secure tickets for the Eras Tour, days before tickets went on sale to the general public. However, fans soon faced long delays and error messages that Ticketmaster blamed on bots and historically unprecedented demand.
The company canceled the sale days later for the general public.
Ticketmaster has been widely criticized for its ticket sales chaos, along with allegations that the company has a monopoly on the concert industry.
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Swift expressed anger and frustration in a lengthy statement, saying she was assured by Ticketmaster that the company can handle the demand.
The Eras Tour shattered records, selling 2.4 million tickets on its first day of sale. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
At a Senate hearing in January Live Nation Entertainment Chief Financial Officer Joe Berch told the committee Ticketmaster learned “valuable lessons” from the meltdown.
“In hindsight, there are several things we could have done better, including spreading sales over a longer period of time and better setting fan expectations for ticket purchases,” Berch said in written testimony released prior to to the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. . Live Nation Entertainment is the parent company of Ticketmaster.
“And let me be clear that Ticketmaster accepts its responsibility to be the first line of defense against bots in this ever-escalating arms race.”
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Daniella Genovese of Fox Business contributed to this report.
