The Best Moments From the Opening Night of Taylor Swift's Reputation Tour
Taylor Swift kicked off her Reputation tour in Glendale, AZ on Tuesday night (May 8), to a roaring crowd of 60 thousand screaming fans.
From her elegant â and sparkly! â costumes, to the elaborate stagings, and the fan-favorite songs she chose, Swift outdid herself with her latest offering.
Itâs 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.
During the 1989 tour, Swift famously brought out members of her âsquadâ every night for âBad Bloodâ, 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 âShake It Offâ briefly and offered a surprise celebrity cameo in Tiffany Haddish â who appeared as part of a pre-taped segment for âLook What You Made Me Doâ â but otherwise, the night belonged to Swift and Swift alone.
But it is always great to see her.
âWhatâs better then beautiful?â Swift asked the crowd before queuing up âGorgeous.â âItâs delicate,â she said of putting yourself out there in order to find happiness in any kind of relationship â 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 âDress.â Cheesy? Maybe. But it worked with Swiftâs often coy presence.
She needs to record a full version of the entwined âBad Bloodâ and âShouldâve Said Noâ that she performed.
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 â 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 â from her jewelry, to the stage, to the imagery on screen, and even inflatable versions of the animal. âYou might be wondering why there are so many snakes everywhere,â she said. âThe reason is a couple of years ago, someone called me a snake on social media and it caught on,â she continued, alluding to her feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. âI went through some really low times because of it,â she added. But then her wisdom kicked in. âIf someone is using name calling to bully you on social media â and even if a lot of people jump on board with it, it doesnât have to defeat you. It canât strengthen you insteadâ Well played.
Reputation is a far cry from Taylorâs musical roots. But she turned the assumption that her new sound doesnât mesh with her old country persona on its head, by performing âDancing With Our Hands Tiedâ with just her guitar. âI still write songs the same way,â she said.
Maybe the Old Taylor Really Isnât Dead
While songs from Reputation made up the majority of her set, Swift threw in tunes from each of her albums â including âShouldâve Said Noâ from her debut, âLove Story and âYou Belong With Meâ from Fearless, âLong Liveâ from Speak Now, âAll Too Wellâ and âWe Are Never Ever Getting Back Togetherâ from Red, and several from 1989.
The words âand in the death of her Reputation, she felt truly aliveâ flashed on screen as the night ended. Â A very perfect and poetic finish.