Music
Taylor Swift Kicks Off 2023 US Eras Tour
Taylor Swift kicked off her U.S. concert tour with a three-hour career retrospective. Swift opened the 27-date Eras Tour with a six-song set from her album “Lover” at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where the Super Bowl was played a month ago.
“I’m not sure how to address how this is making me feel right now,” Swift, who hasn’t toured since 2018, said early in the performance.
She closed the show with a seven-song set from her latest album “Midnights,” concluding with “Karma.”
In between, she played songs from most of her albums, except for “Tim McGraw,” from her self-titled debut in 2006. It took her 44 songs and over three hours to complete her 17-year career.
Having not toured in support of her previous three albums, this concert series is intended to compensate for lost time by performing many of those songs live for the first time. Swift described the tour as “a journey through the musical eras of my career (past and present!)” when she announced it in November.
Swift appeared to acknowledge the Ticketmaster controversy that tainted the tour’s buildup when she told the crowd over 70,000 that she understands it took “considerable effort” for them to be there.
Following another performance at the same venue on Saturday night, the tour will travel to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and then to AT&T Stadium near Dallas.
It comes to a close in August with two shows in the Los Angeles area.
Taylor Swift Breaks Top 10 Billboard Records
Taylor Swift became the first artist to hold all ten Hot 100 positions, as “Midnights” sold over 1.5 million copies to top our Billboard 200 albums chart.
The singer is reacting to news that her latest studio album, released on October 21, is smashing records. She is the only artist in history to hold the top ten spots on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in the same week. This has never happened in the 64-year history of the chart.
“10 out of 10 on the Hot 100?” tweeted the “Anti-Hero” singer on Monday. “On my tenth album?” “I AM NOW IN SHAMBLES.”
According to the site, Swift’s dominance of the top 10 for the November 5, 2022-dated Billboard chart has pushed her beyond Madonna for the most top 10 hits among women.
According to the tracking firm Luminate, which tracks streaming, sales, and downloads, Midnights recorded 1.578 million sales in its first week of release in the United States. This is the highest one-week total since Adele dropped 25 in 2015, reaching 3.482 million in its first week.
Midnights sold 1.578 million copies, 1.140 of which were album purchases. It’s also worth noting that this is her fifth album to sell at least a million copies in a single week, with no album by any artist selling more in a single week since her 2017 album Reputation, which debuted with 1.216 million.
Midnights also debuted at number one on Billboard’s most recent album chart. It is her 11th best-selling album, tying her with Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, and Drake. Jay-Z, with 14, and the Beatles, with 19, have the most No. 1 singles.
Swift announced the release of Midnights in October in August. On social media, she described it as “the story of 13 sleepless nights strewn throughout my life.” She claimed she wrote the songs “in the middle of the night” while ” traveling between terrors and pleasant dreams.”
She’s been releasing videos, even creating an edit to “Anti-Hero” in response to the fatphobic backlash. “Bejeweled” was released last week, and the Cinderella-with-a-twist-themed video included Laura Dern, the HAIM sisters, and Dita Von Teese. Swifties, the singer’s admirers, have speculated about who the songs are about, including ex-John Mayer on “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve.”
Swift hinted at a new tour last week on The Tonight Show, saying, “I believe I should do it.” We’ll do it when the time comes. It’s something I miss.”)
She also commented on the album’s phenomenal performance, particularly how it became the year’s best-selling album in just one day. It also shattered Spotify’s record for the most streams in a single day. In its 5-star review, Rolling Stone labeled it an “instant classic.” “I’m beside myself,” she said to Fallon.
Swift has been a music-making machine, re-recording her past albums beginning in 2021 with Fearless and Red. The new versions allow her to own her masters – the original recordings of the songs.
