Trigger Warning: I briefly mention disordered eating below.
I’ve never talked about Taylor Swift here but I am a fan and have been since her debut album was released in 2006. I can’t believe that in just a few hours, her latest rerecord, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), will be put out into the world. In the lead-up to this album, I decided to celebrate and revisit the original 1989 era by watching the “1989 World Tour.” Here are some thoughts I had while watching:
- Let’s get the dark stuff out of the way first: after seeing the Miss Americana documentary, it’s harder to watch this tour knowing she was struggling with disordered eating at the time. You can’t unsee it–her makeup seems more visible because she doesn’t have the healthy lit-from-within glow that she does now. It’s hard to watch her put on a show knowing she was hurting internally.
- The original 1989 era was the last time we saw her on the level of world domination that she is today–and there was a backlash to that. I think the world has changed, and she’s had a lot of time to figure out how to navigate being a celebrity, but there is that fear that there’s another backlash coming in the back of my mind sometimes.
- She makes some of the same faces on stage still today which is so sweet.
- I need to make her famous chai cookies.
- I love the versions of “Love Story” and “I Knew You Were Trouble” she used on this tour.
- Damn, this album is so freaking good.
- She had so many celebrity guests on tour, I would love to see her perform with Kelly Clarkson and sing one of Kelly’s songs with her.
- There’s no time with “The Eras Tour” setlist, but I would love it if she could squeeze in celebrity guests à la the 1989 tour.
- I can’t wait to see what she does next after “The Eras Tour.”
- She is so good at visual branding (some might say a mastermind). It’s unbelievable to me how she was smart enough to make each album so visually distinct at the time.
- I saw some familiar faces on stage…it seems like some of her tour band has been with her for a while.
- She was what, 25, when this album came out? I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a CEO at that age–because she essentially is a CEO of Taylor Swift, Inc. To have the livelihoods of your singers, band, dancers, etc, on your shoulders is intense at any age, but at 25?!? Could you have handled that pressure? I certainly could not have.
- It’s interesting to see the progression of the “1989 World Tour,” to the “Reputation Stadium Tour,” to “The Eras Tour.” She’s enhanced the quality of the production and the audience experience so much with each tour.
- Damn I’m excited for these vault songs.
- I love how she rocks out more with her songs on tour, specifically “We Are Never Getting Back Together” on this tour.
- I really want her to do a full rock album someday. She has rock songs but not a start-to-finish full rock album. If it happens, it will be epic.
- Taylor Swift loves a high-waisted bottom be it a short, skirt, or pant, and girl same here.
You’re welcome for that peek inside my brain. I’m gonna go manifest “Style featuring Harry Styles.”
-Livvy