PARIS, France — The Chairman jump-started her tour after a two-month hiatus, and anticipation was high over whether Taylor Swift would incorporate her 11th era album into the Eras Tour set at La Défense Arena on Thursday.
She did and then some.
Swift extended the set list by one track to land at 46 songs. But many changes were made along the way. She added a new era for “The Tortured Poets Department,” cut a handful of songs and rearranged most of the eras including combining the sets for “Folklore” and “Evermore.”
She also debuted a number of new outfits along the way.
Delivering all the updates were Bryan West, the USA TODAY Network’s full-time Taylor Swift reporter, from inside La Défense Arena in Paris, with Swiftie and trending reporter Anthony Robledo assisting from his desk.
We hereby present the minutes from the first Eras Tour meeting in Paris, France.
More: Taylor Swift unveils new Eras Tour set list in Paris
Swift stuck to her original set list for the “Midnights” era by singing “Lavender Haze,” “Anti-Hero” and “Midnight Rain.” She ended the night with a triumphant rendition of “Karma” as usual.
Fans got one more taste of “The Tortured Poets Department” when Swift played the heartbreaking song “loml” on the piano during her secret set.
Swift started her secret set with “Paris,” a bonus song from her “Midnights” album.
Swift played these songs from her newest album:
- “But Daddy I Love Him”
- “So High School”
- “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me”
- “Down Bad”
- “Fortnight”
- “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived”
- “I Can Do It with a Broken Heart”
Toward the end of her show, Swift officially launched the long-awaited “The Tortured Poets Department” section of the tour after the 1989 era.
Swift performed the track “But Daddy I Love Him” off the April 19 album for her ecstatic fans while wearing a new beige dress with cursive letters.
A road spiraled down the catwalk in an animation to initiate the era. The background animation showed a deserted road while large cages animated and fell on the road.
“Oh my god you should see your faces,” she sang.
She quickly segwayed into a brief moment of “So High School,” the beloved track speculated to be about her romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. She quickly performed the powerhouse anthem “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me.”
Swift switched to “Down Bad” before seamlessly transitioning into the lead single “Fortnight.” Stage production recreated an asylum that resembled the music video for the song with Post Malone, recorded harmony played concluding the song.
Dancers entered the stage in a marching band style format playing drums as she performed the wrath-fueled song “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.” Jan Ravnik and Kameron Saunders then revived Swift in a jazzy skit to set up “I Can Do With A Broken Heart,” where she debuted another new outfit.
“The End” text displayed wrapping up the era that’s likely here to stay. Other beloved tracks like “Guilty As Sin” and “Florida!” did not make the cut.
Swift never goes out of Style. During her “1989” set, she debuted a new, sequined outfit of blue and pink. Her sparkly shoes matched with a different colored heel on each.For the bridge of “Blank Space,” the crowd started chanting in Sydney, Australia, “Syd-ney” as a nod to the 1989 World Tour concert movie where Swift would chant the name of the city she was in after hitting a pole with a club two times. Singapore followed the chant and Taylor Nation tweeted they want every city to incorporate the fan-fueled chant.In Paris, thousands chanted “Par-ee,” the French way to say the capital city.
Swift made no cuts to the “1989” set.
The new set list cut four tracks from the “Folklore” and “Evermore” eras:
- “‘Tis the Damn Season”
- “Tolerate It”
- “The 1”
- “The Last Great American Dynasty”
The combined set included eight songs altogether and wrapped up with “Willow.”
Swift revealed she merged the 2020 pandemic albums “Folklore” and “Evermore” into one section. She told fans she wrote “Folklore” to represent spring and summer with “Evermore” representing fall and winter in what she always considered sister albums.
“On the Eras Tour we have now reunited the sisters, combined them into one chapter,” she said. “You can call it whatever you want as long as you promise to sing ‘Champagne Problems’ with me.”
Many fans had speculated “Cardigan” would be cut from the set list. But Swift actually moved it to the top of the “Folklore” set.
Swift kicked off her fifth set with “Ready for It?”
Swift updated her “Speak Now” set with an intro dance featuring Raphael Thomas and eight other dancers wearing flowy purple dresses. She then sang “Enchanted.”
Fan favorite track “Long Live” was cut from the set list.
After a fairly routine “Fearless” set, Swift altered her concert by including the “Red” era third instead of the expected “Evermore” set. Previously, “Red” came fifth.
With a new shirt that read “This Is Not Taylor’s Version,” the singer performed “22” and showed her audience that they needed to leave any expectations at home.
The relocated “Red” set included the same four songs: “22,” “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “I Knew You Were Trouble” and “All Too Well (10-Minute Version).”
Beflore playing “All Too Well (10 Minute Version),” Swift talked about bringing all of her favorite memories to France.She did her 2019 “Lover” live show here but hadn’t brought a tour to the country since the Speak Now World Tour 13 years ago.“I cannot thank you enough. I’m so moved,” she said.
Follow along with set list changes here.
Swift cut “The Archer” from her “Lover” set before beginning her “Fearless” set in a silver and black minidress as opposed to her classic gold one. A graphic showed her “Lover” house with a new addition in the attic for “The Tortured Poets Department.” Her “Fearless” set remained the same with “Fearless,” “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story.”
More: Taylor Swift’s ‘Love Story’ castle will soon host weddings
In her monologue before playing the song “Lover,” Swift waid the night would span 18 years of music. Previously, the concert covered 16 years. Get ready for a “The Tortured Poets Department” addition some time tonight.
She confirmed the tour would still go era by era, and also spoke about how Paramore is a band she idolized since she was a teenager. She ended with some French: “Je m’appelle Taylor.”
Swift debuted a new, orange bodysuit and jacket for the “Lover” set.
A snippet of the song “The Tortured Poets Department” was included in the intro music Swift kicks the concert off with. Is she foreshadowing other changes ahead? It seems likely.
Swift took the stage about 8 p.m. in Paris (2 p.m. ET) to relaunch her Eras Tour in Europe. She kicked it off with a countdown clock and the Lesley Gore song “You Don’t Own Me” as usual. Then she began her “Lover” set with “Miss Americana.”
At the Paris show Thursday, Paramore energized fans with eight tracks including their cover off the upcoming “Stop Making Sense” tribute album out May 17 featuring artists like Miley Cyrus and Lorde.
Debuting a blond mullet, lead singer Hayley Williams encouraged fans to dance without fear of judgment ahead of Swift’s performance.
“Enjoy your time with Miss Taylor, we will see you next time,” Williams said.
Paramore’s set list included:
- “Hard Times”
- “Burning Down the House” (Talking Heads cover)
- “Caught in the Middle”
- “Brick by Boring Brick”
- “The Only Exception”
- “That’s What You Get”
- “Ain’t It Fun”
- “This Is Why”
At about 6:45 p.m. in Paris (12:45 p.m. ET), Paramore began their set, officially restarting the second year of the historic Eras Tour. Lead singer Hayley Williams sported a new, blond mullet hairdo.
The American rock band is joining Swift on her European leg of 51 shows. Paramore also opened the show for two nights in Glendale, Arizona, in 2023. Their setlist then included nine songs:
- “This Is Why”
- “Hard Times”
- “That’s What You Get”
- “Decode”
- “The Only Exception”
- “Still Into You”
- “Rose-Colored Boy”
- “Misery Business”
- “Ain’t It Fun”
The Eras Tour is one of the first tours that has been followed, globally, by thousands of fans on digital platforms. Fans dedicate part of their concert experience to livestreaming as Swift performs. Livestream Queen Tess Bohne has spearheaded the “Great War” to find fans going live on social media and broadcasting a custom show to tens of thousands of fans almost every night on her account @tessdear.
On YouTube, user @TaylorSwiftHockeyBro also livestreams the 3-hour show, and on Twitch, @folkleric is a host fans follow.
There is also an app, Swift Alert, that notifies fans who only want to watch certain eras like the acoustic, surprise set. The app also sends out push alerts if there are any major announcements.
For the past 83 shows, Swift has had an acoustic set she customizes every stop with a guitar and piano performance. In 2024, the Eras Tour star added mash-ups of her songs for each stop. Here are the songs she has yet to perform:
- “Taylor Swift” (debut album): “Mary’s Song” and “A Perfectly Good Heart”
- “Fearless”: “The Way I Loved You,” “Change,” “Superstar,” “We Were Happy,” “That’s When,” “Don’t You” and “Bye Bye Baby”
- “Red”: “Girl At Home,” “Ronan,” “Forever Winter” and “Run”
- “1989”: “Sweeter Than Fiction”
- “Reputation”: “I Did Something Bad”
- “Lover”: “London Boy,” “Soon You’ll Get Better” and “It’s Nice to Have a Friend”
- “Folklore”: “Hoax”
- “Evermore”: “Happiness” and “Closure”
- “Midnights”: “Paris” and “Glitch”
- “The Tortured Poets Department”: all 31 tracks
Welcome to the Eras Tour (France’s Version). Swift is kicking off her 3-plus-hour concert from La Défense Arena in the Jardins de l’Arche district. The venue is Europe’s largest indoor arena and houses the Racing 92 rugby club. More than 40,000 fans will watch the concert, according to the stadium’s website.
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James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
