Taylor Swift Connects With Fans on ‘Reputation Stadium Tour’

Navigate Left
Navigate Right
  • The wristbands light up around the stadium while Taylor Swift sings ‘Gorgeous.’

  • During ‘I Did Something Bad,’ fireworks shoot up from the stadium.

  • Taylor Swift sings while playing her acoustic guitar, and snakes, the main theme of the album, come up on the stadium.

  • Taylor Swift reaches a high note during ‘Don’t Blame Me.’

  • Taylor Swift sings and dances during the song ‘This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things.’

Navigate Left
Navigate Right

Thousands of people filled the NRG stadium for Taylor Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour on Sep. 29 in Houston. Her Reputation album is taking the world by storm, and has broke many records including the fastest selling album to hit number one on iTunes. On the night of the concert, the atmosphere was filled with excitement and anticipation as everyone waited for the captivating singer to come on stage.

Charli XCX kicked off the concert with great energy and enthusiasm, and sang some of her famous songs, including Boom Clap and Fancy. Then she left the stage and Camila Cabello came on to perform Never Be the Same. Right before she began Consequences, everyone turned their phone flashlights on and sang along with her. Cabello had amazing dancing skills, and showed them off especially during her hit single Havana. They both played for around 30 minutes each, and then welcomed Swift on the stage.

A strong beat started to echo around the stadium, and Swift slowly appeared on stage while performing her single …Ready For It? Then she performed I Did Something Bad, and the whole stadium looked radiant red because of the lights, enormous fireworks, and amazing dancers. After a few songs and moving speeches, Taylor Swift performed Delicate while moving towards the B stage, which was closer to the back of the stadium, in a sparkly carriage above the audience in order to get closer to her fans.

“I have wanted to go to a Taylor Swift concert for a really long time and it was unforgettable,” Anavi Nayak ‘21 said. “I loved the visual effects and the fireworks, and one of my favorite parts was when she sang Long Live because the Speak Now album is one of my favorite Taylor Swift albums. I definitely want to go to another Taylor Swift concert sometime.”

Something unique about Swift’s shows are that everyone in the audience gets a wristband that lights up in different colors during the show according to the song. For example, during Look What You Made Me Do, certain parts of the crowd’s wristbands were golden, which formed the shape of a crown. Altogether, the wristbands made Swift feel closer to the crowd, and the crowd feel closer to Swift.

“I really wanted to be able to see every single person in here, and it’s a really big place, so you may notice that you have a bracelet on your wrist. Because of these bracelets that you have on, I can see every single person in here. If you are in the last row, top section, I can see you dancing [and] jumping,” Swift said. “It’s just the best feeling in the world looking out and feeling very connected to you guys.”

Additionally, Taylor Swift mashed up a lot of songs, such as New Year’s Day from Reputation with Long Live from her Speak Now album, and Bad Blood from her 1989 album with Should’ve Said No from her very first album Taylor Swift. The mashups sounded terrific, and not only was the audience having fun, but Swift was as well.

“I know we’re supposed to play it cool, but I have to be honest with you. This is the most fun I’ve ever had on tour,” Swift said.

There were tons of props and dancers on stage, including two huge snakes that came up during Shake It Off, which Swift sang with Cabello and Charli XCX. This is because snakes are the theme of Reputation.

Another tradition of this tour is that at every show Swift sings a surprise song on an acoustic guitar, which can be any song from any of her albums. When the time came for her surprise song, it was very exciting for many people to see what she was going to play. This time she sang Wonderland from her last album 1989, which pleased many fans. After this song, she walked to another stage while high-fiving thrilled fans, and performed Blank Space, which the audience loudly sang along to.

The Reputation Stadium Tour has the most massive production compared to all of Swift’s other tours and lived up to its hype. This talented artist loves her fans and tries her best to entertain and connect with them in any way possible. Overall, the concert was filled with loud crowds, bright lights, and unforgettable moments.