Taylor Swift introduced “The Tortured Poets Department” to the Eras Tour in Paris on Thursday, dramatically revamping a set list that’d been relatively static for more than a year.
The Paris La Défense Arena show marked Swift’s return to live performing, after her last gig March 9 in Singapore. It was her first time onstage since the April 19 release of “Poets.”
Fans had been wondering whether and how “Poets” would be integrated into her setlist, which had been about 45 songs long and largely unchanged since she kicked off Eras in March 2023 in Glendale, Arizona.
In a video Swift recently posted to YouTube shorts, she showcased clips of what appeared to be rehearsals for the upcoming leg of the tour.
Fans were quick to point out costumes and props they hadn’t seen before on the Eras Tour — including a short view of her dancers performing with hats and canes, as well as a quick glimpse of a barrier that appeared to show the “TTPD” logo.
That all but sealed the deal that Swift would be ushering in a new era, which came to life Thursday in Paris.
“Poets” made its “Eras” debut in the show’s second half and included: “But Daddy I Love Him,” “So High School, “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” “Down Bad,” “Fortnight,” “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” and “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.”
The wild card of Swift’s Eras shows has been a two-tune acoustic set when she performs two songs not normally included in the shows and speaks to her fans.
Those “surprise” songs that followed the “Poets” set Thursday were the aptly chosen “Paris” on guitar and “loml” on piano. Swift also took the time to tell fans that her nickname for the “TTPD” section is “female rage, the musical,” to the crowd’s cheers.
The timing of Swift’s shows has been consistent all tour long, with performances usually lasting less than 3½ hours. So the “Poets” addition meant the subtractions of several fan favorites.
The first hint that changes were on the way came early in Paris as “The Archer,” which had been the show’s sixth song, went missing when Swift quickly transitioned from her “Lover” era to “Fearless.”
Other Eras stalwarts that vanished Thursday were “Long Live” — added to the setlist after July’s release of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” — “’Tis the Damn Season,” “The Last Great American Dynasty,” “The 1” and “Tolerate It.”
Swift also changed up the order of eras, as her “Red” set — with the beloved, crowd pleasing “22,” “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “I Knew You Were Trouble” and the 10-minute-long “All Too Well” — moved up from sixth in the batting order to the No. 3 spot. All “Red” songs that been consistently played on the tour survived Thursday night’s cuts.
After “Red” came “Speak Now” and then “Reputation,” before Swift launched into her first-ever double-era set — combining sister albums “Folklore” and “Evermore.”
Swift used the European kickoff to usher in a host of wardrobe changes. She donned an orange-and-red bodysuit for “Lover” and a pink-and-blue skater skirt set for “1989” that echoed its original 2014 style.
There were dynamic new introductions for some of the eras, including new choreography before Swift took the stage for “Enchanted.”
And when she called out the names of all of her albums before she launched into show opener, “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince,” she added “TTPD” to the discography.
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