Taylor Swift Has a New Reputation
Taylor Swift Elicits Fresh Energy at Her Sold-Out Reputation Stadium Tour
Encompassing the babel of Pattinson Avenue, Lincoln Financial Field is one of Philadelphia’s most favored palaces of sports, long attracting pop artists, notable athletes, and other profound entertainers. But at the complex’s entrance, as the sunlight fades behind the stands, the sea of people chant as they anticipate the excitable night ahead. Singer/songwriter, Taylor Swift emerges from the stage floor, encased by a cloud of smoke that gently fades, revealing her proud face. Swift is putting on a hometown show as she likes to call it. It’s only a short drive to Reading, PA, the serene town where she grew up on a Christmas tree farm. But a small town vibe is far from what Lincoln Financial is experiencing tonight. The microphone goes up. Swift provokes the crowd with the first verse from her second single off Reputation, “Are you ready for it?”
The stadium is filled with bellowing fans who have long awaited Swift’s Reputation Tour. Claiming the stage after a three year hiatus, Swift puts on an unforgettable concert, leaving fans feeling full of aspiration. Swift sings, “I never trust a narcissist but they love me," from her single "I Did Something Bad." This eludes to the negative attention that has been showered on her since she dove face first into the pop genre with her 2014 album, 1989. Songs like "Shake it Off" and "Blank Space" take a direct hit at the paparazzi and media for framing her for falsely serial dating, writing fallacious lyrics about ex-boyfriends, and merely pretending to be a good person.
Debut-album songs, such as "Teardrops on My Guitar" and "Our Song" catapulted her from singing at open-mic nights at The Bluebird Cafe, nestled in the outer boroughs of Nashville, TN to performing at sold-out stadium shows across the country. But tonight, the twenty-eight-year-old is beaming as she floats from the main stage across the stadium on a lift enlightened by countless twinkling lights to one of her two B-Stages in a sequined, kaleidoscopic dress, crooning old hits and new singles alike. It is at this moment when Swift opens up to the crowd about the passage of time. “I know that time is inevitable. Today, I went to my hometown of Reading, and now, there’s a new family that lives there.” Tears spike in fans eyes as they stand there, entranced by Swift’s words. “They graciously welcomed me into their home, and I went into the little girl’s room that was once mine. I know that time is unstoppable.”
Unstoppable is the momentum that has accentuated her career evolvement. Since 2005, Swift has written and released six albums, emerging with country soul tracks and eventually stepping into the pop aura that showcases her edgy and life-filled vocals. You might not know it now, but Swift used to belt her heart out night after night in small cafes, until one night, record executive, Scott Borchetta, was so compelled by her voice, he signed her onto Big Machine Record Labels. At 14 years old, Swift became the youngest artist ever signed by the Sony/ATV Music Publishing House. Borchetta welcomed her into the recording studio where she wrote and recorded her self-titled debut album, eventually landing her to making history in the form of awards won and sold-out shows.
Tonight, Swift is in her element as she gives the crowd a taste of a small town, genuine performance in a sold-out stadium. On the B-stage, Swift cradles an emerald green guitar as her delicate voice elicits the familiar vocals of "Never Grow Up", a song fans have memorized from her six-time platinum album, Speak Now. It’s as though Swift has found herself again through bittersweet songs such as this one. All thoughts apart from being in the moment vanish as I stand just a couple feet away from her, reaching my hand out towards her, welcoming her polished voice and textured vocals. Needless to say, the Reputation Tour has a way of shedding negative connotations that were present in Swift’s life just a few years ago.
When the 1989 tour was underway, Swift faced a rocky road in the form of sexual misconduct and utter shame for expressing her feelings through songwriting. “I went through some really low times,” Swift revealed at her opening show in Glendale, Arizona. It didn’t vanish overnight. She decided to stay out of the media’s eye for over a year, leaving her fans longing for a comeback. She made the ultimate revival with the Reputation Stadium Tour, where she puts on an unforgettable concert, disproving the media’s accusations.
Swift's newfound confidence shines through in songs that are filled with charismatic notes. In the middle of "Don't Blame Me" she dips her legs down, tilts her head back, and proudly displays her knack for soprano vocals. Call and Response songs like "Getaway Car" and "Look What You Made Me Do" elicit a sizzling beat, while the compassionate ballad, "New Year's Day", shows her longing for everlasting true love. Swift always manages to incorporate relatable heartbreaking songs and romantic longtime love stories on each album. Other tracks on Reputation blend the rebellious soul of Joan Jett with her own true stabilization she's known for so many years. "Call it What You Want" and "Don't Blame Me" are soaring laments with clear-cut point: The media has rendered a false image of her that she won't succumb to.
As she chats to the crowd, Swift says, “Something a little bit different happened with this last album, and I decided that rather than going right back into the studio and putting out an album, I decided it might be important for me to take a break and just figure out who I would be as a person if I didn’t have a spotlight on me." Here, she is eluding to the harsh magnifying glass the media has bestowed upon her. For instance, "Blank Space" from her 1989 album is written from the perspective of the media's image on her. She continued, “I thought a lot about ‘what is our reputation’, and what is the value of it? How does it actually affect us? Is it bigger in our own mind and more influential than it actually is in reality?” She has a valid point.
It’s evident that Swift has returned happier and more resilient that ever. The music industry has taken Swift to unimaginable places. She went back to her roots in Reputation by producing raw, emotional, yet textured songs that prove her true image is the one she makes for herself. No longer as vulnerable, Swift closes the concert by glided across the stage, taking bows, and grinning ear to ear before she disappears beneath the stage for the final time. As the song finishes, fans cheer, the lights go dim, and just like that, a new era is in progress for Swift.
