Taylor Swift performs The Tortured Poets Department songs live for the first time at Paris Eras Tour concert
Taylor Swift has officially added several songs from her newest record, The Tortured Poets Department, to her Eras Tour.
Fresh off the release of her well-received 11th studio album, Swift returned to the stage on Thursday (9 May) in Paris, France, where she performed several of the new tracks live for the first time.
Following performances from her 1989 album, the 34-year-old superstar re-entered the stage dressed in a white gown, before launching into tracks from TTPD.
She began with the album’s sixth song, “But Daddy I Love Him”, before jumping around and performing “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me”, “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart”, “loml”, “So High School”, “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” and more.
Ahead of her highly anticipated return to the road, Swift teased fans with a YouTube video of her tour rehearsal, where the intro of “Fortnight” could be heard playing in the background. “A fortnight til Paris,” the caption read.
“We are going to discover a slightly modified show since she has released a new album,” her French tour manager had confirmed in an interview with Radio France prior to the show.
Thursday’s concert marked her first of four in Paris, the first stop on her 18-city European leg.
It was recently reported that 20 per cent of the tickets for the four sold-out Paris shows were bought by Americans, who travelled to Europe to see her on tour.
Taylor Swift performs "So High School" at her Paris Eras Tour show. pic.twitter.com/iOyXlGVUeA
— Variety (@Variety) May 9, 2024
Meanwhile, Stockholm, the tour’s next stop, expects about 10,000 concert-goers from the US.
Following its release, TTPD topped the Billboard 200 chart, selling 2.61 million units, the highest for any album since Adele’s 25 in 2015.
It’s Swift’s 14th chart-topping album, tying her with Jay-Z for the most No 1s by a recording artist, placing both slightly behind The Beatles’ 19 top albums.
TTPD also gives Swift the most No 1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart among female recording artists. Save for her 2006 eponymous debut album, which peaked at No 5, all of Swift’s albums have managed to reach the No 1 spot.
The album features collaborations with rapper Post Malone and Florence Welch of English band Florence + the Machine.
Reacting in shock to her album’s reception, Swift wrote in an Instagram caption: “My mind is blown. I’m completely floored by the love you’ve shown this album.”
“2.6 million ARE YOU ACTUALLY SERIOUS?? Thank you for listening, streaming, and welcoming Tortured Poets into your life. Feeling completely overwhelmed.”