for fans of: Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry, Nina Nesbitt, Kacey Musgraves, Ellie Goulding
DISCLAIMER: Taylor Swift is probably my most favourite person in the entire universe so there's a 1000% chance this review is 100% bias
(photo creds: senatus.com)
To be a Taylor Swift fan since the tender age of twelve and still not having ever attended one date in her three sold-out world tours is, spiritually, something very painful. Word travels that her shows are full of intimacy against majesty, and sparkling sets are the backdrop to tales of the romantic day-to-day - and it killed me that I never had the chance to embark onto this ordeal. In November, however, it was announced that the Red Tour phenomenon - after a whopping 73 shows in America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand - would be coming to London's O2 Arena for five (!!!!!) soon-to-be-sold-out shows. It was like the sun had come out after a month of rain! God bless! Halle-freakin-lujah!
I could've exited The O2 screaming at the top of my lungs "I AM A CHANGED WOMAN!" for, I felt that, the Red Tour was a truly liberating experience - an epiphany if you must.You may enter feeling as if you're about to have a jolly good time at a cute lil pop concert, but by the time the lights go down and the infamously hysterical drums of album opener 'State of Grace' begin, everything really has changed. The Red Tour marks her transformation from the twee country girl who plucked her guitar nicely and sang songs about broken hearts to, as cited by Rolling Stone in 2013, "a true arena-rock goddess at an amazing peak". Her silhouette is spotlighted against an, obviously, red curtain as the first verse starts but soon drops as she belts "I neeeeeeverrrrrr sawwww youuuuuu commmmmiiiiiiiiiiinnnnggggggg" to a 20,000 strong audience. The drumming emphasis continues swiftly into the next song of the set 'Holy Ground' in which she prances and spins around the stage before an energetic drum solo with a series of neon drum kits.
Her rock star status is solidified as the crowd went crazy for Swift and her ratchet rhinestone guitar on the song that ignited this era - 'Red' - a sentimental tale of lost love and never letting go intertwined in an electric guitar driven melody (watch her live acoustic performance at the CMA Awards 2013). It's songs like this which define her 2012 album which, in it's first week, sold two albums every second in the US and lead to 1.5 million worldwide sales in that week alone. And good on her! She's been working her socks off since she was a wee one, but received her big break at age 14 when she became Sony's youngest ever on-staff songwriter. This piece of history is only evident of the rawness of her talent, which can only improve to this day with the unruly heartache of 'All Too Well' - possibly the highlight of the night. Fresh off her acclaimed GRAMMY performance, she performed the vulnerable piano ballad with the same roaring fire seen Stateside a couple of weeks ago. The painful retelling of a failed romance (rumoured to be about Jake Gyllenhaal, but who gives a fuck?) was enough to allow, though slightly embarrassing, the tears to slyly creep out from my eyes.
(photo creds: nydailynews.com)
Shamefully, I only physically cried on one other occasion - the title track from the stripped-back beauty of the game changing, GRAMMY winning 2010 album 'Fearless'. She played acoustically on the gentle twang of her 12 string guitar and dedicated it to all the "hopeless romantics" in the crowd, which must've been everyone, bar the parents in the crowd, for why else would we all be there? The happy-go-lucky romance continued in the sassy-rock optimism of 'Sparks Fly', in which she was elevated over the crowd like the actual angel she is, and fan favourite 'Love Story' - the Romeo and Juliet inspired, princess country-pop crossover classic was simply sublime (and the dancer guy who "played" the prince was so spicey).
(photo creds: weheartit.com)
Slices of pop perfection appeared in the reinvention of the 2013 Brit Award performance of the internationally chart-topping single 'I Knew You Were Trouble' - which, BY THE WAY, is not about Harry Styles thank you very much journalists worldwide. The unusual and very unSwifty "dubstep"-esque tremours bounced off the walls of the arena as the crowd wailed along to the famous "ohHHHH, OHHHHhhhhhh" of the chorus. Though I adore her to the moon and back, the one thing Taylor Swift cannot do is dance. Even as a superfan I found myself cringing during whatever on Earth she was doing during sugary pop party anthem '22' - when I was, only a few moments beforehand, squealing with frenzy at a video montage of the highlights from her 22 years of life; from baby days to award winning instances.
(photo creds: jencita.tumblr.com)
Her fans prove to love her almost as much as she loves them, donned head-to-toe in outfits and light up signs that are very Taylor and shine almost as brightly as the star herself, she thanks them profusely for their undying support and genuinely seems floored by their loyalty. And this is where her success roots - from simply being herself: an authentic girl falling in and out of love yet also a bonafied Greek goddess who is an utterly glistening starlet. She ain't cool, but she ain't trying to be either. This is why me, and so many millions of others, kiss the ground in which she walks upon. Luv u 4eva TayTay x
