Why you should watch Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour on Netflix - even if you do not love to listen to Miss T-Swift 24/7.
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past decade, Taylor Swift is one of the biggest names in music today. With over 13 years of work experience in the music industry, sitting casually under her belt, Swift has redefined what it means to be a performer. If the last song of Swift's you heard was "Love Story", well you my friend have about 13 years of catching up to do. That's okay though, once you've accepted your fate, you'll soon find yourself falling down the deep dark rabbit hole of the Swiftie fandom. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. If you're a die-hard Swiftie of ten years, or if you embarrassingly found yourself band wagoning on the "#TaylorSwiftiscancelled" trend in 2018, this article is for you.
Let's start with the basic breakdown of the tour. The tour kicked off on May 8, 2018, in Glendale, California and ended in Tokyo on November 21, 2018. The 53 all stadium concert tour grossed about $345.7 Million in revenue. The tour itself broke records and became the third largest female tour and largest tour ever in North America and the U.S.A. The tour was home for 16 dancers, 4 backup singers, 6 band members and 368 other crew members who traveled around the world for about seven months to create the iconic tour we see in the film. The stage itself is massive and that's not an exaggeration. To put it in perspective, the decking alone needed to create the massive stage was "equivalent to ten arena tours... that's bigger than a 767", says Swift's set coordinator in the end credits of the film. The tour had two b-stages in the back of the stadiums, both individually are the size of her main stage on her previous tour, for her album 1989. In addition to the large amount of walking room on stage, the set reached a height of 110 feet tall. If you're looking for one reason to watch the film, appreciating the tour for the mechanics and manpower alone is a good enough reason to watch. However, if you still are not convinced, we shall continue.
Let's talk about performance. A key characteristic of every Taylor Swift concert is expression. Obviously, a big part of Swift's ability to capture her audience has been through her songwriting. However, a factor that seems to go unnoticed by outsiders, is the way Swift excels as a performer. She knows how to engage with her audience and utilize her creative skills to build a larger-than-life live show. The impressive thing about Swift's skillset, is her unique ability to add her love of live theatre into her arena and stadium shows. Since her very first tour, Swift has added elements like on-stage quick costume changes, set changes and dance to liven the overall concert experience. Even her setlist is created to intentionally feel like a Broadway theater show. Swift's songwriting has leaned on her skills as a storyteller, her shows bring out that same skillset from her. The show starts off with a high level of anticipation, hitting multiple finales throughout the show, as if to end one act and then start another. Then the show has a grand finale. Swift has said in past interviews that if she was not a singer, she would be on Broadway and maybe one day she will.
Continuing the conversation of Swift's theatrical performance, reputation was specifically created with the idea of playing the part of a character the media created. During 2016, media drama ended with the disappearance of Taylor Swift for about 2 years. The beginning of the album feeds into the serial dating, psychotic woman that the media present Swift as to the world. Contrary to popular belief the majority of reputation is still an album about love. At the end of the day, reputation is an album about love, but Swift showcases her dramatics and acting ability through this performance.
While I could go on and on about this concert, if you still have no interest in watching this film, maybe the next article will convince you. But for now, if you like Taylor, concerts, theatre, or if you are just bored on a Friday night, I highly suggest you watch Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour - only on Netflix. I'll leave you with a warning - this film may cause the following symptoms: loss of sleep, because you are so obsessed and have too many songs stuck in your head, a severe impulse to learn the choreography to every performance, and excessive crying.
Finally, as Taylor Swift would say:
"Welcome, to the Reputation Stadium Tour."
Author
Emma Frances Akerman
