There is no global star today who can be compared to Taylor Swift. OK yes. Probably only one: Beyoncé. The two have been touring half the planet with their songs for months, with shows that leave people speechless. The two attract hundreds of thousands of fans who travel miles and pay millions for their concerts. The two lead a discourse full of identity, feminism, empowerment, self-esteem and commitment. And that’s precisely why the two know that they are not rivals, but that they create a dynamic of sisterhood, fandom, female strength and tribes made up mostly of women who respect and admire each other. That’s why one of her greatest accomplishments on Taylor Swift’s big night at the premiere of her filmed concert “The Eras Tour” at a Los Angeles theater was having a fighting partner at her side who was as equal as she was different was , As even the Federal Reserve recognizes, it is thereby (and with the permission of the cinematic Barbie) stimulating the US economy. God save the queens.
Swift, who does almost everything, put together this premiere the same way she did the film: in her own way. The first thing she did was reach the red carpet laid out for her at The Grove, an open-air shopping center with a cinema complex owned by the AMC chain, with which she has teamed up to launch this project (without production) before five in the afternoon Platforms behind it, which will be shown in cinemas around the world from tomorrow, Friday). She has closed the central venue – and the surrounding streets, not without traffic chaos – since Tuesday evening, which was already prepared for her and her more than 2,000 guests on Wednesday, the day of the premiere. There, she posed, signed, took selfies and spent a long time with a few fans specifically chosen to see her up close. Then the guests arrived, who were treated to buckets of popcorn (personalized with their faces like on The Eras Tour poster), chocolates, gummy bears, nachos, soft drinks… until there was enough. A few celebrities (with permission from Beyoncé, who apparently only went for a few photos and didn’t stay for the screening), lots of family, friends, team – including director Sam Wrench – and, above all, followers; about 2,200, according to TMZ and local media. His parents, the pillars of his career and crowned stars by his most loyal followers, did not miss it.
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Loaded with expensive buckets of popcorn, Le-Ann, 63 years old, was one of the oldest in town, as she herself admitted with a laugh. A longtime admirer of the singer, she got the cards through a Los Angeles radio station and drove about an hour to get there with a friend she had lost sight of: “She’ll be looking for more jewelry.” It’s crazy, I’ve never seen anything like it. But she’s fabulous, she’s a born artist,” she said, dressed in her singer’s merch T-shirt. Many (especially many; most of the audience was female) dressed as they would at the concerts: with clothes that referenced the singer, her albums, her video clips… And everyone wore their classic beaded bracelets with names. of their songs, which they traditionally exchanged at song evenings.
The entire cinema complex with its 14 screens was intended for Swift. Although the screening began at seven in the afternoon, it ended up being delayed for more than an hour in some theaters. The reason: She greeted each of them individually. And she gave everyone a similarly short speech in which she thanked the guests for being there and being with her. “Every single one of the people tonight was chosen, one by one, because of their love and support for this tour,” he explained. “Thank you for everything you have done that has brought us to this day.” “I have always enjoyed doing this. “I can’t believe I’ve managed to build a career in the music industry. “I’ve always had a lot of fun doing it, but I’ve never had a better time in my life than with The Eras Tour,” he said.
“It’s the most electrifying experience of my life, and there are several reasons for that: my band, my dancers, the entire staff… They gave everything in our lives, rain or shine, healthy or sick, no matter what. “. And we came out the other side doing it with a smile on our faces, for you, the fans. What you, the public, did was tremendous care, preparation, you showed intensity, you did everything… You made us forget everything for three and a half hours, so thank you very much for that. “I think fans will see that they are the protagonists of the show,” he added. He thanked each room (in one were his dancers, in another his backing singers, in another the production team…) the team: “This will be a central memory in my life, thank you, I hope.” Like it you and you are proud of all this, I love you very much.”
Taylor Swift with several of her dancers arriving at the world premiere of “The Eras Tour,” her filmed concert, on October 11, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Matt Winkelmeyer (Getty Images)
Each cinema experienced the screening differently, but the screaming, running through the aisles and videos from their fans made it clear that anyone who wants to go to the cinema for a religious cinematic experience had better forget it. There is music, screams, applause, tears, people getting up to dance, arms in the air, jokes and phrases sung like at concerts… Taylor Swift had already managed to turn her performances into a party; Now it’s turning movie theaters into another festival.
The film itself is the reflection of the 53 performances it has already given in the United States and the four in Mexico (it has another hundred to go: this fall in Argentina and Brazil and next year in Asia, Europe, with a stage ). on May 30 at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, and back to the United States to close in Canada for now). Many fans will notice that some songs that were played on almost all of them have disappeared: The Archer, Cardigan, No Body, No Crime or the popular Long Live, which becomes the theme of the end credits. The intermediate periods between the 10 epochs are also shorter; Here you don’t have to wait for the artist to change.
In a show with different costumes, sets and effects, thanks to the film you can see details that cannot be seen in huge stadiums: from the change of the microphone in each era, everything personalized to the millimeter, to the desks and the coffee cups in The Man, the meticulous moss-covered piano surrounded by branches in Champagne Problems, or the rhinestone-encrusted snake-shaped bodysuit he wore during the Reputation era. Nothing that even the most avid fans don’t know, but with an unprecedented level of detail that’s impossible to capture live. By the way, there are no scenes outside the concert either, neither before nor after, behind the scenes … Although she was seen both in the cinema and at Swift’s recent performances in the company of a film crew, of which they were already talking the most about a documentary.
And there were definitely fans at the premiere, many and very loyal. From Aricka, a 26-year-old marketing professional who creates a Taylor Swift-based menu for her restaurant; even Jonathan Velasquez, 19, who came alone and was voted one of the singer’s best listeners by the Spotify platform and had a denim jacket hand-painted by him personalized; or Carolina Guzmán, 23, a Mexican who traveled from Monterrey for the event and took a selfie with the singer before entering after nine concerts on the tour.
Jonathan Velasquez, 19, wears a hand-painted Taylor Swift jacket at the world premiere of “The Eras Tour” at theaters in Los Angeles, California on October 11, 2023.MP
Because after that it was impossible. Although she stayed to watch the performance from start to finish, in which she danced and sang like everyone else, she left through a back door, to the chagrin of fans, some of whom missed half of the footage alone trying to see her, when she leaves. The singer still has a few days of rest left. Not too much. On the 27th, she will re-release the album she re-recorded, 1989 (her Taylor’s Version, as she calls the versions of the albums she re-records because she lost the rights to her former manager in 2018). From November 9th to 26th it will take place in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. And then in February he will continue traveling through Japan, Australia, Singapore and much of the world with his The Eras Tour. It is expected to raise more than $1 billion worldwide.
The concert film is currently showing in cinemas. On the same Wednesday it was decided to bring forward the launch in the USA and Canada to Thursday afternoon. More than $100 million in tickets have already been sold worldwide, and the trade press estimates that in North America alone (where the film will be shown in almost 4,000 cinemas) more than $125 million will be grossed, and in the USA even between $30 and a half 50 million dollars rest of the world. The nearly 100 countries it will reach. It could be the sixth film of the year to gross worldwide. With only 10 weeks left until the end of 2023, few will manage to beat it. OK yes. Probably just one: Beyoncés in December. It will be the era of queens for a while yet.
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