Taylor Swift left the whole country ablaze for 12 straight days.
Performing to record-breaking audiences in Melbourne and hundreds of thousands more in Sydney, Swift’s presence has left a noticeable, and very glittery, mark on Australia.
Even the 9honey team was swept up in the excitement, donning rhinestones and friendship bracelets galore even if they weren’t attending one of Swift’s seven shows.
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While we nurse ourselves through the post-Taylor blues, let’s reminisce on the magical (almost) fortnight that was – these were the most magical moments from The Eras Tour, according to the 9honey team.
‘The gasp I gasped!’
With luck on her side, 9honey’s Deputy Editor Kahla Preston was over the moon when Swift played not one but two of her favourite songs as a mash-up surprise song.
“All day in the leadup to the show, I had the song peace from Folklore stuck in my head –it’s one I absolutely love and think is criminally underrated, and I knew she hadn’t used it as a surprise song on the tour yet, so I wondered if I’d be so lucky,” Preston says.
“Turns out I was doubly lucky, as she performed it in a mashup with another song I adore, New Year’s Day. The gasp I gasped!”
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Equally swept up by Swift’s performance, 9honey editor Karina Recchi was specifically enamoured by the fake snow in Swift’s performance of All Too Well.
“I will never, ever, ever get over the moment Taylor sang ‘I still remember the first fall of snow and how it glistened as it fell’ and ‘snow’ started fluttering from above,” Recchi says.
“It was night one in Sydney so the weather was a little moody and the fake white snow was swirling through the air in the wind as we all sang All Too Well in unison. Pure magic. It will live with me forever.”
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‘Bawled like a baby’
For many Swifties, The Eras Tour has been a source of nostalgia as they revisit the songs of their childhood. This was the case for Nine.com.au’s Head of Search Sindy Nguyen.
“My Taylor surprise song was Teardrops on My Guitar and I bawled like a baby,” Nguyen, who splashed out more than $1500 on her Swift experience, says.
“That was the first Taylor Swift song I’d ever heard and loved when I was a teenager and it was such a full circle moment hearing it live 17 years after it was released.”
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9honey’s Afternoon Editor April Glover shared the same sentiment.
“Mine was watching her perform Fearless live 14 years after seeing her do it during the 2010 concert,” Glover says.
“Her jumping around with her fringe dress really brought me back and reminded me of being a teenager!”
Some Swifties made a point to avoid all The Eras Tour spoilers leading up to the big day to ensure they experienced the full spectacle with fresh eyes – 9honey’s Senior Features Writer Maddison Leach was one such Swiftie.
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“I managed to go into the show almost completely blind despite being a huge fan. I didn’t look up the setlist, I avoided watching tour videos online, I didn’t watch the movie and I tried to keep as much of it a surprise as possible – and it was totally worth it,” Leach says.
“Everything hit so much harder because I hadn’t seen it on TikTok before and I loved getting to experience the whole show for the first time ever in the flesh.”
The highlight for 9Product Reviews Producer Erin Christie, and undoubtedly many others, was the show’s iconic nod to Aussie culture.
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“My favourite moment (aside from the entire Folklore set) was Taylor’s dancer, Kameron, substituting the ‘like, ever’ in We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together for ‘tell him he’s dreaming’ from The Castle,” Christie says.
“This was followed by Taylor talking about how much she loves the way we say ‘no’ in Australia with the slight R on the end. I’m loving how much Taylor seems to love Australian culture.”
Kerri Elstub, Nine.com.au’s director, could not look past the sheer joy that Swift was clearly experiencing.
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“It had to be the Sydney night two concert where the crowd gave Taylor a four-minute screaming/standing ovation after Champagne Problems,” Elstub says of her magic moment.
“She was so gobsmacked. She couldn’t stop smiling, laughing and seemed so humbled by the adoration of 82,000 people.”
Even those, like 9News’ Sarah Swain, who may not have called themselves Swifties before The Eras Tour, have since declared themselves Swiftie converts.
“I have never felt more lucky to get to go. I knew she was big, but I had no idea of the devotion and adulation of the fans,” Swain says.
“I am in awe at how she performs for so long, so energetically, it’s just amazing! I am now a full Swiftie and I even have the t-shirt”.