Taylor Swift has recalled secretly rehearsing songs from The Tortured Poets Department to “surprise” fans on her Eras Tour.
The 34-year-old singer has shared special memories from the record-breaking shows in new retrospective The Eras Tour Book. Taylor divulged how she managed to incorporate tracks from her new album when she was already halfway through the tour.
“We conceptualised and rehearsed it secretly,” she wrote, “and surprised the Paris crowd with it when we started our European leg of the tour.”
Taylor also discussed her themes for the new section of the concert.
The star wanted the staging and costumes to be “minimalist, white, stark and bold” when she performed tracks from The Tortured Poets Department, to offer a contrast to the other bright and colourful segments of the show.
The star admitted it was “ambitious as hell” to introduce new songs to the Eras Tour when it had already begun.
“There was nothing else in the show like it, and it was such an exciting challenge to try to improve upon a show I already loved,” she recalled.
In the new book, Taylor goes on to describe performing tracks from The Tortured Poets Department – which she released in April – as “the most dramatic, cathartic, female-rage driven part of the night”.
But Daddy I Love Him, Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?, Fortnight, Down Bad, I Can Do It With A Broken Heart and loml were among the new tracks showcased in the revamped setlist.
The Eras Tour kicked off on 17 March 2023 in Arizona, US, and will end on 8 December in Vancouver, Canada.
