Why Taylor Swift Stopped Herself From Crying During Lisbon 'Eras' Show

Taylor Swift
Buda Mendes/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

Taylor Swift gave a performance to remember in Portugal on Saturday, May 25 amid the European leg of her Eras Tour, even getting emotional while on the stage.

“I’ve just never seen a crowd like this in my life,” Swift, 34, gushed in the middle of her Red set. “There have been moments in this show already where I like, forget what I’m supposed to do next or what I’m supposed to say because I’m just so distracted by how much fun you’re having and how you’re performing in the audience. I love this.”

She continued, “You’re just so in the moment and I cannot tell you how special that is for us as performers to get to look out and make eye contact with you and connect with you in this way.”

Swift performed in Lisbon on Friday, May 24, and Saturday, noting during her last show that it was “an absolute dream” to bring Eras abroad.

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“There is, before I start crying, there is one song that I want to play you from the Red album if you happen to have about 10 minutes to spare. Do you have ten minutes?” she quipped, introducing her acoustic version of “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version).”

Later on in the show, Swift delivered two surprise song mash-ups for the Portuguese crowd. She sang “The Tortured Poets Department,” the title track of her latest album, and “Now That We Don’t Talk” on guitar. Swift then belted a medley of “You’re on Your Own, Kid” and “Long Live” via her piano.

The singer resumed her Eras Tour in Paris on May 9 after a two-month hiatus. While fans assumed that Swift would add her new album, The Tortured Poets Department, to the setlist, which she did, she threw the audience for a loop when she reordered the lineup of the three-and-a-half hour show and debuted an abundance of new costumes.

Dressed in a white Vivienne Westwood gown printed with lyrics from the album, Swift kicked off the section with “But Daddy I Love Him” before launching into an abbreviated version of “So High School.” She subsequently levitated around the stage on a moving platform while belting out “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” and performed “Down Bad” surrounded by the beam of a UFO. For “Fortnight,” Swift appeared to make her way through an asylum, and during “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,” she pantomimed being shot down as she walked alongside a marching band.

For the act’s final song, “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” Swift completed a quick change into a Vivienne Westwood lingerie set and jacket on stage as her backup dancers encouraged her to continue with the concert. She then recreated choreography from throughout the Eras Tour while singing about performing despite her heartbreak.

Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift performs on May 24, 2024 in Lisbon. Pedro Gomes/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

After her final show in Paris on Sunday, May 12, Swift took to Instagram to recognize the addition to the setlist.

“This post is dedicated to the new Tortured Poets section of the Eras Tour (aka Female Rage The Musical!) and everyone who made these memories so magical,” she wrote. “To my crew, fellow performers and band who worked tirelessly in their break to concoct this surprise for you — but mostly for the fans in Paris. I’m so thankful that it was you we got to show this to for the first time because you gave us so much excitement, passion and love. I’m SO fired up to play this for every crowd on the tour. See you very soon, Stockholm!

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Swift also celebrated her 87th Eras Tour concert on Sunday by making several references to her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, who wears No. 87 on his Kansas City Chiefs jersey. In addition to rocking a top and skirt in Chiefs colors during the 1989 section, Swift sang “So High School” live for the first time with Kelce present as he was spotted dancing and singing along. Swift then gave Kelce a sly shout-out before mashing up “The Alchemy” and “Treacherous” during the surprise songs segment, asking the audience, “Did you know this is our 87th show?”

After four shows in Paris, Swift brought Eras to Sweden for a trio of performances. Next up, the Grammy winner will perform in Madrid for two nights on Wednesday, May 29, and Thursday, May 30, respectively.

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