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Taylor Swift fans praise her response to major stage malfunction

Pop star was performing the final of her three sold-out shows in New Orleans when the incident occurred

Roisin O'Connor
Monday 28 October 2024 04:52 EDT
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Taylor Swift changes Karma song lyrics in special shoutout to Travis Kelce

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Taylor Swift fans have praised the pop star for how she dealt with a stage malfunction during one of her sold-out Eras shows.

The “Fortnight” singer was performing her song “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me” at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday (28 October), which she usually does from a reflective silver platform that moves down the catwalk while she sings.

However, the platform, which fans have affectionately named the “Tayoomba”, appeared to stop working as the performance got underway.

Without showing any sign that something was wrong, Swift got off the platform and danced down the catwalk while her backup dancers followed suit.

The “Tayoomba” was pushed off the stage and not used for Swift’s next song, “Down Bad”, also from her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department.

Fans praised Swift and her dancers for their handling of the malfunction, with some suggesting the performance was “almost better this way – her improvisation was incredible”.

“The way she killed that, I wouldn’t mind if it breaks again,” one fan wrote, while another said: “Taylor Swift is such a seasoned professional.”

One fan wrote on Instagram: “Last-minute issues solved like real pros!”

“Her stage stopped working and she got off the platform and worked that stage anyway!” another agreed. “Not a beat was missed, this is amazing!”

Swift next takes her Eras tour to Indianapolis for three nights at the Lucas Oil Stadium, which will mark the end of the US leg.

Her Eras tour will conclude in Canada, where she is playing a staggering six nights at the Rogers Centre in Toronto then three shows at BC Place in Vancouver.

Taylor Swift is concluding the final leg of her Eras Tour in North America
Taylor Swift is concluding the final leg of her Eras Tour in North America (Getty Images)

She is being supported on all her remaining shows by singer Gracie Abrams.

Swift gave her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, a shout-out as she closed her New Orleans show with her 2022 single “Karma”, in which she sings: “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs, coming straight home to me.”

She changed the original lyrics after she and Kelce began dating; she is believed to have first written the song to include a nod to her ex-boyfriend, British actor Joe Alwyn.

Earlier this month, Swift announced that she is releasing a book with US department store Target, which will contain never-before-seen photos from the Eras tour, along with rehearsal shots and reflections written by her.

The 239-page book is being published on 29 November and is described by Swift as the “official retrospective” of her concert series, which she described as “the most wondrous tour of my life”.

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