Taylor Swift discusses adding Tortured Poets Department to Eras Tour

Taylor Swift is finally pulling back the curtain on her Eras Tour.

The pop star describes in her new Eras Tour Book how she managed to add songs from her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, to her blockbuster show “halfway through” its 149-concert run.

“We conceived and rehearsed it in secret, surprising the Parisian audience as we began our European leg of the tour,” she writes in the 256-page retrospective book, out Friday from Target.

Swift, 34, explains that she wanted the new portion of her concert to be “minimalist, white, simple and bold” to contrast with her colorful other eras.

“There was nothing like it on the show and it was an exciting challenge to improve on a show I already loved,” she says.

The 14-time Grammy winner adds that she hoped to “create the illusion of an alien abduction, a fight scene, a religious asylum, a mental institution, a haunted house and a showgirl’s dressing room.”

She admits that the “Tortured Poets Department” addition was “ambitious as hell,” but calls it “the most dramatic, cathartic, female rage-driven part of the evening.”

Swift released her 11th studio album — and its surprise second volume, “The Anthology” — on April 19, detailing her splits from Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy.

Days later, during a two-month tour break, she teased that she would be changing her 44-song setlist to spotlight “The Tortured Poets Department” once she was back on tour.

That’s exactly what the singer did on May 9, when she debuted a remastered version of the Eras Tour at Paris’ La Défense Arena, featuring seven tracks from the album, including “So High School,” “Fortnight” and “I Can Do It With a Broken.” Heart”. .”

The new era became even more special for Swift on June 23 when boyfriend Travis Kelce joined her on stage at Wembley Stadium in London to perform a short skit.

“I’ve seen enough of the show. “Might as well have me working here,” the 35-year-old Kansas City Chiefs tight end later joked on his “New Heights” podcast.

Although the couple has been together for a year and a half, Kelce does not appear in The Eras Tour Book.

The record hike ends on December 8th in Vancouver, Canada.