Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour

In August 2017, Billboard reported that Swift would be using Ticketmaster's Verified Fan program to prevent bots and ticket scalpers from purchasing tickets. The program, named "Taylor Swift Tix", allowed fans to purchase tickets in advance of the public on-sale by participating in boost activities to increase chances of getting a pre-sale access code.[2][3] On November 13, 2017, Swift's management announced the first round of dates for the tour jointly with Ticketmaster.[4][5] Tickets went on sale to the general public on December 13, 2017, the day of Swift's 28th birthday.

In late November, Swift announced shows in Manchester, Dublin, and London. Due to overwhelming demand, additional dates were announced for all three cities. Furthermore, the singer also announced extra shows in North America for Pasadena, Chicago, East Rutherford, Foxborough, Toronto, and Atlanta due to popular demand before the pre-sale began.[6][7] On December 3, Swift announced five dates for Oceania.[8][9] In January 2018, due to huge demand, Swift went on to add second dates in Santa Clara, Landover, Philadelphia, Minneapolis and Arlington and third dates in East Rutherford and Foxborough, totalling 40 shows for the tour's North American leg.[10]

On March 1, 2018, Swift officially announced Camila Cabello and Charli XCX as the opening acts for the Reputation Stadium Tour.[11] Cabello was previously speculated as the opening act because her Never Be the Same Tour dates did not coincide with Swift's tour dates;[12] Portland's Live 95.5 also announced her in a sweepstake for the concert of June 22, 2018, at the Wembley Stadium in London through a since-deleted post on Twitter, a day before Swift confirmed her as the opening act.[13]

On May 7, 2018, the day before the tour kicked off at Glendale, Arizona, Swift invited 2,000 foster and adopted children to a private dress rehearsal.[14] On May 8, 2018, Swift announced two shows in Tokyo, with Charli XCX as the opening act.[15] In September 2018, Broods was announced as an opening act for the Oceania leg of the tour.[16]

Swift performing at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.

The tour received rave reviews from critics, being commonly labeled as the best of Swift's career thus far and the best tour of 2018.[17][18][19] The concerts were complimented for Swift's on-stage persona and intimacy with the audience, the versatile set-list and the transition between songs, production value, the stripped-down performances and wardrobe choices, with many commentators noting the Gothic visuals and costumes, and the Broadway theatricality of the show.[18][20][21] Stereogum's Chris DeVille deemed it a "hyper-maximalist" tour and "a perpetual gargantuan flex, a roving musical Infinity War that amplifies everything extra about her persona to an exponential scope" and added that it is designed to be "the biggest spectacle in all of summer entertainment". He also described the tour as "an oversized, high-tech touring Broadway production with a mostly tremendous soundtrack" and concluded that "when discussing the biggest artists of her [Swift's] generation, she's undeniably on the shortlist" and that the singer has ascended to the same "rarefied" tier as the "classic rock deities who've echoed across this venue [the Horseshoe] before her, able to keep commanding stadium status for the rest of her career".[21] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone named the tour as Swift's "most astounding tour yet" and complimented it for giving "it all the vibe of a mass communion" despite aiming for "maximum stadium-rock razzle-dazzle bombast". He observed the acoustic performances of Swift's fan-favorite deep cuts and dubbed them "a powerhouse performance that made all the different Taylors sound like part of the same story".[22]

The Guardian's Bob Gordon thought that "...Ready for It?" is "an appropriate and compelling opener". He opined that Swift made a "striking entrance" with "no elevation or descent, simply walking out from behind a curtain bathed in brilliant white light, in what was a real 'now I'm here' moment, as Freddie Mercury would once have put it".[23] Awarding the tour five stars, Roisin O'Connor of The Independent lauded the set-list and how it "transitions seamlessly from one song to another, crafted out of some of the best from Swift's canon". In addition, she compared the tour to a Broadway show, because the stage was "flooded with red lighting and dancers swing from trapeze with all the splendour of a Broadway show".[20] Lydia Burgham of The Spinoff defined the tour's Auckland concert a "theatrical, mega-production that somehow also strips down to raw intimate moments". Commenting on the set-list, she noted that Swift "had the crowd aching for more with the commencement of every song, thanks to seamless transitions". Burgham highlighted the intimacy of Swift's acoustic guitar and piano performances that proved Swift remaining "integral to her singer-songwriter origins". She summarized her review by stating that "there may not be an artist in this lifetime who quite manages to connect to thousands of people on a rainy night as well as Taylor Swift can – and that's the reputation she will be remembered for".[24]

Variety's Chris Willman wrote that the show "had plenty of fierceness, especially in the early going" but also the "pre-decedent Taylor on the line… the guileless Swift we remember from two or three skins ago", and commended Swift for using her two hours on the stage to "paint a rewardingly holistic picture". Willman believed that, despite the huge production, "we're still left not so much with dragons or defensiveness but in the endearingly earnest presence of pop's most approachable superstar". He further remarked that the acoustic performance of "Dancing With Our Hands Tied" proved that Reputation worked acoustically as well, without the "Max Martin-izing".[25] Randy Lewis of Los Angeles Times wrote that Swift gave "a master class in the constructive use of the modern technology that's allowed her to establish and nurture an exceptionally powerful connection with a massive audience". He underlined the use of light-up bracelets that allowed the attendees "to feel like participants, even collaborators, rather than passive observers" and appreciated the stage's resemblance to "a skyscraper in progress, with six crane-like contraptions stretching up above a wedge-like screen". Lewis summarized the show as "tightly structured for the most part, featuring elaborate production numbers that rely on video projection, eye-popping lighting and pyrotechnics, choreography and precisely coordinated interaction among the star, band, singers and dancers".[19]

Reviewing for V Magazine, Greg Krelenstein stated that Swift possesses "a rare gift of turning a stadium spectacle into an intimate setting", with the new persona the singer adopted on Reputation album cycle suiting itself "excellently to a show of this magnitude where she appears larger than life". He thought that Swift fully embraced her vast back catalog and praised her command of the stage—"whether plucking a guitar or leading an army of dancers" that showed that Swift's musical and performance evolution is an "absolute success". Krelenstein concluded that the pop star "delivers in every way to a mesmerized and devoted audience, re-defining what the modern stadium tour can be".[18] Ed Masley, from The Arizona Republic, wrote that "there were many moments in the course Swift's performance that felt like she was playing to the back rows of the stadium by simply sharing with her fans", while complimenting the tour's production and Swift's connection with the crowd.[26] Jim Harrington of The Mercury News asserted that the singer's vocal work and performance skills have improved over the years, and added that "her game is well-rounded enough that she can excel equally at every different aspect of the show."[27] Chris Tuite, from CBS San Francisco, wrote: "The only thing more prominent than the singer herself during her current costume-change filled spectacle are the massive, vicious looking snakes that symbolically appear throughout the set."[28] Michael Tritsch from 303 Magazine raved that the tour "broke new ground and set the bar high for future stadium tours", burning "its way into the history books".[29]

Swift performing at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado, where she became the first woman to headline a concert at that stadium.

The tour has broken multiple venue attendance and grossing records. The debut performance at University of Phoenix Stadium set new venue records in both gross and attendance, topping Metallica's $5.2 million gross earned in August 2017 by almost $2 million. With 59,157 tickets sold, she also broke the attendance record set during One Direction's Where We Are Tour in 2014 by 2,633 seats.[37] With a $14 million take from 107,550 sold tickets at Levi's Stadium she topped her own gross and attendance counts set during The 1989 World Tour in 2015. With more than 118,000 fans in attendance at the Rose Bowl, the two-show run earned $16.2 million and set a new gross record for a single headliner at the venue, surpassing U2's 2017 record by over $467,000. Grossing records previously set by U2 as well were broken at Seattle's CenturyLink Field, where she topped their Joshua Tree Tour 2017 gross by $2.4 million, and Denver's Sports Authority Field at Mile High, where she surpassed the $6.6 million gross set by the band in 2011 during their 360° Tour by $1.2 million.[33]

Swift made history by becoming the first ever female artist to headline Dublin's Croke Park twice, with reportedly 136,000 fans in attendance.[38] Similarly, she achieved the milestone of becoming the first woman to headline three consecutive nights at MetLife Stadium[39] and Gillette Stadium.[40]

Following the tour's 29th show in North America at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, it had grossed $202.3 million in the continent ($191.1 million in the United States and $11.1 million in Canada) thus breaking Swift's own record of the highest grossing North American tour by a female artist, previously held by The 1989 World Tour, with fewer dates.[41] Nevertheless, the tour eventually broke the record set by The Rolling Stones's A Bigger Bang Tour, to become the highest-grossing tour in US and North American history, grossing $266.1 million, besting The Stones' $245 million gross. The Stones achieved their then-record from 70 American shows, while Swift did it with just 38 shows.[42]

Governor of the State of Minnesota, Mark Dayton, declared August 31, 2018, as the "Taylor Swift Day" in the state, honoring Swift's two consecutive dates (August 31 and September 1) at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. He stated that, "through her personal and honest music, Taylor Swift has energized and inspired not only Minnesotans, but people all over the world, and is a positive influence on her fans through her example of truthfulness, grace, extensive philanthropy, and strength of character".[43][44]

This set list is from the concert on May 8, 2018, in Glendale, Arizona. It is not intended to represent all shows from the tour.[54]

Reputation Stadium Tour Surprise Song Playlist
Compilation album by Taylor Swift
Released	November 30, 2018 (2018-11-30)
Recorded	2006–2018
Length	185:44
Label	Big Machine
Producer	Nathan Chapman Taylor Swift Max Martin Shellback Dann Huff Jeff Bhasker Jack Antonoff Oscar Görres Dan Wilson Jennifer Nettles Julian Raymond Kristian Bush Noel Zancanella Ryan Tedder Jay Joyce

Reputation Stadium Tour Surprise Song Playlist is a streaming-only compilation album featuring the "surprise songs" played during Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour. It was released exclusively to digital music platforms on November 30, 2018.[69][70]

Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour
Netflix poster
Directed by	Paul Dugdale
Produced by	Taylor Swift
Starring	Taylor Swift Tiffany Haddish Camila Cabello Charli XCX
Music by	Taylor Swift
Cinematography	Brett Turnbull
Edited by	Tom Watson Jose Fortanel Simon Bryant Bill DeRonde Adrianna Merlucci Ben Wainwright-Pearce
Production company	Taylor Swift Productions
Distributed by	Netflix Big Machine Records
Release date	December 31, 2018 (2018-12-31)
Running time	125 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour is a concert film directed by Paul Dugdale.[71] It was released on December 31, 2018, exclusively via Netflix. The film follows American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift's second performance at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on her record-breaking fifth headlining concert tour, the Reputation Stadium Tour.[72]

Swift announced on social media on her birthday, December 13, that the concert film would be released globally in partnership with Netflix on New Year's Eve. It was filmed on the last day of the North American leg of the tour. For their work on the film, Tamlyn Wright and Baz Halpin were nominated in the category "Variety, Reality or Event Special" at the 24th Art Directors Guild Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards.[73]

• List of highest-grossing concert tours
• List of original films distributed by Netflix

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