When Taylor Swift's 'Eras Tour' Took a Hilarious Turn: Unapologetically 'Swift AF Boi'
Taylor Swift's 'Eras Tour' became a fan-favorite as she flawlessly embraced her relatable side From hairdo mishaps to onstage bugs, mic failures to forgotten lyrics, this article explores the endearing moments that made her 'Errors Tour' an unforgettable experience
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Taylor Swift may be a billionaire, but she’s still a relatable queen.
Since beginning her Eras Tour in March, Swift has amazed both fans and critics with her record-breaking concert, lasting over three and a half hours and featuring a set list of 44 songs divided into 10 acts. The tour has already generated $1.04 billion, produced its own movie, and propelled Swift to billionaire status.
While Swift is a master of her craft and a consummate professional, her relatability is what fans adore most about her. The singer has been open about mistakes made during her concerts, leading fans to affectionately dub The Eras Tour as The Errors Tour.
The unexpected moments that occur on stage, from technical mishaps to forgotten lyrics, have become popular with audiences and often go viral online. The most recent incident involved the pop star causing a frenzy in Bueno Aires in November when she forgot the lyrics to her song "Champagne Problems" from her 2020 Evermore album. While seated at the piano, Swift joked about her mistake, saying, "I've had two months off. I've practiced this so many times before tonight. And you thought you came here to see a professional."
Keep scrolling for all of Swift’s best Errors Tour moments:
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When She Proved She’s Still ‘Swift AF’
During the Reputation era, at the Cincinnati stop, there was a platform malfunction which prevented Swift from being lowered beneath the stage. In response, she sprinted past her dancers to reach the backstage area.
When She Had Hairdo Problems
After the incident at Paycor Stadium where concertgoers caught the moment on video, Swift took to social media to playfully poke fun at herself. “Still swift af boi,” she commented under one TikTok clip of the incident.
When She Had Hairdo Problems
Prior to her performance of "Champagne Problems" in Denver, Swift had a serious conversation with her rebellious hair that refused to cooperate. "Excuse me," she addressed her unruly locks. "This is not acceptable. There are 73,000 people here!"
Her hair caused another mishap in Cincinnati during the Fearless era when it latched onto backup singer Kamilah Marshall's eyelashes. Swift swiftly apologized and brushed the hair away, saying, "Sorry, I'm sorry!"
When She Choked on a Bug
During the Evermore era, another mishap took place when she accidentally swallowed a bug at Soldier Field in Chicago. As she tried to address the crowd, she couldn't help but cough and had to apologize, saying, "I swallowed a bug, I’m so sorry."
Amidst the fans' laughter, she joked, "Did anyone miss that? It's okay, I've swallowed it." But that wasn't the only cough-related struggle Taylor Swift faced. During a performance in the Lover era, she unexpectedly lost her voice and was unable to speak.
"Have you ever experienced that moment when you try to speak but your voice just isn't there, and you're not even sick or anything?" she asked before comforting the audience: "But it's all over now, everything's fine."
When She Had an Electric Touch
The Reputation set of Swift in Mexico City became a sensation when fans observed the static electricity in the atmosphere, causing the singer’s hair to stand straight up. Some fans playfully commented on her gravity-defying fly-aways, while others expressed concern that the static might be a bad omen. (The National Weather Service notes that hair standing up can sometimes indicate imminent lightning strike, but that wasn't the case here. She was safe!)
When She Couldn’t Take a Dive
Swift amazed her fans with a breathtaking swan dive optical illusion. Following her surprise songs set, the singer leapt onto the stage and gracefully plunged headfirst onto an inflatable bag, all while being signaled by a green light.
When Her Garter Was the Problem
Despite the mishap in Tampa, Swift encountered an unexpected challenge when the trap door failed to open. As the splashing sound effect played for her dive, Swift found herself unable to proceed, exclaiming “The f—k?” in frustration. Fortunately, the door eventually opened, allowing her to gracefully make a delayed exit.
During her Midnights era, a second mishap occurred in Tampa when Swift noticed her garter was broken. While performing "Anti-Hero", she approached her backup singers and pointed out the wardrobe malfunction, requesting assistance. As her team fixed the issue, Swift continued singing the song, belting out the lyrics, “I should not be left to my own devices, I end up in crisis.”
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When Her Mic Failed Her
During the performance of the Lover segment in Chicago, Swift encountered a technical issue with her pastel-colored microphone, resulting in complete silence when she attempted to engage with the crowd.
When She Was Haunted by Broken Instruments
Despite her best efforts to resolve the issue, such as vigorously hitting and shaking the microphone, a crew member eventually provided her with a basic black backup mic to use for the remainder of the concert.
Following an exceptionally heavy rainstorm in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the atmosphere took a spooky turn when Swift’s piano unexpectedly started playing eerie notes on its own, surprising both the singer and the audience.
“Let me tell you what happened. It rained really hard last night – like a monsoon. To be precise, it rained continuously for three and a half hours, and it just kept pouring,” Swift recounted while seated at the piano for the impromptu song set. “It was literally like a water park underneath the stage. You couldn’t even imagine.”
Swift addressed the crowd when the instrument started playing on its own, asking if they heard the unexpected piano sound. She then clarified that she was not the one playing the notes. Eventually, the pop star changed her plan and opted to perform another song on the guitar, expressing her amazement at the situation.
When She Wore a Dress She Couldn’t Put On
Changing costumes for every historical era during a lengthy three-and-a-half-hour show is challenging — and Swift has experienced a wardrobe malfunction as a result. The dress she wears for her surprise song has been particularly problematic, leading to difficulties in figuring out how to properly put on the sleeves.
"Please ignore that," she quipped to the Nashville audience after realizing her outfit was on backwards. "We're changing costumes in the dark, you know? It can't be perfect every time."
During her Folklore performance, other dresses got caught on different parts of the stage. In Philadelphia, while performing "Willow," she accidentally trapped herself in her forest green cloak, completely covering her face.
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When She Forgot the Lyrics to Some of Her Iconic Songs
Swift's Eras Tour setlist remains consistent for every date, but includes two acoustic surprise songs. To ensure the best experience for her fans, Swift made a rule that she could only repeat a surprise song if she forgot the lyrics - which happened more than once.
During the Santa Clara, California performance with producer Aaron Dessner, Swift flubbed the tricky bridge lyrics of "Right Where You Left Me" from her Evermore album, despite having rehearsed the song for weeks.
After making a mistake and singing the wrong lyrics, she pushed through without pausing, but it was clear that it was too good to be true. Swift fans were not entirely shocked by the forgotten words, but were surprised when she made the same mistake twice while performing "Last Kiss" in Kansas City from her 2010 album Speak Now.
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"Oh my goodness, the words. We have a rule on this tour that if I mess up a song, I have to play it again at another time so that I can redeem myself," she shared with the crowd after the initial mistake. "I just got too excited, will you allow me the chance to start over?"
She then made the same error a second time. "Oh my goodness! No, those are the correct lyrics," she cried out. "I promise I won't mess it up again! Oh my goodness! I really love this song. Why am I doing this to it?!"
