Taylor Swift Gives Live Debuts To “Say Don’t Go” And “It’s Time To Go,” And Meets With Family Of Fan Who Died, In São Paulo
Taylor Swift’s Eras tour is by far the biggest thing that happened in the music world in 2023, and it’s nowhere near over. This weekend, Swift played three shows at Allianz Parque in São Paulo, and she met with the family of Ana Clara Benevides, the 23-year-old fan who died of cardiac arrest at one of Swift’s Rio shows the previous week. Swift already shared an Instagram statement about the passing of Benevides, who passed out in 138-degree heat while pressed up against a barricade. Last night, as Folha De São Paulo reports, Swift invited her family backstage.
According to The Washington Post, more than 1,000 fans passed out during Swift’s Rio show. The venue reportedly confiscated fans’ water bottles, fans, and umbrellas, and they charged two dollars for small cups of water. In the dense crowd, vendors often couldn’t reach people who wanted water. Swift repeatedly paused her show to demand water for the crowd. Metal sheet flooring in the venue reportedly made the heat worse. The Brazilian government is investigating Time4Fun, the company that promoted the shows.
During ever Eras Show tour, Swift gives her hat to a fan while performing “22.” Last night, she gave the hat to Ana Clara Benevides’ younger sister.
Last night’s Eras Tour show was the last of 2023, and it included two performances of song that Swift had never played live before. Both of the songs, naturally, came during the surprise-songs portion of her set. First, on acoustic guitar, Swift played “Say Don’t Go,” one of the vault tracks from her just released 1989 (Taylor’s Version).
Then, on piano, Swift also played “it’s time to go,” one of the bonus tracks that appeared on the physical edition of her 2020 album evermore. Both songs got huge stadium-wide singalongs.
In other Taylor Swift news, her Eras Tour movie is one of the 10 highest-grossing movies of 2023 at the domestic box office. (It just booted Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny out of the #10 spot, and there’s a very real chance that it’ll knock off Sound Of Freedom next.) This morning, Swift announced that she’ll release an expanded version of the Eras Tour movie for on-demand rental in a couple of weeks. The new version will feature “Wildest Dreams,” “The Archer,” and “Long Live” — songs that were cut from the film’s theatrical version — and it’s coming on 12/13, which happens to be Swift’s 34th birthday.