HER UNSTOPPABLE ERA - Taylor Swift

HOW THE POP SUPERSTAR ENCHANTED THE WORLD WITH A TOUR THAT FOREVER ALTERED POP CULTURE

- RACHEL DESANTIS, LIZZIE HYMAN, PERNILLA CEDENHEIM, ILANA KAPLAN and ALEXANDRA SCHONFELD

The Lucky One "She's beyond grateful for her successful tour," a source says of Swift (onstage in July). "Her fans mean the world to her."

As she traveled five continents over the past two years for her massive Eras Tour, Taylor Swift held on to a mid-show fan tradition that began at her very first stop, in Glendale, Ariz. Marveling at the crowd after performing "Champagne Problems," the pop superstar soaked in standing ovations lasting several deafening minutes. On Nov. 23 in Toronto, Swift grew emotional as she spoke from the heart.

“We’re at the very end of this tour,” she said, trailing off as she wiped away tears. “So you doing that [standing ovation], you have no idea how much it means to me...to my band, to my crew, to everybody who’s put so much of this into this tour....I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore! It’s not even the last show. I love you guys.”

It’s understandable that Swift, 35, is feeling bittersweet as she says goodbye to the Eras Tour, which (at press time) was slated to wrap in Vancouver on Dec. 8 after 152 shows. Since it began in March 2023, it’s been nothing short of a cultural phenomenon, reintroducing the world to the joys of friendship bracelets and inspiring the highest-grossing concert film of all time. It also evolved as Swift—who became the first musician to reach billionaire status solely based on performing and songwriting, according to Forbes—healed from heartbreak and settled into a new love with NFL star Travis Kelce. “[The Eras Tour is] the most exhausting, all-encompassing but most joyful, most rewarding, most wonderful thing that has ever happened in my life,” Swift said in June.