What I don't understand about Taylor Swift/her concerts

[SureJanOK]

Hello all

No this isn't another "I don't get why Taylor is so popular" threads.

I don't understand the practicalities of the concerts.

She sings and dances for 3.5hrs several nights running. How does she not lose her voice? Does she hit the same notes on the third night as she does on the first?

How does she avoid getting ill? Especially with the crowds and the travelling. (I'm just back from an event in London and I think I've brought covid home with me).

Thanks

@HungryLittleCrocodile I imagine she's a night owl and has a later start than most particularly with the toing and froing across timezones it would help her cope so late nights not the end of the world. Say she woke up at 13:00 in the UK its 07:00 in Kansas

Miming is done by leaving the mic open but the singer just mouths the words. It's all rehearsed. The Eagles have been doing it for a while as have other acts. Your day at this level is just different. Get up later, do the show, go to bed later. She won't even have to carry her luggage. That's done for her. Some acts based themselves in one location and will fly to each show. Paris is one as you are 2 hours or less from most destinations in Europe if you use your own plane. Gig to airport and then hotel or rented house. Once saw Elton John board a helicopter as I was leaving his show at Sheffield Arena. The aircraft was next to the venue and took him back to London. He enjoyed the luxury of being home in Windsor or Nice each night

I was at Taylor and Pink. Taylor mimes a fair bit and her physical exertion and dancing not a patch on Pink- her fitness is phenomenal.

I watched the Eras concert on Disney + (wasn't able to get actual tickets, boo!) and sang along to every song. I felt like I'd chain-smoked 100 cigarettes afterwards!

This. What’s with the constant slagging off? I only follow her as one of my DD’s are obsessed and I got her and some of her friends tickets. As for the not singing live, she’s been torn apart for every little mistake she makes. Stopping to wipe her nose, forgetting the words to her own songs, swallowing a fly, intervening in the crowd as she’s more on the ball than the actual security.

I remember seeing a Christina Aguilara documentary years ago where she had cortisone (I think?) shots when on tour the minute she felt a sniffle which staved off illness.

Anyone who has to project their voice constantly for a living , including singing, does vocal exercises. I work with people who teach group classes to young children which include a bit of singing and they all do vocal exercises to protect their voice.

She doesn't mine whole songs but choruses/dance routines she has help

There's definitely more reliance on the backing track during the faster songs with more dance choreography (like Blank Space, Style, 22 etc).

Some people will always be bitchy about it, but it's better that she saves her voice for the big notes and the acoustic songs rather than trying to do it all. It's about the whole performance not just the singing.

How Pink sings while flying through the air is something else to witness. An incredible performer, athlete, gymnast, and vocalist. I have huge respect for the amazing show(wo)manship of these artists who put it all out every night in what must be an absolutely gruelling extended period of travel when on tour. I’m so disappointed I didn’t get to see Taylor.

Apparently she doesn't speak the whole day before she performs! I saw an interview with Travis where he said early on he was disappointed because he'd wanted to ask her something or do something (can't remember what) but she couldn't speak because she won't on concerts days. She also apparently takes a full 24 hours in bed minus bathroom breaks between cities and then has a strict work out plan. I suppose it's a bit like being an athlete.
She does have little breaks for a minute or 2 throughout the show too so it's not song after song that probably helps too.

You're full of adrenaline after a performance so it's natural to be wide awake afterwards. I sing in a choir that competes. When we're rehearsing for competition the performance is full on and it takes a long time to come down enough to sleep so I understand that. It's the same thing that means West End performers and actors have late nights. You can't just switch it off at 10.30 and go to bed.

It’s not like a 9 to 5 job. Entertainers operate on adrenaline. Lots of creative / events / sports jobs are like this. Training & resting are crucial but momentum is a huge part of it too.

Hey so just so you guys are aware - about a week ago a youtuber who analyses vocals from artists all over the world on his channel - and has been doing for years released a video confirming that Taylor Swift is miming/lip-syncing for the majority of her Era's concert show - its irrefutable evidence and he uses the audio files to prove this. Go check it out.

Update - i just noticed he made a new video yesterday - that doubters (swifties) asked for to compare other songs across multiple tour dates and even an entire tour date concert - what he discovered was not only is she miming the majority of the performances, but the 1 or 2 songs she does perform "live" are using auto-tune on them.

So she is effectively not singing every show without either miming or using live-auto-tune on her vocal.

I suspected she was miming myself as my daughter asked me if we could buy her tickets to wembley, but i told her she was probably faking it having watched a couple of videos on youtube of earlier tourdates - and yeh guess i was right!

Save your money!

Youtuber is called Wings Of Pegasus - go check the videos yourself!!

@BabyBopper2024 I've no idea about audio technicalities etc, but how would it explain bits where the singing stops because she is talking? Unless you're saying they plan it to refute miming claims. Eg there was a clip from a recent show where she asked for a new audio pack thing (I don't know) and someone came and replugged in her ear piece wire into something on her waist. While this was happening, she couldn't hear the beat or the music or whatever is going on in her ear, and was very audibly off.
Or the clip from the start of the tour where she's shouting at the security guard and you can't hear her singing. Unless they've literally planned ahead and said "we'll turn off the vocal track for these lines, and that's when you need to shout a security guard, then we'll turn it back on for this point. And then no one will think you're miming."

Aside from training etc. she'll travel with a full team to assist her....private chefs, personal trainer, masseuse. She'll also fly on a private jet between shows so plenty of downtime to rest/recover

Wowzer!

Think about it... musical casts (West end, Broadway etc) do multiple shows weekly, even daily, for months on end. What the average person can do and what a professional can do is completely different.

I may be off the mark here, but (I'm not a swifty) does it really matter if she mimes a couple?

Would people rather see a fantastic show, where she gets some help, or a mediocre one where she sings all of them.
Obviously it would be better if there was transparency

She trained by singing while running on a treadmill to prepare. There’s also footage of her singing with a streaming cold.

she does have backing tracks but they’re turned down so you can hear her voice live. She’s very impressive.

I'm a fan and loved the concert, but honestly I don't think for someone who has the time and resources to train and recuperate that it's that bad. She has said in her Time interview that after she finishes a weekend of shows she spends all day in bed recovering; she also has a whole cast of people to facilitate every other aspect of her life. You can tell live the songs where she's miming, personally I don't find it a bad thing as she's still performing throughout, it's a clever way to manage it.

😂😂😂 it’s amazing how you can mess with videos to suit a narrative. She has a backing track and very occasionally misses a few words in intense dance routines but sings the majority live. People are desperate to tear her down. She was amazing live at Wembley.

The whole set will also be carefully planned to allow her to do the most, with pacing etc. And I imagine she tours with a doctor who could give her a steroid shot on days she might be ill.

The vast, vast majority of it is live and it’s bloody impressive.

Jellyroll just did a podcast with Joe Rogan talking about his tour schedule where he does shows 5 out of 7 days for 14 weeks straight, and the role his nutritionist plays. If you’re interested in how Taylor does it, it’s a good listen, she’s obviously doing what he is but on a much grander scale.

I watched the Olivia Rodrigo concert on Netflix and was wondering the same as she sings, dances, plays instruments etc but as pp has said she sits down for some of it and it's not all dancing. She obviously has lots of adrenaline and rest afterwards

I don't think it's that impressive.
I sing in the shower while I use my loofah.
Sometimes I do other things as well.