Taylor Swift’s Reputation Tour kicks off Tuesday (May 8) in Glendale, Arizona — and before it even starts, it’s already one of the most talked-about and highest-grossing tours of its kind in recent memory. With support acts like A-listers Charli XCX and Camila Cabello, and a long track record of headline-grabbing global treks, Swift is set to dominate this run of stadiums.
In honor of the upcoming Reputation Tour, here’s a crash course on Swift’s various tours from 2009 to the present day to give her fans a sense of how far she’s come.
Fearless Tour
Start Date: April 23, 2009
End Date: July 10, 2010
Shows: 118
Box office revenue: $66.5 million
Countries: United States, Canada, England, Australia, Japan, The Bahamas
Swift’s debut concert tour was an ambitious success from the get-go, taking the singer around the globe with guests Kellie Pickler and Gloriana. But even higher-profile guests teamed up with Swift at various times, including appearances from Justin Bieber on the U.K. leg and other cameos by John Mayer (May 22, 2009), Faith Hill (September 12, 2009) and Katy Perry (April 15, 2010).
These shows featured multiple costume changes, graphic and visual elements designed by Swift herself and a fairy-tale castle that a press release claimed to be “illumined by more than a million lumens of light.”
Speak Now World Tour
Start Date: February 9, 2011
End Date: March 18, 2012
Shows: 110
Box office revenue: $123.7 million
Countries: United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Philippines, Hong Kong, Belgium, Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, France, Spain, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Belgium
The second outing for Swift brought her to even more far-flung parts of the world — and nearly doubled the box office revenue of the Fearless tour. Special guests were diverse and unpredictable — Swift opted to surprise fans with duets with the likes of Jason Mraz, Nicki Minaj, Justin Bieber, Usher, T.I. and many others.
Another brilliant move was the use of acoustic cover versions that paid tribute to a local artist in certain cities. This was to include elements of spontaneity in what might have been a rehearsed, pre-programmed show, with Swift saying this: “You’ll have a lot of people who will come to more than one show, and I want them to get a different experience every time.” And the moments that resulted are almost too many to mention, from a moving performance of “Fire and Rain” with James Taylor at Madison Square Garden to rousing covers of Switchfoot, Fall Out Boy and many others.
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Red Tour
Start Date: March 13, 2013
End date: June 12, 2014
Shows: 86
Box office revenue: $150.2 million
Countries: United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, Germany, China, Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia
Swift’s fourth studio album marked a stark genre switch for the singer. Initially known for her seamless blending of country and pop, she made a hefty effort to remove herself from the barriers of the former upon the release of Red’s lead single, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” and even more so with the dubstep-tinged “I Knew You Were Trouble” that followed.
Red was full of sonic shockers, so it was only natural for the eponymous supporting tour to match. By this point in her career, Swift was “feelin’ 22,” and made her growth clear by entering the stage to Lenny Kravitz’s “American Woman” (having previously used Tom Petty’s “American Girl”). Before embarking on the Red Tour alongside opening act Ed Sheeran, Swift told Billboard she intended for the tour to “be a big representation of this record.”
The Red Tour — her third — was flashy, incorporated circus elements and took full advantage of the stadiums that had now become the norm for her concerts, and was highly well-received critically. It also smashed the record for all-time revenue for a single tour by a country artist (even though most would probably agree she had fled the country coop by then).
1989 World Tour
Start Date: May 5, 2015
End Date: December 12, 2015
Shows: 85
Box office revenue: $250.7 million
Countries: Japan, United States, Germany, Netherlands, Scotland, England, Ireland, Canada, Singapore, China, Australia
Swift’s fourth time around obliterated her previous box office revenue and delivered an electrifying show that reached many new heights for the superstar — literally, as she danced on a massive rotating platform the entire duration of “Shake It Off.” But for those who weren’t so lucky to be one of the 2 million-plus fans in attendance, Apple Music released a concert film shortly after the tour wrapped. The 1989 World Tour Live special was filmed at Swift’s Sydney, Australia show, during which Mick Jagger was called in for a spontaneous guest appearance.
In fact, the 1989 World Tour included a massive roster of nightly special guests, some of whom weren’t even musicians. Ellie Goulding, Alanis Morissette, Fifth Harmony, Fetty Wap, Justin Timberlake, Lisa Kudrow (performing as her Friends character Phoebe), Selena Gomez and even Ellen DeGeneres were among Swift’s celebrity friends to help her take the stage for the spectacle.
Reputation Stadium Tour
Start Date: May 8, 2018,
End Date: November 9, 2018
Shows: 51 (so far)
Countries: United States, England, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand (so far)
The mega-pop star’s team took a different approach in regards to tour sales for the Reputation Tour, partnering with Ticketmaster by incorporating incentives to “advance your spot in line” for ticket access, minimizing bots snatching up the tickets before deserving Swifties could. Swift has already broken an attendance record previously set by One Direction for her opening Phoenix show, and it’s projected to be one of the biggest tours in history. As for the rest of what the Reputation Tour has in store, we’ll just have to wait to see what we made her do, starting tomorrow.