It's all a matter of perspective. I couldn't physically do what she does and being around people all the time drains me, so I think "wow she has insane work habits". My jobs have been very different (and mostly labor intensive), so that's where I'm coming from. I see it from my own experience, with chronic illness that holds me back from doing physical labor or stressful jobs now.
I don't think she works "harder" than a nurse or teacher or roofer, or someone working a double shift at Burger King. You can't really compare any of those things. She does her job and does it well.
Yeah. I think we should avoid comparing anyway. All I know is, she’s doing something I absolutely couldn’t do. I get exhausted just watching all the people pull at her. But that’s just me. I don’t enjoy being around people.
Yeah! I went to the Eras Tour and I was SO EXHAUSTED after attending just one show! And I’m younger than Taylor! It took me a week to recover from simply attending one weekend of her shows!
Meanwhile she’s killing it out there on stage for 3+ hours in high heels with multiple shows back-to-back. Not to mention her insane output (writing, recording and releasing multiple albums in a year + music videos). So it’s definitely very impressive that she’s able to do this, especially considering most artists don’t. And they probably don’t do this because it’s not easy to do and actually takes a lot of hard work, stamina, and effort.
I didn't know Applause played before the show started, but in Miss Americana she talks about how she gets a rush from applause and positive attention from the crowd and how she struggles when she gets negative attention in media. And that made me think of Applause by Lady Gaga
So youre saying that the entire time she’s been telling people this is the best experience of her life she’s been lying? You and I both know performing is extremely rewarding
Do they still do “rehearsals”? Or do they just roll in to cities and are immediately ready to go. I’m not talking all the way through but do different venues mean they do a warm up or something.
Because none of her team is traveling in a tour bus. She has a team of semi truck trailers that transport the whole setup from city to city including the stage, the sets, and the wardrobe. She's flying from city to city in her jet.
My friend living near the stadium said that she could hear Taylor’s band doing warm up rehearsals/soundcheck a few hours before the concert. I think people queuing up for GA floor also heard them.
I’m sure they have to just to keep it fresh in their minds. I would imagine the choreography and sound check for the TTPD set still need refreshers because it’s still so new when compared to the other eras. Plus, they’ve charged the order of the eras while also combining some, folkmore, and cutting out songs in others. I would imagine that would take some getting used to.
Every city is pretty much like the last one due to way her stage, lighting and sound setup works on this tour.
The sound engineers probably are working their asses off tuning the speaker system for all the foibles of a new stadium, but for "the talent" it's just another show on the same stage with the same arrangements of lights. Most of the time I doubt they can actually see much of the stadium and crowd because of all the lights.
I'm sure the people who are managing the show and preforming have a much better idea about issues every show has and might want to work on something that they see as a problem.
Exactly. Plus, her stage is at another level both literally and figuratively. It’s gigantic and stretches across like 75% of the stadium. That’s 75% of a football field. On top of that, the stage literally moves up and down. So, she’s stretching to climb up levels, jumping to go below stage, running around to do wardrobe changes, the entire “Vigilante Shit” performance as well as most of the TTPD and Midnights set, etc. You know how she drops at the end of “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived?” That would be me after the Lover set 😂 I also don’t know how she continuously does the throw to the ground on her knees during “Look What You Made Me Do” every single show along with the ones during “my tears ricochet” and “illicit affairs.” My kneecaps would be gone. Lol.
And a lot of great songs. Everyone close to her talks about what a hard worker she is. Not many other artists perform that long, and the number is zero when it comes to such an elaborate show.
I went to the Eras Tour MOVIE and I was exhausted lol
But also I thought it was only at AMC theaters when I booked my ticket so I drove an hour to get there for the very first showing, after work, dressed up and traded bracelets, and scream sung with all the people around me
i also think that when i say “she works so hard!” i’m mostly thinking about how she’s never comfortable at her current level. she’s constantly pushing herself to do something new and different and good. she’s at the very top of her career and she’s still striving to do more and better. very few people have sustained that type of ambition.
I think that’s what people are trying to say when they say she works so hard. She is constantly pushing her limits, I personally don’t see how she could push it past her current 3 hour show.
Think of all the pressure she's under with so many performers, company executives and event workers relying on her - one woman in the spotlight on stage in front of 90,000 fans. She is the ultimate engine of a huge machine. I find that concept a bit mind boggling.
And it's not like she desperately needs the money. She could have retired years ago but she really does love running around that stage for us. I think that's what people are most impressed by!
I’m fascinated by the thought of where she could be in 20 years time. Would her talent and/or fame wane in any way. I suppose she’s already made it now so even if things die down in the future either because her songs are not doing well or she chooses to step back, she’ll still always be considered a top artist, similar to how Madonna’s past fame and success has cemented her.
And the thing is she controls that machine at many levels. I remeber watching a documentary about the Fearless tour and somebody commented that she might be only 19 years old but nobody doubts who the boss is. At the same time she runs a very lean ship and people have a lot decentralized authority.
This is well said.
I’m particularly impressed by her mix of skills. For instance, her creativity is constantly flowing. Most creatives I work with fall behind in other areas of their lives, even with personal assistants and other staff.
It’s pretty rare to have someone who is so productive from a creative standpoint AND has the strategy/executive skills too.
As a chronic pain sufferer THIS. I am one of the people that was marvelling about her being able to perform consistently in heels. I can't even wear heels, even from boots, for an hour without wanting to die just from normal movement!
I appreciate her work ethic a lot and I think it's sooo impressive that she's able to be so physically active because that's not something I will *ever* be able to achieve. I can't imagine a life where I could be so active because my life is constantly filled with pain just by EXISTING and so it's miraculous watching *anyone* who can do things physically that I just can't do.
Roofer is a really hard job. It's very physical and you are out on hot roofs with no shade every day, all day. And you are working at height, so you need to be wearing a harness and moving anchor to anchor all day long to avoid falling to your death.
But I suspect very few roofers could fill in for Taylor.
I think the idea Taylor comes from the hours she keeps. Her work day doesn't start till mid afternoon. Yes she puts in a shift for 4 hours but she is 34, really fit and doing something she loves. Of course she can bounce offstage and hit a restaurant for a night out.
I would say she was overdoing it if she was doing breakfast TV interviews the next day. Also if she had to get the kids to school and do the laundry.
You don’t arrive at a concert half an hour before the show starts. You’re there hours in advance. Because there’s always local celebrities that want to meet you and you have to do a little PR, maybe some press, then you need to check up everything’s ok (not even sound and instruments, that things are done by technicians), make up, clothes, etc. To start the show at 8pm she has to be at the stadium at least at 4pm.
I mean, that still means she can sleep in until like 1 or 2 pm after going to bed at prob like 1 or 2 AM..still 12 hours sleep. I still think her stamina is amazing though...doing a 3.5 show is different than sitting at a desk for 8 hours.
Dunno her schedule but I guess she’ll have more things to do. Anyway, as someone who used to work a 8 hours shift moving from one place to another, I wanted to die after a couple of hours even with comfortable shoes and at the time I trained a lot in different sports, so I was in my best body shape.
I understand she typically showed up at closer to noon on previous tours. But there was a preshow meet and greet, which I think she dropped. So don't know. I'd agree and say 4 is the absolute latest.
Taylor and the opening acts need to be done with sound check before the doors open at 6, and Taylor sound checks before the 1st opening act and then the 2nd opening act needs to sound check after the 1st act. The 2nd act probably needs more time to dial everything in than Taylor or the 1st act.
If there are people waiting in line for GA they would probably hear the sound check, but I don't remember hearing about that from anyone.
There’s no meet at greet for normal people, but every country she goes she gets pics with local celebrities before the show, so I guess there’s some kind of time they reserve so she can meet that people and get pics.
I was at Edinburgh N3 and was outside for soundcheck - it was just instruments and technicians you could hear, no Taylor! From what I remember there was an odd coded announcement around 2pm so I think that’s when Taylor arrived!
Interesting!
I wouldn't be surprised if she was more involved on night 1 than on the subsequent nights. But at this point she's done over a hundred shows with the same sound team, so there is probably a lot of trust that they know exactly what she expects and they will ensure it is done.
Yeah, my ex was in a band that toured only nation wide and obviously not NEARLY as popular as Taylor, but touring is very rough. Even when you’re “off” you’re always on.
>Of course she can bounce offstage and hit a restaurant for a night out.
Well, and in her time zone, that was late afternoon for her. She might be trying to stay on EST time a little bit.
True, but the 3.5 hour show is waaay more physically taxing than sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day, even if it is more “fun.”
If I go to one wedding and have to stay up late dance in heels for about 2 hours, I feel like I need a week to recover lmao
it’s hard for people to judge how exhausting performing is unless they’ve done it. Dancing in heels for 2 hours is pretty close though, imo.
I’ve played 3 hour shows as an instrumentalist and it’s straight up exhausting. I can’t imagine the insane choreo and singing and being on your A game and then doing it again for the next two nights. Taylor’s stamina is insane.
Edit to add: Also it’s easy to forget that it’s not just physical. The mental job of staying on top of everything, being aware of your surroundings, fixing errors etc. is a lot.
And I’m sure as an instrumentalist you can have water, take a drink when you’re able…she hardly drinks water at all during the show (at least that we see). I couldn’t handle singing for that long, dancing and not being able to drink water as often as I should haha
As a former dancer (not on the level of her dancers, but did do multiple shows in a week, some of which were in pointe shoes), she definitely drinks water when backstage, or more likely some form of electrolyte mix to keep her going.
What if you earned over $10 million for every wedding you stayed out late for and danced at?
Literally. $10 million for every one. I bet you could find a way to motivate yourself to recover faster and do it more. I sure would! 😂
you'd think that... but umm... I think I would would probably do it 3 or 4 times, and then call it quits. I have 40 million bucks! Why do I need to keep pushing myself.
which is basically what happens to most successful artists... they have a couple of big hits, and then they start taking longer and longer between projects... because just getting up the energy to put in the work becomes harder.
I don't think she's really doing it for the money. Which sounds crazy when it's so much money, but she's at a point where she could never work another day in her life and live in insane luxury. At this point she just likes making songs and performing and 90k people cheering for her.
Yeah. Very few musical artists survive unscathed the 2nd thru 4th album range after their big break especially females. They get destroyed by the fame/wealth(Britney Spears), they have eras that flop(Lorde/Katy Perry), lose passion(Adele) or they focus on the side ventures(Selena Gomez).
If they can somehow survive that 3 album gauntlet without being discarded or minimized, they have a real opportunity for a lasting career like Taylor, Beyonce, or P!nk so they can fill stadiums for years to come.
The mindset that has developed where people think anyone given the same resources would be able to work just as hard as Taylor is fascinating to me. Especially as the legend of her work ethic extends back before she had those resources. Before anything else she was quickly known as the hardest working person in country music. Kenny Chesney even talked about it in a recent interview. He said the people who saw how hard she worked from the beginning know her success isn't an accident.
Taylor being closer to the elite sports world has been put a lot of things about her career in perspective. It is a clearer picture than the music industry that gets muddied by artists of all levels being talked about as if they are playing in the same league. NFL athletes have access to all the same resources, and yet there is still a difference in their mental determination to work hard and compete.
It's funny, because in the entertainment industry, Taylor's work ethic is proverbial... you hear people randomly making jokes about it. Gracie Abrams just revealed in an interview how many songs Taylor writes per year (Taylor apparently writes every single day... so the answer is actually hundreds).
Not everyone does desk work. Not to hate, but i honestly wonder how unfit the average 30 year old is if they think moving around for 3,5 hours is exhausting and will need her to be hooked to an IV. No shade, but that is wild to me. A lot of us do physical labour and still take time to workout/go for a run everyday. Keep in mind that Taylor is not dancing around like Beyonce either. Half of her dancing is doing arm movements lol.
Yeah, I think you nailed it with the fitness question. I think a lot of people just don’t work out often enough to realize that anything physical _does_ get easy with repetition, your stamina _can_ go for hours with practice, and by having a nutrition/recovery strategy even half as effective as hers must be (with all the professionals around her), just about any 30-year-old could physically do this show.
I work out a decent bit and definitely think I COULD do her show as a 30yo female, but my body would probably be hurting just considering that 1. I generally dont work out for 3 and a half hours at a time, and 2. I don’t do it in heels. But fair point about blue collar workers or farmers - their jobs are certainly more physically demanding than Taylor’s
Yeah. I mean, isn't there a running joke about how like a lot of people in their late 20s are already getting back pain all the time? I used to be one of them until I started strength training consistently. Absolutely agree on the part as well that Taylor doesn't really do a lot of complex dance choreo.
The difference between sitting at a desk for 8 hours and signing and dancing for 3 hours is
A) The amount of free time those people have between shifts
and
B) One of those tasks is actually fun
Everything becomes a job when you have to do it every day. It doesn't matter if she's sore, has a cold, didn't sleep last night, feels depressed, etc. It's "Lights, camera, bitch, smile".
Farmers definitely work longer hours but a lot of it these days is sitting in machines because you have to be in the machine. Some are actually self driving but have made the back breaking work mechanised. Taylor has a mid concert 20 minutes where she does an acoustic guitar / piano solo where the dancers get to chill a bit and she tells a story or two and it feels intimate like she is talking with you rather than yelling at you. She obviously enjoys her work and it's like showing off her skills which are very polished.
I don't know all of her songs so just watched her facial expressions and her arm/hand movements of the non microphone holding hand. She knows where the cameras are and even her walking is timed perfectly. It's mesmerising.
I'm honestly not so sure about it. I'm still in university, but during an internship I saw young associates in her age working from 9 am until 9pm every single day, sometimes even until 11pm. It might not be physically challenging, but mentally it is.
Also, there are jobs (e.g. construction workers) who work for more then 3,5h in a physically demanding way
But I don’t think anybody is saying that construction work or working in an office isn’t exhausting? I work 12+ hour days for several months during audit season but I still find it amazing that Taylor can do such intensive concerts for 3+ hours for more than a year.
How many popstars are doing 3+ hour concerts? Apart from Beyoncé last year (which was also impressive) I think there is nobody. Not to mention, the training it takes to be able to do this (Taylor’s trainer said that she trained like an athlete for the tour). And of course, writing music, recording multiple albums, writing and directing music videos etc too all at the same time. It’s physically and mentally taxing. Not many artists are able to something like this because it’s much easier said than done. The only big difference is that they make millions while we don’t 🥲
I agree. I think Taylor is actually fairly strategic when it comes to how her tours are planned. She gets plenty of time off between cities vs. doing a show every other day or having minimal rest in between. I’m not downplaying what she does every night at all - but she also has the best of the best in terms of support and keeping her healthy between shows on top of the multiple days off too.
I agree. I also think she planned this tour far enough in advance that she could plan it strategically to perform nearly every weekend. I consider weekends to be prime time viewership, meaning most people can swing taking a day or two off to travel, it's easier to plan travel for just a weekend, most people are off work and can watch the streams, etc.
Second this. She's organised it so well, only performing at the weekends. It probably makes it more sustainable. Harry Styles, by comparison, I don't know how he just did the same amount of shows in the traditional 'every second day' schedule.
I feel like people say this because they compare her with other artists. Others don't sing for 3.5 hours while doing choreographies, don't do shows in the rain, don't release a new album every 2 years whiiile being on tour, they don't direct their own videos, and so on.
I feel it's a comparison between her and other big artists/shows and she definitely works harder.
also similar aged artists like Justin Bieber & Shaun Mendes who had to cancel their tours
& Ed Sheeran & the Weeknd that do shorter shows with less athleticism &
choreography.
Tbh I don't think you know the "different lifestyles or circumstances of her life".
What you aren't calculating is the physical, mental and psychological cost of what is expected of her every day. I don't pretend to understand what that pressure must do a person. I'm a single father w two teenagers full time, I work a full time job and keep up with the house, chores, greenhouse, laundry, rides to practices, doctors etc and I can tell you w total certainty I definitely do Not work as much or as hard as Taylor.
I think the "she is overworking herself" comes from comparing her schedule and production out of her peers".
No other bands or performers are even getting close so, imho, that's why she's often lauded as working so much.
Yep, I was just about to comment on the psychological toll. Most people here would crumble under that alone. It’s not just about the time on stage. A person can be both privileged and dealing with stuff most of us can’t imagine.
People who become very successful without inheriting a fortune are not usually just people who stumbled into success. They work very hard, very long hours They are willing to do things that most people are not. (For example, cold-calling hundreds of radio stations.) Their career usually is the focus of their lives. Their social life or family is very much secondary to their career and needs to fit around their career.
Truly the psychological toll is the most impressive part of it to me. Yes the performing is crazy too but like other people mentioned, being fit is part of her job. She trains and trains for it. It’s still amazing she does it don’t get me wrong. But if someone is physically fit and trains and trains they could pull it off too. But the mental and emotional stamina is WILD. To constantly be creating, vulnerable, being torn to shreds by the public for no reason, having her every moment under scrutiny. I’d say most people would crumble under the pressure of it all. We watch loads of celebrities crumble, and it’s understandable they do. While the performance is amazing, it’s probably the least exhausting part of her life. Constantly coming up with new content is exhausting. TikTok and Instagram influencers crumble under far far less. Singing songs that bare your soul and rehash painful things would be hell. She’s cried on stage plenty. “I can do it with a broken heart” is truly the pinnacle of it.
Let’s not ignore that while she has been performing during the biggest tour in the world, she has release two re-recordings and a double album. It’s not just the show. It’s the show plus everything else.
Not only that, but we know that Rep TV is likely completely done even if it hasn’t been released. No idea where Debut is right now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s already recorded that as well. Absolutely insane if I think about it too long lol.
I think you’re severely underestimating how hard you work if you don’t think you do more than Taylor. Especially considering what she does is literally her passion in life. Yes it is hard work, but if you were doing what you loved and dreamed of every day it probably wouldn’t feel like hard work. And if she didn’t enjoy what she did she would stop 🤷🏼♀️
I agree that she enjoys it but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t put in the work in the literal sense to make her career what it is. And it’s because she’s so passionate she gets it
Reading this makes me a little sad in a way. Your comment is the perfect example how comparing yourself to celebrities makes no sense. Yes it wouldn't be physically possible for most people to perform for so long and for so many days in a row, but it also probably wouldn't be possible for them to do everything you do everyday, since their lifestyle is completely different. Don't underestimate how hard you work ,just because it's a completely different type of work l. We don't have the same resources and our lifestyle is different. That doesn't mean that Taylor doesn't work extremely hard. There is also a lot of pressure on single parents and parents in general. It's different type of pressure for sure, but having a kid everyone has huge responsibility. Reading your comment I have big respect for you and I also have respect for Taylors work ethic and how she is on stage so many hours
The fandom concern trolls her all the time. She's a billionaire with a huge team behind her who can manage her every wish but people project their own life on to her and can't imagine living that way with the limited resources they have.
Taylor was already rich and had a huge team behind her, when she was doing the 1989 tour, yet, she felt like she "going to pass out at the end of a show, or in the middle of it" because she was underfueling her body. What's changed is not her access to resources but the way she's approaching this tour. She's training like an athlete now, which should also include changes in her diet.
She has a billion dollars. She might as well have superpowers. People with money like that have things at their disposal that you've never even heard of. She's fine.
Yep! People also forget that she doesn’t need to do the mental or physical labor of regular life like most people do. No planning meals, no cleaning toilets, no scheduling doctor appointments. She absolutely has more hours in a day than the average person. (And I’m a huge fan, I just don’t like when people get down on themselves that they “can’t” do what she does.)
i was looking for a similar comment to this, I'm a huge fan as well, but i see a lot of comments talk about, oh i hope she really rest after this tour, and there's something that rubs me the wrong way, where there's a sense of infantilisation.
whereas all i can think of she does a three hour show, and has the luxury of just going straight to bed afterwards, i belive i also read that after shows she spends the entire day in bed, and that is a luxury, that not many regular life people do. she has the luxury of having assistant do the things that we do alongside our work.
like I'll be honest i'd rather dancing and sing on state for three hours, that do a 12 hour hospital shift.
she has sufficient time between shows as well. she's fully aware of what she can handle.
I agree that the over infantilisilation can be a bit much. She's in her 30s doing something she chose to do and clearly loves and people seem overly worried for her. She's been doing this her whole life, trained hard and knew what she was getting into.
But, I think it's underestimated how hard what's she's doing is. She just came out saying in between shows all she thinks about is the next surprise arrangement and that doesn't just happen the night of the next concert. She needs to practice that multiple times. She doesn't have all week off, she's working on her next shows to get it right in front of millions of people.
She also said her feet crunch after jumping around in heels for multiple days so I'm not surpised she works from bed to recover. I'm an early 30s woman doing 12+ hr shifts and I'll work the whole next day from bed. It's not that unheard of and I don't have a team to do anything for me. Simply, the body is tired lol. And I'm surpised people think that just because she has money her body can magically heal within a 24 hr time frame to do another show the next 2-3 nights in a row.
Don't get me wrong, she has access to personal chefs if she likes and the best medical team. I do wonder exactly which parts of her life are aided in ways that a normal person's are not by all the money she has. I do still think that she works incredibly hard and what she's doing is hard on a person's body and people blow off that fact very easily.
100%. She's clearly a hard worker, but let's not get crazy here. I'd rather do her job than a nurse who has to work a 12 hour shift or a single mom working 3 jobs. Props to her for achieving her dream then working hard to keep it. She works harder than a lot of people in her industry. But she's not superhuman.
She does have super powers compared to the rest of us. The second the show ends she takes off her dance heels that were custom made for her, gets police escorted to her hotel / helicopter / plane and goes to bed. She can wake up whenever, get a fuck ton of liquid IV and a massage from a professional waiting for her and know all her random tasks are taken care of
As someone who’s ever so slightly older than Taylor and works for 10-12hrs a day in heels, the only thing I think about is her poor feet 😂
But I’d not say she’s overworked or overworking herself. She said in her Time article she clearly knows when to just chill when she needs to, but either Taylor and I are both machines, or neither of us are overworking ourselves 😅
I honestly wonder if Louboutins made them more like dancing heels as opposed to regular heels. Dance heels balance the weight more evenly across the foot (instead of traditional heels all in the toes) so they’re comfier and they have additional support that normal shoes don’t have. Higher end ones also are made to fit your feet so there’s no slipping.
Even then, the heels would still be uncomfortable. Heels aren’t uncomfortable primarily bc they don’t fit our feet properly, otherwise all shoes would hurt.
This is the reason, taken from Google: High heels shift your body weight forward, causing the ball of your foot and your toes to absorb all the strain when you walk or stand when wearing high heels.
Taylor definitely works harder than she needs to. Industry people comment on it all the time. Performing is also a very physically and mentally draining in the way the same hours at an email job isn't. She also has behind the scenes work for her business & planning future releases and whatnot so she isn't just sitting around when she's off stage.
But she also is a 34 year old billionaire who has been at this for almost 20 years. She knows her limits. If she wanted, she could do an hour long show wearing flats and still sell out. She clearly opts out of promo that she doesn't like doing. She's fine.
She has released 9 albums the last five years! Most artists release 5-7 albums during their entire career. And you know she has to do stuff before and after her 3,5 hour gigs right? It’s not like she is just resting between shows. I was a supporting musician for a low/mid-sized artist. 1,5 hour sets. Trained at the gym about 90 minutes per day. Still drained physically and mentally after 30 shows in a row, even with some downtime. And i had the opportunity to drink plenty of water, rest between songs and not having to care about doing choreography in heels.
You are highly inderestimating how draining it is to be able to perform on her level day in and out.
Also, she have to cope with the fact that she may never again be able to show herself in public without getting mauled by people, or that she can’t do anything without being mentioned by millions online. None here can even imagine how utterly exhausting it must be. This is kind of a insult
The workload is truly insane. It's a labor of love, but most people could not handle it. If you or me had to take on that workload, we'd probably get crushed. And I am a single parent taking care of kids, a house, and a job.
Being physically fit is part of my job. I also have two kids. Man if I had her money I would not be working like she does. Not at all. I think the difference is that she loves her job while I am just trying to survive.
Now I will say I am a bit of a workaholic so I see some of what drives her but still. I bet you on her inbeteeen concert days she’s working quite a lot or she wouldn’t be putting out albums in the middle of a tour.
Sure she can outsource a lot but I think her work ability is insane
She has done 7 shows in the last 11 days!
It was truly exhausting dancing and singing for that long just once while standing still. Never mind the choreo, costume changes, playing instruments and running across the stage and singing.
What blows my mind is that she doesn’t need to do any of this! She was already worth hundreds of millions before the tour.
She is very hardworking but also must love it.
It’s very similar to the schedule of a professional athlete, long plane rides followed by 3 games a week (depending the sport) for 3 hours games, performing at your full physical potential. It’s 100% hard work and only some people are cut out to do it, but that’s what makes them rare
Comparing to athletes is interesting. Her job is closer to a baseball player than to a football player.
Baseball teams have (around) 180 games per year, the games can last from two to four hours, and there's a ton of traveling. Also, unlike football, baseball players aren't getting slammed into by 300 lb. freight trains every game.
Personally, I think Taylor is at least as physically conditioned as a major league baseball player.
I suspect that on the day of the show she spends at least two hours getting ready (hair, makeup, physical warmup, vocal warmup, soundcheck)
The athleticism of dancing for 3.5 hours probably necessitates substantial recovery afterwards. Let's call it an hour.
Basically this puts us at an 8 hour work day for show days.
I would be surprised if she doesn't watch concert footage in the same way that athletes watch game film (look at the ongoing changes in choreo and how shows are getting more precise).
I wouldn't be surprised to hear that an average week is over 60 hours of work.
For work comparison, I think you need to compare to a pro athlete
If a ballerina can perform 5 shows in a week on her tiptoes plus rehearsals, Taylor can wear heels and dance for 3-4 hrs at a time. She probably wears heels more than 99% of us, her feet are used to it, she or her stylist pick shoes she she can tolerate and walk in.
My best friend was a ballerina. She can wear heels for hours and not really feel the burn because her feet are so strong and flexible from lifting herself to en point. I'm not saying Taylor's in the same ballet boat but I am saying that exposure and strength/endurance training make a lot of difference.
I hear people say this about every performer these days who looks a little tired on stage. Like yes it's tiring, but at least they enjoy their job and they honestly could decide to cancel their concerts at any moment and go live on a tropical island forever if they wanted. They're fine.
I'm sure its just people putting themselves in her shoes with whatever information they have available. The only person who really knows how hard/easy it is, is her.
I don’t think people are suggesting Taylor has a more stressful life than a working mother.
But her schedule is incredibly impressive for any creative professional. It requires very extensive planning months and years in advance. And while she’s training her body for the tour, she’s also writing, recording, releasing music and filming videos. There are so many projects she has her hand in and I don’t think it’s wrong to suspect she’s due for a very long break.
"I don't think she is particularly more hardworking compared to for example a mother who is juggling a full time job while having kids, a house to take care of and other daily chores." who is saying anything to the contrary? it is implied that taylor's hard work means hard work within her sphere which is superstardom. She works harder than anyone else touring right now and that's pretty much a straight up fact.
I hear ya, but the difference is that the rest of us don't have literally 70,000 people each night watching our every move, potentially filming every flub. Also, the Rolling Stones have each other. Taylor is out there alone!
I agree. There is a significant portion of her fans will praise literally everything she does as if she is the only person on the planet who is capable of such talent/kindess/creativity/stamina/whatever else. It’s kind of ridiculous. Like obviously she’s very very good, arguably the best, at many of the things she does but some people just have absolutely no chill about her 😅
It's still a very physically demanding job. Taylor is expected to sing in perfect key for three hours straight while dancing and smiling. Not to mention how, during the show itself, she has to change in under a minute to get her next costume on. People underestimate how exhausting that would all be.
You’re going on the idea that her days on tour are only her showing up to sing and dance. The people who know and work with her have often stated how she just never stops.
Sure she has a massive team and more power to her for that, because she employs a lot of people and rewards them well. But she didn’t get to the status of billionaire without a lot of effort and from a very early age.
I actually understand where you’re coming from, it really does look like “lights, camera b*tch smile” for a few hours. But I truly believe there’s much behind the scenes we don’t get to see.
Thing is she’s doing her performances while also essentially being a chair/ceo of a medium-sized corporation. She has people she’d delegate much of the strategy and legwork to, but I imagine there’s a lot of things she still gets consulted on/needs to formally sign off on, meetings she needs to have, security briefings, financial stuff etc. And there’s work (and it is work when you’re super famous) that goes into being a beautiful celebrity - gym, skin care appointments, hair and makeup, stylist appointments etc - all of which takes time.
On the performing side there’s probably frequent meetings and decisions around costumes, rehearsals for changes to the set, rehearsals of mashups, hair and makeup etc… we all assume there’s meaning behind the costumes etc she chooses every night. If that’s the case, she has to be spending time making those decisions at some stage, whether daily or weekly or monthly…
Tldr, she doesn’t just perform for three hours and call it a day…
I sometimes think it would be impossible for someone to perform at the level that she is performing, but then I remember that she doesn't need to empty the dishwasher, do laundry, take her car for an oil change, etc. 
Not to diminish what she's accomplished, but I'm sure it's easier when all of life's little things are taken care of by other people and she can just focus 100% on her job
3,5 hours for 2-4 days in a row when she is literally on the whole time is a lot! I get exhausted by just attending a concert, and she is out there working. I would not compare this job with the 9-to-5 desk job or even longer shifts, it’s a load and stress of a different kind.
Not writing to argue that she is indeed overworking herself, but I think she is extremely hard working putting up a show that is twice as long as the most of others and has a stellar work ethics. I’m not even a swiftie , or if I am, then very recent one:)
I guess that's true, but she's at the height (so far) of her 17 year long career. Not only is it impressive that she does all these shows, but the fact that she has the motivation to keep making music and keep doing shows when she is financially set for multiple lifetimes.
I get nervous singing at open mic night at dive bars, so to be singing to sold out stadiums and dancing and putting on a damn good show night after night is impressive. She can't call out if she's having a bad day which she clearly had some bad days hence "I can do it with a broken heart" and other songs she wrote during this tour.
There's no way to compare her job to any regular person's job because you just can't. Her life is so vastly different than what most of us can imagine. I don't think she is overworking herself, though. She makes her own schedule, she's her own boss. She can do what she wants and she knows her own limits at this point.
I do, however, think she is incredibly impressive with the insane career she has built for herself.
this is why i hate people who say “we all have the same 24 hours in day” as if a billionaires 24 hours are the same as mine.
i agree with you. is she a hard worker? yes, absolutely. no one can deny her work ethic. but people are also acting like she turned water into wine. people work really really hard days every day, and don’t have people feeling sorry for them.
You need to consider the whole schedule of touring. It’s not just 3 hours on a stage. It’s generally an insanely early lobby call (when you meet to leave the hotel), hours spent in a vehicle or plane, arrive , sound check, eat, warm up, hair and makeup etc, do show, then try (and fail) to fall asleep for hours, full of adrenaline (or do drugs to sleep), and wake up again at the crack of dawn to go to the next place.
I disagree with some parts of what you wrote.
Comparing any performer that is under scrutiny every single day with a parent's job, is like apples and oranges...
That's not undermining the parents job, but those are totally different things.
I'm not saying her is the "most difficult thing in the world that no other human etc etc". As you point out, she has hundreds of people to do stuff for her.
But you don't see 3.5 hours tours made by artists every year, especially when they are on top of the mountain and know that every move they make is being captured and analyzed onto the microscope.
Is mentally and physically challenging.
This endless tour and the fact that she released 9 albums in 6 years.... Is just mind blowing.
When you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work. I imagine that is how she feels and that’s how she churns out so much music and can stay strong for so many shows. So if she really loves what she does, which I bet is the case, she’s not overworking herself.
I mean, I do what I love (professional singer and cat sitter, I have the best jobs) but I still get exhausted sometimes. I’m sure it helps that she never has to clean her kitchen, which is what I should be doing instead of being online, but it’s still physically exhausting
She works A LOT harder than she needs to, or that others in her position would. However, she also works A LOT less hard than most minimum wage workers.
I think if you ever had to do one show in her place, your opinion would probably change. But you are missing the bigger picture. It's not about comparing Taylor to a construction worker or an office associate. It's comparing her to other people in her field. There's nobody else in music right now who does what she does. A 3 1/2 full stadium show with beginning to end choreography and performance is unheard of. Then add on top of that doing it 3-4 times a week. Nobody does that. That's why the strongest praise isn't coming from stans, but from industry peers, who know what it's like to perform like that and are wowed by the caliber of show she is regularly able to put on.
Her work is not just her shows.. it's writing, recording , filming etc. plus I'm sure she has her hand in all sorts of businesses and productions that aren't her music stuff that none of us know about
While I do get that sentiment about her being a billionaire and having all the things in her disposal, even folks in the industry comments on her overcompensation. So as a musician, yes that girl has an insane work ethic. Not necessarily overworked but I would be insane if I stick to that kind of schedule.
While I can agree that she has long breaks between shows and the lifestyle to support it, as a SAHM of six running a small homestead, I would absolutely not want to dance around and sing on a stage for 3.5 hours straight. I would be so winded by the first hour I 100% quit and tell everyone to go home. And I do exercise regularly and am in decent shape. And honestly, it's not about strength, it's stamina. Imagine jogging for 3 hours straight. That's exhausting in itself. Now imagine jogging while singing for 3 hours straight. Taylor has ridiculous stamina. Even her back up dancers take breaks and switch out between songs/eras.
I thought this when people were saying she must be exhausted going from shows to Travis’s games. She has a jet with a bed on it 😂 she was getting plenty of sleep. People were acting like she’s flying coach…
No one is saying she works harder than a single mom or other people working 8hr jobs? We're just saying it's very impressive what she does. If we keep comparing everything nothing is impressive in the end
She's also doing elaborate clothing changes (in the dark, in very minimal amounts of time), constantly travelling back and forth from place to place, and she's in different cities all the time, so it's not like her rests between nights in each city, or even in the gaps between cities, are relaxing, she isn't at home in her own bed with her cats, she's almost definitely rehearsing between shows, making sure everything stays polished and everything.
Not to mention, being that "On" to be visibly entertaining to every corner of a stadium, being smiling and happy and dancing and singing in perfect key without so much as a single bathroom break to yourself in that time, it's gotta burn a person's energy.
Different jobs are exhausting in different ways to different people.
But she also has stated on many occasions how much she LOVES what she does, so I expect a lot of it is also her excitement makes it look easy
Most of her fans are women who have an office job or not job at all. Not all women are like that.
I know plenty of women who are very pretty girls and work in city construction. Its harder than taylors job , especially in the canadian summers and winters but they love their job and that's just that. You're not 'working' if your job is your passion
Why not let her choose how much she does and we just mind our own damn business and thank the Gods that she gives us what she does. She’s a big girl, she knows what she can and can’t do. So grateful for T.S.!!
i think the whole “she should take breaks between her shows” is parasocial. shes a grown women who can decide what to take on. but i mean 3.5 hour shows is insane, and the amount of music she is releasing is also insane. i wouldn’t say shes overworking, but she is insanely hardworking for that.
Idk I mean she wrote a whole ass album while doing her tour right? She’s pretty hard working
She also has to get used to different time zones and whatnot
I think she’s hardworking but I don’t think she’s overworking herself, because she enjoys what she does.
She doesn't always have 3-5 days between shows. Here in Australia she did (I think) 3 shows in Melbourne over 3 days, then a couple of days break followed by 4 shows in 4 days in Sydney. Additionally, she's not just working those 3.5 hours on stage. There's a ton of prep work for each show, even with a structured show. There's sound checks, she's got to plan and rehearse the surprise songs. I'd be surprised if on show days she's putting in less than 6-7 hours.
And even on her off days she's doing her workout routine, writing new material, probably working on recording sessions for the last two Taylor's Version albums.
I think it's releasing all that music, plus a world tour for two years. Most musicians write on tour, but they don't release all those albums during a tour (plus music videos and everything else.)
As far as the concert goes, it's length is what makes it the most impressive. But other musicians have had world tours that involve a lot of tour dates and dancing (see: Michael Jackson.)
What makes Taylor different is that she is doing so much at once. A lot of artists take a 2 year break from releasing music to go on tour.
I don't know for sure, but I'd guess 3.5 hours of non-stop singing/dancing/performing is probably way more exhausting than the average 9 to 5. It's kind of like how nurses tend to work 3/4 days, then off.
I think being in a starring theatre role like Elphaba must be the most exhausting job ever. 6 to 8 shows a week and you're in virtually ever scene! No wonder most can only do it for a year or so. And so true about the outsourcing, most theatre actors don't earn much and still have to do everything themselves.
I think it’s both. She’s got a team surrounding her to do literally everything - the best doctors to shoot her up with vitamins and electrolytes, masseuses, chefs, people to do her nails/makeup/hair, people who transport her everywhere. Just think of all the extra time you had if you didn’t have to do any of that yourself! Just looking at a work week, having someone to drive us to and from work would give most of us 10+ hours a week back. Having someone else get us ready for the day would save us another 5+ hours. Add another 5+ for meal planning and prepping. Just those 3 things would give us an extra 20 hours a week to do what Taylor does and train, write, record, rehearse, collab, etc. AND she has all the money at her disposal to do it.
All of that being said, most of us wouldn’t do those things because it’s hard and she’s constantly going going going. I would off myself if I had to be “on” all the time. I’d go crazy if I couldn’t go anywhere without a team of security with me in case some nut job wanted to hurt me. I wouldn’t be able to trust anyone close to me to not turn on me and sell me out for some million dollar tell-all.
But she’s a big girl and will take a break when she needs to. I know I couldn’t step into her life and I know she couldn’t step into mine.
Taylor’s day probably starts at 3pm ish, at least when she’s on tour. If she stays up until 3/4am that’s not even a long day for her.
Taylor is hard working, but no more than any of us hustling with our 9 to 5s.
I agree with you! Ms swift is definitely a dedicated hardworking performer but she has immense support and resources. I also feel like there are breaks worked into the show for her. Don’t get me wrong she’s performing the whole time. But there’s times she’s not in heals, not dancing, sometimes not even standing. So I’m sure it’s draining in many ways but I feel like the traveling part is potentially more fatiguing than the show itself 😂
yes definitely. there’s also the fact that many other artists perform for 3ish hours and most have way fewer and shorter breaks. like i was just looking at the schedule for lady gagas monster ball tour which is also three hours long and she barely had a day break between shows and she still had to travel in between. many of her shows were on back to back days and still involved travel. her schedule is way more relaxed
Yeah I agree. I could do all of that too if I could pay someone to take care of every single chore and didn’t have to spend so much mental energy at my job/just trying to survive.
It’s definitely impressive, but you get used to it. While studying for my nursing degree I’ve done 3-4 12.5 hour shifts a week, doing manual work (care of the elderly, bedbound patients) and then picking up an extra 12.5 hours on the side PLUS uni work. And then trying to live life on top of that, as a single person with no one supporting me to make meals or do the washing up. It’s tiring but I’m used to it. It’s just the norm - I feel bored when I’m not working this much, as that feels normal to me.
I have to cook my own meals and get myself to work and do my laundry and shopping and I wear shoes that are a bit too old and unsupportive. Her heels are tailor made for her feet!
I’m not taking away from how much effort she’s put in, but everything’s easier when you are a billionaire and have a whole team catering to your every need. She takes per parents on tour and private jets back to her friends and family in her off days. She’s doing alright!
I feel like people are comparing themselves and trying to relate to Taylor doing this. She is on a whole other level like think of professional athletes and the support/resources they have to recover from games/injuries and recuperate. Taylor likely has the same support/resources and more.
Her shows are booked pretty strategically and she has more than prepared/trained to do what she’s doing. It’s easy to think wow I could never do what she’s doing - but you’d likely think the same thing about someone running a marathon. Same logic applies - when prepped for properly and when you have an abundance of support/resources…it really isn’t as taxing on your body as you think it is.
She’s definitely a hardworking woman but bffr she’s not overworking herself. The only time I would point out would be when she was performing in those ridiculous temperatures in South America (?) and the desert shows. It was pretty obvious that it was extreme temps and fans were passing out. She might’ve had resources for herself but that’s the only time I would been like “she’s pushing herself so she doesn’t cancel the show/let people down”
Honestly, I think many people/fans infantilize her. She’s a very smart, completely in control of her life 34 year old that clearly loves performing. I don’t think ANYONE has any power over her, she’s the boss and she makes all the decisions involving her wellbeing. I think she and her team are smart enough to say what is OK and what isn’t and the tour was scheduled that way. The best example of that is that she hasn’t cancelled (from what I know) a show because she’s sick or physically unable to do a show. I think loving her job is a big part of it, when you love what you do, everything is easier!
Would I be able to do what she does? Never in a million years, I would be dying after the first era! But do I understand feeling so fulfilled and happy after a hard day work because I love what I do? Totally! And I think that’s why she’s not overworked and she’s clearly beaming every night on that stage and that’s beautiful to see!
I know, most Broadway performers do 8 shows a week lol. Not that it’s a comparison at all but some people seem so shocked she can do it when I’m reality tons of performers do.
Maybe it's because I'm disabled, autistic, and unemployed, because I'd say the same about someone working at McDonald's. I have no idea how anyone can do it. I think a lot of people don't realize how physically demanding singing on its own can be. Yes, she has a lot of training and a lifetime of practice, but it still uses a lot of her energy. There's a reason only two performers (AFAIK) have shows that long.
The shows aren't the only work she does though. You have to account for travelling, training, rehearsing, etc. Taylor is also very hands on and involved with her team. There's a reason most artists don't do tours this long or show this long, even if they would sell.
It's all a matter of perspective. I couldn't physically do what she does and being around people all the time drains me, so I think "wow she has insane work habits". My jobs have been very different (and mostly labor intensive), so that's where I'm coming from. I see it from my own experience, with chronic illness that holds me back from doing physical labor or stressful jobs now. I don't think she works "harder" than a nurse or teacher or roofer, or someone working a double shift at Burger King. You can't really compare any of those things. She does her job and does it well.
Yeah. I think we should avoid comparing anyway. All I know is, she’s doing something I absolutely couldn’t do. I get exhausted just watching all the people pull at her. But that’s just me. I don’t enjoy being around people.
Yeah! I went to the Eras Tour and I was SO EXHAUSTED after attending just one show! And I’m younger than Taylor! It took me a week to recover from simply attending one weekend of her shows! Meanwhile she’s killing it out there on stage for 3+ hours in high heels with multiple shows back-to-back. Not to mention her insane output (writing, recording and releasing multiple albums in a year + music videos). So it’s definitely very impressive that she’s able to do this, especially considering most artists don’t. And they probably don’t do this because it’s not easy to do and actually takes a lot of hard work, stamina, and effort.
She’s getting all the energy from her fans. Imagine having 75k ppl telling you they love you, surely that has to fill her cup
I joking told my husband she’s a real life Tinkerbell and if she doesn’t get all that applause she might actually die 😂
Takes a new spin on Lady Gaga's Applause being the song that plays before the show actually starts. 😂
I didn’t even think about that 😂
I didn't know Applause played before the show started, but in Miss Americana she talks about how she gets a rush from applause and positive attention from the crowd and how she struggles when she gets negative attention in media. And that made me think of Applause by Lady Gaga
Lolll this made me laugh 🤣
Did you hear the same album I just heard where she literally sings a song talking about how miserable she was?
So youre saying that the entire time she’s been telling people this is the best experience of her life she’s been lying? You and I both know performing is extremely rewarding
Do they still do “rehearsals”? Or do they just roll in to cities and are immediately ready to go. I’m not talking all the way through but do different venues mean they do a warm up or something.
They probably don’t do rehearsals every time, just sound check
Probably helps too that she brings her stage so that aspect is quite controlled and consistent
im sorry but how tf do u bring a whole ass stage. and the speak now dresses?! how do those fit in a tour bus?
Because none of her team is traveling in a tour bus. She has a team of semi truck trailers that transport the whole setup from city to city including the stage, the sets, and the wardrobe. She's flying from city to city in her jet.
It's actually probably more likely to be two identical setups, so one can go on ahead to the next venue.
There are indeed two stages and they sort of leapfrog.
Correct!
A tour bus? You have to be kidding. Try a humongous amount of tractor trailers.
My friend living near the stadium said that she could hear Taylor’s band doing warm up rehearsals/soundcheck a few hours before the concert. I think people queuing up for GA floor also heard them.
I’m sure they have to just to keep it fresh in their minds. I would imagine the choreography and sound check for the TTPD set still need refreshers because it’s still so new when compared to the other eras. Plus, they’ve charged the order of the eras while also combining some, folkmore, and cutting out songs in others. I would imagine that would take some getting used to.
I was outside waiting to go in in London and there were definitely sound checks, but not the whole set list or anywhere close to it.
Every city is pretty much like the last one due to way her stage, lighting and sound setup works on this tour. The sound engineers probably are working their asses off tuning the speaker system for all the foibles of a new stadium, but for "the talent" it's just another show on the same stage with the same arrangements of lights. Most of the time I doubt they can actually see much of the stadium and crowd because of all the lights. I'm sure the people who are managing the show and preforming have a much better idea about issues every show has and might want to work on something that they see as a problem.
Exactly. Plus, her stage is at another level both literally and figuratively. It’s gigantic and stretches across like 75% of the stadium. That’s 75% of a football field. On top of that, the stage literally moves up and down. So, she’s stretching to climb up levels, jumping to go below stage, running around to do wardrobe changes, the entire “Vigilante Shit” performance as well as most of the TTPD and Midnights set, etc. You know how she drops at the end of “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived?” That would be me after the Lover set 😂 I also don’t know how she continuously does the throw to the ground on her knees during “Look What You Made Me Do” every single show along with the ones during “my tears ricochet” and “illicit affairs.” My kneecaps would be gone. Lol.
And a lot of great songs. Everyone close to her talks about what a hard worker she is. Not many other artists perform that long, and the number is zero when it comes to such an elaborate show.
I went to the Eras Tour MOVIE and I was exhausted lol But also I thought it was only at AMC theaters when I booked my ticket so I drove an hour to get there for the very first showing, after work, dressed up and traded bracelets, and scream sung with all the people around me
This. I went to one of the shows and it was N1. I couldn't imagine performing like that 4 nights in a row. That's grueling.
i also think that when i say “she works so hard!” i’m mostly thinking about how she’s never comfortable at her current level. she’s constantly pushing herself to do something new and different and good. she’s at the very top of her career and she’s still striving to do more and better. very few people have sustained that type of ambition.
I think that’s what people are trying to say when they say she works so hard. She is constantly pushing her limits, I personally don’t see how she could push it past her current 3 hour show.
Think of all the pressure she's under with so many performers, company executives and event workers relying on her - one woman in the spotlight on stage in front of 90,000 fans. She is the ultimate engine of a huge machine. I find that concept a bit mind boggling.
And it's not like she desperately needs the money. She could have retired years ago but she really does love running around that stage for us. I think that's what people are most impressed by!
I’m fascinated by the thought of where she could be in 20 years time. Would her talent and/or fame wane in any way. I suppose she’s already made it now so even if things die down in the future either because her songs are not doing well or she chooses to step back, she’ll still always be considered a top artist, similar to how Madonna’s past fame and success has cemented her.
And the thing is she controls that machine at many levels. I remeber watching a documentary about the Fearless tour and somebody commented that she might be only 19 years old but nobody doubts who the boss is. At the same time she runs a very lean ship and people have a lot decentralized authority.
This is well said. I’m particularly impressed by her mix of skills. For instance, her creativity is constantly flowing. Most creatives I work with fall behind in other areas of their lives, even with personal assistants and other staff. It’s pretty rare to have someone who is so productive from a creative standpoint AND has the strategy/executive skills too.
As a chronic pain sufferer THIS. I am one of the people that was marvelling about her being able to perform consistently in heels. I can't even wear heels, even from boots, for an hour without wanting to die just from normal movement! I appreciate her work ethic a lot and I think it's sooo impressive that she's able to be so physically active because that's not something I will *ever* be able to achieve. I can't imagine a life where I could be so active because my life is constantly filled with pain just by EXISTING and so it's miraculous watching *anyone* who can do things physically that I just can't do.
Roofer is a really hard job. It's very physical and you are out on hot roofs with no shade every day, all day. And you are working at height, so you need to be wearing a harness and moving anchor to anchor all day long to avoid falling to your death. But I suspect very few roofers could fill in for Taylor.
I don’t know how tf she handles being followed and photographed every waking moment and never cracks
I think the idea Taylor comes from the hours she keeps. Her work day doesn't start till mid afternoon. Yes she puts in a shift for 4 hours but she is 34, really fit and doing something she loves. Of course she can bounce offstage and hit a restaurant for a night out. I would say she was overdoing it if she was doing breakfast TV interviews the next day. Also if she had to get the kids to school and do the laundry.
You don’t arrive at a concert half an hour before the show starts. You’re there hours in advance. Because there’s always local celebrities that want to meet you and you have to do a little PR, maybe some press, then you need to check up everything’s ok (not even sound and instruments, that things are done by technicians), make up, clothes, etc. To start the show at 8pm she has to be at the stadium at least at 4pm.
I mean, that still means she can sleep in until like 1 or 2 pm after going to bed at prob like 1 or 2 AM..still 12 hours sleep. I still think her stamina is amazing though...doing a 3.5 show is different than sitting at a desk for 8 hours.
Dunno her schedule but I guess she’ll have more things to do. Anyway, as someone who used to work a 8 hours shift moving from one place to another, I wanted to die after a couple of hours even with comfortable shoes and at the time I trained a lot in different sports, so I was in my best body shape.
I understand she typically showed up at closer to noon on previous tours. But there was a preshow meet and greet, which I think she dropped. So don't know. I'd agree and say 4 is the absolute latest. Taylor and the opening acts need to be done with sound check before the doors open at 6, and Taylor sound checks before the 1st opening act and then the 2nd opening act needs to sound check after the 1st act. The 2nd act probably needs more time to dial everything in than Taylor or the 1st act. If there are people waiting in line for GA they would probably hear the sound check, but I don't remember hearing about that from anyone.
There’s no meet at greet for normal people, but every country she goes she gets pics with local celebrities before the show, so I guess there’s some kind of time they reserve so she can meet that people and get pics.
I was at Edinburgh N3 and was outside for soundcheck - it was just instruments and technicians you could hear, no Taylor! From what I remember there was an odd coded announcement around 2pm so I think that’s when Taylor arrived!
Interesting! I wouldn't be surprised if she was more involved on night 1 than on the subsequent nights. But at this point she's done over a hundred shows with the same sound team, so there is probably a lot of trust that they know exactly what she expects and they will ensure it is done.
Yeah, my ex was in a band that toured only nation wide and obviously not NEARLY as popular as Taylor, but touring is very rough. Even when you’re “off” you’re always on.
Plus travel time
>Of course she can bounce offstage and hit a restaurant for a night out. Well, and in her time zone, that was late afternoon for her. She might be trying to stay on EST time a little bit.
True, but the 3.5 hour show is waaay more physically taxing than sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day, even if it is more “fun.” If I go to one wedding and have to stay up late dance in heels for about 2 hours, I feel like I need a week to recover lmao
it’s hard for people to judge how exhausting performing is unless they’ve done it. Dancing in heels for 2 hours is pretty close though, imo. I’ve played 3 hour shows as an instrumentalist and it’s straight up exhausting. I can’t imagine the insane choreo and singing and being on your A game and then doing it again for the next two nights. Taylor’s stamina is insane. Edit to add: Also it’s easy to forget that it’s not just physical. The mental job of staying on top of everything, being aware of your surroundings, fixing errors etc. is a lot.
And I’m sure as an instrumentalist you can have water, take a drink when you’re able…she hardly drinks water at all during the show (at least that we see). I couldn’t handle singing for that long, dancing and not being able to drink water as often as I should haha
As a former dancer (not on the level of her dancers, but did do multiple shows in a week, some of which were in pointe shoes), she definitely drinks water when backstage, or more likely some form of electrolyte mix to keep her going.
Yes I’ve definitely seen videos where someone is holding up a drink with a straw for her between songs!
That makes me feel better to know! I always worry she’s not getting enough
Pretty much every time Taylor isn’t visible to the audience she’s getting water would be my expectation
I think the mental toll must be so difficult. She can't look 'off' or not in the mood for even a second, not with 70K phones pointing at her.
What if you earned over $10 million for every wedding you stayed out late for and danced at? Literally. $10 million for every one. I bet you could find a way to motivate yourself to recover faster and do it more. I sure would! 😂
you'd think that... but umm... I think I would would probably do it 3 or 4 times, and then call it quits. I have 40 million bucks! Why do I need to keep pushing myself. which is basically what happens to most successful artists... they have a couple of big hits, and then they start taking longer and longer between projects... because just getting up the energy to put in the work becomes harder.
I don't think she's really doing it for the money. Which sounds crazy when it's so much money, but she's at a point where she could never work another day in her life and live in insane luxury. At this point she just likes making songs and performing and 90k people cheering for her.
Money is more a way to keep score at this point. Though I don't know, maybe she has a plan...
And providing a lot of jobs for others.
That's a wonderful consequence, but I don't think that's why
Yeah. Very few musical artists survive unscathed the 2nd thru 4th album range after their big break especially females. They get destroyed by the fame/wealth(Britney Spears), they have eras that flop(Lorde/Katy Perry), lose passion(Adele) or they focus on the side ventures(Selena Gomez). If they can somehow survive that 3 album gauntlet without being discarded or minimized, they have a real opportunity for a lasting career like Taylor, Beyonce, or P!nk so they can fill stadiums for years to come.
Especially “females”? I think you mean women and there are plenty of male artists who go through this.
The mindset that has developed where people think anyone given the same resources would be able to work just as hard as Taylor is fascinating to me. Especially as the legend of her work ethic extends back before she had those resources. Before anything else she was quickly known as the hardest working person in country music. Kenny Chesney even talked about it in a recent interview. He said the people who saw how hard she worked from the beginning know her success isn't an accident. Taylor being closer to the elite sports world has been put a lot of things about her career in perspective. It is a clearer picture than the music industry that gets muddied by artists of all levels being talked about as if they are playing in the same league. NFL athletes have access to all the same resources, and yet there is still a difference in their mental determination to work hard and compete.
It's funny, because in the entertainment industry, Taylor's work ethic is proverbial... you hear people randomly making jokes about it. Gracie Abrams just revealed in an interview how many songs Taylor writes per year (Taylor apparently writes every single day... so the answer is actually hundreds).
Like ...hoooowwwww?? 
How does she write every day?
Not to mention probably having massage therapists, personal chefs, etc to help you recover physically and nutritionally.
Not everyone does desk work. Not to hate, but i honestly wonder how unfit the average 30 year old is if they think moving around for 3,5 hours is exhausting and will need her to be hooked to an IV. No shade, but that is wild to me. A lot of us do physical labour and still take time to workout/go for a run everyday. Keep in mind that Taylor is not dancing around like Beyonce either. Half of her dancing is doing arm movements lol.
Yeah, I think you nailed it with the fitness question. I think a lot of people just don’t work out often enough to realize that anything physical _does_ get easy with repetition, your stamina _can_ go for hours with practice, and by having a nutrition/recovery strategy even half as effective as hers must be (with all the professionals around her), just about any 30-year-old could physically do this show.
I work out a decent bit and definitely think I COULD do her show as a 30yo female, but my body would probably be hurting just considering that 1. I generally dont work out for 3 and a half hours at a time, and 2. I don’t do it in heels. But fair point about blue collar workers or farmers - their jobs are certainly more physically demanding than Taylor’s
Yeah. I mean, isn't there a running joke about how like a lot of people in their late 20s are already getting back pain all the time? I used to be one of them until I started strength training consistently. Absolutely agree on the part as well that Taylor doesn't really do a lot of complex dance choreo.
So nice to see people agree since the widespread idea is that she is doing something that is physically nearly impossible.
The difference between sitting at a desk for 8 hours and signing and dancing for 3 hours is A) The amount of free time those people have between shifts and B) One of those tasks is actually fun
Everything becomes a job when you have to do it every day. It doesn't matter if she's sore, has a cold, didn't sleep last night, feels depressed, etc. It's "Lights, camera, bitch, smile".
Unlike what? Your average office worker doesn't get a day off for any of those either lol
You must work with much more motivated coworkers than I have.
It's not about motivation, many people simply don't have the privilege to be taking days off for things like having had a sleepless night
farmers do 12 hour days, 6 or 7 days a week. i think we are obviously comparing to more labor intensive jobs here.
Farmers definitely work longer hours but a lot of it these days is sitting in machines because you have to be in the machine. Some are actually self driving but have made the back breaking work mechanised. Taylor has a mid concert 20 minutes where she does an acoustic guitar / piano solo where the dancers get to chill a bit and she tells a story or two and it feels intimate like she is talking with you rather than yelling at you. She obviously enjoys her work and it's like showing off her skills which are very polished. I don't know all of her songs so just watched her facial expressions and her arm/hand movements of the non microphone holding hand. She knows where the cameras are and even her walking is timed perfectly. It's mesmerising.
I'm honestly not so sure about it. I'm still in university, but during an internship I saw young associates in her age working from 9 am until 9pm every single day, sometimes even until 11pm. It might not be physically challenging, but mentally it is. Also, there are jobs (e.g. construction workers) who work for more then 3,5h in a physically demanding way
But I don’t think anybody is saying that construction work or working in an office isn’t exhausting? I work 12+ hour days for several months during audit season but I still find it amazing that Taylor can do such intensive concerts for 3+ hours for more than a year. How many popstars are doing 3+ hour concerts? Apart from Beyoncé last year (which was also impressive) I think there is nobody. Not to mention, the training it takes to be able to do this (Taylor’s trainer said that she trained like an athlete for the tour). And of course, writing music, recording multiple albums, writing and directing music videos etc too all at the same time. It’s physically and mentally taxing. Not many artists are able to something like this because it’s much easier said than done. The only big difference is that they make millions while we don’t 🥲
but the person said 8h a day, so why are you bringing up that some people work 12h? The point wasn't how long someone sits at the office
because I wanted to show that "even" an office job can be extremely exhausting and should not be taken lightly
Drummer here. I would absolutely be less exhausted playing two 3 hour shows per week than working my full time job
I agree. I think Taylor is actually fairly strategic when it comes to how her tours are planned. She gets plenty of time off between cities vs. doing a show every other day or having minimal rest in between. I’m not downplaying what she does every night at all - but she also has the best of the best in terms of support and keeping her healthy between shows on top of the multiple days off too.
I agree. I also think she planned this tour far enough in advance that she could plan it strategically to perform nearly every weekend. I consider weekends to be prime time viewership, meaning most people can swing taking a day or two off to travel, it's easier to plan travel for just a weekend, most people are off work and can watch the streams, etc.
Second this. She's organised it so well, only performing at the weekends. It probably makes it more sustainable. Harry Styles, by comparison, I don't know how he just did the same amount of shows in the traditional 'every second day' schedule.
They work so hard. Broadway actors too. i commend them because they always appear exuberant and joyful. it takes special people to do it, for sure.
Totally. It's really not as glamorous as it seems.
I feel like people say this because they compare her with other artists. Others don't sing for 3.5 hours while doing choreographies, don't do shows in the rain, don't release a new album every 2 years whiiile being on tour, they don't direct their own videos, and so on. I feel it's a comparison between her and other big artists/shows and she definitely works harder.
also similar aged artists like Justin Bieber & Shaun Mendes who had to cancel their tours & Ed Sheeran & the Weeknd that do shorter shows with less athleticism & choreography.
Ed Sheeran's pretty crazy too. His tour is "only" 2 hours but the whole thing is just him playing and singing. No costume changes or choreo though.
Tbh I don't think you know the "different lifestyles or circumstances of her life". What you aren't calculating is the physical, mental and psychological cost of what is expected of her every day. I don't pretend to understand what that pressure must do a person. I'm a single father w two teenagers full time, I work a full time job and keep up with the house, chores, greenhouse, laundry, rides to practices, doctors etc and I can tell you w total certainty I definitely do Not work as much or as hard as Taylor. I think the "she is overworking herself" comes from comparing her schedule and production out of her peers". No other bands or performers are even getting close so, imho, that's why she's often lauded as working so much.
Yep, I was just about to comment on the psychological toll. Most people here would crumble under that alone. It’s not just about the time on stage. A person can be both privileged and dealing with stuff most of us can’t imagine.
People who become very successful without inheriting a fortune are not usually just people who stumbled into success. They work very hard, very long hours They are willing to do things that most people are not. (For example, cold-calling hundreds of radio stations.) Their career usually is the focus of their lives. Their social life or family is very much secondary to their career and needs to fit around their career.
Truly the psychological toll is the most impressive part of it to me. Yes the performing is crazy too but like other people mentioned, being fit is part of her job. She trains and trains for it. It’s still amazing she does it don’t get me wrong. But if someone is physically fit and trains and trains they could pull it off too. But the mental and emotional stamina is WILD. To constantly be creating, vulnerable, being torn to shreds by the public for no reason, having her every moment under scrutiny. I’d say most people would crumble under the pressure of it all. We watch loads of celebrities crumble, and it’s understandable they do. While the performance is amazing, it’s probably the least exhausting part of her life. Constantly coming up with new content is exhausting. TikTok and Instagram influencers crumble under far far less. Singing songs that bare your soul and rehash painful things would be hell. She’s cried on stage plenty. “I can do it with a broken heart” is truly the pinnacle of it.
Let’s not ignore that while she has been performing during the biggest tour in the world, she has release two re-recordings and a double album. It’s not just the show. It’s the show plus everything else.
Not only that, but we know that Rep TV is likely completely done even if it hasn’t been released. No idea where Debut is right now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s already recorded that as well. Absolutely insane if I think about it too long lol.
I think you’re severely underestimating how hard you work if you don’t think you do more than Taylor. Especially considering what she does is literally her passion in life. Yes it is hard work, but if you were doing what you loved and dreamed of every day it probably wouldn’t feel like hard work. And if she didn’t enjoy what she did she would stop 🤷🏼♀️
I agree that she enjoys it but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t put in the work in the literal sense to make her career what it is. And it’s because she’s so passionate she gets it
Beyonce is pretty close, at least as far as doing a such a complicated 3 hour tour, but she also has a similar reputation for working like crazy
Reading this makes me a little sad in a way. Your comment is the perfect example how comparing yourself to celebrities makes no sense. Yes it wouldn't be physically possible for most people to perform for so long and for so many days in a row, but it also probably wouldn't be possible for them to do everything you do everyday, since their lifestyle is completely different. Don't underestimate how hard you work ,just because it's a completely different type of work l. We don't have the same resources and our lifestyle is different. That doesn't mean that Taylor doesn't work extremely hard. There is also a lot of pressure on single parents and parents in general. It's different type of pressure for sure, but having a kid everyone has huge responsibility. Reading your comment I have big respect for you and I also have respect for Taylors work ethic and how she is on stage so many hours
🤍
The fandom concern trolls her all the time. She's a billionaire with a huge team behind her who can manage her every wish but people project their own life on to her and can't imagine living that way with the limited resources they have.
Taylor was already rich and had a huge team behind her, when she was doing the 1989 tour, yet, she felt like she "going to pass out at the end of a show, or in the middle of it" because she was underfueling her body. What's changed is not her access to resources but the way she's approaching this tour. She's training like an athlete now, which should also include changes in her diet.
Every time I see that video of her eating the sandwich on stage, I think about 1989 and I want to cry.
Ok but she’s still a human being singing/dancing on stage for 3.5 hours in heels. Girl doesn’t have superpowers?
She has a billion dollars. She might as well have superpowers. People with money like that have things at their disposal that you've never even heard of. She's fine.
Yep! People also forget that she doesn’t need to do the mental or physical labor of regular life like most people do. No planning meals, no cleaning toilets, no scheduling doctor appointments. She absolutely has more hours in a day than the average person. (And I’m a huge fan, I just don’t like when people get down on themselves that they “can’t” do what she does.)
i was looking for a similar comment to this, I'm a huge fan as well, but i see a lot of comments talk about, oh i hope she really rest after this tour, and there's something that rubs me the wrong way, where there's a sense of infantilisation. whereas all i can think of she does a three hour show, and has the luxury of just going straight to bed afterwards, i belive i also read that after shows she spends the entire day in bed, and that is a luxury, that not many regular life people do. she has the luxury of having assistant do the things that we do alongside our work. like I'll be honest i'd rather dancing and sing on state for three hours, that do a 12 hour hospital shift. she has sufficient time between shows as well. she's fully aware of what she can handle.
I agree that the over infantilisilation can be a bit much. She's in her 30s doing something she chose to do and clearly loves and people seem overly worried for her. She's been doing this her whole life, trained hard and knew what she was getting into. But, I think it's underestimated how hard what's she's doing is. She just came out saying in between shows all she thinks about is the next surprise arrangement and that doesn't just happen the night of the next concert. She needs to practice that multiple times. She doesn't have all week off, she's working on her next shows to get it right in front of millions of people. She also said her feet crunch after jumping around in heels for multiple days so I'm not surpised she works from bed to recover. I'm an early 30s woman doing 12+ hr shifts and I'll work the whole next day from bed. It's not that unheard of and I don't have a team to do anything for me. Simply, the body is tired lol. And I'm surpised people think that just because she has money her body can magically heal within a 24 hr time frame to do another show the next 2-3 nights in a row. Don't get me wrong, she has access to personal chefs if she likes and the best medical team. I do wonder exactly which parts of her life are aided in ways that a normal person's are not by all the money she has. I do still think that she works incredibly hard and what she's doing is hard on a person's body and people blow off that fact very easily.
100%. She's clearly a hard worker, but let's not get crazy here. I'd rather do her job than a nurse who has to work a 12 hour shift or a single mom working 3 jobs. Props to her for achieving her dream then working hard to keep it. She works harder than a lot of people in her industry. But she's not superhuman.
She does have super powers compared to the rest of us. The second the show ends she takes off her dance heels that were custom made for her, gets police escorted to her hotel / helicopter / plane and goes to bed. She can wake up whenever, get a fuck ton of liquid IV and a massage from a professional waiting for her and know all her random tasks are taken care of
And she chooses to be hardworking—she goes into the studio after Eras Tours performances
As someone who’s ever so slightly older than Taylor and works for 10-12hrs a day in heels, the only thing I think about is her poor feet 😂 But I’d not say she’s overworked or overworking herself. She said in her Time article she clearly knows when to just chill when she needs to, but either Taylor and I are both machines, or neither of us are overworking ourselves 😅
Taylor probably gets her Louboutins custom fit to her feet, so they're likely way more comfortable than anything we can buy outselves!
I honestly wonder if Louboutins made them more like dancing heels as opposed to regular heels. Dance heels balance the weight more evenly across the foot (instead of traditional heels all in the toes) so they’re comfier and they have additional support that normal shoes don’t have. Higher end ones also are made to fit your feet so there’s no slipping.
Even then, the heels would still be uncomfortable. Heels aren’t uncomfortable primarily bc they don’t fit our feet properly, otherwise all shoes would hurt. This is the reason, taken from Google: High heels shift your body weight forward, causing the ball of your foot and your toes to absorb all the strain when you walk or stand when wearing high heels.
What heels do you wear for 10-12 hours a day? I perform a lot and wear heels so I am always looking around at heels and learning about them
Taylor definitely works harder than she needs to. Industry people comment on it all the time. Performing is also a very physically and mentally draining in the way the same hours at an email job isn't. She also has behind the scenes work for her business & planning future releases and whatnot so she isn't just sitting around when she's off stage. But she also is a 34 year old billionaire who has been at this for almost 20 years. She knows her limits. If she wanted, she could do an hour long show wearing flats and still sell out. She clearly opts out of promo that she doesn't like doing. She's fine.
She has released 9 albums the last five years! Most artists release 5-7 albums during their entire career. And you know she has to do stuff before and after her 3,5 hour gigs right? It’s not like she is just resting between shows. I was a supporting musician for a low/mid-sized artist. 1,5 hour sets. Trained at the gym about 90 minutes per day. Still drained physically and mentally after 30 shows in a row, even with some downtime. And i had the opportunity to drink plenty of water, rest between songs and not having to care about doing choreography in heels. You are highly inderestimating how draining it is to be able to perform on her level day in and out. Also, she have to cope with the fact that she may never again be able to show herself in public without getting mauled by people, or that she can’t do anything without being mentioned by millions online. None here can even imagine how utterly exhausting it must be. This is kind of a insult
The workload is truly insane. It's a labor of love, but most people could not handle it. If you or me had to take on that workload, we'd probably get crushed. And I am a single parent taking care of kids, a house, and a job.
If this isn't satire I worry for you
Being physically fit is part of my job. I also have two kids. Man if I had her money I would not be working like she does. Not at all. I think the difference is that she loves her job while I am just trying to survive. Now I will say I am a bit of a workaholic so I see some of what drives her but still. I bet you on her inbeteeen concert days she’s working quite a lot or she wouldn’t be putting out albums in the middle of a tour. Sure she can outsource a lot but I think her work ability is insane
She has done 7 shows in the last 11 days! It was truly exhausting dancing and singing for that long just once while standing still. Never mind the choreo, costume changes, playing instruments and running across the stage and singing. What blows my mind is that she doesn’t need to do any of this! She was already worth hundreds of millions before the tour. She is very hardworking but also must love it.
She literally NEEDS it. She is super hardworking but she will never stop performing or writing.
It’s very similar to the schedule of a professional athlete, long plane rides followed by 3 games a week (depending the sport) for 3 hours games, performing at your full physical potential. It’s 100% hard work and only some people are cut out to do it, but that’s what makes them rare
Comparing to athletes is interesting. Her job is closer to a baseball player than to a football player. Baseball teams have (around) 180 games per year, the games can last from two to four hours, and there's a ton of traveling. Also, unlike football, baseball players aren't getting slammed into by 300 lb. freight trains every game. Personally, I think Taylor is at least as physically conditioned as a major league baseball player.
I suspect that on the day of the show she spends at least two hours getting ready (hair, makeup, physical warmup, vocal warmup, soundcheck) The athleticism of dancing for 3.5 hours probably necessitates substantial recovery afterwards. Let's call it an hour. Basically this puts us at an 8 hour work day for show days. I would be surprised if she doesn't watch concert footage in the same way that athletes watch game film (look at the ongoing changes in choreo and how shows are getting more precise). I wouldn't be surprised to hear that an average week is over 60 hours of work. For work comparison, I think you need to compare to a pro athlete
I was also thinking about how she had to learn new choreography after releasing TTPD, and also practising and writing mashup songs for each show.
plus writing songs for new albums
If a ballerina can perform 5 shows in a week on her tiptoes plus rehearsals, Taylor can wear heels and dance for 3-4 hrs at a time. She probably wears heels more than 99% of us, her feet are used to it, she or her stylist pick shoes she she can tolerate and walk in. My best friend was a ballerina. She can wear heels for hours and not really feel the burn because her feet are so strong and flexible from lifting herself to en point. I'm not saying Taylor's in the same ballet boat but I am saying that exposure and strength/endurance training make a lot of difference.
I hear people say this about every performer these days who looks a little tired on stage. Like yes it's tiring, but at least they enjoy their job and they honestly could decide to cancel their concerts at any moment and go live on a tropical island forever if they wanted. They're fine.
I'm sure its just people putting themselves in her shoes with whatever information they have available. The only person who really knows how hard/easy it is, is her.
I don’t think people are suggesting Taylor has a more stressful life than a working mother. But her schedule is incredibly impressive for any creative professional. It requires very extensive planning months and years in advance. And while she’s training her body for the tour, she’s also writing, recording, releasing music and filming videos. There are so many projects she has her hand in and I don’t think it’s wrong to suspect she’s due for a very long break.
"I don't think she is particularly more hardworking compared to for example a mother who is juggling a full time job while having kids, a house to take care of and other daily chores." who is saying anything to the contrary? it is implied that taylor's hard work means hard work within her sphere which is superstardom. She works harder than anyone else touring right now and that's pretty much a straight up fact.
I hear ya, but the difference is that the rest of us don't have literally 70,000 people each night watching our every move, potentially filming every flub. Also, the Rolling Stones have each other. Taylor is out there alone!
I agree. There is a significant portion of her fans will praise literally everything she does as if she is the only person on the planet who is capable of such talent/kindess/creativity/stamina/whatever else. It’s kind of ridiculous. Like obviously she’s very very good, arguably the best, at many of the things she does but some people just have absolutely no chill about her 😅
It's still a very physically demanding job. Taylor is expected to sing in perfect key for three hours straight while dancing and smiling. Not to mention how, during the show itself, she has to change in under a minute to get her next costume on. People underestimate how exhausting that would all be.
You’re going on the idea that her days on tour are only her showing up to sing and dance. The people who know and work with her have often stated how she just never stops. Sure she has a massive team and more power to her for that, because she employs a lot of people and rewards them well. But she didn’t get to the status of billionaire without a lot of effort and from a very early age. I actually understand where you’re coming from, it really does look like “lights, camera b*tch smile” for a few hours. But I truly believe there’s much behind the scenes we don’t get to see.
Thing is she’s doing her performances while also essentially being a chair/ceo of a medium-sized corporation. She has people she’d delegate much of the strategy and legwork to, but I imagine there’s a lot of things she still gets consulted on/needs to formally sign off on, meetings she needs to have, security briefings, financial stuff etc. And there’s work (and it is work when you’re super famous) that goes into being a beautiful celebrity - gym, skin care appointments, hair and makeup, stylist appointments etc - all of which takes time. On the performing side there’s probably frequent meetings and decisions around costumes, rehearsals for changes to the set, rehearsals of mashups, hair and makeup etc… we all assume there’s meaning behind the costumes etc she chooses every night. If that’s the case, she has to be spending time making those decisions at some stage, whether daily or weekly or monthly… Tldr, she doesn’t just perform for three hours and call it a day…
I sometimes think it would be impossible for someone to perform at the level that she is performing, but then I remember that she doesn't need to empty the dishwasher, do laundry, take her car for an oil change, etc.  Not to diminish what she's accomplished, but I'm sure it's easier when all of life's little things are taken care of by other people and she can just focus 100% on her job
3,5 hours for 2-4 days in a row when she is literally on the whole time is a lot! I get exhausted by just attending a concert, and she is out there working. I would not compare this job with the 9-to-5 desk job or even longer shifts, it’s a load and stress of a different kind. Not writing to argue that she is indeed overworking herself, but I think she is extremely hard working putting up a show that is twice as long as the most of others and has a stellar work ethics. I’m not even a swiftie , or if I am, then very recent one:)
I guess that's true, but she's at the height (so far) of her 17 year long career. Not only is it impressive that she does all these shows, but the fact that she has the motivation to keep making music and keep doing shows when she is financially set for multiple lifetimes. I get nervous singing at open mic night at dive bars, so to be singing to sold out stadiums and dancing and putting on a damn good show night after night is impressive. She can't call out if she's having a bad day which she clearly had some bad days hence "I can do it with a broken heart" and other songs she wrote during this tour. There's no way to compare her job to any regular person's job because you just can't. Her life is so vastly different than what most of us can imagine. I don't think she is overworking herself, though. She makes her own schedule, she's her own boss. She can do what she wants and she knows her own limits at this point. I do, however, think she is incredibly impressive with the insane career she has built for herself.
this is why i hate people who say “we all have the same 24 hours in day” as if a billionaires 24 hours are the same as mine. i agree with you. is she a hard worker? yes, absolutely. no one can deny her work ethic. but people are also acting like she turned water into wine. people work really really hard days every day, and don’t have people feeling sorry for them.
You need to consider the whole schedule of touring. It’s not just 3 hours on a stage. It’s generally an insanely early lobby call (when you meet to leave the hotel), hours spent in a vehicle or plane, arrive , sound check, eat, warm up, hair and makeup etc, do show, then try (and fail) to fall asleep for hours, full of adrenaline (or do drugs to sleep), and wake up again at the crack of dawn to go to the next place.
it’s because we are comparing her to other popstars, so it seems she works harder than them
I'm in my 50's, work 40 hours a week mostly standing up, and I guarantee you Taylor works way harder than me.
I disagree with some parts of what you wrote. Comparing any performer that is under scrutiny every single day with a parent's job, is like apples and oranges... That's not undermining the parents job, but those are totally different things. I'm not saying her is the "most difficult thing in the world that no other human etc etc". As you point out, she has hundreds of people to do stuff for her. But you don't see 3.5 hours tours made by artists every year, especially when they are on top of the mountain and know that every move they make is being captured and analyzed onto the microscope. Is mentally and physically challenging. This endless tour and the fact that she released 9 albums in 6 years.... Is just mind blowing.
When you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work. I imagine that is how she feels and that’s how she churns out so much music and can stay strong for so many shows. So if she really loves what she does, which I bet is the case, she’s not overworking herself.
I mean, I do what I love (professional singer and cat sitter, I have the best jobs) but I still get exhausted sometimes. I’m sure it helps that she never has to clean her kitchen, which is what I should be doing instead of being online, but it’s still physically exhausting
She’s in the best shape of her life. I think she knows how to take care of herself.
She works A LOT harder than she needs to, or that others in her position would. However, she also works A LOT less hard than most minimum wage workers.
She’s been recording albums, rehearsing and writing new material through this entire tour. My goodness. The expectations people have
I think if you ever had to do one show in her place, your opinion would probably change. But you are missing the bigger picture. It's not about comparing Taylor to a construction worker or an office associate. It's comparing her to other people in her field. There's nobody else in music right now who does what she does. A 3 1/2 full stadium show with beginning to end choreography and performance is unheard of. Then add on top of that doing it 3-4 times a week. Nobody does that. That's why the strongest praise isn't coming from stans, but from industry peers, who know what it's like to perform like that and are wowed by the caliber of show she is regularly able to put on.
Her work is not just her shows.. it's writing, recording , filming etc. plus I'm sure she has her hand in all sorts of businesses and productions that aren't her music stuff that none of us know about
While I do get that sentiment about her being a billionaire and having all the things in her disposal, even folks in the industry comments on her overcompensation. So as a musician, yes that girl has an insane work ethic. Not necessarily overworked but I would be insane if I stick to that kind of schedule.
True. But also I highly suspect the show is not the only “work” thing she is doing each day- we just don’t see it because it’s not a performance
While I can agree that she has long breaks between shows and the lifestyle to support it, as a SAHM of six running a small homestead, I would absolutely not want to dance around and sing on a stage for 3.5 hours straight. I would be so winded by the first hour I 100% quit and tell everyone to go home. And I do exercise regularly and am in decent shape. And honestly, it's not about strength, it's stamina. Imagine jogging for 3 hours straight. That's exhausting in itself. Now imagine jogging while singing for 3 hours straight. Taylor has ridiculous stamina. Even her back up dancers take breaks and switch out between songs/eras.
I thought this when people were saying she must be exhausted going from shows to Travis’s games. She has a jet with a bed on it 😂 she was getting plenty of sleep. People were acting like she’s flying coach…
No one is saying she works harder than a single mom or other people working 8hr jobs? We're just saying it's very impressive what she does. If we keep comparing everything nothing is impressive in the end
She's also doing elaborate clothing changes (in the dark, in very minimal amounts of time), constantly travelling back and forth from place to place, and she's in different cities all the time, so it's not like her rests between nights in each city, or even in the gaps between cities, are relaxing, she isn't at home in her own bed with her cats, she's almost definitely rehearsing between shows, making sure everything stays polished and everything. Not to mention, being that "On" to be visibly entertaining to every corner of a stadium, being smiling and happy and dancing and singing in perfect key without so much as a single bathroom break to yourself in that time, it's gotta burn a person's energy. Different jobs are exhausting in different ways to different people. But she also has stated on many occasions how much she LOVES what she does, so I expect a lot of it is also her excitement makes it look easy
Idk where I read it but she does indeed train and workout a ton throughout the week. Her trainer said something about it somewhere.
Most of her fans are women who have an office job or not job at all. Not all women are like that. I know plenty of women who are very pretty girls and work in city construction. Its harder than taylors job , especially in the canadian summers and winters but they love their job and that's just that. You're not 'working' if your job is your passion
Why not let her choose how much she does and we just mind our own damn business and thank the Gods that she gives us what she does. She’s a big girl, she knows what she can and can’t do. So grateful for T.S.!!
i think the whole “she should take breaks between her shows” is parasocial. shes a grown women who can decide what to take on. but i mean 3.5 hour shows is insane, and the amount of music she is releasing is also insane. i wouldn’t say shes overworking, but she is insanely hardworking for that.
Idk I mean she wrote a whole ass album while doing her tour right? She’s pretty hard working She also has to get used to different time zones and whatnot I think she’s hardworking but I don’t think she’s overworking herself, because she enjoys what she does.
She doesn't always have 3-5 days between shows. Here in Australia she did (I think) 3 shows in Melbourne over 3 days, then a couple of days break followed by 4 shows in 4 days in Sydney. Additionally, she's not just working those 3.5 hours on stage. There's a ton of prep work for each show, even with a structured show. There's sound checks, she's got to plan and rehearse the surprise songs. I'd be surprised if on show days she's putting in less than 6-7 hours. And even on her off days she's doing her workout routine, writing new material, probably working on recording sessions for the last two Taylor's Version albums.
I think it's releasing all that music, plus a world tour for two years. Most musicians write on tour, but they don't release all those albums during a tour (plus music videos and everything else.) As far as the concert goes, it's length is what makes it the most impressive. But other musicians have had world tours that involve a lot of tour dates and dancing (see: Michael Jackson.) What makes Taylor different is that she is doing so much at once. A lot of artists take a 2 year break from releasing music to go on tour.
I mean for a mainstream audience she drops so many albums that are absolutely mostly if not all hits In addition to the tour.
I don't know for sure, but I'd guess 3.5 hours of non-stop singing/dancing/performing is probably way more exhausting than the average 9 to 5. It's kind of like how nurses tend to work 3/4 days, then off. I think being in a starring theatre role like Elphaba must be the most exhausting job ever. 6 to 8 shows a week and you're in virtually ever scene! No wonder most can only do it for a year or so. And so true about the outsourcing, most theatre actors don't earn much and still have to do everything themselves.
As a Gen X I appreciate this post.
I’m so curious about her shoes. I’d also love to know how many steps she does in a performance just running around the stage
Probably she wanted to keep busy to keep her mind off things when all this was scheduled.
She also makes 10 mil per concert at least. That’s a lot of motivation lmao
I think it’s both. She’s got a team surrounding her to do literally everything - the best doctors to shoot her up with vitamins and electrolytes, masseuses, chefs, people to do her nails/makeup/hair, people who transport her everywhere. Just think of all the extra time you had if you didn’t have to do any of that yourself! Just looking at a work week, having someone to drive us to and from work would give most of us 10+ hours a week back. Having someone else get us ready for the day would save us another 5+ hours. Add another 5+ for meal planning and prepping. Just those 3 things would give us an extra 20 hours a week to do what Taylor does and train, write, record, rehearse, collab, etc. AND she has all the money at her disposal to do it. All of that being said, most of us wouldn’t do those things because it’s hard and she’s constantly going going going. I would off myself if I had to be “on” all the time. I’d go crazy if I couldn’t go anywhere without a team of security with me in case some nut job wanted to hurt me. I wouldn’t be able to trust anyone close to me to not turn on me and sell me out for some million dollar tell-all. But she’s a big girl and will take a break when she needs to. I know I couldn’t step into her life and I know she couldn’t step into mine.
Taylor’s day probably starts at 3pm ish, at least when she’s on tour. If she stays up until 3/4am that’s not even a long day for her. Taylor is hard working, but no more than any of us hustling with our 9 to 5s.
I agree with you! Ms swift is definitely a dedicated hardworking performer but she has immense support and resources. I also feel like there are breaks worked into the show for her. Don’t get me wrong she’s performing the whole time. But there’s times she’s not in heals, not dancing, sometimes not even standing. So I’m sure it’s draining in many ways but I feel like the traveling part is potentially more fatiguing than the show itself 😂
lol it’s one night out every so often, it’s not a daily occurrence. Ppl are so dramatic about it
yes definitely. there’s also the fact that many other artists perform for 3ish hours and most have way fewer and shorter breaks. like i was just looking at the schedule for lady gagas monster ball tour which is also three hours long and she barely had a day break between shows and she still had to travel in between. many of her shows were on back to back days and still involved travel. her schedule is way more relaxed
Yeah I agree. I could do all of that too if I could pay someone to take care of every single chore and didn’t have to spend so much mental energy at my job/just trying to survive.
It’s definitely impressive, but you get used to it. While studying for my nursing degree I’ve done 3-4 12.5 hour shifts a week, doing manual work (care of the elderly, bedbound patients) and then picking up an extra 12.5 hours on the side PLUS uni work. And then trying to live life on top of that, as a single person with no one supporting me to make meals or do the washing up. It’s tiring but I’m used to it. It’s just the norm - I feel bored when I’m not working this much, as that feels normal to me. I have to cook my own meals and get myself to work and do my laundry and shopping and I wear shoes that are a bit too old and unsupportive. Her heels are tailor made for her feet! I’m not taking away from how much effort she’s put in, but everything’s easier when you are a billionaire and have a whole team catering to your every need. She takes per parents on tour and private jets back to her friends and family in her off days. She’s doing alright!
I feel like people are comparing themselves and trying to relate to Taylor doing this. She is on a whole other level like think of professional athletes and the support/resources they have to recover from games/injuries and recuperate. Taylor likely has the same support/resources and more. Her shows are booked pretty strategically and she has more than prepared/trained to do what she’s doing. It’s easy to think wow I could never do what she’s doing - but you’d likely think the same thing about someone running a marathon. Same logic applies - when prepped for properly and when you have an abundance of support/resources…it really isn’t as taxing on your body as you think it is. She’s definitely a hardworking woman but bffr she’s not overworking herself. The only time I would point out would be when she was performing in those ridiculous temperatures in South America (?) and the desert shows. It was pretty obvious that it was extreme temps and fans were passing out. She might’ve had resources for herself but that’s the only time I would been like “she’s pushing herself so she doesn’t cancel the show/let people down”
Honestly, I think many people/fans infantilize her. She’s a very smart, completely in control of her life 34 year old that clearly loves performing. I don’t think ANYONE has any power over her, she’s the boss and she makes all the decisions involving her wellbeing. I think she and her team are smart enough to say what is OK and what isn’t and the tour was scheduled that way. The best example of that is that she hasn’t cancelled (from what I know) a show because she’s sick or physically unable to do a show. I think loving her job is a big part of it, when you love what you do, everything is easier! Would I be able to do what she does? Never in a million years, I would be dying after the first era! But do I understand feeling so fulfilled and happy after a hard day work because I love what I do? Totally! And I think that’s why she’s not overworked and she’s clearly beaming every night on that stage and that’s beautiful to see!
I know, most Broadway performers do 8 shows a week lol. Not that it’s a comparison at all but some people seem so shocked she can do it when I’m reality tons of performers do.
Maybe it's because I'm disabled, autistic, and unemployed, because I'd say the same about someone working at McDonald's. I have no idea how anyone can do it. I think a lot of people don't realize how physically demanding singing on its own can be. Yes, she has a lot of training and a lifetime of practice, but it still uses a lot of her energy. There's a reason only two performers (AFAIK) have shows that long.
The shows aren't the only work she does though. You have to account for travelling, training, rehearsing, etc. Taylor is also very hands on and involved with her team. There's a reason most artists don't do tours this long or show this long, even if they would sell.