Taylor Swift Turns the 'City of Love' Into 'City of Love(r)' with Paris Show

Photo: ABC

by Tyler Glover
In September 2019, Taylor Swift played at the L'Olympia Theater in Paris, France, turning for a short time the city otherwise known as the “City of Love” into the "City of Love(r)."
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Her album, Lover, had just been released the previous month and this venue allowed her to play her new music in front of many fans. Swift notes at the concert that she feels this is a "release party." Swift was set to start her Lover Fest tour this summer but like almost everything else this year, it was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. During this pandemic, entertainers have found multiple ways of continuing to deliver content to their fans in an effort to uplift their spirits and offer some sort of distraction. Taylor Swift's concert special is an entertaining concert that showcases the spectacular songwriting and vocal ability of the best songwriter of this generation.

Swift's concert special showcases eight of the songs from Lover: "ME!" "The Archer," "Death By A Thousand Cuts," "Daylight," "Cornelia Street," "You Need To Calm Down," and the title track.

In between the songs, Swift offers a glimpse into her songwriting process. Swift explains that one time in the middle of the night, she got an idea and went straight to her piano to work on it. She also mentions a time she got an idea while in the bathtub. She offers viewers a look into the meaning of each of these songs. She has an impeccable ability to capture the human condition and find ways to relate her experiences to her fans, which is definitely one of the reasons she is as successful as she is. Another reason for Swift's success is her awareness that without her fans, there is no way for her to be where she is today. Swift thanked her fans for caring about the music she makes. She is very aware there are other options for music and never fails to show her fans how grateful she is for their loyalty.

Aside from her songwriting ability, we also see breathtaking performances in this concert special. Swift has many songs with very high production values but every song she writes is written first with just her and one instrument. This special showcases many acoustic performances that show just how strong of a vocalist Swift is. Her performance of "Cornelia Street" is my absolute favorite performance from this special. If the two Grammys she won for the song, "Mean" doesn’t do it, this performance should silence all of the people who once believed Taylor Swift could not sing.

The only thing I was left wanting from this special was MORE of it. This was truly a magical gift from Taylor Swift at a time when the world needed it.

If you missed the "Taylor Swift: City of Lover Concert" special, it is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+ for a limited time.

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