Taylor Swift, 33, gave her fans the full breakdown of the prep work that’s gone into her incredible Eras Tour. In her TIME 2023 Person of the Year interview published December 6, Taylor explained that while she previously toured “like a frat guy,” she knew that The Eras Tour “was harder than anything I’d ever done before by a long shot.” Taylor said she started training six months before her first show on March 17 in Glendale, Arizona.
“Every day I would run on the treadmill, singing the entire set list out loud,” Taylor said. “Fast for fast songs, and a jog or a fast walk for slow songs. Then I had three months of dance training, because I wanted to get it in my bones. I wanted to be so over-rehearsed that I could be silly with the fans, and not lose my train of thought.”
The “Anti-Hero” singer revealed she practiced her dancing with choreographer Mandy Moore, as recommended by their mutual pal Emma Stone. “Learning choreography is not my strong suit,” Taylor admitted. The superstar also revealed she stopped drinking to prepare for her tour, though she did make an exception the night of the Grammy Awards on February 5. “Doing that show with a hangover. I don’t want to know that world,” she said.
As for after her performances, Taylor confirmed that she takes it easy until it’s time to return to the stage. “I do not leave my bed except to get food and take it back to my bed and eat it there,” she said. “It’s a dream scenario. I can barely speak because I’ve been singing for three shows straight. Every time I take a step my feet go crunch, crunch, crunch from dancing in heels.”
“I know I’m going on that stage whether I’m sick, injured, heartbroken, uncomfortable, or stressed,” the Pennsylvania native added. “That’s part of my identity as a human being now. If someone buys a ticket to my show, I’m going to play it unless we have some sort of force majeure.”
Taylor’s shows on her world tour last over three hours with 40-plus songs from at least nine out of her ten albums, as well as 16 costume changes. While her concert tickets are typically expensive, Taylor told Time that her fans’ efforts to come to her shows inspire to put on an incredible performance every time.
“They had to work really hard to get the tickets,” the “Cruel Summer” hitmaker said. “I wanted to play a show that was longer than they ever thought it would be, because that makes me feel good leaving the stadium.”
Taylor did her first magazine interview in four years for the TIME 2023 Person of the Year piece. “This is the proudest and happiest I’ve ever felt, and the most creatively fulfilled and free I’ve ever been,” Taylor told the publication. She also discussed her relationship with Travis Kelce, past beef with Kanye West, and more in the interview.