The unofficial fan chants to learn ahead of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour - Los Angeles Times
Advertisement

The unofficial fan chants to learn ahead of Taylor Swift’s L.A. shows

Four young women look ahead, standing in a stadium full of shining lights.
Fans watch Taylor Swift perform onstage during the Eras tour at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on July 28.
(Jeff Kravitz / TAS23 / Getty Images for TAS Rights Mana)
Share via

As Taylor Swift prepares to close the U.S. leg of her record-breaking stadium tour with a whopping six shows at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, fans are busy figuring out last-minute outfit details and transportation and logistics.

But do you know what to do once you’re at the concert? Audience participation has slowly made its way into the Eras tour, complete with inside jokes and various chants during Swift’s three-plus-hour-long set. Here’s an unofficial guide (in order of appearance on the setlist) to what the Swiftie fandom is doing that will make you feel right at home in the crowd.

Parking! Public transit! Fan chants! Friendship bracelets! Everything you need to know before you see Taylor Swift at SoFi Stadium for the L.A. stops of her Eras tour.

Aug. 4, 2023

Fearless

Advertisement

When: The end of the bridge after she sings “It’s the first kiss, it’s flawless, really something / It’s fearless.”

What: Put your hands up in a heart.

Why: One of her earliest traditions that dates back to the Fearless tour in 2010, Swift puts her hands up in a heart after she sings the bridge. Fans have been doing it back ever since.

You Belong With Me

Advertisement

When: After she sings, “I’m the one that makes you laugh, when you know you’re ’bout to cry.”

What: Clap your hands twice.

Why: It’s a part of the song. Swift and her dancers will do it with you!

Marjorie

When: When she starts singing “Marjorie.”

What: Turn on your phone’s flashlight.

Why: The song “Marjorie” is a tribute to Swift’s grandmother Marjorie Finlay, who was an opera singer. Fans surprised her and made her cry by lighting up the stadium with phone flashlights when she performed the emotional track during her second night in Atlanta, solidifying it as a tradition for the rest of the Eras tour.

Delicate

Advertisement

When: After she sings, “We can’t make any promises, now can we babe? But you can make me a drink.”

What: Shout, “1, 2, 3, let’s go b—!”

Why: This tradition was started by a fan who attended Swift’s Pasadena show in 2018 during her Reputation tour. Swift started doing the chant during her shows a few weeks later and later even thanked the fan for starting the tradition. It’s one of the loudest chants you’ll hear all night!

All Too Well (10 Minute Version)

When: While she sings, “And you were tossing me the car keys, ‘F— the patriarchy’ / Keychain on the ground.”

What: Sing along with “F— the patriarchy.”

Why: This song can be difficult to sing along to, given the sheer amount of lyrics, but this is one line you can confidently scream with everyone around you.

Want to make an entire week out of Taylor Swift events? Here are some restaurants, bars and other creative spaces in Los Angeles getting in the Swiftie spirit.

Aug. 1, 2023

Style

Advertisement

When: Right before the start of the song.

What: Shout, “What time is it Taylor?”

Why: You might be the only one in your section to do this, but some fans have decided to ask Swift this question right before she starts singing “Style,” so that she’ll respond with the first word of the next song: “Midnight.”

Bad Blood

When: After she sings, “Band-aids don’t fix bullet holes, you say sorry just for show, if you live like that, you live with ghosts.”

What: Shout, “You forgive, you forget, but you never let it (pause) go!”

Why: A lesser known version of Swift’s song “Bad Blood” features rap verses by Kendrick Lamar. Although she doesn’t perform that version on tour, fans have decided to chime in with Lamar’s part during the song’s bridge. Just don’t forget to pause a beat before you say “go!”

Anti-Hero

When: After she sings, “Did you hear my covert narcissism disguised as altruism like some kind of congressman” while the background vocals sing, “Tale as old as time.”

Advertisement

What: Sing, “Taylor, you’ll be fine.”

Why: Fans sing producer Jack Antonoff’s part in the recording of “Anti-Hero” featuring his band, Bleachers.

Bejeweled

When: In between her singing “And by the way” and “I’m going out tonight.”

What: Shout, “Where are you going Taylor?”

Why: This tradition appears to have started with TikToker Tyler Conroy, who posted a video of himself shouting the words at Swift’s Houston show. Swift liked the TikTok, which led fans to declare this an official new chant.

Advertisement