Taylor Swift Sang and Danced in Her Seat at ‘The Eras Tour’ World Premiere: ‘This Is a Core Memory for Me’

Taylor Swift can make even a dark AMC shimmer.

Seated at the world premiere of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” in Los Angeles, California, the widely worshipped Grammy winner sang and danced her way through the concert film’s two hours and 48 minutes’ of songs — frequently mirroring the exact gestures seen on screen and pantomiming the use of a microphone to giddily perform for friends in her row.

“I wanted to say thank you for wanting to spend your evening with us. This is, as we would say, a core memory for me,” Swift beamed, before taking a seat(*) with a group of her fellow tour performers and actresses Keleigh Teller and Julia Garner. “Let me just preface by saying I’ve always had fun doing this. I can’t believe music is my career. That’s crazy to me. I’ve always loved it. But I’ve never had a fraction of the amount of fun I had on The Eras Tour before ever.”

“We pranced on that stage grinning because of what met us on the other side. And that was you, how much you cared about it,” Swift said. “You absolutely are main characters in this film because that’s what made the tour magical. That’s what made it different than anything I’ve ever done in my life is your attention to detail, your preparation, your passion, your intensity. You cared so much about these shows and that made all the difference for us.”

The singer/songwriter sensation introduced her film to an audience of press, devoted fans, and admiring celebrities at AMC The Grove on Wednesday, October 11 around 8:30 p.m. The open-air luxury mall closed for the entire day to accommodate the event and saw roughly 2,200 Swifties taking over every auditorium in the theater. Moviegoers flooded the mid-city multiplex — freshly adorned with pink and purple flowers and countless portraits of Swift — just hours after the “Midnights” artist announced that the movie’s release date has been moved up. Showings in the U.S. and Canada will now begin Thursday instead of Friday due to “unprecedented demand.”

Cowboy boots, marching band uniforms, and bejeweled gowns and suits filled the AMC lobby as fans and famous guests grabbed signature cocktails and novelty popcorn buckets as they prepared to journey through 17 years of Swift music as told in her 10 eras. The elaborately theatrical show — which has already grossed more than $1 billion and is on track to become the most successful concert tour of all time — exceeds three hours when performed live. It has been cut down for the film. Transitions have been tightened with slick visual effects, including a magnificent serpent stretching across the crowd for the “Reputation” era; but some songs have also been cut.

Swift does not perform “The Archer” or “cardigan” in “The Eras Tour” movie, despite those tracks appearing on the show’s main set list. And although the movie was shot during her six-night stint at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, Swift’s “no body, no crime” performance with opener HAIM similarly does not appear. (In other cities, Swift performed “’tis the damn season,” but that didn’t make the movie either.) “Long Live” makes the cut, but instead of appearing in the main film the fan-favorite track is used as music for the end credits.

For her acoustic set, which changes between performances, Swift sings “Our Song” and “You’re On Your Own, Kid.” (Notably, those numbers appeared during different nights at SoFi.) Fans concerned the MPAA’s one f-bomb per PG-13 movie rule would require Swift to censor herself can rest assured that her more adult lyrics in the songs “betty,” “champagne problems,” and “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” remain as originally written. “Fuck the patriarchy!” was hit especially hard by the movie audience, which leaned more concert-goer than quiet cinephile with some dedicated attendees standing the entire time.

Beyoncé appeared with Swift on the red carpet, while Simu Liu, Hayley Kiyoko, Maren Morris, and more big names joined her in the theater. Adam Sandler, who jammed his ever-living heart out to “Midnight Rain,” came with his daughter and sat a few rows behind Swift. The pop legend hugged them both on her way out. Karamo Brown, who appeared in Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down” music video with the rest of Netflix’s “Queer Eye” cast in 2019, was also there to show his support.

Some fans cried for seemingly the entire film — no small feat considering its delightful but decidedly taxing duration — and Swift routinely lead the group in signature chants from the concert. But “The Eras Tour” world premiere reached its fever-pitch with the final song: “Karma.” Swift received an uproarious ovation as the entire theater rose for the last number and stayed standing through an end credits sequence featuring tour outtakes (wardrobe malfunctions abound!) and ample friendship bracelets.

Read on for “The Eras Tour” set list as it appears in the concert film, as well as a complete transcript of Swift’s remarks from before its world premiere.

(*) Fans looking to sit where Taylor sat should find AMC The Grove’s Auditorium 2, Row F, Seat 11.

“Oh, hi, guys! Hello! Hi! You’re stuck with me because I’m going to sit with you and watch this thing. But before we do that, I wanted to say thank you for wanting to spend your evening with us. This is, as we would say, a core memory for me. Let me just preface by saying I’ve always had fun doing this. I can’t believe music is my career. That’s crazy to me. I’ve always loved it. But I’ve never had a fraction of the amount of fun I had on The Eras Tour before ever.

I have friends in this room. I have my amazing backing vocalists in this room. And let me just say, my fellow performers on the stage — the dancers, the band, my backing vocalists — they would go out on stage every single night, in sickness or in health, in any weather conditions we would face, regardless of what was going on in our lives. We pranced on that stage grinning because of what met us on the other side. And that was you, how much you cared about it. That was absolutely everything. I think you’ll see that you absolutely are main characters in this film because that’s what made the tour magical. That’s what made it different than anything I’ve ever done in my life is your attention to detail, your preparation, your passion, your intensity. You cared so much about these shows and that made all the difference for us. It made us want to add even more shows and just keep doing the tour.

I just have never felt this way about anything, the way that I feel about this experience that we have had and continue to have. I am so proud. I want to say my management team, 13 Management, are the most amazing people. I’m so lucky to get to work alongside such incredible, innovative, and just such efficient, wonderful, passionate people. They care about you guys just as much as I do.

I am so proud of this film. Sam Wrench is our amazing director. He’s absolutely incredible. We have an amazing team of camera operators and editors and everyone in post-production and I am so honored by all of their work and their dedication to this. And I think I’ll just watch it with you now. Let’s have a blast, guys. Thank you for coming.” —Taylor Swift

“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” is distributed by AMC Theaters. A title from Taylor Swift Productions, the concert film opens in theaters Thursday, October 12.