If you aren’t a diehard fan of Taylor Swift, you might not have noticed that her Sunday night “Eras Tour” performance went awry.
The singer’s stage malfunctioned during a very intricate, choreographed section of the show, forcing Swift and her dancers to improvise.
Performing her smash track, “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” off her latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” Swift typically stands upon a moving platform that fans have likened to a Roomba, calling it the Tayroomba.
Unfortunately for Swift, the platform, which some might consider a reprieve for the singer during her three and a half hour show, malfunctioned.
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Taylor Swift was forced to improvise on Sunday night. (Thomas Niedermueller/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
The movements of the platform mirror the lyrics of Swift’s song. As she sings, “So I leap from the gallows and I levitate down your street,” the platform is supposed to glide her across the stage while a graphic projection simulates movement.
In a video circulating online, fans immediately recognize that the platform is broken and Swift is stuck on top of it.
This is not the first time Swift’s platform has malfunctioned; it happened this summer in Dublin.
Taylor Swift’s platform, which is a major part of “The Tortured Poets Department” set, stopped working. (Erika Goldring/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
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Once Swift recognized the platform was not going to work properly, she slid off and strutted down the stage. Fortunately for Swift, she was able to mimic all the same movements she usually does on the platform, but the dancers were in more of a predicament; forced to get around the prominent obstacle on stage.
It was the following song that Swift really had to exercise some creativity.
Graphics are supposed to be projected on Taylor Swift’s platform while it moves her across the stage. (Gregor Fischer/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
Performing a mashup of “Down Bad” and her hit single “Fortnight,” which features Post Malone, Swift is usually moving around the stage via platform at this point in the concert. The stage is massive, so there is a lot of ground to cover.
Additional video shows Swift moving all across the stage, mimicking the movement of the platform.
Taylor Swift was praised for her professionalism during the stage malfunction. (Erika Goldring/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
Fans of Swift praised her online for being the consummate professional, writing things like “she managed the situation remarkably well” and that she “doesn’t need the platform” to make the performance work.
Sunday was Swift’s third and final concert in New Orleans before heading to Indianapolis next month.
Caroline Thayer is an entertainment writer. Follow Caroline Thayer on Twitter at @carolinejthayer and LinkedIn. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].