It was the moment all Taylor Swift fans had been dreading as she pushed herself night after night on her continent-spanning Eras tour. And then, during her show in Singapore on Monday night, it finally happened: the global megastar’s voice gave way.
While singing her hit song Delicate, she suddenly started coughing and spluttering.
Her diehard fans, dubbed Swifties, rushed to social media to express concern, with one person writing: ‘I was there and so worried about Taylor, she’s fighting for her life’.
Though arguably an overreaction, it does beg the question: is it all getting too much for Taylor Swift?
Cracks in the star’s voice seem to be just the tip of the iceberg: ever since she took her record-breaking, multi-billion-dollar tour east to Australia and Asia, it has been plagued with problems.
The North American leg was the highest-grossing tour in history and hailed a cultural phenomenon boosting the US economy with claims that Swiftmania – she’s not a Trump fan – could even help sway the 2024 Presidential election.
Like the Pied Piper, Ms Swift’s phenomenal three-and-a-half hour performance inspires her fans – it is a showcase of her seemingly unbreakable stamina as she takes the audience through 44 songs, mapping the ‘Eras’ of her two decades of making music.
But since she wrapped up in the US last November, things have started to go awry.
Her father was accused of assault in Australia after people were ‘aggressively pushing’ to get to Swift, the tour has caused a dispute between Southeast Asian countries – more of which later – and her continual use of a ‘gas guzzling’ private jet has been heavily criticised.
And Ms Swift is only halfway through her global tour – she has yet to bring it to Europe – with Swifties now concerned the 33-year-old is teetering on the edge of ‘tour burnout’, which could grind it to a halt.
As the 14-time Grammy winner kicked off her third show out of six scheduled in Southeast Asia, fits of coughing and throat-clearing interrupted her performance mid-song.
One X user wrote: ‘You can hear a raspy tone in her voice, she also seems more calm and reserved in her movements.’
Another added: ‘I can only imagine how exhausting it must be whilst on tour giving 100 with every performance, she’s incredible.’
Some weakly suggested it could be the change in weather: ‘Combination of weather change, humidity and probably physical tiredness,’ one posted.
But other Swifties were unanimous: ‘I’m scared, she needs a break now.’
Swift has only been back on the road less than a month, after pausing her tour for Christmas. She’s due a break in April and will kick off the European leg in May.
To date she has performed 79 shows and has 73 left to go.
Several high-profile acts have previously cancelled tour dates due to mental health issues and burnout, including Wet Leg, Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes. And Burnout was the reason behind the break-up of One Direction, one of the largest boy bands of the 21st century, after they performed 329 live shows in just under four years and launched four albums.
The high pressure and relentless touring led to Zayn Malik, 31, quitting the band in 2015 citing ‘stress’, saying he wanted to be ‘a normal 22-year-old’.
Like Ms Swift, the band was a global phenomenon, winning five Brit Awards, more than 50 million record sales, 91 worldwide number ones, and more than 7.5million concert tickets sold.
The five boys, discovered when they were teenagers on The X Factor, were also named the second-highest earning celebrities under 30, but burnout made them give it all up and part ways.
Meanwhile, other artists live in fear of the problem with Ed Sheeran explaining in 2022: ‘Being burnt out is like a really real thing. I hope I don’t burn out.
‘When I was doing arena tours, you’re playing like four shows in a row, one show off. Four shows in a row, one show off.’
Ms Swift navigated burnout on the American leg of her tour well, performing two to three shows at one time in each city and then taking a week off, which meant her voice had a proper break.
But it now seems the cogs of the well-oiled Eras Tour machine are flying off, starting with the singer’s voice but ending in her father facing potential legal action in Australia.
Scott Swift, 71, has been a firm fixture by his daughter’s side throughout her global tour and when she finished her final show in Sydney Australia, he accompanied her by yacht across the harbour back to their hotel.
As they disembarked from the luxury boat on Sydney wharf at 2.30am, Ms Swift, who was hidden underneath an umbrella, was heading towards an awaiting car when she was approached by a handful of local photographers.
According to paparazzo Ben McDonald, the singer’s team were ‘shoving’ umbrellas into the the photographers’ faces. He alleges that after the singer was in the car Mr Swift ‘charged in’ and attacked him, unprovoked.
Mr McDonald said: ‘I’ve been doing this for 23 years and I haven’t been in a situation where someone’s hit me in the chops.’
In response to the accusations, Ms Swift’s team said: ‘Two individuals were aggressively pushing their way towards Taylor, grabbing at her security personnel, and threatening to throw a female staff member into the water.’
But Mr McDonald – chief executive of Matrix Media Group – slammed the statement as ‘utter rubbish’ and said the only woman at the scene was Taylor Swift.
In a statement New South Wales police said: ‘The younger man reported the incident and inquiries are now underway from officers.’
The alleged assault was not well received on X with some saying: ‘Lock him up!’
Another person wrote: ‘Her father overreacted. He had no reason to punch that man. The photographer should sue the father.’
It’s rare that America’s Golden Girl gets a bad reception and Ms Swift’s private jet, a Bombardier Global 6000, was seen leaving Sydney hours afterwards.
Her jet is of course another point of contention for fans outside of America after she was criticised in Australia for using it regularly.
She flew from America to Australia, then used it to travel between Melbourne and Sydney before sending it back to Hawaii to fetch her footballer boyfriend Travis Kelce so he could watch her perform.
Australian critics slammed the 33-year-old for using a ‘gas-guzzling jet’ so flippantly, rather than flying commercial.
One person wrote on X: ‘Remember, Taylor Swift sent her private jet from Sydney to Hawaii to pick up her boyfriend and bring him back to Sydney… so that they could cuddle and kiss in front of an audience.’
A spokesman for the popstar said she had been offsetting her carbon footprint by buying carbon credits, which support verified projects that help cut global emissions to ‘protect vulnerable ecosystems’.
Elsewhere, it appears that while the Eras Tour benefitted America by reportedly boosting its economy by £4.5billion, the colossal show is becoming more of a hindrance than a help to other countries as it steamrollers its way across the globe.
Countries in Southeast Asia were left furious after it was revealed Swift had signed an exclusive deal with Singapore that she would only perform there. It last week emerged she had pocketed £14million to perform six shows there.
Singapore’s culture minister refused to confirm how much Ms Swift was paid but has claimed the figure was nowhere as high as reports have suggested.
However, the fact that she was paid at all has caused an uproar in the region. Thailand’s prime minister accused Singapore of paying £2.3million per night for the gigs.
In the Philippines, a lawmaker called for a protest slamming the deal and said: ‘This isn’t what good neighbours do.’
There has also been criticism that the deal may have been a tactic to boost tourism and the affair has reportedly prompted controversy and discord between the countries.
After her break next month, Swift will head for Europe in May – to Portugal and then on to England – if she manages to keep the burnout at bay.
