Posted on 06/28/2014 12:33:41 PM PDT by nickcarraway
American country-pop sweetheart Taylor Swift rocked thousands of her fans at the Mata Elang International Stadium (MEIS) in Ancol, North Jakarta, on Wednesday night, on her first visit to Indonesia.
The concert also kicked off the Southeast Asia leg of a tour to promote her fourth album, Red.
At 8:30 p.m., Swift’s giant shadow appeared behind a red curtain, immediately generating loud screams from the crowd, which consisted mainly of teenagers.
The curtain then lifted, showing a black-and-white-attired Swift who proceeded to rock the arena with “State of Grace”, a song from her latest album.
“Terima kasih [thank you],” Swift said, which, of course, was met with more loud screams from the so-called Swifties, the name given to Swift’s fans.
She continued to dominate the stage with another country rock song, “Holy Ground”, heating up the night by dancing around the stage and playing drums together with her dancers.
“Selamat malam [good evening]. I’m Taylor. Welcome to the RED Tour. This is the first crowd I’ve ever played for here and you’ve quite made the impression,” she said, greeting her fans.
Swift then disappeared backstage to change into a long red dress with gloves and reappeared to sing “The Lucky One”, hamming it up as a Hollywood superstar hounded by paparazzi. The 24-year-old Swift is a seven-time Grammy winner.
In 2012, she released Red, making her the first artist since The Beatles to log six or more weeks at number one with three consecutive studio albums.
Red topped the Billboard 200 albums chart for seven weeks, following her other albums, Fearless, which topped the charts for 11 weeks, and Speak Now, which stayed at the top for six weeks.
Back in Jakarta, Swift turned down the heat for a while with a banjo performance on “Mean”. The song was taken from her third album and won best country song and best solo performance at the 54th Grammy Awards.
As it ended, screens displayed a video showing musical moments since she was very young. When the footage displayed the time she turned 22, the crowd went wild, as it was the cue for her next song, the worldwide hit “22”.
The crowd grew even wilder when Swift came down from the main stage and crossed a passage through the crowd, heading toward a smaller stage.
The lucky fans in the standing sections could reach out to touch her hands and take her photo from close range.
She stayed on the small stage for two more songs, “Fifteen” and “You Belong with Me”, and when she returned to the main stage while singing “Sparks Fly”, the crowd went crazy once again.
For almost two hours, she not only had fun singing and strutting her stuff with the dancers on the stage, but she also showed off her instrumental skills by playing electric guitar, banjo and piano.
She also interacted with her fans, telling them the stories behind several songs and herself. The audience, most attired in red, also played a part throughout the show. With glow sticks and flashy placards, they lit up the arena. Many had also written “13” on their cheeks or hands.
“Thirteen is Taylor Swift’s lucky number and it is also the date of her birthday,” said seventh grader Nesya, who attended the concert with her sister.
Swift closed the night with her number one hit, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”, which was also accompanied by an entertaining stage act.
“Indonesia, it’s been a wonderful night — a night I will never forget,” she said at the end of a bravura performance.
It’s hard to believe she’s only 24.
I watched her take the lead and work the line of fans making sure she shook every hand and signed her autograph for everyone before she became big stuff.
It takes work to develop an entertainment career.
I think she’s earned it based on what I saw in my local Wal-Mart some years ago.
It sounds like she gave the fans their money’s worth, exactly the show they wanted. I think that shows very good character.
I give anyone credit who acutally writes some of her material....rather see her do well than some others....
Taylor Swift is a classy young lady; talented too.
I’m too lazy to look it up, but I think she wrote every song on her last two albums. Although she seems to write about the same things, namely romantic relationships both good and bad, musically she is maturing and becoming a lot more original.
I agree Nextrush.
She donated $4 million to the Country Music Hall of Fame to set up the Taylor Swift Education center that offers classes, hands-on instrument rooms and an kids exhibition center. That’s just one of many things she’s done.
https://music.yahoo.com/blogs/our-country/taylor-swift-the-celeb-that-keeps-on-giving-170327881.html
From the article I linked to just above:
The 24-year-old country singer, who has topped DoSomething.org’s most charitable celebrities list for the last two years.....
....she was also the youngest person ever to receive the Ripple of Hope Award from the Robert F. Kennedy Center, which was given for her charity work with children who have cancer.
Isn’t she too old to have teenage fans?
Saw her in the Hendersonville Wal-Mart several
yrs ago.Her fans are really enthusiatic.
She donated a TON of money for the flood
and tornado victims here.Over a mil I believe.
Dresses very modest for an entertainer today as well.
Heck,I enjoy a lot of her music.
Looked Awesome. Go Taylor!
Taylor Swift lived in Singapore for awhile...and Wyomissing too outside Reading Pa
Just Imagine Joe Biden gives $900 one year.. Al Gore like $1500 Obama $1750 to Charity.. their motto is they gave YOUR money away at the office!
As a former teenager myself, um, no. Of course back in my day Taylor Swift was Tanya Tucker. I always had a thing for older women back then.
Her parents did a great job with her. I read an in-depth article on her where it explained how she wanted to break into Nashville at 12 or 13 and her mom took her down there for a week. She knocked on doors, dropped off CDs of her music that she’d burned, pretty much whatever she could.
Finally someone listened to her and signed her to a development deal where they’d work with her to see if she developed into an artist they though they could use. When that happened her parents moved the family there to help her pursue her dream. I think she was 14.
Not too old at all. She has tons of teen fans, probably because she writes about love and the anguish and job it can bring, but she’s relatable for teen girls.
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