She landed in the city with more excitement than a world leader. They effective closing a highwaydrew more than 500,000 people to see her in Toronto, and had everyone from the Prime Minister to police horses – the latter decked out in super-sized Eras Tour friendship bracelets – ready for her arrival.

And yet she lived up to the hype.

Taylor Swift’s long-awaited return to Canada, more than six years after her last stay in the country, hit like a hurricane. And that despite the lack of novelty: the more than three-hour Eras Tour show, already well documented by super fans on each of the five continents it has reached since the show started in March last year, reached all the expected numbers, outfits and highs. notes.

Granted, there were the surprising acoustic mashups of it My boy only breaks his favorite toys And This is why we can’t have nice things together with False God mixed with ‘Tis the damn season. But really, the only truly unique thing about the final stretch of her tour was giving in to the cold north a bit.

LOOK | Tears and deafening applause greet Swift in Toronto:

Joy, tears and deafening applause as Taylor Swift takes over Toronto

Tens of thousands of ecstatic Taylor Swift fans rejoiced as the pop superstar performed an hour-long set at Toronto’s Roger Center in the first of six sold-out concerts.

Swift started the show with an appeal to the country, calling its citizens “the most generous, encouraging, welcoming, passionate and excited fans.” She continued with the observation, “Doesn’t it seem like the whole thing Folklore era just belongs in Canada?”, and then declared, “This is why everyone loves Canadians” after a particularly long and ecstatic chant of her name. There was even a triumphant “Sorry aboot it!” from dancer Kameron Saunders before his iconic just inside We’ll never get back together again.

For any other self-respecting nation, this would be a cringe-worthy indulgence. But for a country so desperate for recognition that it (jokingly) threatened legal action after being left out of the tour’s original stops, these references were a clever, scene-setting tribute.

That admission also managed to distract from the lack of surprise guests (no Travis Kelce, Shawn Mendes, or Kendrick Lamar sightings as some had hoped), or album announcements (no Taylor’s Version announcement yet to match the stops in Toronto and Vancouver).

The upgrade worked to support what is Swift’s greatest talent, the thing she wields with skill unlike any other modern artist. It is in her power to make every fan, from the floor to the nosebleeds, feel like they are personally connected to her.

Carefully rehearsed and re-enacted moments – a hat given to an overjoyed boy during the film 22or Swift’s apparently surprised and humble response to rapturous applause during the introduction of The human – feel like they’re happening for the first time, in a 50-seat basement instead of a 50,000-seat arena.

That’s not to say Swift doesn’t have the talents of a pop star; she has them all. On Thursday night she showed her strength as a singer as she made her breakthrough Shake it offand seemed more comfortable with choreography than ever Vigilante Shit‘s musical chairs.

It’s also true that she hasn’t ever been the best in the world in any of these areas – a fact that’s easy to miss amid fireworks so hot you can feel them on your face in an 800,000-square-foot venue. At the same time, it’s a confusing fact that the ‘Queen of Pop’ may not be the best at the things pop stars are supposed to be good at. But it’s hard to miss the evidence when you’re looking for it.

For one thing, some of her idea-filled sketches come across as less Beyoncé, more theater kid — and clearly work better on screen than in person. And at the same time, opener Gracie Abrams arguably showed greater vocal command of space with her final song Close to you than Swift lasted all night.

But Swift is able to headline a show that inspires fans to pay $30 for drinks and, occasionally, $33,000 for tickets for a reason. Few other stars would be able to pull off a reunion tour while still in the prime of their lives, infusing each set with as much excitement as if it were a new lead single released that night.

That excitement translates personally in a way that is difficult to communicate. The almost unbelievable hour-long marathon of spectacle, sportsmanship and radio hits makes the show feel more like a practiced Las Vegas residency than a transportable feat of engineering.

However, it is mainly driven by the reaction of her fans: the sea of ​​intricately and lovingly designed costumes feels like Halloween with a bigger turnout. Everywhere you look there are lovesick faces that seem bewildered as to where they are. And the literally multi-generational audience belts out every lyrical lyric.

Regardless of whether it’s the power of the words, or the power of the audience’s reaction to them, it makes it hard not to get caught up in the moment. Is that cult? Maybe. But let’s be honest: there’s a reason why people join them.