Taylor Swift's show at MetLife Stadium Friday night was all about the power of friendship -- even including a surprise appearance by the U.S. women's soccer team, who rounded out a day of celebrating its World Cup victory with a flag-waving walk down a massive 50-yard catwalk with Heidi Klum.
It was the biggest of the many friend-driven spectacles during Swift's nearly 21/2-hour show, underscoring her "1989" tour theme. "Right now, fingers crossed," she said, "I feel like I have many wonderful friends in my life."
Actors Lena Dunham and Hailee Steinfeld and supermodels Gigi Hadid and Lily Aldridge danced during "Bad Blood." The Weeknd popped in to do his summer smash "Can't Feel My Face" as a duet with Swift. And plenty of video testimonials from other members of Swift's squad, including Selena Gomez and Karlie Kloss, played during her costume changes.
See alsoRecap: USWNT honored in NYCPhotosTop 5 goal scorers for the USWNTPhotosUSWNT Women's World Cup rally at LA LiveThe influence of other friends was also felt in subtler ways in Swift's music, as she showed off a bit of Ed Sheeran's famous sound looping during "Blank Space." Her reworking of "I Knew You Were Trouble" was filled with Lorde-ian drama in its stark opening.
Mostly, though, the support of Swift's friends showed in the swagger of her delivery of the synth-dominated songs from her platinum-in-a-week smash "1989." While Swift has always been a strong performer, on this tour she seems unstoppable -- as the companies who have gone up against her on the issue of artist royalties have found out.
Her voice seems more powerful in concert than it is on "1989," not because it is sweetened by her four backing vocalists, but because it is bravely turned up in the mix, where any misstep would be noticeable. There weren't any missteps.
Swift is so sure-footed in her performance now that you miss some of her charming vulnerability. Though most of her less confident hits were absent from the setlist, there was a flash of the vulnerability during the piano ballad "Wildest Dreams." But even the nervous "Out of the Woods" with its questioning mantra "Are we out of the woods yet? Are we in the clear yet?" was defiantly self-assured.
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