Watch Taylor Swift debut ‘Bigger Than The Whole Sky’ live in Rio

20 November, 2023

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift played ‘Bigger Than The Whole Sky’ live for the first time at the second show of the ‘Eras’ tour in Rio de Janeiro – check it out below.

The song comes from Swift’s 2022 album ‘Midnights’ and received its live debut during the staple ‘surprise song’ segment of the three-hour show at the Estádio Nilton Santos in Brazil last night (November 19).

The other deep cut performed during the ‘surprise song section’ was ‘Dancing With Our Hands Tied’ from ‘Reputation’, which per Setlist.fm was played for the first time since 2018.

Check out the live debut of ‘Bigger Than The Whole Sky’ below.

At her previous ‘Eras’ show in Rio, Swift had debuted the fan-favourite track ‘Suburban Legends’ live, which is one of the new ‘From The Vault’ songs from ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’. She also performed ‘Stay Beautiful’ from her self-titled debut for the first time since 2008.

Swift’s concerts in Brazil have been beset by numerous issues relating to extreme heat. Indeed, according to Setlist.fm, the fire effects during ‘Bad Blood’ were not used at her most recent show in Rio due to the conditions, apparently at the request of fans.

The first date of the tour in the country was hit by tragedy as a fan in attendance died before the show took place after collapsing from the extreme heat.

The fan was identified as Ana Clara Benevides Machado, 23. She was attended to by paramedics at the concert venue, before being taken to hospital, where she passed away an hour later. It has been reported by Brazilian newspaper Fohla de S Paulo that she collapsed at the show and had a cardiac arrest.

Swift wrote on Instagram of being “devastated” by the news, adding: “I can’t believe I’m writing these words but it is with shattered heart that I say we lost a fan earlier tonight before my show. I’m not going to be able to speak about this from stage because I feel overwhelmed by grief when I even try to talk about it. I want to say now I feel this loss deeply and my broken heart goes out to her family and friends.”

Swift went on to postpone the second of three Rio de Janeiro shows due to the extreme heat. Temperatures in the Brazilian city broke records last week, with a daytime peak of 39.1C recorded on Friday. “The safety and well-being of my fans, fellow performers and crew has to and always will come first,” she wrote.

On November 18, Benevides’ father, Weiny Machado shared a tribute to his daughter: “I lost my only daughter, a happy and intelligent girl. She was about to graduate in Psychology next April, saving money. I have no words to express my pain. She left home to fulfill a dream and came back dead.”

Machado went on to say how he wanted an investigation into what happened amid reports that fans were not allowed to take water into the venue, despite the high temperatures (via The Mirror). “I want it to be found out whether they were in fact prohibited from bringing water, whether there was negligence in providing assistance.

“I know that the singer was handing out water to her fans, and that is absurd for an event of this size. Nothing will bring my daughter back, but I hope that, if negligence is confirmed, someone will be punished, so that this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

The post Watch Taylor Swift debut ‘Bigger Than The Whole Sky’ live in Rio appeared first on NME.