At Friday’s (February 23) Australian leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, the surprises simply kept coming. The pop sensation debuted a new version of her upcoming album The Tortured Poets Department, titled “The Albatross,” during her first night at Sydney’s Accor Stadium.
It included a limited-edition bonus track of the same name. She then brought Sabrina Carpenter on stage to assist her in singing a mashup of “White Horse” and “Coney Island.”
Swift opened her regularly planned surprise song segment with an acoustic guitar performance of “How You Get the Girl,” a 1989 fan favourite.
She then astonished everyone by revealing information about “The Albatross” and revealing its special edition cover on the large screens behind her while seated at her piano.
As the audience sent out excited screams, she declared, “I’m really, really proud of this record.” Everyone like having options, therefore it’s excellent to have them. If you could please look at the main screen, I wanted to show you something.
The singer of “Anti-Hero” soon posted the new cover on Instagram, with the words “Am I allowed to cry?” printed on the reverse.
The “Albatross” edition is the third iteration of Tortured Poets Swift that the singer has disclosed thus far. The first two were “The Manuscript,” which she debuted at the 2024 Grammy Awards, and “The Bolter,” which she presented on February 16 at her Eras performance in Melbourne.
Pre-orders for all three Tortured Poets editions are being accepted, and delivery is scheduled for April 19.
Swift ushered Carpenter onto the stage shortly after. On the Latin American, Asian, and Australian legs of the Eras Tour, the “Feather” musician has opened for the “Karma” singer; however, rain delays prevented her from performing her repertoire on Thursday.
Swift remarked, “She heroically sacrificed her show, which I think is a crime against Sydney,” and Carpenter sat down at the piano with her.
The two then launched into a mashup of Swift’s Fearless hit “White Horse” and her Evermore deep cut “Coney Island,” which the 14-time Grammy winner revealed was a favourite of Carpenter’s.
