27 June 2015 (gig)
28 June 2015
Imagine a vast area of burnt grass, covered in people from all ages and backgrounds, all gathered under the blazing sun to enjoy a day of concerts. Rae Morris kicked off the show, performing in a red jumpsuit and wearing a matching red lipstick; a possible reference to the female artist set to perform a few hours later.
Vance Joy followed up at 4:30pm with quite an impressive performance. The Australian artist was blown away by the view; it must be something indeed to see 65000 faces looking at you and singing your songs as a massive impromptu choir. Amongst his own songs, like From Afar, Waste Of Time and Riptide, Vance Joy sang a cover of Sam Smith’s Stay With Me that won the audience over.
John Newman was up next and set the crowd on fire! Dressed in a white suit and black t-shirt, which was a very 80’s look, he opened with Blame and got 65000 people chanting, dancing and jumping for a solid half an hour.
Ellie Goulding was mind-blowing! She pleased the audience with some of her first hits like Starry Eyed or Lights. She played the drums, the guitar and danced her heart out whilst singing her biggest hits. Her vocals were absolutely amazing and, even when she talks, she has got that fantastic signature voice. Anything Could Happen, I Need Your Love and Burn got the audience mad with happiness. Ellie Goulding finished her set with a more chilled and romantic song, Love Me Like You Do, which everyone seemed to know the lyrics of.
In the 45 minutes that followed, mothers and daughters got even more excited and started pushing to make their way through the crowd: they wanted to be as close to the stage as possible. Taylor Swift was expected and the excitement was almost touchable as a gentle frenzy building up as the minutes passed.
Finally, at 8pm, Queen Tay-Tay got on stage and opened a two-hours long performance with Welcome To New York. She sang almost exclusively songs from her latest album 1989. And all the other songs, like I Knew You Were Trouble, Love Story or We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together suffered a harsh remix. It felt like Taylor wanted to break all the bounds with her past…
Miss Swift likes to talk to her fans and to share bits of her personal life: in between songs, there were videos playing where her girl friends would say nice things about her or answer generic questions like “What is love?” She gave a very emotional speech about self-confidence and the fact that we are all facing our own struggles and doubts.
Taylor Swift also knows how to run a show: lights, sets, 8 different outfits, dancers, moving stage and guitar playing. She also knows how to show-off! During her performance of Style, she transformed the stage into a catwalk full of famous foxes: Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Martha Hunt, Karlie Kloss, Serena Williams and Cara Delevingne all appeared to join their friend Taylor on stage.
The performance ended with a manic dance session to Shake It Off, one of Taylor’s iconic tunes.
Swift is a true performer and no one left Hyde Park disappointed.
Oh…no, wait! They were probably disappointed that the show was over. See you next year, Hyde Park!
Taylor Swift setlist
Welcome To New York (from 1989, 2014)
New Romantics (from 1989, 2014)
Black Space (from 1989, 2014)
I Knew You Were Trouble (from Red, 2012)
I Wish You Would (from 1989, 2014)
How To Get The Girl (from 1989, 2014)
I Know Places (from 1989, 2014)
All You Had To Do Was Stay (from 1989, 2014)
You Are In Love (from 1989, 2014)
Clean (from 1989, 2014)
Love Story (from Fearless, 2008)
Style (from 1989, 2014)
This Love (from 1989, 2014)
Bad Blood (from 1989, 2014)
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (from Red, 2012)
Wildest Dreams (from 1989, 2014)
Out of the Woods (from 1989, 2014)
Shake It Off (from 1989, 2014)
