Hurray for TayTay: what to expect from her show this week

Taylor Swift will perform her first-ever stadium show in Auckland tomorrow night. Joanna Hunkin previewed the show in Sydney to get a taste of what's to come.

AS GIANT fireballs shoot into the night sky, it’s clear Taylor Swift means business. Most performers save flame-throwing and pyrotechnics for their big finale — but not Swift. Just two songs into the Reputation Tour show, she brings the heat — both literally and figuratively — as huge flames burst skyward above the towering stage set-up.

Opening with last year’s chart hit. . . Ready For It? Swift kicks off a high-octane show that never slows, as she works her way through a comprehensive set list, featuring 13 tracks from the Reputation album, along with her biggest hits.

Tomorrow will be the first time Swift has performed a stadium show in New Zealand and she’s put a lot of thought into the super-sized event.

As fans enter Mt Smart Stadium tomorrow evening, they’ll be given a white electronic wristband, which will change colour throughout the night, making the audience part of the stage show.

This, Swift later explains, is so she can see each and every fan “move, dance and jump” throughout the night.

When Love Story rings out early in proceedings, a sea of soft pink lights bathe the crowd, echoing the sweet, simple time when Swift was still a teenager, making up songs about young love.

The show is divided into seven acts, with brief interludes in between allowing Swift and her team to change outfits and staging.

Each act carries an impressive surprise — whether it’s a giant inflatable snake (to accompany the Kanye-shade-throwing Look

What You Made Me Do) or a silver skeletal cage that carries Swift over the top of the crowd, delivering her to a secondary stage in the middle of the stadium.

It’s there she delivers the night’s

biggest banger, joined on stage by her opening guests British singer Charlie XCX and New Zealand’s own Georgia Nott from Broods, who help Swift Shake It Off with unbridled delight.

It’s a magical moment, followed by another standout, as Swift picks up her guitar to sing an acoustic version of 22 — one of her most beloved hits.

That’s a rare moment of calm in the whirlwind show, which sees Swift accompanied by a talented squad of back-up singers, who dance as fiercely as they sing.

Tightly choreographed throughout, everything about this show is rehearsed and polished – including Swift’s spoken

interludes. It is, arguably, the only disappointment of the tour – the lack of spontaneity or willingness to abandon the script, even for a moment.

But with so many songs and show-stopping moments to get through, it’s a small complaint that can be easily forgiven. Especially when Swift gives the audience her signature wink and launches into another crowd favourite.

Swift is open about the fact this is her first global stadium tour and she wanted to make it as special as possible for her fans.

With custom-built 30-metre screens projecting every detail in close up, she’s certainly done her all to make sure nobody misses a moment.