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Agence France-Presse

The nearly two-year-long, US$2 billion Eras tour shattered records, made history and quite literally triggered earthquakes – so what could Taylor Swift, the planet’s biggest star, possibly do next?
“Taylor Swift just needs to rest, frankly,” said Andrew Mall, an ethnomusicologist – someone who studies music in its social and cultural contexts – at Northeastern University in Boston in the United States.
It is a wholly reasonable sentiment when you look at what the megastar, who turned 35 on December 13, has accomplished, including releasing nine albums in five years alongside a concert feature film.
The career-spanning global odyssey of a tour she just staged was like nothing that came before it: 149 shows across the world that typically clocked in at more than three hours long each.

Eras tour tickets sold for sometimes exorbitant prices and drew in millions of fans, along with many more who did not get in and were willing to simply sing along from the car park.
“I think she can’t top it right away,” Mall said. “There’s just no possible way she can turn around and launch something else that has as large an impact, cultural and economic.”
For Kristin Lieb, an expert at Emerson College – also in Boston – on pop, gender and branding, the question of what is next is not even particularly fair.
“The minute you finish a marathon, or the minute you win the World Series, or the minute somebody gets tenure, you know, the first question is, what are you going to do next?” she said.
“I’m starting to make sense of that as a real cultural sickness.”

But in an industry that is constantly seeking what is young, new or fresh, “what’s next” is nevertheless always front of mind.
The Swifties are still waiting on more “Taylor’s Version” albums: since 2021, Swift has been making good on her vow to re-record her first six studio records in a bid to own the rights to them.
She has got two left, Reputation and Taylor Swift.
Swift also has the Grammys in early February to look forward to, with six nominations, including three in the most prestigious categories for her latest studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, her fifth since 2019.
At this year’s gala, she used her award acceptance speeches to announce that new album – another surprise up her sleeve would surely delight fans.
But looking past “what’s next” is perhaps a larger question: how does an artist define success when they are already a cultural phenomenon, awash in riches and fame?

“The good news for her is, like, she’s literally the biggest star in the world, and so that is entirely up to her at this point,” said Lieb.
Live albums, a Vegas residency, further extending her incredibly recognisable brand into products? Anything is possible at the House of Swift.
Years ago, it was announced she had penned an original screenplay and would be making her feature directorial debut with Searchlight Pictures – so maybe she now has her sights set on the Oscars.
In any case, at this point Swift does not necessarily need to keep her fans constantly fed to keep them loyal.
She has fostered a community that is somewhat self-sustaining – a contemporary, mostly online version of the fan engagement the American rock band Grateful Dead pioneered, which saw Deadheads commune in their reverence for the band.

Swifties might honour a request from their beloved to give her time and space, Lieb said – “I do think that she’s cultivated a relationship with them such that they could hear that and respect that.”
The Eras tour, Mall pointed out, also bloomed from years of prolific music-making and audience-building – so she might need time to develop more material before accomplishing another feat of that magnitude, if that is a goal of hers.
And in the mix of everyone else’s expectations, Lieb said Swift might want to take a moment to consider what it is she herself wants: “What would be challenging and fulfilling for her?”
Swift does of course have a personal life, famously so: for more than a year she has been very publicly dating NFL star Travis Kelce, and might want simply enjoy herself and the fruits of her labour.
And in the grand scheme of it all, a key question remains: “Do we need Taylor Swift, or does she need us?” said Mall. “I think she does not need us, right? And maybe we do her.”


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Music

What’s next for Taylor Swift? Grammys, but then more albums, a Vegas residency, Oscars?

Taylor Swift during one of her concerts in Vancouver, Canada, the last on her Eras tour. What will she do next? Experts say the singer should take a break, but eventually fans will expect more from Swift. Photo: AP

Taylor Swift performs during The Eras Tour in Vancouver in 2024. Photo: AP

Swift arrives for the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in 2023. Photo: AFP

Swift arrives for the 81st annual Golden Globe Awards in California in 2024. Photo: TNS

Travis Kelce kisses Swift after the NFL Super Bowl football game in 2024. Photo: AP

Beyoncé crowned greatest pop star of the 21st century, surpassing Taylor Swift, Rihanna

Beyoncé at a campaign event for 2024 US presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Music industry magazine Billboard has crowned her the greatest pop star of the 21st century. Photo: AP

The cover of Beyoncé’s 2023 album Cowboy Carter.

Destiny’s Child perform during the half-time show of the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2013. Photo: Reuters

Taylor Swift performs during her The Eras Tour stop in Singapore in 2024. Billboard named her the second best pop star of the 21st century. Photo: Ashok Kumar/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

Rihanna performs onstage during the 2023 Oscars ceremony. Billboard ranks her third on its list of the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century. Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

What is Pei Pa Koa and why is Ariana Grande adding it to her ‘vocal box’?

Ariana Grande arrives at the fourth annual Academy Museum Gala on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa is a sticky black cough syrup that has been produced by Hong Kong-based company Nin Jiom Medicine Manufactory since 1946. Photo: Nin Jiom Medicine Manufactory

Ariana Grande with a bottle of Pei Pa Koa. Photo: YouTube

A bottle of Pei Pa Koa. Photo: Antony Dickson

Henry Li uses Pei Pa Koa to make his Herbal Harmony cocktail. Photo: Mongkok Tea House

A bartender at Jade & Clover uses Pei Pa Koa to create the Antidote cocktail. Photo: Glowing Studios

Hong Kong-based singer-songwriter Jodie Chan. Photo: Stephanie Teng/Joya

Taylor Swift tops Spotify Wrapped 2024 on global charts. Who else is ranked?

Taylor Swift performs during “The Eras Tour” in Los Angeles. Photo: AP 

On December 4, Spotify unveiled its annual overview of individual listening trends as well as trends from around the world. Photo: AP

Taylor Swift performs during the Eras tour in Los Angeles in 2023. Photo: AP

1980s Hong Kong pop idol Danny Chan’s bittersweet success story: his talent, fame, the tabloid rumours, his retirement and early death

Singer Danny Chan Pak-keung puts one of his albums in a time capsule in 1991. Photo: SCMP

Danny Chan was one of Hong Hong’s “Three Kings and A Queen of Cantopop” in the 1980s, with fellow idols Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui and Alan Tam. Photo: SCMP

Yvonne Siu, project manager of TVB, presents a souvenir to Danny Chan in 1984. Photo: SCMP

Chan singing at his own birthday party in 1988. Photo: SCMP

Chan (left) and Jacky Cheung Hok-yau at the Top Ten Pop Stars Election in 1987. Photo: SCMP

There were numerous rumours about a relationship between Pansy Ho and Chan. Photo: Weibo

Chan performing at a concert to promote Aids awareness in 1990. Photo: SCMP

Chan was taken to Queen Mary Hospital after collapsing at home on May 19, 1992. Photo: SCMP

Flanked by singer Anita Mui Yim-fong and actor Chow Yun-fat, Danny Chan’s older brother Chan Pak-ling carries his younger brother’s picture at the singer’s funeral in 1993. Photo: SCMP

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Culture

Taylor Swift’s Eras tour has ended. Given she’s ‘the biggest star in the world’ she’s probably bought time with fans, but only so much


Taylor Swift’s Eras tour has ended. Given she’s ‘the biggest star in the world’ she’s probably bought time with fans, but only so much.


Fame and celebrity

Taylor Swift