Taylor Swift Performs ‘Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?’ For The First Time

Taylor Swift is continuing her Eras Tour over in Paris, France. As Swifties guessed, the pop icon played tracks from her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, during her Thursday night (May 9) set for the first time.

Fans in France went wild when Swift, 34, added TTPD to her Eras intro with lyrics from "The Alchemy:" "What if I told you I'm back?" The European kickoff of her record-breaking tour and her first show since the album’s release debuted several of her new songs while cutting some of her regularly played songs.

She kicked off the first Era with four songs from Lover, followed by three Fearless songs. The artist's third and fourth Era that followed was Red, featuring four songs, and one Speak Now track. After four songs from Reputation, Swift combined albums folklore and evermore as one chapter (FolkMore) during the show because she's always seen them as sister albums.

Swift removed "Archer," "Long Live," "the 1," "‘tis the damn season," "the last great american dynasty," and "tolerate it" from the setlist.

She then performed songs from both albums before segueing into 1989, featuring new visuals with clock imagery, signaling the transition into The Tortured Poets Department.

From TTPD, the award-winning singer-songwriter played "But Daddy I Love Him, "So High School,” and “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me.” During her performance of the latter song, the superstar stood atop a mirrored glass-plated block that levitated around the stage. She followed that performance with other TTPD tracks, “Down Bad,” “Fortnight,” and “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived."

Swift's surprise acoustic songs for night one in Paris are fitting: "Paris" and "Loml." Her final Era of the night was Midnights. She closed her performance with a theatrical performance of "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart." During her set, Swift called the Eras Tour "Female Rage: The Musical."

Taylor released The Tortured Poets Department on April 19 with a surprise double album with 31 tracks. She called TTPD “an anthology of new works that reflect events, opinions and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time – one that was both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure.”

Taylor will play 51 shows in 13 countries over the next five months in Europe, with an expected $2 billion gross in ticket sales alone, smashing the record from 12 months ago, according to The Sun.

Taylor Swift's 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, has already come with surprise after surprise. From the double album release to the songs shading Kim Kardashian, Matty Healy, and Joe Alwyn, TTPD has "left no crumbs," as they say.

What stood out to us most about the 31 songs is that Swifties -- whether happy and in love or going through it -- all loved her dark and cheeky lyricism. Despite whatever mood you are in, it seems as though the pop icon has managed to perfectly balance vulnerable, crushing lyrics of hurt and heartache, all while giving her fans something to dance to and smile through the pain.

I am not a Swiftie, but I can recognize when Swift, 34, has a hit. As a songwriter, Swift can be clever, and her usage of advanced vocabulary absolutely shines on this album. At other times, as pointed out by others on social media, Swift can be a little juvenile with some of her lines, making us wonder what the hype is all about.

However, compared to other successful pop artists of today, no one else does it like Taylor Swift. She reaches her fans worldwide with her lyricism and musicianship. Every album is an event, and this one is no exception. TTPD has been compared to her 2020 album, folklore, with fans commending her use of synths on this album as well.

Longtime collaborator and friend Jack Antonoff shared his love for Taylor on X (formerly Twitter) and listed his favorite tracks on the record, both of which actually ended up on our list as well. "!! FOTS heads lets go !!" he writes of the 7th track, "Fresh Out The Slammer." He later hyped up track 4, "Down Bad," as it "heads as well."

Though the album opener is bubbly and fun to dance to, the lyrics are actually pretty sad and depressing. Post Malone echoes Swift's lines: "I love you, it's ruining my life." Swift admits she was a functioning alcoholic, driven to be such because of her longtime ex, Joe Alwyn. She swooned over Posty on Instagram that she's been a "huge fan" of his because of "the writer he is, his musical experimentation and those melodies he creates that just stick in your head forever." We witness that "magic" on the opening track.

There are no shortage of synths on the album. Track number 4, "Down Bad" has fun instrumentation, matching the playful lyrics of the cosmic love she had for 1975 frontman Matty Healy. "Staring at the sky, come back and pick me up," she asks aliens. Of her short romance with Healy, she acknowledges the perception: "They’ll say I’m nuts if I talk about the existence of you." She's probably right. Admit it, you thought she was slumming when she was dating him.

Track 7, "Fresh Out The Slammer," is a fun track and the most dynamic of the bunch. The song's guitar reverb intro gives us Lana Del Rey and Orville Peck vibes. You can't help but dance along to this song. Near minute 3, the song slows down and changes the whole energy as the song wraps up.

By track 13, we get another lyrically depressing dance bop with "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart." The song is an anthem for those of us who have no choice but to push through the hard times. She sings,” I can show you lies…”, “Lights, camera, action, bitch smile, even when you wanna die.” The song is believed to be about the breakup with Joe Alwyn, as Swift at this time seemed unfazed about it, as reflected in lyrics: "I was grinning like I’m winning I was hitting my marks. ‘Cause I can do it with a broken heart.” You can’t help but dance along to the chipper, ‘80s feeling song. She declares at the end, "'Cause I'm miserable! And nobody even knows!" before challenging, "Try and come for my job."

In this synthy track, Swift sings about how she is a gem and she will always have a hold on her ex lover. Whether she will be your wife or smash up your bike, she's gonna get you back in track 18 of the double album. She declares, "I'll make you think twice you'll find that you were never not mine."