Taylor Swift’s Las Vegas Gig Steps on Adele’s Big Night
Taylor Swift forgot to check with her friend before scheduling the biggest Las Vegas concert of her career. Swift’s March 25 date at Allegiant Stadium – her first Sin City performance in eight years – conflicts with the final night of “Weekends With Adele” residency at Caesars Palace.
Swift announced her full tour schedule Tuesday on Twitter, writing: “I’m enchanted to announce my next tour: Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour, a journey through the musical eras of my career (past & present!).” Her presale begins Nov. 15, with a public on-sale Nov. 17. Tickets are $49-$449, with VIP packages up to $899, through ticketmaster.com.
This is certain to present a difficult decision for the well-to-do fans of both singers. And there is plenty of fan base overlap there – including the singers themselves. Last week, as reported by Billboard, Adele called Swift “one of the greatest songwriters of our generation.” And in a viral 2014 video, Swift sang Adele’s “Someone Like You,” accompanied by a fan suffering from cancer.
Last year, the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers performance-rights organization even reported the registration of a song called “Broken Hearts” by writers “Adele Laurie Blue Adkins” and “Taylor Alison Swift” – though no such song ever surfaced.
So why Swift would schedule such a huge date on such a huge night for Adele is a mystery.
Twin Peaks
Both artists are currently experiencing career peaks in their early 30s. Swift’s new studio album, Midnights, released Oct. 21, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album charts. Moving more than 1.5 million units, it became the fastest-selling album of the year. Appropriately, that’s the biggest first-week debut since Adele’s 25 album debuted seven years ago.
Adele’s 2021 studio album, 30, was no slouch, either. It reached No. 1 in 24 territories, including the US, where it became her third consecutive chart-topper.
Just after Thanksgiving last year, Adele announced her Caesars Palace residency, which was to have run from January through April. The night before it opened, however, she postponed it.
“I’m so sorry, but my show ain’t ready,” she said in a Twitter video in which she choked back tears. “We’ve been absolutely destroyed by delivery delays and COVID. Half my crew [and] team are down with COVID.”
The same residency now runs from Nov. 18 to March 25, the night of Swift’s Vegas return.
Swift last performed in Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Event Center on May 23, 2009, as part of her “Fearless” tour. Her 2018 “Reputation Tour” grossed $345.1 million – the 19th-highest for a tour in history – and played to nearly 3 million fans.