With a unique mix of superstar poise and girl-next-door wholesomeness, Taylor Swift swept into Ford Field on Saturday for one of the biggest concerts she's played yet.
It was just the second stadium headlining show of the 21-year-old star's career, and she made the most of the occasion for a rosy cheeked, young crowd of 47,922 people, fitting two hours of sing-along, scream-along hits into a Broadway-inspired visual spectacle.
The late-evening sun was still seeping through Ford Field's frosted panes when Swift took the stage at 8:45 p.m., greeted by a colorful array of flashing cell phones, glow-sticks and I-LUV-U-TAYLOR handmade signs.
She paused to take in the extended applause following her opening performance of "Sparks Fly," her famously innocent demeanor accompanied by a new edge of sultriness.
Bonded with her audience like a best friend or big sister, Swift kept a sweetness in her confident performance, eyes sparkling as she addressed fans.
"You guys are just so nice," she said.
Even at 5-foot-11-inches and in a glittering fringed dress, Swift often was a small presence in the cavernous Ford Field, and fans' gazes were often locked onto the video screens flanking her massive stage.
"It's still sinking in to me that this is a stadium," she said early in the night.
Her set made room for a touch of country twang, the fetching pop melodies of songs like "You Belong with Me" and the grittier guitars of "Better Than Revenge."
It was a night of quick costume changes and a show loosely structured in a series of acts, on a versatile stage that saw Swift and her cast of actor-dancers springing up from below.
Swift made her way up a golden gazebo for "The Story of Us," and watched confetti snow drift across the front rows as she took to a white baby grand piano for a perfectly lovely "Back to December." A wedding scene -- complete with church pews -- was rolled out for "Speak Now," a front-porch hootenanny for "Our Song."
She had a ukulele in hand for a mid-show spell at a satellite stage on the main floor, having been escorted through the shrieking crowd by a pair of guards.
The sound was often washed out in the reverb-drenched Ford Field, but that was OK for a crowd that knew all these songs inside out.
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